[EL] impact of disclosure on candidate contributions

[Lorraine Minnite]

Ray:

This is a very interesting study.  I think it would be fascinating to test
different versions of the key question of your experiment,: "Please note:
names of donors are made public on the Internet."  It sounds simple and
straightforward, but to me there is an undertone.  The wording is more
active than what the word "disclosure" suggests.  I'd think that my name,
donation level and candidate choice were going to be announced and
advertised on the Internet.  I take your point that the issue here is that
information once simply disclosed to election agencies (passive anonymity)
is now more widely available through the medium of the Internet, but we
also know how sensitive survey results are to question wording.  Were other
versions of this questions tested?  For example, "Please note: donations to
candidates are public information," or "Please note: campaign finance laws
require disclosure of contributions over X."  Would you think it would make
a difference?

Also, the paper abstract somewhat over-states the findings (the abstract
says, that the paper "demonstrates how individuals refrain from making
contributions or reduce their donations to avoid disclosing their
identities").  Aren't your findings of a negative effect of publicity on
donating restricted to *a relatively small *sub-set of cross-pressured
voters (i.e., "...the findings demonstrate that citizens who are surrounded
by people who do not share their views are more likely to refrain from or
limit making political contributions," p. 3; and "The only set of voters
who react negatively to disclosure are those who feel they are surrounded
by those with different views." p. 14; also, the finding that the $1
threshold for disclosure had no affect on any group of voters, p. 16)?

Again, a fine paper I'd encourage all interested in this subject to read.

Lori Minnite

On Sat, Jan 19, 2013 at 10:27 AM, Ray La Raja <laraja at polsci.umass.edu>wrote:

> Here is some evidence that low disclosure thresholds potentially affects
> the willingness of small donors to make contributions.
>
> Abstract
> This study assesses whether public disclosure of campaign contributions
> affects citizens’ willingness to give money to candidates. In the American
> states, campaign finance laws require disclosure of private information for
> contributors at relatively low thresholds ranging from $1 to $300. Drawing
> on social influence theory, the analysis suggests that citizens are
> sensitive to divulging private information, especially those who are
> surrounded by people with different political views. Using experimental
> data from the 2011 Cooperative Congressional Election Studies, it
> demonstrates how individuals refrain from making contributions or reduce
> their donations to avoid disclosing their identities. The experimental
> findings compare favorably to observational data on political contributions
> across states with different disclosure thresholds. The conclusion
> discusses the implications of transparency laws for political
> participation, especially for small donors.
>
> The working paper is available here:
> La Raja, Raymond J., Political Participation and Civic Courage: The
> Negative Effect of Transparency on Making Campaign Contributions (November
> 29, 2012). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2202405
> Best,
> Ray L.
>
>
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