What term describes a professional who works to influence public policy in his or her clients' favor?

• A. Lobbyist
• B. Interest Groups
• C. Lobbying
• D. Selective Incentives

Answer: (A)

A lobbyist is a professional who works to influence public policy in his clients' favor. They are hired by individuals, corporations, or interest groups to advocate for specific outcomes, meet with lawmakers, provide policy analyses, draft testimony, and coordinate advocacy campaigns. The key idea is that this term refers to the person doing the lobbying on behalf of clients, not the organization or the act itself. Interest groups are organizations that may employ lobbyists, but they are the entities, not the practitioners. Lobbying is the activity of trying to influence policy, and selective incentives are benefits used to recruit or motivate participation within a group.