Campaign Finance: A Review and an Assessment of the State of the Literature

Abstract

The role of money in politics has long been a contentious issue. This chapter provides an overview of both theoretical and empirical studies and the scholarly literature that has emerged on this topic over the last 40 years. First, this chapter describes the history of US campaign finance laws. Then, this overview documents what we have learned from the several literatures that have emerged on campaign expenditures, campaign contributions, and campaign finance regulations. This chapter also suggests shortcomings in the current literature and points to potential avenues for future research.

Keywords: campaign expenditures, campaign contributions, campaign finance laws, Political Action Committees

JEL Classification: D72