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From Rhetoric to Reality: How Ideology, History and Geography shape Populism's Economic Footprint

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  • Piergiuseppe Fortunato, Tanmay Singh and Marco Pecoraro

Abstract

We examine the policy changes enacted by populist leaders after coming into power in different historical and geographical contexts. We employ the dataset developed by Funke et al. (2023), based on Cas Mudde's minimalist definition of populism, and expand it to several additional policy dimensions. We find that populist governance is rather heterogeneous both in terms of policy instruments and outcomes, and that it varies depending on historical context, geography, and ideology. We conclude that we should contemplate a more nuanced definition of populism for a better understanding of the phenomenon.

Suggested Citation

  • Piergiuseppe Fortunato, Tanmay Singh and Marco Pecoraro, 2024. "From Rhetoric to Reality: How Ideology, History and Geography shape Populism's Economic Footprint," IRENE Working Papers 24-02, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:irn:wpaper:24-02
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Populism; Public expenditure; Corruption.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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