Explaining the dance between agencies and interest groups
Current theories about the relationship between public agencies and interest groups are deficient in two ways, Caelesta Braun of the University of Antwerp argues in the current issue of Governance. They neglect the variation in incentives that agencies face to engage with interest groups, as well as the groups’ own incentives to engage with agencies. Braun uses survey data from British and Dutch bureaucrats and interest group leaders to test a more complex theory of agency-group interaction. This new approach, says Braun, offers “a fruitful way forward” in explaining policymakers’ responsiveness to interest groups. Read the article.
