The relationship between postwar reconstruction contracts and political donations: The case in Afghanistan and Iraq

This research examines the relationship between postwar reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan and subsequent federal – level election campaign contributions using a case control design. The cases represent all companies that received postwar contracts and are matched with a random sample of companies that did not receive postwar contracts. Regression results suggest that, even after controlling for previous federal-level election campaign contributions and company characteristics, postwar contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan that were awarded between 2002 and 2004 predict campaign contributions for the 2004 presidential and congressional elections. These results are discussed in the context of literature on the rationality of political donations and indicate that corporate donors appear to behave in a rational manner.