Campaign Finance
Increased Campaign Spending Grows the Economic Pie Instead of Splitting It Up
The United States has relaxed campaign finance laws over the past few decades. As a result, there exist concerns about politicians favoring special business interests over the welfare of other constituents, such as workers. In a new paper, Pat Akey, Tania Babina, Greg Buchak, and Ana-Maria Tenekedjieva examine how the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission affected earnings for firms and workers, as well as political turnover and polarization at the state level.
Uninhibited Campaign Donations Risks Creating Oligarchy
In new research, Valentino Larcinese and Alberto Parmigiani find that the 1986 Reagan tax cuts led to greater campaign spending from wealthy individuals, who benefited the most from this policy. The authors argue that a very permissive system of political finance, combined with the erosion of tax progressivity, created the conditions for the mutual reinforcement of economic and political disparities. The result was an inequality spiral hardly compatible with democratic ideals.
Dark Money Dominates Spending by Special Interest Groups and Sways Elections
New research on undisclosed and unlimited political contributions, or dark money, exposes the increasing role that such funds play in U.S. elections.
Undisclosed and unlimited...
Characteristics and Behavior of the Rising Class of Small Campaign Donors
New research on US political donations under $200 reveals characteristics of these donors as well as their motivations. A Q&A with the authors of...
The Political Footprint of Big Tech in Five Easy Charts
Big tech firms have been active in Washington since the early days of the Microsoft antitrust case, but in recent years they have increased...
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (October 27-November 4)
Facebook is still open to manipulation by malicious political actors; the dialysis industry has spent over $100 million to fight a ballot measure that...
Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (July 27–August 4)
Apple hits the coveted $1 trillion mark—thanks to share buybacks; Senator Mark Warner’s proposals to regulate social media platforms make waves; Google is reportedly...
Academic Literature Shows: The Problems with Regulating Campaign Finance Are Deeper Than Mere Lack of Political Will
The experience of regulating campaign finance in the last four decades tells us that the "donor class" has found ways to turn wild once and...
