Exchanging access goods for access: A comparative study of business lobbying in the European Union institutions
(2004) European Journal of Political Research — Vol. 43, n° 3, p. 337-369 (2004)
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- Abstract
- The aim of this article is to test empirically a theory of access that investigates the logic behind the apparent ad hoc lobbying behavior of business interests in the European Union (EU) multi-level system. First, a theoretical framework is set out that attempts to explain the access of different organizational forms of business interest representation - companies, associations and consultants - to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The degree of access to these institutions is explained in terms of a theory of the supply and demand of access goods. Access goods concern information that is crucial in the EU policy-making process. In return for access to an EU institution, business interests have to provide the access good(s) demanded by that institution. A number of specific hypotheses about access are analyzed in an extensive empirical study of the EU financial services sector. On the basis of 126 exploratory and semi-structured interviews, the hypotheses are checked across the three EU institutions.
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Bouwen, P. (2004). Exchanging access goods for access: A comparative study of business lobbying in the European Union institutions. European Journal of Political Research, 43(3), 337-369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2004.00157.x (Original work published 2004)