We study the emergence of a new channel for firms’ political activity using dark money through undisclosed and unlimited contributions. After the U.S. federal court decisions in 2010, S&P 500 firms substantially increased their use of dark money. We find that dark money contributions complement political engagement through campaign contributions and lobbying. Firms disclose dark money contributions when they face heightened nondisclosure costs. Firms contributing to dark money groups benefit by receiving more procurement contracts and increased government subsidies. Our findings highlight that political connections by firms are evolving and expanding through new and largely unexplored channels.

Platform intermediation of goods and services has considerably transformed the U.S. economy. We use administrative data on U.S. tax returns to study the role of the gig economy on entrepreneurship. We find that gig workers are more likely to become entrepreneurs, particularly those who are lower income, younger, and benefit from flexibility. We track all newly created firms and show that gig workers start firms in similar industries as their gig experience, which are less likely to survive and demonstrate higher performance. Overall, our findings suggest on-the-job learning promotes entrepreneurial entry and shifts the types of firms started by entrepreneurs.