PACking a Punch: Political Action Committees and Corruption

Posted: 26 Sep 2014 Last revised: 19 Apr 2016

See all articles by Rajeev K. Goel

Rajeev K. Goel

Illinois State University - Department of Economics

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Political Action Committees (PACs) are unique and prominent players in American politics. Yet, formal research on some aspects of PACs is lacking. Using US data over the period 1970 to 2009, this research demonstrates that the growth in PACs is positively associated with greater corruption. A 10% increase in the number of PACs per capita would increase corruption by about 8%. Upon disaggregation, corporate PACs, rather than labour PACs, are positively associated with corruption. The effects of economic prosperity, government size and population on US corruption are generally in line with the literature.

Keywords: corruption, Political Action Committees, government, United States

JEL Classification: K42, H7, O51

Suggested Citation

Goel, Rajeev K., PACking a Punch: Political Action Committees and Corruption (2014). Applied Economics, Vol. 46, No. 11, pp. 1161-1169, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2500925

Rajeev K. Goel (Contact Author)

Illinois State University - Department of Economics ( email )

Normal, IL 61790-4200
United States

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