The Political Transformation of Corporate America, 2001–2022
By Reilly S. Steel, Columbia University
This article reconciles conflicting views about the political landscape of corporate America with new data on the revealed political preferences of 97,469 corporate directors and executives at 9,005 different U.S. companies. Driven largely by turnover, I find that average observed ideology for directors and executives has shifted meaningfully to the left over time, changing from modestly conservative in 2001 to roughly centrist by 2022. This finding supports a
Our editorial team includes several staff writers, each contributing their specialized knowledge to enhance the depth and breadth of our event and story coverage.