You may have heard of “the special interest effect,” but what is it really? Dr. Roy Cordato explains in this report.
The special interest effect focuses on the relationship between legislators and interest groups and is invoked to explain why, over time, the legislative process will tend to generate more expansive government. It goes beyond the widely recognized fact that legislation gives rise to wealth transfers from some groups to others and looks at how the benefits and costs of these transfers are distributed. The distribution of costs and benefits gives rise to special interest coalitions that impact the legislative process.
There’s lots more interesting information in the report, which you can find here.