The relationship between politicians’ funding, characteristics, and behaviour

Money is essential for financing the electoral campaigns of politicians running for public office, so it plays a major role in many democracies.

But this role can also shape how democratic institutions work - and, in some cases, risk undermining them. Election outcomes, the composition of elected bodies, and the actions of those elected all influence how different groups in society are represented.

Candidate selection and campaign activity can also affect levels of polarisation and have immediate effects on democratic debate. These concerns feel especially relevant today, given the recent rise in populism across even long‑established democracies. In this context, it’s crucial to deepen our understanding of how money shapes political processes with such significant consequences.

This PhD project will build on a newly assembled dataset that brings together detailed micro‑data on the characteristics, funding and behaviour of members of the United States Congress. The doctoral researcher will use the existing data, collect new data, and apply a range of micro‑econometric techniques to explore the role of money in politics by addressing questions such as:

• What characteristics do candidates for office have?
• What candidates’ characteristics are associated with successful fundraising?
• Who donates to candidates (e.g., small donors, corporations, special interest groups)?
• Which candidates, with what characteristics, and what composition of funding and spending are successful electorally (i.e., become members of Congress)?
• Does the nature of the race (e.g., the chamber; being an incumbent, challenging an incumbent, or running for an open seat) play any role?
• What variation in characteristics and funding composition exists among members of the United States Congress?
• Is this variation associated with measures of effort (e.g., bill co‑sponsorship), behaviour (e.g., constituency services, outside activity, lobbying after leaving Congress), or policy leanings (e.g., roll‑call votes, ideology scores)?

Answers to these questions will help build a clearer picture of the role money plays in the political process. They’ll also help identify which concerns about money in politics deserve particular attention and support public and policy debates on potential reforms.

Requirements:

Candidates must have strong quantitative skills, including demonstrable experience in econometrics. They should also be able - or ready to quickly learn - to collect data from secondary sources, carry out web scraping (using Python or similar tools), work with and manage large datasets, and use advanced micro‑econometric methods in Python, R or STATA.