We study the benefits of political connections on firm performance by analyzing the effects of the early support to Silvio Berlusconi, a TV tycoon who in three months in 1993 founded a party, won the elections and became Italy’s Prime Minister. We find that the 101 companies who supported Berlusconi from the start did better than controls in terms of sales and employment, while the effects on productivity are less clear-cut. Results are confirmed when we instrument the decision to support Berlusconi with electoral outcomes in the 1921 Italian elections, which had similarities both in terms of electoral voting and ideological competition. We also find suggestive evidence that the supporters’ superior performance is stronger in sectors with high advertising intensity.

我们通过分析早期支持西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼（Silvio Berlusconi）的影响来研究政治关系对公司业绩的好处，贝卢斯科尼是一位电视大亨，他在 1993 年三个月内成立了一个政党，赢得了选举并成为意大利总理。我们发现，从一开始就支持贝卢斯科尼的 101 家公司在销售和就业方面的表现优于对照组，而对生产力的影响则不太明显。当我们用 1921 年意大利选举的选举结果来支持贝卢斯科尼的决定时，结果得到证实，这在选举投票和意识形态竞争方面都有相似之处。我们还发现暗示性证据表明，在广告强度高的行业，支持者的卓越表现更强。