NOVAFRICA Seminar: “Money and Politics: The Effects of Campaign Spending Limits on Political Entry and Competition”

On Wednesday, June 27th, at 2.30pm, the NOVAFRICA Center welcomes Frederico Finan, from University of California – Berkeley, to present his work.

Author:
Frederico Finan (University of California – Berkeley)

Abstract:
This paper examines the effects of campaign spending limits on political entry and competition. We study a reform in Brazil that imposed limits on campaign spending for mayoral elections. These limits were implemented with a discontinuous kink which we exploit for causal identification. We find that stricter limits increase political competition by creating a larger pool of candidates that is on average less wealthy. Stricter spending limits also reduce the likelihood that mayors are reelected. We interpret our reduced-form findings using a contest model with endogenous entry of candidates.

Find more information about this seminar here.