Political Contributions and Public Procurement: Evidence from Lithuania
研究企业是否通过政治献金换取公共采购合同，利用立陶宛禁止企业捐款的政策，发现禁令后捐赠企业中标概率下降5个百分点，暗示存在政治偏袒。
Abstract This paper studies whether firms trade political contributions for public procurement contracts. Combining data on Lithuanian government tenders, corporate donors, and firm characteristics, I examine how a ban on corporate contributions affects the awarding of procurement contracts to companies that donated in the past. Consistent with political favoritism, donors’ probability of winning falls by five percentage points as compared to that of nondonor firms after the ban. Evidence on bidding and victory margins suggests that corporate donors may receive auction-relevant information affecting procurement outcomes in their favor.