The Impact of Corporate Political Spending on Firm Economic Power: Evidence from US Hospital Mergers

Abstract

Using the 2010 Citizens United v FEC ruling which lifted campaign financing restriction from 23 of 50 U.S. states, this paper examines how campaign contributions from the hospital industry affected hospital merger outcomes. It finds that hospital donations to local and federal politicians increased by 64% in the affected states. This led to an average increase of 7 additional hospital mergers per year in the affected states, impacting roughly 14 hospitals annually. This paper also shows that hospital care prices increased by an additional $112/capita/year in the affected states.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Supervisor	Eyub YEGEN (Supervisor)