Abstract
<p>In many contexts, religious leaders mobilize support for allied politicians. These mobilization efforts are often assumed to be part of brokerage agreements in which politicians provide material compensation once elected. Despite how common these arrangements are, little is known about how and when politicians compensate religious leaders for their electoral brokerage. We argue that politicians reward organization-embedded religious brokers by providing status-enhancing goods that increase their standing within the organization and the local community. We illustrate this type of compensation by investigating exchanges between Christian Democratic politicians and personally connected Catholic bishops in postwar Italy. Difference-in-differences estimates indicate that elected politicians reward connected bishops with investments in church renovations, that these investments are targeted to increase the prestige of bishops, and that electoral incentives shape patterns of broker compensation. These findings shed light on the reciprocal exchanges that underpin politician-clergy alliances in electoral democracies.</p>