Successful political candidates, both female and male, tend to have access to significant economic resources. The rise of money politics in Melanesia, as well as the absence or poor enforcement of campaign finance regulations, has meant that even for those candidates not directly engaging in vote buying or gifting, the costs of running a competitive campaign have nevertheless increased. In the 2007 Papua New Guinea election, money politics — the distribution of gifts and cash in exchange for votes — was more frequently practised by male candidates. In the 2012 election, candidates who participated in money politics generally performed better than other candidates. Many unsuccessful female candidates in these two elections attributed their losses to money politics.