Seeking Opportunity in the Knowledge Economy: Moving Places, Moving Politics?

The rise of the knowledge economy draws workers towards concentrated skill clusters and creates political conflicts between urban high-opportunity areas and rural and suburban areas of lower dynamism. We advance the existing literature with a dynamic perspective by studying the political consequences of a structural pull into destinations that are typically more progressive than the places of origin. We create an innovative, multidimensional ‘opportunity map’ at the NUTS-3 level in Germany and merge this novel index with individual-level panel data to assess the political implications of residential relocation. Our findings consistently show that moving to opportunity results in stronger political integration, more left-leaning self-identification, and lower support for far-right parties. This article therefore underscores the role of structural change and internal migration in shaping political polarization: while economically motivated relocations to opportunity-rich destinations create significant progressive potential in knowledge hubs, the ongoing pull into thriving areas exacerbates resentments in low-opportunity places.