Annotated Bibliography on Corporate Philanthropy: A Tool for Political Influence?

Bertrand, M., Bombardini, M., Fisman, R., & Trebbi, F. (2018). Tax-exempt lobbying: Corporate philanthropy as a tool for political influence (No. w24451). National Bureau of Economic Research.

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The aim of this article was exploring how charitable contributions influence politics in the United States. According to the authors, philanthropic organizations that are associated with Fortune 500 and S&P500 corporations receive more grants once when their representative obtains political seats in the US. That is why such organizations usually fund the candidates during the time of elections. The findings of this study show that politics mainly influence 7.1% of the total US corporate charitable giving. The contributions of such corporations are economically significant, and according to this study, its 280% larger than the Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions every year and 40% of total lobbying federal expenditures annually. The researchers concluded that the lack of formal regulatory disclosure requirements is what leads to unaccounted charitable giving from the US philanthropic organizations and hence the corporations have a significant political influence that most of the times voters and other shareholders do not detect. The article was written in simple language, and it was also arranged well for the reader to follow and obtain the information contained in the article. The source was relevant as it explained the role of corporation US politics, and therefore, it will help in explaining major corporations' involvement in US politics.

Hadani, M., Bonardi, J. P., & Dahan, N. M. (2017). Corporate political activity, public policy uncertainty, and firm outcomes: A meta-analysis. Strategic Organization, 15(3), 338-366.

This article aimed at explaining why corporate political activities in US politics may not be beneficial to the organizations in terms of their performance. According to the researchers, corporations pump a lot of money into politics, but the policies that are formulated by such politicians are not good enough to improve the performance of such an organization. The authors of this article concluded that corporate political activity negatively affects public policy and in general, has a negative impact on the performance of firms. The information in this article was scientifically presented, and it adhered to all rules of research. The sources used were also relevant to my study as it discussed the involvement of corporations in US politics and how that impacts their performance.

Jensen, N. M., & Malesky, E. J. (2018). Incentives to pander: How politicians use corporate welfare for political gain. Cambridge University Press.

This paper aimed to show how politicians choose to use economic development incentives such as abatements and tax holidays despite not being economically viable but to attract more corporations to fund their political activities. According to the researchers, politicians introduce policies targeting specific policies so that they can attract such corporations. Since the policies are economically costly, the politicians are left with fiscal shortfalls which result from police fines, penalties and regressive sales taxes. The information was presented clearly, and the source discussed the impact of corporations' political activity on the government funding like fiscal shortfalls. The discussion is therefore relevant to the topic of discussion that will seek to show major corporations' involvement in US politics.

Lyon, T. P., Delmas, M. A., Maxwell, J. W., Bansal, P., Chiroleu-Assouline, M., Crifo, P. & Toffel, M. (2018). CSR needs CPR: Corporate sustainability and politics. California Management Review, 60(4), 5-24.

This article aimed to discuss the importance of corporate sustainability and how that is affected by the organizations' political activities like lobbying. According to the authors, corporations need to be transparent in their political dealings in order to enhance their corporate social responsibilities. The authors concluded that all corporation need to evaluate their corporate political activity to determine their corporate environmental responsibility. The article was organized well and this made it easier to be understood. It also touched on the impact of corporations' political involvement, and thus it will be relevant to my study.

Néron, P. Y. (2016). Rethinking the ethics of corporate political activities in a post-citizens united era: Political equality, corporate citizenship, and market failures. Journal of Business Ethics, 136(4), 715-728.

This paper aimed at providing insights on the normative theory on corporate political activities in the US. The authors wanted to explore the legitimacy of corporations' involvement in politics and what kind of activities they undertake and how this makes them relate to government regulators. The author used egalitarian” strategy, “market failures” strategy, and the “corporate citizenship” strategy to criticize and object corporations’ involvement in politics. The author concluded that the idea of having a license of operations bu organizations denies them a chance to take part in political activities. The paper has discussed the normative theory of corporate political activities which shows the role of corporations in the US politics and thus, this paper will be relevant to my study of major corporations’ involvement in US politics.

Nwokora, Z. (2014). The distinctive politics of campaign finance reform. Party Politics, 20(6), 918-929.

This article sought to explain empirical observations in the politics of campaign finance. It explores the circumstances under which financing laws would increase the competitiveness of elections. The author that competitiveness of financing laws results from three main incentives; lawmakers making laws that protect their candidate from competitors, lawmakers cooperate with rivals to reduce the costs of political defeats, and finally, lawmakers may enact reforms that are consistent with their normative goals. The three incentives presented in this article combine with party variables to find out when the campaign finance reforms would take place and the impact they will have on the competitiveness of elections. The article was presented in a scientific manner with introduction, methodology, results, discussion and conclusions. Information that did not belong to the author was also clearly cited to avoid plagiarism. Corporations are heavily involved in determining campaign finance reforms, and therefore this article will be relevant in explaining how corporations take part in political activities in the US.

Persily, N., Bauer, R. F., & Ginsberg, B. L. (2018). Campaign Finance in the United States: Assessing an Era of Fundamental Change. Bipartisan Policy Center.

This article discusses how the campaign finance system in the US has changed in the last fifteen years. According to the authors, courts have limited the power of the Congress monitor and control the expenditure of corporates and unions in politics. This report has discussed these changes in campaign finance using different players such as the super PACs, media, corporations and parties. The paper was arranged well, and it was, therefore, easier to read and understand the information contained in this paper. The role of corporations in campaign finance reforms has also been discussed, and therefore, this paper will be relevant in discussing the major involvement of corporations in US politics.