Political party affiliation of the president and its impact on corporate political activity

Abstract

Evidence shows that corporate political activities, such as lobbying, can influence and change the political environment and its policymaking. However, does the existing political environment conversely also impact the level of corporate political activities? In this paper, I examine the impact of the U.S. presidents’ political party affiliation on the intensity of corporate lobbying expenditures using 1001 S&P500 firms over a 22-year period. I find that a Republican U.S. presidency has a positive effect on corporate lobbying expenditures. This effect is further enhanced by corporate ideological alignment and a Republican majority in Congress.

Date of Award	25 Jan 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Omar El Nayal (Supervisor)