Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-9b74x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-01T09:39:08.730Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nature or Nurture? Sources of Firm Preference for National Health Reform

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Cathie Jo Martin
Cathie Jo Martin
Affiliation:
Boston University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

I shall explore the process by which firms develop their political preferences, using the case of national health reform. Although rising health costs have heavily burdened many companies, I argue that economic interests alone are unable to account for the variation in firm response to the national reform effort. Rather, institutional factors, shown elsewhere to shape government decision making, also influence corporate preferences. These are (1) the institutionalization of private policy expertise within the firm, (2) firm participation in policy groups, and (3) policy legacies. These findings challenge conventional views of business political mobilization that suggest largely autonomous agents acting on the basis of easily recognized self-interests. Preference formation and corporate mobilization transpire in collective settings as a new stratum of corporate policy managers search for solutions to social problems. The primacy of economic concerns is very real. But institutional analysis explains how these economic concerns are interpreted and acted upon.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 89 , Issue 4 , December 1995 , pp. 898 - 913
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Amkraut, Cathy. 1987. “More Cost Shifting from Medicare Poses Management Challenge.” Business and Health, May, p. 50.Google Scholar
Atkinson, Michael, and Coleman, William. 1989. “Strong States and Weak States: Sectorial Policy Networks in Advanced Capitalist Economies.” British Journal of Political Science 19:47–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldwin, Peter, 1990. The Politics of Social Solidarity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, Raymond, Poole, Ithiel, and Dexter, Anthony. 1972. American Business and Public Policy. New York: Aldine.Google Scholar
Baysinger, Barry. 1984. “Domain Maintenance as an Objective of Business Political Activity.” Academy of Management Review 9:248–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berger, Suzanne, ed. 1981. Organizing Interests in Western Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Berkowitz, Edward, and McQuaid, Kim. 1992. Creating the Welfare State: The Political Economy of Twentieth-Century Reform. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Berry, Jeffrey. 1977. Lobbying for the People. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Best, Michael. 1990. The New Competition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Bowman, John. 1985. “The Politics of the Market: Economic Competition and the Organization of Capitalists.” Political Power and Social Theory 5:35–88.Google Scholar
Burris, Val. 1987. “The Political Partisanship of American Business: A Study of Corporate Political Action Committees.” American Sociological Review 52:732–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, J., Hollingsworth, Rogers, and Lindberg, Leon, eds. 1991. Government of the American Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cantor, Joel, Barrand, Nancy, Desonia, Randolph, Cohen, Alan, and Merril, Jeffrey. 1991. “Business Leaders' Views on American Health Care.” Health Affairs, Spring, pp. 99–101.Google ScholarPubMed
Child, John. 1972. ‘Organization Structure, Environment, and Performance: The Role of Strategic Choice.” Sociology 6:1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, James. 1962. “Toward a Theory of Revolution.” American Sociological Review 27:5–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckstein, Harry. 1988. “A Culturalist Theory of Political Change.” American Political Science Review 82:790–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edsall, Thomas. 1984. The New Politics of Inequality. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Ferguson, Thomas. 1984. “From Normalcy to New Deal: Industrial Structure, Party Competition, and American Public Policy in the Great Depression.” International Organization 38:41–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fligstein, Neil. 1990. The Transformation of Corporate Control. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Frieden, Jeff. 1988. “Sectorial Conflict in U.S. Foreign Economic Policy, 1914–1940.” International Organization 42:59–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedland, Roger, and Robertson, A. F., eds. 1990. Beyond the Market Place: Rethinking Economy and Society. New York: de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Gals, Jeffrey, and Buchholz, Rogene. 1987. “The Political Pursuit of Competitive Advantage.” In Business Strategy and Public Policy, ed. Marcus, Alfred, Kaufman, Allen, and Beam, David. New York: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
Galbraith, John K. 1971. The New Industrial State. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Goffman, Erving. 1974. Frame Analysis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Gordon, Colin. 1991. “New Deal, Old Deck: Business and the Origins of Social Security, 1920–1935.” Politics and Society 19:165–207.Google Scholar
Gourevitch, Peter. 1986. Politics in Hard Times. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Granovetter, Mark. 1985. “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness.” American Journal of Sociology 91:481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greene, William. 1993. Econometric Analysis. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Grimm, Curtis, and Holcomb, John. 1987. “Choices among Encompassing Organizations.” In Business Strategy and Public Policy, ed. Marcus, Alfred, Kaufman, Allen, and Beam, David. New York: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
Hall, Peter. 1993. “Policy Paradigms, Social Learning, and the State: The Case of Economic Policymaking in Britian.” Comparative Politics 25:275–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Handler, Edward, and Mulkern, John. 1982. Business in Politics. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Harris, Richard. 1985. Coal Firms under the New Social Regulation. Durham: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Harris, Richard. 1989. “Politicized Management.” In Remaking American Politics, ed. Harris, Richard and Milkis, Sidney. Boulder: Westview.Google Scholar
Heclo, Hugh. 1974. Modern Social Politics in Britain and Sweden. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Heye, Chris. 1993. “Labor Market Tightness and Business Confidence: An International Comparison.” Politics and Society 21:169CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hicks, Alexander, and Swank, Duane. 1984. “On the Political Economy of Welfare Expansion.” Comparative Political Studies 17:81–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirschman, Albert O. 1977. The Passion and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, David. 1988. “Corporate Economic Power and the State: A Longitudinal Assessment of Two Explanations.” American Journal of Sociology 93:852–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kolko, Gabriel. 1977. The Triumph of Conservatism: A Reinterpretaton of American History, 1900–1916. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Korpi, Walter. 1980. “Social Policy and Distributional Conflict in the Capitalist Democracies.” West European Politics 3:296–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurth, James. 1979. “The Political Consequences of the Product Cycle: Industrial History and Political Outcomes.” Industrial Organization 33:1–34.Google Scholar
Lasch, Scott. 1985. “The End of Neo-Corporatism.” British Journal of Industrial Relations 23:215–39.Google Scholar
Laumann, Edward, and Knoke, David. 1987. The Organizational State. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Levi, Margaret, Cook, Karen, O'Brien, Jodi, and Faye, Howard. 1990. Introduction to The Limits of Rationality, ed. Cook, Karen and Levi, Margaret. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Levit, Katherine, Lazenby, Helen, Letsch, Suzanne, and Cowan, Cathy. 1991. “National Health Care Spending, 1989.” Health Affairs Spring, p. 117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindblom, Charles. 1977. Politics and Markets. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Littlejohn, Stephen J. 1987. “Competition and Cooperation.” In Business Strategy and Public Policy, ed. Marcus, Alfred, Kaufman, Allen, and Beam, David. New York: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
Locke, Richard. 1990. “The Resurgence of the Local Union: Industrial Restructuring and Industrial Relations in Italy.” Politics and Society 18:347–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Longstreth, Frank. 1988. “From Corporatism to Dualism?” Political Studies 36:413–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowi, Theodore 1964. “American Business, Public Policy Case Studies, and Political Theory.” World Politics 16:667–715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAdam, Doug. 1988. “Micromobilization Contexts and Recruitment to Activism.” In International Social Movement Research, vol. 1. Greenwich, CT: JAI.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane, eds. 1990. Beyond Self Interest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Martin, Cathie J. 1991. Shifting the Burden. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Martin, Cathie Jo. 1993. “Together Again: Business, Government, and the Quest for Cost Control.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law 18:359–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, Thomas J., and Moran, Kevin S.. 1992. “It Was a Very Bad Year.” Fortune, 24 August.Google Scholar
Miliband, Ralph. 1969. The State in Capitalist Society. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Mizruchi, Mark. 1992. The Structure of Corporate Political Action. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Moe, Terry. 1987. “Interests, Institutions, and Positive Theory: The Politics of the NLRB.” In Studies in American Politimi Development, vol. 2. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Morone, James. 1990. The Democratic Wish: Popular Participation and the Limits of American Government. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Morone, James, and Dunham, A.. 1985. “Slouching towards National Health Insurance: The New Health Care Politics.” Yale Journal on Regulation 2:263–91.Google Scholar
Myles, John. 1989. Old Age and the Welfare State. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Nelson, Douglas. 1988. “Endogenous Tariff Theory: A Critical Survey.” American Journal of Political Science 32:804.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Offe, Claus. 1985. “Two Logics of Collective Action.” In Disorganized Capitalism: Contemporary Transformations of Work and Politics, ed. Offe, C.. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Olson, Mancur. 1965. The Logic of Collective Action. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pierson, Paul. 1993. “When Effect Becomes Cause: Policy Feedback and Political Change.” World Politics 45:595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plotke, David, 1992. “The Political Mobilization of Business.” In The Politics of Business, ed. Petracca, Mark. Boulder: Westview.Google Scholar
Pollock, Phillip. 1982. “Organization as Agents of Mobilization: How Does Group Activity Affect Political Participation.” American Journal of Political Science 26:485–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, Michael. 1980. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Post, James, Murray, Edwin Jr., Dickie, Robert, and Manon, John. 1983. “Managing Public Affairs: The Public Affairs Function.” California Management Review 26:135–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przeworski, Adam, and Wallerstein, Michael. 1988. “Structural Dependence of the State on Capital.” American Political Science Review 82:11–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnam, Robert. 1993. Making Democracy Work. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Quadagno, Jill. 1988. The Transformation of Old Age Security. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Quinn, Dennis, and Shapiro, Robert. 1991. “Business Political Power: The Case of Corporate Taxation.” American Political, Science Review 85:851–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, Marc, and Bluhm, Jeremy. 1981. The Choices of Power. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers, Alison, and Sookdeo, Ricardo. 1992. “It Was the Worst of Years.” Fortune, 20 April.Google Scholar
Rogowski, Ronald. 1989. Commerce and Coalitions. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Salamon, Lester, and Siegfried, John. 1974. “Economic Power and Political Influence.” American Political Science Review 71:1026–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salant, Walter. 1989. “The Spread of Keynesian Doctrines and Practices in the United States.” In The Political Power of Economic Ideas, ed. Hall, Peter. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Salmon, Warren J. 1987. Introduction to “The Corporatization of Medicine.” International Journal of Health Services 17:1–6.Google ScholarPubMed
Saxenian, Annolee. 1989. “In Search of Power.” Economy and Society 18:25–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoch, Claude. 1993. Compact Disclosure Version 4.25. CD ROM, Digital Library Systems.Google Scholar
Scott, James. 1985. Weapons of the Week. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Skocpol, Theda. 1985. Introduction to Bringing the State Back In, ed. Evans, Peter, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol.Google Scholar
Skocpol Theda, Marjorie Abend-Wein, Howard, Christopher, and Lehmann, Susan Goodrich. 1993. “Women's Associations and the Enactment of Mothers' Pensions in the United States.” American Political Science Review 87:686–701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skowronek, Stephen. 1982. Building a New American State: The Expansion of National Administrative Capacities, 1977–1920. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Richard. 1994. “Getting Business Support for Health Care Reform.” Washington Post, 13 June.Google Scholar
Snow, David, Burke Rochford, E. Jr., Worden, Steven, and Benford, Robert. 1986. “Frame Alignment Processes, Micro-mobilization, and Movement Participation.” American Sociological Review 51:464–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephens, John. 1979. The Transition from Capitalism to Socialism. London: Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stigler, George. 1971. “The Theory of Economic Regulation.” In Chicago Studies in Political Economy, ed. Stigler, George. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Swank, Duane. 1992. “Politics and the Structural Dependence of the State in Democratic Capitalist Nations.” American Political Science Review 86:38–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swenson, Peter. 1991. “Bringing Capital Back In; or, Social Democracy Reconsidered.” World Politics 43:513–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tabachnik, Barbara G., and Fidell, Linda S.. 1989. Using Multivariate Statistics. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Thompson, Graham. 1982. “The Firm as a ‘Dispersed’ Social Agency.” Economy and Society 11:233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tourraine, Alain. 1985. “An Introduction to the Study of Social Movements.” Social Research 52:749–88.Google Scholar
Truman, David. 1981. The Government Press. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Commerce. International Trade Administration. 1992. U.S. industrial Outlook '92. Washington: GPO.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Commerce. National Technical Information Service. 1993. The President's Health Security Plan. Springfield, VA: Random House.Google Scholar
Victor, Kirk. 1990. “Gut Issue.” National Journal, 24 March.Google ScholarPubMed
Vogel, David. 1978. “Why Businessmen Distrust Their State.” British Journal of Political Science 8:45–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vogel, David. 1989. Fluctuating Fortunes. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Weatherford, Stephen. 1986. “The President and the Political Business Cycle.” In The President and Economic Policy, ed. Pfiffner, James P.. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues.Google Scholar
Weinstein, James. 1968. The Corporate Ideal in the Liberal State: 1900–1918. Boston: Beacon.Google Scholar
Weir, Margaret. 1992. Politics and Jobs. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Weir, Margaret, Orloff, Ann Shola, and Skocpol, Theda. 1988. The Politics of Social Policy in the United States. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weir, Margaret, and Skocpol, Theda. 1985. “State Structures and the Possibilities of ‘Keynesian’ Responses to the Great Depression in Sweden, Britain, and the United States.” In Bringing the State Back In, ed. Evans, Peter, Rueschemeyer, Dietrich, and Skocpol, Theda.Google Scholar
Woodward, Bob. 1994. The Agenda. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Yoffie, David, and Bergenstein, Sigrid. 1985. “Creating Political Advantage: The Rise of the Corporate Political Entrepreneur.” California Management Review 28:124–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ziegler, Nicholas. 1995. “Institutions, Elites, and Technological Change in France and Germany.” World Politics 47:341–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.