Money Matters Consequences of Campaign Finance Reform in House Elections

by Goidel, Robert K.; Gross, Donald A.; Shields, Todd G.

• ISBN13: 9780847688685
• ISBN10: 0847688682
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-04-15
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Methods of campaign financing have been controversial since George Washington first ran for office, and debates over campaign finance reform have raged just as long. Contemporary critics of reform often contend that it would decrease electoral competition, voter turnout, and the amount of information voters receive about candidates. Money Matters subjects these criticisms to careful, systemic analysis-using simulations, aggregate vote analyses, and individual-level data analyses based on House elections-and concludes that reform, with modest public subsidies and spending limits, would enhance rather than diminish the U.S. system of democratic governance. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	vii
Introducing Compaign Finance Reform	1	(14)
A Brief History of Campaign Finance and Finance Reform	15	(22)
Excessive Spending, Candidate Viability, and Free Speech	37	(20)
Electroral Competition and Campaign Finance Reform	57	(28)
The Question of Voter Turnout, Part I	85	(22)
The Question of Voter Turnout, Part II	107	(16)
Democracy and Citizen Involvement	123	(20)
Loopholes in the Federal Election Campaign Actxs	143	(14)
Improving the Electoral Process through Campaign Finance Reform	157	(18)
Appendix A: Statistical Basis for Chapter Four	175	(6)
Appendix B: Statistical Basis for Chapter Five	181	(4)
Appendix C: Statistical Basis for Chapter Six	185	(4)
Appendix D: Statistical Basis for Chapter Seven	189	(10)
References	199	(12)
Index	211	(6)
About the Authors	217