Effective number of candidates and regional wealth in campaign finance analyses: A methodological proposal for comparing the effects of the monetization of election campaigns in Brazil

Abstract

This paper is an empirical study to measure the impact of financial resources on election campaigns. As Brazil is a large country with economically, politically and socially heterogeneous electoral districts, it is difficult to make direct comparisons regarding the impact of campaign financing on national elections. The study sets out by assuming that campaign resources have different effects depending on the levels of political competitiveness and local wealth. The aim of the study is to propose a model that will allow different campaign situations to be put on the same level in order to conduct a comparative evaluation of the impacts that financial resources make on elections. For this purpose, the data for the 2010 elections for Federal Deputy will be used.