Campaign spending and poverty levels in Brazil : an exploratory approach

Abstract

Is there campaign spending efficiency higher in poorer states? This paper estimates the effects of campaign spending on Brazilian electoral outcomes by testing the hypothesis that candidate spending efficiency is positive correlated with poverty levels. The model uses individual level data of the 2006 House of Representatives national elections. The preliminary results suggest that: (1) campaign spending exerts a positive effect on votes; (2) Not elected candidates show a pattern of higher marginal returns of each extra dollar spent in their political campaigns compared to elected ones; (3) this pattern is consistent across states and poverty levels; (4) there is no evidence that poverty levels are positive correlated with candidate spending efficiency.