The Impact of Campaign Contributions on Legislative Behavior: An examination of how contributions from industry groups affect voting behavior by members of the US House of Representatives
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- June 16, 2020
- Creator
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Ribar, David T.
- College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science
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Ribar, David T.
- Abstract
- Ever since the Continental Congress first convened, the politics of the American legislature has been an object of fascination for researchers and casual observers alike. Studying the voting behavior of legislators has led to countless insights into our political system that have given us a greater understanding of the inner workings of our national legislature. However, even though years upon of years of research have provided us with a mountain of data and findings, there are still some questions which remain unanswered, due in part to the fact that modern technology has allowed us to collect information on Congressional behavior that would be impossible to keep track of in earlier times. Making use of these new advancements in vote tracking and recordkeeping, this paper sets out to determine the effects that campaign donations have on legislative behavior, and specifically whether donations from certain industries cause legislators to vote in ways that favor those industries. A common accusation leveled at congressmen and congresswomen is that they are in the metaphorical pocket of big businesses. There are two main factors that have always contributed heavily to this complaint. The first is that regardless of which party is in power, Congress consistently passes at least some legislation that can be construed as benefitting corporate interests. This would not be fuel for concern by itself, but it raises questions when combined with the fact that many representatives receive sizeable campaign contributions from corporations and industry groups. These two trends lead many people to make the case that Representatives are essentially being bought off by various companies. This oft-repeated claim is one which deserves to be examined. The goal of this paper will be to determine whether increases in campaign contributions from an industry group or corporation to a Representative result in that Representative voting in ways that increasingly benefit that industry. By doing so, it is this author’s hope that the common assertion of Congress being beholden to special interests might finally be subjected to testing.
- Date of publication
- spring 2014
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Funding: None
- Advisor
- Roberts, Jason
- Degree
- Bachelor of Arts
- Honors level
- Honors
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2014
- Language
- English
- Extent
- 33
- Date uploaded
- April 29, 2014
Relations
- Parents:
This work has no parents.
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