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Congressional voting on DR‐CAFTA: the ineffectiveness of environmental lobbying

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 11; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17487870802031437

1748-7889

Pauline Abetti,

Political Influence and Corporate Strategies

This paper examines the determinants of Congressional voting on CAFTA, focusing on environmental lobbying. Empirical results indicate that the environment was in fact not a major point of contention during the CAFTA vote. Campaign contributions were, however, an important factor in determining the vote. Indeed, with no contributions from labor or business, the CAFTA would not have passed. Employment in the sensitive sectors of CAFTA, sugar and textiles, were also critical in affecting the vote. An unanticipated result in this analysis was the effect of income on the CAFTA vote – poorer districts favored the agreement.