For-profit corporations bolster their influence over government rulemaking by funding nonprofit entities that then submit ostensibly independent comments to agencies that reinforce the corporate position. Bertrand et al. analyzed public comments submitted to U.S. agencies on proposed regulations, and link to data on hard-to-trace corporate donations through charitable foundations to nonprofits. Donations increased the likelihood that a nonprofit would submit comments and increased the similarity between the nonprofit’s comments and the firm’s own comments. This donation-driven co-commenting increased the alignment between the firm’s comments and the agency’s ultimate discussion of the finalized rule.
Q. J. Econ. 10.1093/qje/qjab023 (2021).