What Makes PACs Tick? An Analysis of the Allocation Patterns of Economic Interest Groups

Abstract

This study focuses on the allocation patterns of PACs representing specific corporations and specific unions in the 1978 House elections for the purpose of discerning the goals that motivate economic interest groups. The findings indicate that economic interests are motivated by a variety of goals and that generic treatments of labor and corporate PACs mask the diverse orientations of individual PACs. Several PACs are found to be motivated by considerations that generally transcend their narrow interests, suggesting that those who subscribe to the special interest stereotype are likely to underestimate the political expectations of at least some economic interests.