Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/38723 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
Diskussionspapier No. 84
Publisher: 
Helmut-Schmidt-Universität - Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg, Fächergruppe Volkswirtschaftslehre, Hamburg
Abstract: 
Mancur Olson's theory of the decline of nations is path-breaking in political economics. It has been tested cross-sectionally in numerous empirical studies. We survey the existing results briefly, with a special focus on studies using the number of lobbies as an exogenous variable. Using data from the period 1973-2006, we then present the field's first time-series analysis of the effects of the number of interest groups on the German lobby list and macroeconomic performance, gauged in terms of economic growth and inflation. The number of interest groups (as a proxy for their influence) is shown to have an important impact on macrovariables: Interest group activity significantly leads to a decline in the growth rate and a rise in the inflation rate.
Subjects: 
Interest groups
economic performance
growth rate
inflation rate
JEL: 
D61
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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