THE DEMOGRAPHY OF INTEREST ORGANIZATION COMMUNITIES - INSTITUTIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND MEMBERSHIP GROUPS

Using population data on six state populations of interest organizatio ns from 1980 and 1990, the authors find that (a) organized interests f requently exit the lobbying community; (b) institutions exit at a high er rate than associations or membership groups; (c) exit rates potenti ally have great influence on the composition of interest organization populations; and (d) exit, but not entry, rates are greatly influenced by the density of interest organization populations. On the basis of these findings, the authors make a number of suggestions for the furth er study of the demography of interest organization communities.