The Influence of Campaign Contributions in State Legislatures : The Effects of Institutions and Politics / Lynda W. Powell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Powell, Lynda W., author.

Series:

Legislative politics & policy making

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Campaign funds--United States.

Campaign funds.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (271 pages).

Other Title:

Effects of institutions and politics

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2012]

Summary:

Campaign contributions are widely viewed as a corrupting influence but most scholarly research concludes that they have marginal impact on legislative behavior. Lynda W. Powell shows that contributions have considerable influence in some state legislatures but very little in others. Using a national survey of legislators, she develops an innovative measure of influence and delineates the factors that explain this great variation across the 99 U.S. state legislative chambers.Powell identifies the personal, institutional, and political factors that determine how much time a legislator devotes to personal fundraising and fundraising for the caucus. She shows that the extent of donors' legislative influence varies in ways corresponding to the same variations in the factors that determine fundraising time. She also confirms a link between fundraising and lobbying with evidence supporting the theory that contributors gain access to legislators based on donations, Powell's findings have important implications for the debate over the role of money in the legislative process.

Notes:

Description based on: online resource; title from PDF information screen (University of Michigan Press, viewed December 3, 2022).

ISBN:

0-472-07172-6