3 - Economic Competition, Weak Parties, and Businessperson Candidacy

Summary

This chapter tests the hypotheses developed in Chapter One, first using a series of multilevel models and a dataset of over one million Russian firms. It finds empirical support that the presence of economic competition from rivals and weak political parties drive the decision to enter politics by affecting the benefits to be derived from holding office, while only those firms with sufficient resources and in poorer regions can cover the substantial costs of running. Businesspeople run for office when the commitment problem of transacting with politicians through other means is exacerbated. I then show the findings also come through using analysis of a survey of 654 Russian firms conducted in 2016. Finally, I draw on qualitative evidence from 70 interviews in three Russian regions (Tomsk, Ryazan, and Perm) to illuminate just how competition and weak parties incentivize businessperson candidacy.