About the event

Abstract: “Compared to those of other countries, politicians in the United States are among the oldest. We investigate the role of money in politics in maintaining age inequality in political influence and office-holding. Using record linkage, we create a novel dataset that combines administrative data on the age of voters, donors, and candidates. Descriptively, we find that the median dollar in the U.S. campaign finance system comes from a 66-year-old donor—significantly older than the median voter, candidate, or elected official—and that older donors are much more ideologically conservative than younger donors. We then investigate whether candidate age matters to donors. Results from within-district and within-donor analyses suggest that individuals are more likely to donate and donate more to candidates closer to their age. We conclude with a discussion of how various campaign finance policies might affect the age distribution of money in politics.”