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Published Online: 11 September 2019

Typologies of Party Finance Systems: A Comparative Study of How Countries Regulate Party Finance and Their Institutional Foundations

Publication: Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy
Volume 18, Issue Number 3

Abstract

This study catalogues party finance laws in multiple countries and identifies institutional factors that correspond to laws countries choose to adopt. Using data from international sources, we assessed differences in the regulation of money in elections in over 120 states. We classified countries into four types of party finance regimes along two axes: one that reflects regulations affecting party income and a second that reflects rules intended to make party finance more transparent. We found that two institutional factors are associated with the extent of government regulation in financing politics: the type of legal system and the use of proportional representation. Our study provides a new conceptual framework to categorize party finance regimes based on various types of regulations and the linkages between institutional factors and the extent of regulation. This conceptual typology offers a method to assess relationships between finance systems and political outcomes.

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Published In

cover image Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy
Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy
Volume 18Issue Number 3September 2019
Pages: 243 - 261

History

Published online: 11 September 2019
Published in print: September 2019
Published ahead of print: 30 April 2019
Accepted: 22 March 2019
Revision received: 19 March 2019
Received: 17 April 2018

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David L. Wiltse [email protected]
David L. Wiltse is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.
Raymond J. La Raja
Raymond J. La Raja is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Dorie E. Apollonio
Dorie E. Apollonio is a professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of California at San Francisco in San Francisco, California.

Notes

Address correspondence to: David L.Wiltse, South Dakota State University, West Hall 220, Brookings, SD 57007 [email protected]

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