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Campaign Finance in U.S. House Elections

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  • Kei Kawai

    (New York University)

Abstract

This paper models the dynamics of fundraising, campagin spending, and accumulation of war chest in the context of U.S. House elections. We structurally estimate the model using campaign finance data and vote share data from 1984 to 2004. A salient feature of U.S. Congressional Elections is that any campaign money that was not used in previous elections can be carried over to the next election with possible deterrence effects. In our counterfactual experiment, we analyze the effect of publicly financing challenger campaigns which is designed to create a more level playing field. We find, however, that the intended effect of such campaign finance reforms are often off-set by increased spending of incumbents.

Suggested Citation

  • Kei Kawai, 2013. "Campaign Finance in U.S. House Elections," 2013 Meeting Papers 1158, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed013:1158
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    7. Coate, Stephen & Conlin, Michael & Moro, Andrea, 2008. "The performance of pivotal-voter models in small-scale elections: Evidence from Texas liquor referenda," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3-4), pages 582-596, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Laurent Bouton & Micael Castanheira & Allan Drazen, 2024. "A Theory of Small Campaign Contributions," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(662), pages 2351-2390.

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