Key Terms ch.9

Question 1

single-issue politics

Answer 1

The situation in which separate groups are organized around nearly every conceivable policy issue and press their demands and influence to the utmost.
(ch.9 p. 294)

Question 2

Interest groups

Answer 2

Any organization that actively seeks to influence public policy.
(ch.9 p. 294)

Question 3

economic groups

Answer 3

Interest groups that are organized primarily for economic reasons; that engage in political activity in order to seek favorable policies from government.
(ch.9 p. 298)

Question 4

private good

individual good

Answer 4

Benefits that a group (most often an economic group) can grant directly and exclusively to individual members of the group.
(ch.9 p. 303)

Question 5

citizens’ groups

noneconomic groups

Answer 5

Organized interests formed by individuals drawn together by opportunities to promote a cause in which they believe but that does not provide them significant individual economic benefits.
ch.9 p.300

Question 6

collective goods

public goods

Answer 6

Benefits that are offered by groups (usually citizens’ groups) as an incentive for membership but that are non-divisible (clean environment) and therefore are available to non-members as well as members of the particular group.
(ch.9 p. 304)

Question 7

Free-rider problem

Answer 7

The situation in which the benefits offered by a group to its members are also available to non-members.
The incentive to join the group and to promote its cause is reduced because nonmembers (free riders) receive the benefits (e.g., a cleaner environment) without having to pay any of the group’s costs.

Question 8

Lobbying

Answer 8

The process by which interest-group members or lobbyists attempt to influence public policy through contacts with public officials.
(ch9 p. 307)

Question 9

Inside Lobbying

Answer 9

Direct communication between organized interests and policy makers, which is based on the assumed value of close (“inside”) contacts with policy makers.
(ch.9 p. 307)

Question 10

iron triangle

Answer 10

A small and informal but relatively stable group of well-positioned legislators, executives, and lobbyists who seek to promote policies beneficial to a particular interest.

Question 11

issue network

Answer 11

An informal and relatively open network of public officials and lobbyists who have a common interest in a given area and who are brought together by a proposed policy in that area.
Unlike an iron triangle, an issue network disbands after the issue is resolved.
(ch.9 p.312)

Question 12

outside lobbying

Answer 12

A form of lobbying in which an interest group seeks to use public pressure as a means of influencing officials.
ch.9 p.314

Question 13

grassroots lobbying

Answer 13

A form of lobbying designed to persuade officials that a group’s policy position has strong constituent support.
ch.9 p. 315

Question 14

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Answer 14

The organization through which an interest group raises and distributes funds for election purposes. By law, the funds must be raised through voluntary contributions.
ch.9 p.316

Question 15

Interest-group liberalism

Answer 15

The tendency of public officials to support the policy demands of self-interested groups (as opposed to judging policy demands according to whether they serve a larger conception of “the public interest”.)
Ch.9 p.294