American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Firm Donations and Political Rhetoric: Evidence from a National Ban
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 217–56)
Abstract
We study France's 1995 ban on firm donations to politicians. We use a difference-in-differences approach and a novel dataset combining the campaign manifestos issued by candidates running in French parliamentary elections with data on their campaign contributions. We show that banning firm donations discourages candidates from advertising their local presence during the campaign, as well as economic issues. The ban also leads candidates from nonmainstream parties to use more extreme language. This suggests 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.Citation
Cagé, Julia, Caroline Le Pennec, and Elisa Mougin. 2024. "Firm Donations and Political Rhetoric: Evidence from a National Ban." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 16 (3): 217–56. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20220218Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D22 Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- K16 Election Law