Do politicians put their money where their mouths are? Actually, yes

Wednesday, 12 June 2019Clark Merrefield

Policies and positions can shift over time. But when it comes to where America’s legislators invest their personal money, turns out they stick pretty firmly to their ideological ground, according to research newly published in Management Science.

Looking at data from 2004 to 2012 on U.S. Congress members’ holdings and trades, the authors find “robust evidence” that legislators “invest in a manner consistent with their political beliefs.”

“We looked even within members of the Democratic Party and found more liberal members invested differently than less liberal, and more conservative Republicans invest differently than more moderate members,” says Elon University Assistant Professor of Finance Adam Aiken, who co-authored the paper with Jesse Ellis and Minjeong Kang. “I think that is probably our biggest contribution — and the fact that moderate Democrats and Republicans invest fairly similarly.”

Exploring ideology on a continuum

Being called a hypocrite is a job hazard for any politician.

Credit by - Journalists Resource

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