Money Talks? Party Financial Incentives to Promote Underrepresented Groups
Abstract
As an alternative to quota policies, recent electoral reforms have sought to financially reward parties for promoting the candidacies of underrepresented groups. Brazil offers a unique opportunity to evaluate such financial incentives, since in the 2022 elections, votes cast for women and Afro-descendants—in federal but not state legislative races—were counted twice for the allocation of public campaign funds. Using a Difference-in-Differences design, this study shows that money talks, but not as intended: parties made efforts to boost votes for these groups and, consequently, increase their financial resources. However, they primarily invested in non-competitive candidates in order to avoid jeopardizing the electoral prospects of established contenders. Our findings underscore how such incentives align with party priorities, which are based primarily on maximizing seat share rather than simply increasing financial gain.
