10.48349/ASU/2J9R9H Strickland, James James Strickland Arizona State University ASU Library Research Data Repository 2020 Law Social Sciences Lobbying; interest groups; government growth; state politics; public choice Strickland, James James Strickland Arizona State University 2020-11-01 2020-11-23 2020-11-23 doi:10.7910/DVN/QSSIHL 10.48349/ASU/2J9R9H/PMLUB7 10.48349/ASU/2J9R9H/LMR0Y9 10.48349/ASU/2J9R9H/4ZHKM9 10.48349/ASU/2J9R9H/2PX0BK 5388 38992 156312 2792 text/tab-separated-values text/tab-separated-values application/pdf text/tab-separated-values 1.0 CC0 1.0 What explains contemporary numbers of interest groups in America? To answer this question and help address conflicting narratives in research, I examine the rise of interest groups in the states. Assembling an original data set based on archival and secondary sources, I find that relatively few groups lobbied legislators prior to the 1960s or 1970s. During those decades, numbers of interest groups began to grow rapidly. I find that increases in lawmaking activities present inconsistent effects on the political mobilization of groups but increases in spending are strongly correlated with mobilization. In additional tests, I find that the effects of spending on group numbers vary by state and are not discernible in most states. In general, a historic transformation of state governments helps to account for the growth of state lobbying. Interest groups have remained active in state capitols ever since.