Washington, D.C. — Last week, the American Economic Liberties Project released a new report, “Democracy for Sale: Examining the Effects of Concentration on Lobbying in the United States.” Authored by Economic Liberties’ Fellow Reed Showalter, the report details how economic concentration trends predict lobbying spending in the years that follow industry consolidation. Yesterday, Showalter joined CNBC’s TechCheck to discuss his research findings.

The statistical research reveals a link between concentration and corporate lobbying through a series of case studies that take a look at data from three industries — internet companies, pharmaceuticals, and oil and gas. The findings make it clear: Lobbying doesn’t make a firm big. Its bigness makes it better able and more willing to lobby. Big corporations can corrupt government in ways that businesses in competitive markets do not.

Read “Democracy for Sale: Examining the Effects of Concentration on Lobbying in the United States” here.

Watch Reed Showalter on CNBC’s TechCheck here.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

###

The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.