The Population Ecology of State Interest Communities study explores both why interest communities are structured the way they are and how that structure affects the political behavior of interest organizations. The study disentangles how interest groups arise, how they are maintained and how they fail. Using the population ecology framework, which includes models of niches, foraging and evolutionary survival, this project generates a four year census of interest groups in a sample of states, surveys a subsample of those interest group leaders and builds a life table of interest groups in different policy domains. Multivariate statistical techniques are used to analyze the extensive data collection. This project sheds light on why some interest groups succeed and why others fail, offering an explanation very different from that which is common to the political science discipline.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Social and Economic Sciences (SES)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
9709671
Program Officer
James S. Granato
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1997-09-01
Budget End
2002-08-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
$97,466
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599