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Campaign Finance and Political Efficacy: Evidence From the States
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Campaign Finance and Political Efficacy:
Evidence From the States
†
Jeffrey Milyo
University of Chicago
and
David Primo
University of Rochester
Abstract
The decline of political efficacy and political trust, often linked to the rise of money in politics, is one of the primary arguments justifying restrictions on donations and spending in the U.S. electoral process. To date, no study has utilized the extensive variation in state campaign finance regulations to test the relative importance of campaign finance laws in affecting how citizens view their government. We find no substantively large positive effects of campaign finance laws, and in some cases we even find that laws decrease efficacy. These results suggest that claims by reformers that campaign finance laws will restore faith in government deserve more careful scrutiny.
†
Prepared for presentation at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 28-
August 31, 2003. Dick Winters provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of the paper. We thank Matt Stiffler for excellent research assistance and Dick Niemi for discussions regarding the project. Primo is the corresponding author (e-mail: david.## email not listed ##).
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| | Authors: Milyo, Jeffrey. and Primo, David. |
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|
Campaign Finance and Political Efficacy:
Evidence From the States
†
Jeffrey Milyo
University of Chicago
and
David Primo
University of Rochester
Abstract
The decline of political efficacy and political trust, often linked to the rise of money in politics, is
one of the primary arguments justifying restrictions on donations and spending in the U.S.
electoral process. To date, no study has utilized the extensive variation in state campaign finance
regulations to test the relative importance of campaign finance laws in affecting how citizens
view their government. We find no substantively large positive effects of campaign finance
laws, and in some cases we even find that laws decrease efficacy. These results suggest that
claims by reformers that campaign finance laws will restore faith in government deserve more
careful scrutiny.
†
Prepared for presentation at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 28-
August 31, 2003. Dick Winters provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of the paper. We thank Matt Stiffler
for excellent research assistance and Dick Niemi for discussions regarding the project. Primo is the corresponding
author (e-mail: david.## email not listed ##).
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