New study shows that firms systematically donate to politicians whom they later lobby
![jan-stuckatz jan-stuckatz](https://www.cbs.dk/files/cbs.dk/styles/cbs_content_slider/public/jan-stuckatz_bs_0.jpg?itok=U8cZCXdZ)
New research examines the link between campaign donations and lobbying using over 75 million U.S. federal records since 1999. The paper shows that firms strategically donate to legislators whom they lobby later. Prior donations increase the likelihood of a politician’s involvement in lobbied bills by 8-11 percentage points, with stronger effects over time. Moreover, donations and lobbying are highly concentrated in a few firms. Only 5% of U.S. publicly traded firms engage in both donations and lobbying, but these firms are responsible for 89% of lobbying and donation spending. This highlights the need to study both activities jointly to fully understand the effect of money in U.S. politics. The study is co-authored by Jan Stuckatz at CBS, In Song Kim at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Lukas Wolters Freiheyt, who is an independent researcher. LINK