In this paper we examine the impact of campaign contributions on electoral results in Argentine elections for the period 2007-2013. Using previously unavailable micro-level data on private campaign contributions we test several hypotheses concerning the relationship between contributions, campaign spending and elections. Two questions motivate this investigation. First, whether the amount and composition of party electoral finance impacts on the vote share and probability of reelection. Secondly, whether sectoral interest groups seem to fit to the ideological or lobbystic type. We find that the vote shares of parties is increasing in the ratio of private (non-corporate) to total campaign contributions. We also find that it is private rather than public funding which has a significant and positive impact on vote shares. We do not find evidence that the corporate donors have any influence on the vote share. We include other controls such as the vote share in the previous election, the number of party affiliates and degree of within-district electoral competition. Our results are robust to various specifications and estimation techniques.
