The Rise of Corporate Lobbying in the European Union: An Agenda for Future Research

Abstract

While the interest group literature suggests there is a consistent trend towards more corporate lobbying in various political systems, it remains unclear whether this also applies to EU lobbying. This study addresses this debate in three ways. Firstly, it takes stock of the extant literature and discusses some of the methodological hurdles that have rendered it difficult to provide conclusive evidence for the rise of corporate lobbying in the EU. Secondly, it offers some suggestions on how to address these problems and delivers some stylized facts by relying on two original datasets providing 7information on lobbying activities in the EU. In line with what has been observed in other political systems, our analysis shows that the EU lobbying community has experienced a quite dramatic increase of firm lobbying over the past ten years. Finally, it reflects on how to begin developing a systematic understanding of the factors explaining this phenomenon.