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Economic Insecurity and the Causes of Populism, Reconsidered†

Economic Insecurity and the Causes of Populism, Reconsidered† AbstractGrowing conventional wisdom holds that a chief driver of the populist vote is economic insecurity. I contend that this view overstates the role of economic insecurity as an explanation in several ways. First, it conflates the significance of economic insecurity in influencing the election outcome on the margin with its significance in explaining the overall populist vote. Empirical findings indicate that the share of populist support explained by economic insecurity is modest. Second, recent evidence indicates that voters’ concern with immigration—a key issue for many populist parties—is only marginally shaped by its real or perceived repercussions on their economic standing. Third, economics-centric accounts of populism treat voters’ cultural concerns as largely a byproduct of experiencing adverse economic change. This approach underplays the reverse process, whereby disaffection from social and cultural change drives both economic discontent and support for populism. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Economic Perspectives American Economic Association

Economic Insecurity and the Causes of Populism, Reconsidered†

Journal of Economic Perspectives , Volume 33 (4) – Nov 1, 2019

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Publisher
American Economic Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 © American Economic Association
ISSN
0895-3309
DOI
10.1257/jep.33.4.152
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractGrowing conventional wisdom holds that a chief driver of the populist vote is economic insecurity. I contend that this view overstates the role of economic insecurity as an explanation in several ways. First, it conflates the significance of economic insecurity in influencing the election outcome on the margin with its significance in explaining the overall populist vote. Empirical findings indicate that the share of populist support explained by economic insecurity is modest. Second, recent evidence indicates that voters’ concern with immigration—a key issue for many populist parties—is only marginally shaped by its real or perceived repercussions on their economic standing. Third, economics-centric accounts of populism treat voters’ cultural concerns as largely a byproduct of experiencing adverse economic change. This approach underplays the reverse process, whereby disaffection from social and cultural change drives both economic discontent and support for populism.

Journal

Journal of Economic PerspectivesAmerican Economic Association

Published: Nov 1, 2019

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