The strength of weak ties in lobbying networks - Evidence from health-care politics in the United States

How does policy information flow through Washington 'issue networks'? And how does information how determine which lobbyists get access in policy-making? Drawing upon the 'strength of weak ties' argument, the authors argue that policy information passes more through acquaintances ('weak ties') than through close, trusted,contacts ('strong ties'). They support this argument in an analysis of data on lobbying networks in healthcare policy-making in the 1970s and 1980s. The statistical analyses show that access to policy-makers in Washington is network-autocorrelated: a lobbyist's access depends upon the access of other lobbyists sme knows. The results demonstrate the importance of weak ties as a restricted form of 'social capital' in policy-making.