Giving to the Party: The Context of Political Contributions in European Democracies.

Who gives to political parties, and why? Small individual donations to political parties are often seen as the least tainted form of political finance. Because of this, many countries have developed political finance policies which encourage individual giving. Despite this, there are wide cross-party and cross-national differences in the extent to which parties rely on donations, differences which persist whether finances are measured in absolute or relative terms. This paper explores some the reasons for these differences, using both survey and institutional data to examine how contemporary European parties benefit from cultural patterns of philanthropy, whether tax laws actually stimulate political contributions, and how parties’ fundraising strategies reflect these different patterns of individual giving. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]