The influence of campaign contributions in state legislatures
Subtitle: the effects of institutions and politics
By: Lynda W. Powell
Series: Legislative politics & policy making
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 254
ISBN-13: 9780472071722; 9780472051724; 9780472028276
Subjects: Campaign funds; States; Legislators; Legislation
Description: 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. -- from back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Measuring the influence of campaign contributions in the legislative process; title: Patterns of state legislative campaign finance; title: An investment model of campaign contributions; title: The time legislators devote to fundraising; title: How much is a legislator's time worth to a contributor?; title: The influence of campaign contributions in legislative chambers; title: Fundraising for the caucus: expectations and practices; title: Fundraising and lobbying.