Research on Intergovernmental Lobbying in the United States: Assessing the Benefits of Accumulated Knowledge

Abstract

In the last 15 years, there has been a growing accumulation of research on lobbyists and lobbying offices that represent state and local governments in either Washington or in state capitals. This essay seeks to cumulate the scope of these and earlier efforts, and assess where our knowledge is deepest and where significant unanswered questions remain. In general, we know more about lobbyists who represent governors and more about lobbying in the federal arena. We know less about lobbying by those representing other types of public officials and less about lobbying in state capitals. Recent research on local government lobbying, however, has led to significant gains in our ability to measure the financial benefits of intergovernmental lobbying.

Keywords: intergovernmental lobbying, interest groups, state governments, local governments, public interest groups