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Corporate Lobbying and Financial Performance

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  • Chen, Hui
  • Parsley, David
  • Yang, Ya-wen

Abstract

Corporate lobbying activities are designed to influence legislators and thus to further company goals by encouraging favorable policies and/or outcomes. Using data made available by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, this study examines corporate lobbying activities from a financial perspective. We find that on average, lobbying is positively related to accounting and market measures of financial performance. These results are robust across a number of empirical specifications and continue to hold when we account for potential sample selection. We also report market performance evidence using a portfolio approach. We find that portfolios of firms with the highest lobbying intensities significantly outperform their benchmarks in the three years following portfolio formation.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Hui & Parsley, David & Yang, Ya-wen, 2010. "Corporate Lobbying and Financial Performance," MPRA Paper 21114, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:21114
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ludema, Rodney D & Mayda, Anna Maria & Mishra, Prachi, 2010. "Protection for Free? The Political Economy of U.S. Tariff Suspensions," CEPR Discussion Papers 7926, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. William R. Kerr & William F. Lincoln & Prachi Mishra, 2014. "The Dynamics of Firm Lobbying," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 343-379, November.
    3. Kammerer, Hannes, 2013. "Lobbying for Subsidies with Heterogeneous Firms," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79767, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Olimpia Cutinelli Rendina, 2023. "Lobbying or Innovation: Who Does What Against Foreign Competition," Working Papers halshs-03970033, HAL.
    5. Correia, Maria M., 2014. "Political connections and SEC enforcement," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 241-262.
    6. López, Ramón & Islam, Asif, 2011. "Fiscal spending for economic growth in the presence of imperfect markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 8709, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Nownes Anthony J. & Aitalieva Nurgul R., 2013. "The political activities of American corporate leaders," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 15(4), pages 493-527, December.
    8. Olimpia Cutinelli Rendina, 2023. "Lobbying or Innovation: Who Does What Against Foreign Competition," PSE Working Papers halshs-03970033, HAL.
    9. Ghouma, Hatem H. & Hewitt, Carissa S., 2019. "Lobbying expenditures and sin stock market performance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 176-190.
    10. Magee, Stephen & Lee, Hak Loh & Lee, Hongshik, 2017. "Simple measures of endogenous free-riding in protectionist lobbies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 324-333.
    11. Brodmann, Jennifer & Unsal, Omer & Hassan, M. Kabir, 2019. "Political lobbying, insider trading, and CEO compensation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 548-565.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate Lobbying; accounting performance; market returns; portfolio;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)

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