TOWARD AN EXPLANATION FOR PUBLIC-INTEREST GROUP FORMATION AND PROLIFERATION - SEED MONEY, DISTURBANCES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND PATRONAGE

Utilizing data from a survey of 60 national public interest group foun ders, this paper addresses two related questions: (a) What factors exp lain the (relatively) recent proliferation of public interest groups? (b) What factors determine in which policy areas public interest group activity is most likely? The results of the data analysis suggest tha t several factors have contributed to group proliferation. Among the m ost important are low group start-up costs, the spread of affluence an d education, an increase in patron activity, and rapid societal change . The results also suggest that public interest group activity is most likely in issue areas of interest to well-educated, affluent whites. Ultimately, however, the data suggest there is found to be a great dea l of uncertainty in the public interest group universe. Because group start-up costs are so low and the entrepreneurial pool is so large and varied, virtually any type of public interest group dealing with any issue could form at any time.