We assess the influence of moneyed interests on legislative decisions. Our theory predicts that the vote outcome distribution and donation flows in a legislature feature a discontinuity at the approval threshold of bills if special interest groups are involved in vote buying. Testing the...

This paper establishes the presence of a substantial gender gap in the relationship between state legislature service and the subsequent pursuit of a Congressional career. The empirical approach uses a sample of mixed-gender elections to compare the differential political career progression of...

This paper offers a clarification of positive theories of roll call voting in the form of a Mayhewian apologia, drawing on Mayhew's classic formulation of the electoral connection with a particular focus on its significance for our understanding of position taking, generally, and roll call...

This paper structurally estimates a dynamic model of fund-raising, campaign spending, and accumulation of war chest with unobserved candidate quality. We present an identification strategy similar to the one developed in the context of production function estimation that allows us to recover the...

Individual-level studies of electoral turnout and vote choice have largely focused on personal attributes as explanatory variables, ignoring the social processes that influence these behaviors. We explore one such social mechanism: individuals' social proximity to elites. Our analysis rests on...

Retrospective voting is a central explanation for voters' support of incumbents. Yet despite the variety of conditions facing American cities, past research has devoted little attention to retrospective voting for mayors. Local economic conditions are widely reported, making them one likely...

We estimate the effect of electorally induced policy uncertainty on investment in the manufacturing sector. Because state governors exercise considerable influence over legislation and considerable discretion over regulation and permitting, and because the policies relevant to business...

What are the global financial spillovers from major political shocks in the United States? We analyze the response of international financial markets to the 2016 US presidential election. The surprise election outcome represents an exogenous shock that affords us a unique opportunity to estimate...

The influence of corporations and interest groups on US elections is a much-debated issue. The issue became more pronounced after the 2010 Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission US Supreme Court decision. In this study, we analyze changing patterns of US election contributions and...