States with stricter campaign finance regulations spend moreon programs that aid disadvantaged citizens

Recent years have seen increasing concern over the role of campaign finance in elections. But do stricter campaign finance regulations actually drive ‘fairer’ public policies? In new research that combines nearly three decades of state spending data on public welfare programs with an index of state campaign financing laws, Patrick Flavin finds that those states that more strictly regulate campaign finance devote greater parts of their budgets to public welfare, often in the form of cash assistance programs. He argues that by promoting a wider section of contributors, and not just the wealthy, campaign finance regulations “democratize” elections by encouraging candidates that are less beholden to moneyed interests, and have more flexibility to prioritize laws and policies that benefit disadvantaged citizens.