FINANCING DEMOCRACY

Rolf AlterDirector, Public Governance and Territorial Development

OECD Global Parliamentary Network4 February 2016

Trust in national government is low“Do you have confidence in national government?”

Confidence in national government in 2015 and its change since 2007

Source: Gallup World Poll

Direct public funding to political parties

Banned private contributions by sources

Types of banned private contributions

Which private funding sources are prohibited?

Top 20 US campaign donations from foreign-owned firms in 2012 PAC name Country of origin Total 1 UBS Americas Switzerland USD 861 500 2 Anheuser-Busch Belgium USD 806 381 3 BAE Systems (BAE Systems) UK USD 747 000 4 AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca PLO) UK USD 640 452 5 GlaxoSmithKline UK USD 521 250 6 Credit Suisse Securities Switzerland USD 519 000 7 T-Mobile USA Germany USD 473 500 8 Bayer Corp Germany USD 470 000 9 Experian UK USD 426 000 10 BASF Corp Germany USD 411 500 11 DRS Technologies Italy USD 405 300 12 Novartis Corp (Novatis AG) Switzerland USD 330 200 13 Sprint Corp (Sprint Nextel) Japan USD 312 306 14 Accenture (Accenture) Ireland USD 304 500 15 Siemens Corp Germany USD 290 000 16 Ace INA Switzerland USD 281 500 17 Rolls-Royce North America UK USD 272 250 18 Genentech Inc (Roche Holdings) Switzerland USD 269 500 19 Syngenta Corp Switzerland USD 255 000 20 Compass Bancshares Spain USD 249 500

Does globalisation undermine foreign funding regulations?Many multinational firms are deeply integrated with domestic political system

Disclosure of the identity of donors:Transparency or privacy?

Spending limits for candidates and political parties in OECD countries

Spending limits on campaign expenditures

What types of integrity package exist?

Countries with a central unit responsible for monitoring the conflict of interest policies

Specific conflict of interest policy for particular categories of public officials

How is oversight organised? Do they have a clear mandate, legal power and capacity?

Do sanctions for infringements of regulation work?

Introduction of civil sanctions

Financing Democracy: a public good?

• Evidence base: supporting policy debates with data and good practices

• Focus on implementation and compliance with regulations

• Apply a broader integrity framework to the regulation of political finance