democracy

Using a new dataset, this paper maps US political donations as a social network, highlighting an increase in donation polarization and concentration. While traditional donation patterns persist, there’s a clear shift towards a smaller set of influential donors and politicians gaining prominence.

We construct a citizen-candidate model with multiple districts and endogenous parties. The model is able to provide quantitatively and qualitatively realistic results.

Over 6.1M US citizens, especially black Americans, lose voting rights due to felonies. Using a new database, we reveal how this impacts political outcomes. Stricter laws lower voting likelihood, even among eligible individuals. Easing these laws promotes policy liberalism and black representation.