Private Bills: A Theoretical and Empirical Study of Lobbying

Interest groups lobby over a variety of issues includingprivate bills. There are two striking facts about privatebills introduced in the U.S. Congress. First, several scandalshave involved Congressmen who were being bribed to introduce aprivate bill. Second, the number of private bills introducedhas drastically changed over time. A theoretical model and aneconometric model are developed to explain these phenomena.