Who Speaks for the Poor

R. Allen Hays is professor of political science and Director of the Graduate Program in Public Policy at the University of Northern Iowa. He is the author of two previous books on public policy and housing interests.

"Hay's project provides much-needed insights into the configuration of organizations that testified on key pieces of legislation during a critical era in the history of American social welfare policy." -- Douglas R. Imig, University of Memphis, for the American Political Science Review"This book should be mandatory reading for all advocates attempting to affect public policy on behalf of the poor.Ralph Da Costa Nunez, Institute for Children and PovertyPolitical Science Quarterly."

• 1. Introduction; 2. Interest Groups in American Politics; 3. Poverty and Political Action; 4. Interest Groups in Social Policy; 5. Interest Groups and the Policy Process; 6. Mobilizing the Poor