Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:36:24.862Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Policy Agendas, Party Control, and PAC Contributions in the American States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Justin H. Kirkland ,
Virginia Gray  and
David Lowery
Justin H. Kirkland
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Virginia Gray
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
David Lowery
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this research we hypothesize that aggregate PAC behavior is conditional in nature. PACs in a specific issue sector donate more to a certain political party's candidates the more that political party controls the legislature. However, the more active the legislature is on a specific set of issues the more people/groups/PACs are mobilized in response to the issue. Thus, a conditional relationship emerges where aggregate PAC donations to a political party are a function of party control, agenda activity, and an interaction of the two. We test this conditional theory using data from the Institute on Money in State Politics database on PAC donations to state legislative candidates divided into issue sectors. Our results provide support for our hypotheses that aggregate PAC donations to a political party's candidates are conditional on the level of agenda activity on the issues that concern the PACs.

Keywords

policy agendasPAC contributionsstate legislaturesinterest groups
Type
Research Article
Information
Business and Politics , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , December 2010 , pp. 1 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © V.K. Aggarwal 2010 and published under exclusive license to Cambridge University Press 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baumgartner, Frank R. & Jones, Bryan D. 1993. Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R., Gray, Virginia, and Lowery, David. 2009. “Federal Policy Activity and the Mobilization of State Lobbying Organizations.” Political Research Quarterly 62: 552–567.Google Scholar
Beck, Roger, Hoskin, Colin, and Martin Connelly, J. 1992. “Rent Extraction through Politi-cal Extortion: An Empirical Examination.” Journal of Legal Studies 21: 217–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkman, Michael B. 2001. “Legislative Professionalism and the Demand for Groups: The Institutional Context of Interest Population Density.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 26: 661–679.Google Scholar
Brambor, Thomas, Roberts Clark, William, and Golder, Matt. 2006. “Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses.” Political Analysis. 14: 63–82.Google Scholar
Coughlin, Peter J., Mueller, Dennis C., and Murrell, Peter. 1990. “Electoral Politics, Interest Groups, and the Size of Government.” Economic Inquiry. 28: 682–705.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drew, Elizabeth. 1999. The Corruption of American Politics. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press.Google Scholar
Evans, Diana. 1988. “Oil PACs and Aggressive Contribution Strategies.” The Journal of Politics. 50: 1047–1056.Google Scholar
Fellowes, Matthew, Gray, Virginia, and Lowery, David. 2006. “What's on the Table? The Content of State Policy Agendas.” Party Politics 12: 35–55.Google Scholar
Gelman, Andrew and Hill, Jennifer. 2007. Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gray, Virginia and Lowery, David. 1996. The Population Ecology of Interest Representation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Gray, Virginia and Lowery, David. 1997. “Reconceptualizing PAC Formation: It's Not a Collective Action Problem, and It May Be an Arms Race.” American Politics Research. 25: 319–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, Virginia, Lowery, David, Fellowes, Matthew, Anderson, and Jennifer L. 2005. “Legislative Agendas and Interest Advocacy: Understanding the Demand Side of Lobbying.” American Politics Research. 33: 404–434.Google Scholar
Grier, Kevin B. and Munger, Michael C. 1993. “Comparing Interest Group PAC Contributions to House and Senate Incumbents, 1980-1986.” The Journal of Politics. 55: 615–643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gross, Donald A., Goidel, Robert K., and Shields, Todd G. 2002. “State Campaign Finance Regulations and Electoral Competition.” American Politics Research. 30: 143–165.Google Scholar
Hall, Richard L. and Wayman, Frank W. 1990. “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees.” The American Political Science Review. 84: 797–820.Google Scholar
Holbrook, Thomas M. and LaRaja, Ray. 2007. “Parties and Elections.” In Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis, 9th Edition, eds. Gray, Virginia and Hanson, Russell L. Washington DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Jones, Bryan D. and Baumgartner, Frank. 2005. The Politics of Attention: How Governments Prioritize Problems. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Leech, Beth L., Baumgartner, Frank R., La Pira, Timothy, and Semanko, Nicholas A. 2005. “Drawing Lobbyists to Washington: Government Activity and Interest-Group Mobilization.” Political Research Quarterly. 58: 19–30.Google Scholar
Lowery, David, Gray, Virginia, Benz, Jennifer, Deason, Mary, Kirkland, Justin, and Sykes, Jennifer. 2009. “Understanding the Relationship between Health PACs and Health Lobbying in the American States.” Publius. 39: 70–94.Google Scholar
Lowery, David, Gray, Virginia, and Fellowes, Matthew. 2005. “Organized Interests and Political Extortion: A Test of the Fetcher Bill Hypothesis.” Social Science Quarterly. 86: 368–385.Google Scholar
Lowery, David, Gray, Virginia, Fellowes, Matthew, and Anderson, Jennifer. 2004. “Living in the Moment: Lags, Leads, and the Link Between Legislative Agendas and Interest Advocacy.” Social Science Quarterly. 85: 463–477.Google Scholar
McChesney, Fred S. 1997. Money for Nothing. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Mueller, Dennis G. and Murrell, Peter. 1986. “Interest Groups and the Size of Government.” Public Choice. 48: 125–145.Google Scholar
Peltzman, Sam. 1976. “Towards a More General Theory of Regulation.” Journal of Law and Economics. 19: 211–240.Google Scholar
Romer, Thomas and Snyder, James M. Jr. 1994. “An Empirical Investigation of the Dynamics of PAC Contributions.” American Journal of Political Science. 38: 745–769.Google Scholar
Shugart, William F. and Tollison, Robert D. 1986. “On the Growth of Government and the Political Economy of Legislation.” Research in Law and Economics. 9: 111–127.Google Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 2007. “Measuring State Legislative Professionalism: The Squire Index Revisited.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly. 7: 211–227.Google Scholar
Stratmann, Thomas. 1992. “Are Contributors Rational? Untangling Strategies of Political Action Committees.” The Journal of Political Economy. 100: 647–664.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stratmann, Thomas and Aparicio-Castillo, Francisco J. 2006. “Competition Policy for Elections: Do Campaign Contribution Limits Matter?” Public Choice. 127: 177–206.Google Scholar
Stigler, George. 1971. “The Theory of Economic Regulation.” Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science. 2: 3–21.Google Scholar
Thielemann, Gregory S. & Dixon, Donald R. 1994. “Explaining Contributions: Rational Contributors and the Elections for the 71st Texas House.” Legislative Studies Quarterly. 19: 495–506.Google Scholar
West, Darrell M. 2000. Checkbook Democracy. Boston: Northeastern University Press.Google Scholar