Regulation Of Campaign Finance And Free Advertising

This report discusses the regulation of campaign financing and spending in national elections and the availability of free airtime for campaign advertising in Austria, Canada, Finland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Specifically, the individual country surveys address the following issues:

• The extent to which each country applies limits on the amounts that can be contributed to political parties and candidates;

• The existence of ceilings on campaign expenditures; and

• The availability of free airtime for broadcast advertising.

Countries included in this study demonstrate different models used in regulating campaign financing. Canada, Israel, and Japan limit both campaign contributions and expenditures. The laws of Austria, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom impose spending limits on individual candidates and political parties, but few limitations on donations. Finnish legislation provides an example of a system where caps are put on contributions but not on the money spent in election campaigns. Countries that allow both unlimited donations and campaign spending were not included in this report.