Are politicians more generous? Evidence from charitable giving

• Local politicians, on average, donate more to charities compared to the general population. • Political candidates consistently donate more before, during, and after their tenure in public office. • The increased donations are not explained by factors such as income, education, age, gender, or geographical residence. • The timing of politicians' charitable contributions indicates they are not applying them to signal generosity to voters. This paper analyzes the relationship between charitable giving and political candidacy. It uses individual-level Norwegian register data, which is combined with data on the universe of candidates running for local elections (2003–2021). These data include information on tax-deductible donations to approved organizations. Existing and new evidence suggest these gifts are a valid marker of pro-social preferences, with charitable contributors also displaying a positive correlation with competence. The average politician is more generous than the general population both before, during, and after their election to public office. An event study indicates that while contributions remain predominantly stable; they increase modestly when candidates are standing for election and decrease afterward.