Are Pacs Trying to Influence Politicians or Voters?
نویسنده
چکیده
Political Action Committees (PACs) can aect public policies in either of two ways: altering legislators' roll-call voting behavior, or in ̄uencing election outcomes. This paper develops a dynamic model demonstrating that the relative importance of the election-in ̄uencing channel is easily underestimated. A one-time contribution to a candidate who supports the PAC's position that alters an election outcome yields bene®ts to the PAC as long as that candidate holds oce. In contrast, roll-call vote buying is likely to operate on a quid-pro-quo basis, limiting the PAC's return on investment. Empirical tests based on the theoretical model suggest that PACs value the election-in ̄uencing aspect of contributions at least as much as the roll-call vote-buying channel.
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