The Sway and Power of Interest Groups

In his article “Public Policies, Pressure Groups, and Dead Weight Costs,” Gary Becker argues that interest groups do not dominate policies and that there is no reason to be wary of them. However, a study conducted from 1981 to 2002 on 1,779 issues found that interest groups can have a major influence on public policy. The evidence found that business-centered groups and economic elites had the greatest impact, compared to ordinary citizens and groups that try to appeal to the masses. The power the interest groups have, as Olson says, comes from “their characteristic and primary function,” which “is to advance the common interests of groups of individuals.”

Becker demonstrated that interest groups are not a cause for concern because they enact more pressure against inefficient policies than pressure for them. The research by Gilens and Page supports this claim: “A proposed policy change with low support among economically elite Americans is adopted only about 18% of the time, while a proposed change with high support is adopted about 45% of the time. When mass-based and business-oriented interest groups oppose a policy, the probability of its being enacted is only 16%, rising to 47% when they’re strongly favorable.” As Becker argued, these groups will fight against policies that will result in a deadweight loss.