Michael Schwam-Baird

I am a PhD candidate in Political Science at Columbia University with specializations in American Politics and political methodology. My research reflects my interest in how campaign donors, and elite actors more generally, seek to influence the electoral process and policy outcomes. My dissertation develops a set of theories and empirical findings about the motivations and behavior of individual political contributors. I use field experiments and a natural experiment to determine how different types of appeals and information affect the decision to donate.