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A Theoretical Analysis of the “Green Lobby”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 1985

V. Kerry Smith
V. Kerry Smith*
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University
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Extract

The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical framework for analyzing why individuals support private environmental “public interest” groups. The model attempts to integrate past contributions which have argued that these decisions could be explained by one of several factors, including: bounded rationality and imperfect information (Moe, 1980); the features of the public goods provided (or influenced by) these groups (Mitchell, 1979); the existence of a disequilibrium in households' demands for public goods (Weisbrod, 1977); or as a response to contract failures (Hansmann, 1980). The article uses a theoretical framework originally developed to explain individuals' decisions to join private clubs and specifies the conditions for the efficient provision of access to different types of private, nonprofit groups. By describing the optimal access conditions as if individuals could be coordinated to assure this efficient outcome, the model provides insights into the benefits and costs associated with membership in the environmental groups in practice.

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Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 79 , Issue 1 , March 1985 , pp. 132 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1985

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