Political giving : making sense of individual campaign contributions / Bertram N. Johnson.

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The question of why individuals contribute money to political campaigns has attracted a great deal of research attention. Laypersons may assume that people contribute to campaigns because they want to help their preferred candidate(s) win. This concise book shows that the truth is more complicated than this facile assumption. Giving is a puzzle, Johnson (Middlebury College) writes, because most individuals understand that any individual contribution to an candidate is unlikely to provide the winning edge that the candidate needs in today's world of billion dollar presidential elections. After providing some substantive background on campaign finance regulations, campaign practice, and individual giving patterns, Johnson tests hypotheses drawn from the theories he outlines against real world data. Ultimately, the author concludes that a number of factors push people toward contributing. Contributors tend to believe that political participation is a solemn civic duty, are highly interested in politics, and value the "expressive," intangible benefits of supporting a worthy cause. One factor is more important than all others--ideology. Johnson writes that "having political views that place a respondent in a small minority on one or the other side of the ideological spectrum" predisposes individuals to contribute. This, of course, has implications for political discourse. Summing Up: Recommended. Research collections. A. J. Nownes University of Tennessee