Dr. Magnus Ohman, IFES political finance expert, presented his paper "Analyzing Recent Trends in Political Finance Regulation in the South and in the North" at the biannual International Political Science Association (IPSA) conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Ohman participated in a panel examining money and politics in a comparative perspective. Among the topics explored were whether certain models of political financing are more likely to be used in certain electoral systems; how political financing from private sources affects electoral results and the political behavior of elected officials; and what are the main international trends concerning the regulation of political financing.

Ohman's paper reviews international trends in political finance regulations during the last 10 years — a period during which a growing number of countries introduced regulations attempting to control the role of money in politics. Ohman explores this topic with particular focus on disclosure solutions and the provision of public funding. Using a combination of macro-level data and country-level case studies from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, Ohman addresses three main questions:

• What have been the main trends in regulating political finance?
• Are there regional variations in regulations, and what are the differences between regions/countries in the North and in the South?
• Can variations in regulation be explained by differences in political finance situation, or do other factors (such as colonial background) have a larger explanatory role?

A copy of his paper can be downloaded here: 

Ohman was joined on the panel by Ms. Daniel Marcelino from the Universidade de Brasilia who presented on whether public opinion polls matter for campaign contributors; Dr. Teresa Sacchet from the University of Sao Paulo, who spoke about the impact of political finance on political representation and how inadequate funding available to women candidates is linked to their ability to successfully run campaigns; and Dr. Bruno Speck from the University of Campinas who explored the role of the largest companies in campaign financing in Brazil. 

The participants received comments on their papers from Dr. Wagner Mancuso from the University of Sao Paulo.