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Economic Insecurity and the Rise of the Right

Author

Listed:
  • Walter Bossert
  • Andrew E. Clark
  • Conchita D'Ambrosio
  • Anthony Lepinteur

Abstract

Economic insecurity has attracted growing attention in social, academic and policy circles. However, there is no consensus as to its precise definition. Intuitively, economic insecurity is multi-faceted, making any comprehensive formal definition that subsumes all possible aspects extremely challenging. We propose a simplified approach, and characterize a class of individual economic-insecurity measures that are based on the time profile of economic resources. We then apply our economic-insecurity measure to data on political preferences. In US, UK and German panel data, and conditional on current economic resources, economic insecurity is associated with both greater political participation (support for a party or the intention to vote) and notably more support for parties on the right of the political spectrum. We in particular find that economic insecurity predicts greater support for both Donald Trump before the 2016 US Presidential election and the UK leaving the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Suggested Citation

  • Walter Bossert & Andrew E. Clark & Conchita D'Ambrosio & Anthony Lepinteur, 2019. "Economic Insecurity and the Rise of the Right," CEP Discussion Papers dp1659, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1659
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nattavudh Powdthavee & Anke C. Plagnol & Paul Frijters & Andrew E. Clark, 2019. "Who Got the Brexit Blues? The Effect of Brexit on Subjective Wellbeing in the UK," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 86(343), pages 471-494, July.
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Economic Insecurity and the Rise of the Right
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2019-11-25 22:30:16

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alessandro Gallo & Silvia Pacei, 2020. "Economic Insecurity in the Italian Macro-Regions," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(8), pages 1-65, August.
    2. Andrew E. Clark & Conchita d'Ambrosio & Rong Zhu, 2020. "Living in the Shadow of the Past: Financial Profiles and Well-Being," PSE Working Papers halshs-02497067, HAL.
    3. Andrew E. Clark & Anthony Lepinteur, 2020. "A Natural Experiment on Job Insecurity and Fertility in France," PSE Working Papers halshs-02540036, HAL.
    4. Andrew E. Clark & Anthony Lepinteur, 2020. "A Natural Experiment on Job Insecurity and Fertility in France," Working Papers halshs-02540036, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic index numbers; Insecurity; Political participation; Conservatism; Right-leaning political parties; Trump; Brexit;

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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