EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF STATE-LEVEL LOBBYING REGULATIONS ON POLICY OUTCOMES: A FIFTY-STATE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Citations
Altmetric:
Soloist
Composer
Publisher
Date
2025-05-19
Additional date(s)
Abstract
This project investigates the impact of lobbying regulations at the state level on policy outcomes through a fifty-state comparative analysis. Using the Newmark (2017) index as a measure of lobbying regime restrictiveness in each state, the study evaluates whether states with more stringent lobbying regulations are less likely to adopt policies associated with corporate or elite interests. Dependent variables selected were minimum wage, corporate tax rates, occupational licensure, universal school choice, adoption of California emissions standards, and right-to-work laws. Through a combination of OLS and logistic regression analyses, statistically significant relationships were identified in four of the six models. Stricter lobbying laws were found to be associated with higher minimum wages, higher corporate tax rates, greater likelihood of adopting California emissions standards, and a lower likelihood of enacting right-to-work laws. The findings suggest that anti-lobbying rules play a modest but meaningful role in shaping policy outcomes, especially those most squarely involving direct economic considerations. The results contribute to the growing literature assessing the real-world consequences of these regulations and to the debate on the efficacy of reforms aimed at curtailing special interest influence.
Contents
Subject(s)
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Genre
Description
Format
Department
Political Science