Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16774
Authors: Julia Cag; Caroline Le Pennec; Elisa Mougin
Abstract: Do campaign finance regulations influence politicians? We study the effects of a French ban on corporate donations passed in 1995. We use a difference-in-differences approach and a novel dataset combining the campaign manifestos issued by every candidate running for a seat in the French parliament with detailed data on their campaign contributions. We show that banning corporate donations discourages candidates from advertising their local presence during the campaign, as well as economic issues. The ban also leads candidates from non-mainstream parties to use more polarized language. These findings suggest that private donors shape politicians’ topics of interest, and that campaign finance reforms may affect the information made available to voters through their impact on candidates’ rhetoric.
Keywords: elections; campaign finance; corporate donations; campaign manifestos; political rhetoric; text analysis
JEL Codes: D72; P48; H7
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| The 1995 French ban on corporate donations (L31) | candidates' campaign communications (D79) |
| The 1995 French ban on corporate donations (L31) | local references in candidates' manifestos (D79) |
| The 1995 French ban on corporate donations (L31) | national references in candidates' manifestos (D79) |
| The 1995 French ban on corporate donations (L31) | focus on local economic issues (R11) |
| The 1995 French ban on corporate donations (L31) | candidates' use of extreme language (D79) |