Money in Politics

In new research, Francisco E. Beneke Avila proposes a multifactor test to distinguish between the legitimate exercise of the right to lobbying and efforts to capture areas of public policy. He argues that the latter is an abuse of the firm’s political rights that can justify the intervention of EU competition authorities when corporate political activity leads to a lessening of competition. 

The rise of the far right has been a defining feature of political systems in developed democracies over the past two decades. In recent research, Alison Johnston and Juliet Johnson demonstrate that domestic bond investors have become an important constraint on populist governments and their access to capital. 

In new research, Reilly S. Steel finds that corporate leaders’ individual political preferences are shifting left, but their aggregate spending remains skewed to the right. 

In new research, Luca Macedoni and Ariel Weinberger argue that large firms are more likely to lobby in favor of strict industry regulations when they can reduce competition by imposing high fixed costs on smaller, less-profitable firms.

Julia Cagé, Caroline Le Pennec, and Elisa Mougin discuss their recent research on France’s 1995 ban on corporate contributions to political campaigns. The ban pushed candidates to de-emphasize local politics in favor of national issues and, in many cases, adopt more extreme rhetoric.

In new research, Alexander Furnas, Timothy LaPira, and Clare Brock find that most politically active organizations engage in either campaign contributions or lobbying, but rarely both.The findings have implications for regulation and future academic research.

The proposed merger of local broadcast television station owners Nexstar and Tegna will create a behemoth that threatens to raise consumer prices for multi-video programming subscriptions, increase advertising rates for local businesses, and reduce viewers’ exposure to diverse viewpoints. The government can and should block the merger but politics threatens to usurp law and economics, writes Diana L. Moss.

Hamza Azhar Salam discusses the recent history of real estate moguls in Pakistan buying up media outlets to influence government investigations against them and their properties and win access to powerful government offices. The moguls’ capture of the media has led to capture of the state.

In new research, Ramona Dagostino and Anya Nakhmurina discuss how political misalignment between state governors and city leadership can affect how cities access financing, particularly in municipal bond pricing and crisis prevention investment.

The following is an excerpt from Natasha Piano's new book, Democratic Elitism: The Founding Myth of American Political Science, now out at Harvard University...