Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
1-2003
Abstract
For the first time in Irish electoral history, the 1999 local elections required candidates to publicly declare their campaign expenditures. Drawing on these data, we explore patterns in campaign spending and assess their impact, both on candidate success and on turnout. First, examining the elections contested by 1,838 candidates from 180 local constituencies and 34 councils, we identify both partisan and geographic spending patterns, and examine how well these can be explained as a function of political and demographic variables. Second, we model and estimate the effects of expenditure on individual electoral outcomes. The findings clearly indicate that even at the relatively miniscule spending levels found in Irish local elections, spending is positively and significantly related to electoral success. Finally, we explore the impact of expenditure on overall turnout and find a clear positive effect of per capita expenditure on turnout.
Discipline
Political Science
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
Irish Political Studies
Volume
18
Issue
2
First Page
1
Last Page
22
ISSN
0790-7184
Identifier
10.1080/1364298042000227622
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Citation
BENOIT, Kenneth, & MARSH, Michael.(2003). Campaign spending in the local government elections of 1999. Irish Political Studies, 18(2), 1-22.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4048
Copyright Owner and License
Publisher
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/1364298042000227622