The William Anderson Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor the best dissertation in the general field of federalism or intergovernmental relations, state, and local politics.
Citation from the Award Committee:
“A ‘Clean’ Slate: Public Financing and Representation in American Legislatures” provides the most systematic empirical analysis of the effects of the public financing of elections to date.
This dissertation shows that the public financing of elections in the U.S. states increases electoral competition and the descriptive representation of women, while shifting the ideology of elected officials to the left. The observational analyses cover 1976-2018, a much longer time period than is typically found in existing studies, and the author also includes interviews with lobbyists and legislators, and conjoint survey experiments, to probe the mechanisms linking campaign finance laws and outcomes.
This work shows that campaign finance regulation matters, rebutting a conventional wisdom that has emerged in recent decades. This dissertation sets an example of how to rigorously study institutional reforms and suggests a path forward for advocates and policy makers interested in strengthening democracy and descriptive and substantive representation.
Abigail Mancinelli earned her PhD in Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, where her research centered on the relationship between campaign finance regulations and representation. In her most recent article, “Does Public Financing Motivate Electoral Challengers,” she found that providing public funds to candidates leads to greater competition in state legislative elections.
Abigail currently works as a Senior Consultant in the State and Local Government practice at Guidehouse, serving as the Reporting Team Lead on a project contracted by the New York State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (NYS ERAP). NYS ERAP provides eviction protection and economic relief to those facing financial hardship resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Her team conducts data analysis associated with the processing of applications, and Abigail has supported the delivery of more than $250 million in rental assistance.
APSA thanks the committee members for their service: Dr. Christopher M. Witko (Chair) of Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Claudia N. Avellaneda of Indiana University, and Dr. Jake M. Grumbach of the University of California, Berkeley.