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Financial crisis = national populism? Not so, says new (academic) paper. People who lost income amid crisis became more likely to vote radical LEFT, not right. Fits with wider evidence we discuss in our book economic hardship helps left more than right
bit.ly/2ZG1H9Y
bit.ly/2ZG1H9Y
"we find no clear evidence that individuals whose economic circumstances deteriorated became more supportive of radical right parties"
Why does this matter? As we discuss in our book many (esp. on left) routinely wheel out "economic scarcity = populism" narrative. This is comfortable bc it fits older Marxist takes & reluctance of many today to even think about let alone accept (more important) cultural drivers
Yet this is now utterly undermined by (now very large) pile of research in social sciences which a few (not all) economists + left leaning thinkers like to ignore. "Brexit = austerity", "populism = sovereign debt crisis" easier than the far more complex story that is unfolding
