Essa dissertação testa a hipótese de que a ação política empresarial organizada faz diferença nas decisões governamentais e, portanto, que grupos de interesse empresariais seriam relevantes para o sucesso político alcançado por setores econômicos no contexto estudado. A análise avalia deliberações decorrentes do Plano Brasil Maior que afetaram 19 setores organizados entre 2011 e 2014. Dez setores são selecionados para a amostra, contrapondo-se os mais bem sucedidos e os menos bem sucedidos, sendo o sucesso a variável dependente. Como variáveis independentes, elencou-se uma série de possíveis causas que podem ter levado ao resultado de sucesso, sendo metade delas relacionadas a aspectos estruturais dos setores (geração de empregos, faturamento, balança comercial e tipo de setor), e a outra metade relacionada à atividade de lobbying (número de associações representativas do setor, estrutura das associações, número de reuniões realizadas com o governo, ação política através da associação). A análise é realizada através da metodologia de Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), que aponta as variáveis determinantes para o sucesso dos grupos no período mencionado. Os resultados da pesquisa condizem com a hipótese levantada e com parte da literatura sobre grupos de interesse, ao constatar que as variáveis estrutura das associações e ação política através da associação são necessárias para o resultado. Isso quer dizer que variáveis ligadas ao lobbying são essenciais para o sucesso do setor, e que a atividade de ação política empresarial faz diferença. / The dissertation tests the hypothesis that the business political action makes a difference in government decisions - and therefore that the business interest groups would be relevant for the political success achieved by the economic sectors in the context. The analysis assesses deliberations arising from the Plano Brasil Maior that affected 19 organized sectors between 2011 and 2014. 10 sectors are selected for the sample, oposing \"most successful\" and \"less successful\" sectors, as \"success\" is the dependent variable. As independent variables, we list a few possible causes that may have led to the successful outcome, half of which are related to structural aspects of the sectors (job generation, income, trade balance and industry type), and the other half is related to the lobbying activity (number of associations representing the sector, the structure of associations, number of meetings with the government, political action through the association). The analysis uses the Qualitative Comparative Analysis method (QCA), which points out variables which were crucial to the groups success in the mentioned period. The results are consistent with the hypothesis and with the interest groups literature, since variables \"structure of associations\" and \"political through the association\" are necessary for the result. This means that variables related to lobbying are essential to the group success, and that business political action activity makes a difference.

The health care industry’s involvement with biosimilar policies suggests that building coalitions and reducing opposition are critical factors for interest group success. As government decision-makers wrestle with how to handle a perplexing category of prescription drugs, companies and patient groups alike receive ample opportunities to contribute to the policymaking process. When stakeholders in the biosimilar arena – including manufacturers, physicians, and patients – unite, we see that the United States government takes steps toward fixing the policy problem. This occurred most recently with policies about biosimilar drug coverage under Medicare Part D and reimbursement under Medicare Part B. In both cases, stakeholders took a united stance and consequently faced no opposition. On the contrary, internal industry disputes between brand and biosimilar manufacturers about patent exclusivity laws and interchangeability rules revealed the nuances of biosimilar policy and the challenge that regulators face when they receive mixed messages. Across all of their efforts, biosimilar stakeholders pursued numerous strategies which may have contributed to their successes. They focused on niche issues and used their lobbying expertise to actively submit comments, testify in hearings, and meet with government officials; however, the differentiating tactic between the industry’s successes and failures was whether they formed coalitions. By coming together, stakeholders lowered their chances of facing opposition. A closer analysis of the politics of biosimilars illustrates that when they present a united front to lawmakers, interest groups reduce the likelihood of opposition and successfully influence policy change.

This diploma thesis points to the barriers which impede backward African countries in economic development. It sees an imperfect institutional environment of the poor countries as a major issue. It outlines the problems on specific cases of Rwanda, Botswana and Kenya and it also suggests possible solutions for overcoming persisting poverty. The first chapter focuses on explanation of development theories and effectiveness of foreign aid. The next chapter regards economic development from the institutional point of view. Moreover, it presents the theoretical concept of property rights as the main factor of economic prosperity. The last theoretical chapter describes a role of government and its effect and effect of interest groups on the economy of particular country. The economic policy development of concrete African countries is discribed in analytical part of the thesis. In conclusion of the work the particular findings are summed up and furthemore, the certain solutions which should help to overcome big poverty in poor African countries are offered.

The pharmaceutical companies are considered as one of the most influential interest groups within drug policy, or in general within healthcare system. Therefore, this diploma thesis is focused on the influence of the pharmaceutical manufacturers on legislative framework that forms the drug policy, on the impact on the concrete implementation of drug policy and finally on the influence on prescription, sales and public opinion. Based on an analysis of the pharmaceutical market and the drug policy of the Czech Republic, the diploma thesis defines the most common interests of the pharmaceutical companies which they are trying to push through lobbying. Furthermore, the thesis identifies the access points through which these interests can push through and tries to illustrate these facts on concrete examples.

Esta pesquisa analisa a atuação dos grupos de interesses do setor privado na política de internet no Brasil, concentrando-se na definição do princípio da neutralidade de rede no âmbito do Marco Civil da Internet. A influência dos grupos de interesses e o seu papel como fornecedores de informação aos tomadores de decisão foi constatada a partir do levantamento de documentos oficiais, contribuições a consultas e audiências públicas e artigos jornalísticos. Em seguida, os dados levantados foram analisados sob três abordagens teóricas: os tipos de políticas públicas de Lowi, a ciência política com foco na política (policy-focused) de Hacker e Pierson, e o equilíbrio interrompido de True e Baumgatner. A pesquisa identificou que os grupos de interesses traçaram as suas estratégias em função das características da política, formaram coalizões baseadas em interesses compartilhados e construíram três imagens principais para o assunto da neutralidade de rede a fim de destacar o seu posicionamento e captar a atenção de formuladores de política, tomadores de decisão e da opinião pública, são elas: a liberdade de expressão, competição e a legalidade. Os três principais grupos de interesses do setor privado que disputaram a definição do Marco Civil da Internet foram o setor de conteúdo, o setor de internet e o setor de telecomunicações. Em conclusão, a pesquisa identificou a redução gradativa do escopo da política para acomodar interesses conflitantes em um mínimo final. / This research aims to analyze private sector interest groups influence on internet policy in Brazil, particularly on the definition of network neutrality in the Internet Framework Law (Marco Civil da Internet). Interest groups influence and their role as information subsidizers was examined through the study of official documents, contributions to public consultations and public hearings and media articles. Following data collection, a descriptive analysis of the results was undertaken based on three main theoretical approaches: Theodore Lowi\'s public policy typology, Hacker and Pierson\'s policy-focused social science and True and Baumgartner\'s punctuated equilibrium. The research identified that interests groups traced their strategies according to the policy in dispute, built coalitions based on shared (but mutable) interests, and developed three main images to emphasize their position and engage policymakers, decisionmakers and public opinion: network neutrality as freedom of speech, as competition and as legality. Three main private sector interest groups were identified during the dispute: the content industry, the internet industry and the telecommunications industry. In conclusion, this research observed that group dispute gradually reduced policy scope to accommodate conflicting interests in one final policy.

Despite being comparatively similar countries, the United States and Canada have taken very different historical tracks to developing their respective health care systems. While Canada incrementally developed a system of universal coverage through national public insurance, the United States repeatedly failed to achieve universal healthcare reform and infamously maintains its hybrid public-private system to this day. Scholars of comparative politics have produced numerous competing accounts of the conditions under which health care policy change occurs and explanations for the major factors that shaped policy divergence. However, there are few studies dedicated to explaining mechanisms for continued policy divergence and its impacts on public opinion. In this thesis, I comparatively examine the passage of Medicare in the United States in 1965 with the Canadian Medical Care Act of 1966 and present the results of a nationally representative U.S. public opinion survey. I find that a mechanism of path dependence, whereby interest groups and constituencies that participate in policy battles are strengthened or curtailed by their outcomes, weighed disproportionately on the power of the former in the United States. In Canada, path dependence created a stalemate in which early forms of policy entrepreneurship made healthcare expansion and reduction equally difficult to achieve. The contemporary survey reveals that U.S. public opinion largely favors healthcare reform on matters of principle rather than policy.

This thesis seeks to examine the characteristics of the Turkish Lobby in the United States and the strategies it has utilized in its approach to countering the Armenian Lobby's efforts at official Recognition of the Armenian Genocide. While the Armenian Lobby and its approach to Genocide Recognition in the United States has been well-documented, the organizational structure of the Turkish Lobby and its approach to counter Genocide Recognition has been less explored. The Turkish Lobby consists of various Turkish-American organizations with close ties to Ankara, as well as professional lobbying and public relations firms contracted by the Turkish government for millions of dollars annually. The variety of actors that compose the Turkish Lobby is a reflection of Turkey's multi-pronged approach to preventing Genocide Recognition. This seeks to examine the primary strategies the Turkish Lobby has employed to counter Genocide Recognition, as well as its strengths and weaknesses according to indicators of effective ethnic group lobbying. Two case studies are presented in order to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of the Turkish Lobby and the strategies it employed to prevent two House Resolutions calling for Genocide Recognition. The findings show that the Turkish Lobby fulfills several...

Reference (bibliographic reference of this thesis) BOBULA, P. (2019) Influence of the interest groups on healthcare reimbursement decree in Czech Republic. Prague, 2019. Master's thesis (Mgr.). Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. Department of Political Science. Supervisor Mgr. Michal Paulus Abstract Reimbursement decree is an important part of the healthcare policy in Czech Republic. It determines how the resources will be allocated in the healthcare system the next year. According to the Czech legislature, Ministry of Health invites the representatives of insurance companies and healthcare providers to discuss and create a balanced form of reimbursement. When they are not able to agree, it's up to Ministry of Health to determine the reimbursement in corresponding segment. We assume that this kind of organization enables the involved representatives to push their interests in order to get more favorable financing for their profession. Different groups have different positions in the bargaining process so we can expect the existence of winners and losers according to the financial arrangements they were able to enforce. Using the content analysis of final protocols from reimbursement decree conciliations, spending of insurance companies in healthcare segments and...

Ing. Petr Kotlas Reflexe skupinových zájmů v procesu politického rozhodování: institucionální přístup Disertační práce Praha 2012 Annotation PhD thesis "Reflection of group interests in political decision-making processes: an institutional approach" deals with the role of group interests reflected into the specific decision-making actions, on various stages of the political discourse. The thesis offers a methodological contribution, consisting in an interconnecting of the analysis of interest groups with a new institutional paradigm, utilizing its fundamental concepts, particularly transaction costs, formal and informal institutions, and various types of 5 institutional setting, its equilibrium and change. Among the problems of pluralist democracy there are underlined the processes of cleavage and cohesion, shaping group diversity under the condition of multi-actor democracy. The characteristic of political decision-making involves beyond general framework also problems of group decisionmaking. Two alternative approaches to the policy-making analysis are explored: first, an arena approach, focused on the relations among actors, arenas, and agendas; second, an approach focused on the different networks of policy-making. There is the phenomenon of lobbying analyzed in detail, including the controversial...

Extending Brennan and Buchanan’s model of leviathan, in which rulers represent the residual claimants of constitutionally unconstrained tax revenue, this paper presents a model in which the government provides the level of public goods that maximizes its revenue surplus as a function of the cost of emigration. To the extent that emigration is impeded, government converges toward pure monopoly provision, generating monopoly rents that facilitate the rent-seeking society. In contrast with Niskanen’s model, in which governments tend to overproduce public goods, this model suggests that governments tend toward underproduction. This result undermines the notion that government must provide public goods to overcome the underproduction of private provision; in reality, government provision may be less efficient than private provision.