A study on the impact of campaign finance, political capital and gender on electoral performance

Abstract

This article analyzes the association between political finance and electoral performance in the 2010 Brazilian elections for state and federal deputies. It also investigates the interaction effect of incumbency and gender on this association. We conclude: (i) there is a positive and statistically significant association between political finance and electoral performance, yet the intensity of this association varies according to the type of candidate; (ii) the association is stronger for challengers than for incumbents -thus extending the "Jacobson effect" to the Brazilian case; and (iii) the association is stronger for women than for men -which suggests an extension of the idea underlying the "Jacobson effect". The association between finance and electoral performance tends to be stronger for candidates facing electoral disadvantages, whether these stem from limited political capital, gender discrimination, or any other factor not studied here resulting in a similar effect. Political finance works as a tool that, to some extent, may counteract the negative effect of such factors on electoral performance.

Investment Capacity and the Electoral Marketplace: Evidence from Brazil

“…Boas et al 2014showed that firms donating for a federal deputy aligned with the incumbent government in Brazil receive on average 14 times the donation in government contracts. In Brazil, the money spending on campaigns is the main predictor of electoral success (Samuels, 2001b;Speck and Mancuso, 2014). Our work adds up to the relationship between firms and politicians, showing that the electoral consequences of incumbency depend on the governing conditions faced by politicians.…”

“…Campaign resources grant candidates strategic advantages, and in places with less ideological attachment, they are crucial to convincing voters. Politicians with extra funds can then have a considerable advantage over others (Samuels, 2001b;Speck and Mancuso, 2014). However, most of the papers on money and politics focus either on the electoral process (Jacobson, 1978;Gelman and King, 1990;Hainmueller and Kern, 2008;Fink, 2012) or on the governing stage (Besley and Persson, 2009;d'Agostino et al, 2016;Rubin, 2019).…”

Assessing the Strength of Pentecostal Churches’ Electoral Support: Evidence from Brazil

“…Another possibility would be to work with a binary dependent variable that would distinguish those who were elected from those who were not. Although there are good arguments for using a binary variable (see, for example, Speck and Mancuso 2014), my goal in this study can be best achieved by working with a continuous variable. The use of a binary variable would end up disregarding candidates' ability to perform well even if they are not elected.…”

Disparidades de género en la cobertura mediática de campañas electorales locales en México

“…Asimismo, las diferencias de género en temas como el financiamiento de campaña (Speck & Mancuso, 2014), el reclutamiento y capacitación de cuadros (Beer & Camp, 2016), la selección interna de candidaturas (Vidal Correa, 2013) -en especial la asignación de candidaturas en "distritos perdidos" (Palma Cabrera & Cerva Cerna, 2014)-, el apoyo simbólico partidista (Cerva Cerna, 2014), entre otros, influyen en la efectividad de las campañas y, por ende, también pueden traducirse en diferencias en atención mediática.…”