Corporate politicking, together: trade association ties, lobbying, and campaign giving

Abstract

Scholars and politicians in recent years have become concerned with rising levels of inequality among Americans, heightened in the aftermath of the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. F.E.C. The suspicion over an ever larger influence of corporate and elite interest over public policy has brought about significant public backlash, even becoming a key platform of reformist candidates such as Sen. Bernie Sanders. In large part, these fears have yet to be realized, as many corporations have chosen to remain on the sidelines in American elections and have not fully taken advantage of their newfound rights. At the same time, we have observed a stark rise in corporate lobbying expenditures in recent decades. What explains the puzzle of how corporations choose to engage in new or expanded forms of political activity, and even what drives the spread of corporate norms? This study investigates the conditions under which corporations may come to embrace political action.

Power and Other Commercial Determinants of Health: An Empirical Study of the Australian Food, Alcohol, and Gambling Industries

“…These approaches, including restrictions on lobbying, political donations, revolving doors, gifts, and others, with proper enforcement of these, have been discussed widely in the CDoH literature. 45,52,53,54,55,56 However, Australia has relatively weak requirements for transparency in these areas, and weak enforcement of existing regulation. 57,58 The lack of transparency and the lack of consequence for those breaching or noncompliant with regulation in these areas is a prominent barrier to reducing the exertion of instrumental power in these areas.…”