Lobbyists And Why They Make The Big Bucks

Very interesting new report from economists at the University of Warwick in the UK.

The study, by economist Mirko Draca, confirms that pay is based not on "what" the lobbyist knows, but on "who" the lobbyist knows. This is not earth shattering news, but the study learned that lobbyists who were former congressional staffers receive on average a 24% cut in pay when the member of Congress for whom they served leave Congress.

The researchers were actually impressed that US law makes it possible to find out such information. It would not be possible in the UK.

I might add that in the UK, unlike in the US, lobbyists concentrate on the political parties more than individual members. Party discipline tends to make the lobbying of individual members relatively unproductive.

Even so, I believe this report lends support to my concept of improving responsiveness of the House of Representatives by tripling the number of members. To do so without increasing total number of staffers might reduce the market value of individual staffers' contacts.