One of the most important developments driving political polarization over the past two decades is the growth in small-dollar contributions. Increasing the share of campaign pledges from modest donors has long been a goal of campaign-finance reformers, but it turns out that small donors hold far more ideologically extreme views than those of the average voter. In their 2022 paper, “Small Campaign Donors,” four economists, Laurent Bouton, Julia Cagé, Edgard Dewitte and Vincent Pons, document the striking increase in low dollar ($200 or less), campaign contributions in recent years. Bouton and his colleagues found that the total number of individuals grew from 5.2 million in 2006 to 195.0 million in 2020. Over the same period, the average size of contributions fell from $292.10 to $59.70.

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Persons: Laurent Bouton, Julia Cagé, Edgard Dewitte, Vincent Pons, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Bouton Organizations: White