Brief your answer in 250 words for each question Q1. Define Interest group with

Question

Brief your answer in 250 words for each question Q1. Define Interest group with the example? List the possible positive and negative consequenses of having a wide range of interest groups involved in the shaping of health policy. Answer-For proposed answer refer Activity 6.9 on page number 124 of the text book Q2. What is an implementation gap? Identify the main elements of the “New Public management” from what you have read about principal agent theory and related ideas. Answer- For answer refer Activity 7.7 on page number 140 of the text book

Explanation / Answer

Defining interest groups
Interest groups or special interest groups are any
association of individual or organisations that on the
basis of one or more shared concerns, attempt to
influence public policy in its favour usually by lobbying1
members of the government.
Interest groups may be classified according to their
motivation: (i) economic, including individual
corporations and business organisations; (ii)
professional, including professional groups such as
trade unions and farmers; (iii) public interest, including
human rights groups, environmental groups, among
others (Chari; Hogan; Murphy, 2010). For the purposes
of this query, we will focus on the influence of economic
interest groups.

Pros: positive consequences
There is little evidence of the concrete benefits that
could be brought by interest groups influence on
decision making. In general, interest groups may
improve policy-making by providing valuable knowledge
and insight data on specific issues. They also represent
interests which may be negatively and involuntarily
impacted by a poorly deliberated public policy (OECD,
2009). Moreover, as such groups keep track of
legislative and regulatory processes, they also have an
important role in holding government accountable
(OECD, 2009).
In addition, Campos and Giovannoni (2008) have
shown that in transition countries, interest group
influence through lobbying is found to be an alternative
instrument of political influence vis-à-vis corruption. In
this context, their findings are that lobbying, if
adequately regulated, is a much more effective
instrument than corruption for exerting political
influence and that lobbying is also a much stronger
explanatory factor than corruption for firm performance.
Previous studies have also shown that the extent of
lobbying increases with income, and that firms
belonging to a lobby group are significantly less likely to
pay bribes. On the other hand, in politically less stable
countries, firms are more likely to bribe and less likely
to join a lobby group (Campos, Giovannoni, 2006).

Negative consequence: undue influence and state
capture
Interest group influence, if opaque and
disproportionate, may lead to administrative bribery,
political corruption, undue influence and state capture.
Differently from bribery and political corruption, which
are more obvious forms of corruption, undue influence
is more subtle and not necessarily illegal (OECD,
2009), meaning that interest groups might exercise
influence on policy-making without resorting to illegal
payments (Kaufmann et al., 2000). In this context,
interest groups will attempt to create a ‘sense of
reciprocity’ with a public official, for example by legally
making campaign donations, hosting receptions,
providing research, among other favours (OECD,
2009).
Undue influence may also be achieved by promising
public officials well-paid future jobs in the private sector
in exchange for support in shaping regulations, or by
placing former ministers, parliamentarians in lobbying
firms (OECD, 2009).
Disproportionate and unregulated influence by interest
groups may also lead to state capture, which occurs
when firms shape and affect the formulation of laws and
regulations through illicit private payments to public
officials and politicians; for instance by illicit
contributions paid by private interests to political parties
and election campaigns; the sale of parliamentary votes
on laws to private interests, among others (Kaufmann
et al., 2000).
Examples from transition economies show that the
ownership and origin of a firm may play a role on how
they attempt to exercise influence. For instance, state
owned or privatised enterprises are expected to retain
considerable access to and ties with public officials,
enhancing their influence on the state without resorting
to illegal payments. New firms, on the contrary, are
less likely to be influential but more likely, on the other
hand, to resort to state capture or administrative
corruption to compensate their lack of influence
(Kaufmann et al., 2000).

An implementation gap is where a set of institutions (often created via decentralization), policies or budgets (or all three) exist on paper, but are absent on the ground.

The twentieth century world faces economic, social and political challenges due to the different fields of life restructuring. The State faces new challenges of more efficient management and ability to adapt to new global developments.

In the result of the analysis of scientific literature on new public management (NPM) six elements that underpin this management approach have been identified, namely decentralisation, privatisation, orientation of the results of the market mechanism towards the public sector, private sector management practices, and introduction of participation. It is to be noted that these elements are closely related. The analysis of the elements of NPM revealed that they can make positive changes in the public sector, by making it more efficient and encourage competition, but they are just as likely to lead to new problems and do more harm than good.
From the original concept of a political idea to the final concept, all concepts of voucher of higher education enshrined in the legislation have been characterised by at least three elements of the NPM, and the final concept is fully consistent with the new public management, which meets all of the six characteristic elements of the NPM.

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