Provides analysis of how campaign finance and spending shaped the historic presidential and congressional races of 2008; latest in a series of volumes on the costs and trends of campaign finance published since 1960. - Provided by publisher

Why do individuals contribute to political campaigns? In this paper we investigate factors that affected whether individuals donated to presidential candidates in the 2008 elections. In particular, we investigate the extent that Obama donors differ from other donors. The Obama campaign...

Using ballot initiatives, voters in several states have recently voted to concentrate more power in their state governments at the expense of local autonomy and experimentation. Whether the issue is gay rights, rent control, regulation of hazardous waste facilities, zoning, or tax policy,...