Are campaign contributions perceived as a civic duty?

Abstract

In this article, we examine the extent to which Americans view contributing money to political campaigns as a civic duty. Using data from an original survey (N = 1,269), we find that roughly 15% of the public thinks that for anyone who can afford to contribute, it is a civic duty to contribute financially to political campaigns. Interestingly, we find that there is very little relationship between the sense of duty to vote and the sense of duty to contribute to campaigns. We also develop statistical models to explain individuals’ views about the duty to contribute money to campaigns and compare the results to the determinants of the sense of duty to vote. We find that men, younger people, and those who follow the news closely are more likely than their counterparts to see contributing as a civic duty.