On the Origins of Public Interest Groups: A Test of Two Theories

Berry, Jeffrey M.

doi:10.2307/3234414

Cited by 55 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…This seems contrary to Olson's theory and consistent with Moe's argument that there is a fundamental difference between economic and noneconomic political interest groups in this regard.11 Fourth, the increase in selective material benefits offered by the NRA in 1979 in the form of insurance services did coincide with an increase in membership, a finding consistent with theorists who see a role for selective material benefits in motivating membership and organizational growth. In a slight twist of Berry (1978), who investigated whether public interest groups formed as a result of disturbances or entrepreneurial activity, the NRA seems to have benefitted substantially from both. Fifth, it would appear to be a mistake to attribute the sudden increase in membership in 1979 to the political activities of the NRA since those activities were present in one form or another many years prior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Membership in the National Rifle Association

Brown¹

1992

ARP

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This paper empirically tests several hypotheses offered by political scientists and economists to explain membership in political interest groups by examining the aggregate membership of the National Rifle Association (NRA) from 1921 to 1984. Intervention and transfer function ARIMA analysis is used to model membership on the basis of (1) qualitative changes in the level of material selective benefits offered prospective members, and (2) fluctuations in the number of people being discharged from the military. The NRA has an extensive history of institutional sponsorship. NRA membership increased dramatically with the onset of new selective material benefits in 1979 but did not decline when a reduction in selective material benefits occurred in 1968. Demobilization at the end of World War II had a significant impact on NRA membership and a positive relationship exists between NRA membership and the level of annual discharges from the military.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Membership in the National Rifle Association

Brown¹

1992

ARP

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“…Jeffrey Berry (1978) argues, from a political science perspective, that PIGs arise in order to represent their members before government because organized voices are more likely to be heard than individual or unorganized voices. Berry proceeds to analyse two of the early theories that attempt to explain the motivations behind PIG formation.…”

Section: Pigs and Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Building a better PIG: a historical survey of the PMRC and its tactics

Fontenot

Harriss

2010

Media, Culture & Society

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“…According to Jeffrey Berry (1977), "nonprofit advocacy is distinctively committed to the 'public interest' defined in terms of noneconomic, collective or indivisible interests that have the general public as their intended beneficiary" (p. 7). But what is the "public interest"?…”

Section: The Act Of Contributingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are (at least) six theories that conceptually describe their actions. Many well-established nonprofit advocacy agencies serving protected classes seem to have formed in a manner best described by the terms traditional disturbance or discontent theories (Berry, 1977(Berry, , chap. 2, 1978.…”

Section: The Act Of Contributingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fair Housing Advocacy Groups: Litigation as a Source of Nonprofit Funding

Cheever¹,

deLeon

2001

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

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Civil rights advocacy has long been a part of the U.S. tradition of nonprofit charity organizations. Even before the passage of federal, state, and local fair housing laws, groups of concerned citizens gathered together to improve opportunities for equal housing choice. Fair housing councils (FHCs) cropped up across the country as the Civil Rights movement expanded throughout the nation. As a part of the nonprofit "quiet revolution," some FHCs have come across a new way to affirmatively further fair housing with much reduced government subsidies. This article explores the successes (and failures) of fair housing advocacy nonprofits that have sought compensatory and punitive damages through the courts for frustration of their missions and diversion of their resources. Some of these groups have moved from dependency on federal, state, and local government funds to reliance on court orders and civil settlements, whereby fair housing scofflaws pay for their transgressions by funding the work of these advocacy organizations.

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On the Origins of Public Interest Groups: A Test of Two Theories

Cited by 55 publications

References 0 publications

Modeling Membership in the National Rifle Association

Modeling Membership in the National Rifle Association

Building a better PIG: a historical survey of the PMRC and its tactics

Fair Housing Advocacy Groups: Litigation as a Source of Nonprofit Funding

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