FEC to Compustat Link Table

Overview: This file allows you to link corporate-sponsored political action committees (PACs) from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to individual public companies on Compustat. 

Data setup: The file is setup at the PAC-year level. The filename notes the years covered by the data. The FEC PAC identifier is called "CMTE_ID" and the Compustat company identifier is "GVKEY." Because some PACs link up to multiple companies, there are multiple GVKEY variables in the dataset. The first GVKEY listed is the primary company the PAC links to.  GVKEY2 and GVKEY3 list additional companies (e.g., public subsidiaries) associated with the PAC. 

Name matches: Although many PACs are sponsored by parent companies, they are often sponsored by subsidiaries of public companies. When PACs are sponsored by parent companies, I have manually verified the links here based on historical CRSP company names. When PACs are sponsored by subsidiaries, I have verified the links using internet searches (e.g., reading news articles, press releases, company websites). 

Disclaimer: This data was gathered for my use as an academic researcher. Despite my best efforts, the data likely contains some errors. I update this dataset from time to time to correct errors I become aware of. 

Terms of Use: This link table is the most recent version of the one I have used in several research projects. If you use this link table, please cite the following papers: 

Christensen, D.M., H. Jin, S. Sridharan, and L. Wellman. 2022. Hedging on the Hill: Does political hedging reduce firm risk? Management Science 68 (6): 3975-4753.

Christensen, D.M., A. Morris,  B. Walther, and L. Wellman. 2023. Political Information Flow and Management Guidance. Review of Accounting Studies 28(3): 1466–1499. 

Time Period Covered: 1991-2020

Last Updated: 7/6/2022