ABSTRACT
The legislatures of modern democratic states evolved from medieval "estates general" that represented the interests of three groups: the clergy, nobility, and urban merchants. Various specialized groups have sometimes claimed title as a "fifth estate." The most distinctive characteristics of the institutions that arose to sustain and strengthen public policy debate in the United States during the twentieth century are their variety and heterogeneity. Once the organized segments of society sense that elements of an emerging public policy will likely affect their interests, they form institutions that seek both to identify the precise consequences of alternative policies and to make the most persuasive case in favor of policies that will benefit members. One appropriate policy response to the public goods problem is to provide a public subsidy to support production of such goods to the point where the marginal social benefit of the service provided equals its marginal cost.
