We present a new dataset enumerating the population of organizations listed and/or registered as lobbyists in the EU. In the first part of the paper we describe how we arrived at the population dataset by drawing on three independent sources (Coneccs; Landmarks; EP registry). We briefly discuss the validity of these registers in the context of recent substantial changes in each of them. In the second part, we present descriptive information on the number and type of groups as well as their territorial origins. In the last part, we outline potential research questions that can be addressed with the new dataset. This includes a description of our use of this new interest group sampling frame, combined with internet research, to arrive at a random sample of issues to be used as the basis for further research on the role of groups in the EU policy process.
General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. AbstractThe number of interest organizations (density) varies across policy domains, political issues and economic sectors. This shapes the nature and outcomes of interest representation. In this paper, we explain the density of interest organizations per economic sector in the European Union on the basis of political and economic institutional factors. Focusing on business interest representation, we show that economic institutions structure the 'supply' of interest organizations by affecting the number of potential constituents, the resources available for lobbying and the geographical level of collective action of businesses. In contrast, we do not find consistent evidence that political institutions produce 'demand' for interest organizations by making laws, developing public policy or spending money. This is in contrast to the extensive evidence that such factors affect lobbying practices. The EU interest system is (partially) shaped by economic factors, relatively independent from public policy or institutions.
Scholars of mobilisation and policy influence employ two quite different approaches to mapping interest group systems. Those interested in research questions on mobilisation typically rely on a bottom-up mapping strategy in order to characterise the total size and composition of interest group communities. Researchers with an interest in policy influence usually rely on a top-down strategy in which the mapping of politically active organisations depends on samples of specific policies. But some scholars also use top-down data gathered for other research questions on mobilisation (and vice versa). However, it is currently unclear how valid such large-N data for different types of research questions are. We illustrate our argument by addressing these questions using unique data sets drawn from the INTEREURO project on lobbying in the European Union and the European Union’s Transparency Register. Our findings suggest that top-down and bottom-up mapping strategies lead to profoundly different maps of interest group communities.
Since political scientists were introduced to the concept of 'the scope and bias of the pressure system' by Schattschneider more than half a century ago, we have grappled with the lack of a standard against which to assess bias. Still, scholars have continued to address Schattschneider's provocative claim. This means that they must have in their minds at least implicit images of the unknown state of an unbiased interest system. We uncover these implicit images in this analysis both for their own intrinsic interest and perhaps as a foundation for more progressive research on biases in interest representation. Ten scholars who have done considerable work on the politics of interest representation were asked to provide a brief description of what he or she would see as an unbiased interest system. After presenting each, we summarize the themes that emerged and discuss possible avenues for empirical research on bias.Ever since Schattschneider (1960) introduced the concept of bias of the pressure system, we have grappled unsuccessfully with the question of what an unbiased interest system might look like. How can we ascertain whether the interest system as a whole is both inclusive and representative of the concerns of the public? The central problem in answering this question is the lack of a standard against which to assess bias. To see why this is so, it is instructive to first think about the study of individual participation. Individuals are natural units of analysis whose behaviours are directly comparable. Further, we have a powerful normative standard against which to assess bias in participation -the one person, one vote principle. With natural units of analysis and a strong normative standard, even a frequency table of rates of participation across categories of individuals can tell us something about both the relative and absolute degrees
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