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The rise of populism and the collapse of the left-right paradigm: Lessons from the 2017 French presidential election

Author

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  • Cohen, Daniel
  • Algan, Yann
  • Beasley, Elizabeth
  • Foucault, Martial

Abstract

We examine the dislocation from the traditional left-right political axis in the 2017 French election, analyze support for populist movements and show that subjective variables are key to understanding it. Votes on the traditional left-right axis are correlated to ideology concerning redistribution, and predicted by socio-economic variables such as income and social status. Votes on the new diagonal opposing “open vs closed society†are predicted by individual and subjective variables. More specifically, low well-being predicts anti-system opinions (from the left or from the right) while low interpersonal trust (ITP) predicts right-wing populism.

Suggested Citation

  • Cohen, Daniel & Algan, Yann & Beasley, Elizabeth & Foucault, Martial, 2018. "The rise of populism and the collapse of the left-right paradigm: Lessons from the 2017 French presidential election," CEPR Discussion Papers 13103, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Davide Bellucci & Pierluigi Conzo & Roberto Zotti, 2019. "Perceived Immigration and Voting Behavior," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 588, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    2. Gian Italo Bischi & Federico Favaretto & Edgar J. Sanchez Carrera, 2022. "Long-term causes of populism," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 17(1), pages 349-377, January.
    3. Crozet, Matthieu & Hinz, Julian, 2023. "Blowback: The effect of sanctions on democratic elections," Kiel Working Papers 2246, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    4. Frédéric Docquier & Lucas Guichard & Stefano Iandolo & Hillel Rapoport & Riccardo Turati & Gonzague Vannoorenberghe, 2022. "Populism and the Skill-Content of Globalization: Evidence from the Last 60 Years," CESifo Working Paper Series 10068, CESifo.
    5. Sumit S. Deole & Yue Huang, 2024. "Suffering and prejudice: do negative emotions predict immigration concerns?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 1-39, June.
    6. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
    7. Benjamin Enke & Ricardo Rodríguez-Padilla & Florian Zimmermann, 2023. "Moral Universalism and the Structure of Ideology," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(4), pages 1934-1962.
    8. Gianmarco Daniele & Andrea F.M. Martinangeli & Francesco Passarelli & Willem Sas & Lisa Windsteiger, 2023. "Externalities and the Erosion of Trust," CESifo Working Paper Series 10474, CESifo.
    9. Antoinette Baujard & Isabelle Lebon, 2020. "Retelling the Story of the 2017 French Presidential Election: The contribution of Approval Voting," Working Papers halshs-02926773, HAL.
    10. Catherine Benjamin & Sebastian Irigoyen & David Masclet, 2023. "In Gov we Trust : Are Trust and Political Ideology Important Factors of Public Acceptance for Environmental Policies?," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 2023-02, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    11. Silva, Rui, 2024. "Well-being foundations of populism in Europe," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    12. Eugenio Levi & Fabrizio Patriarca, 2020. "An exploratory study of populism: the municipality-level predictors of electoral outcomes in Italy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(3), pages 833-875, October.
    13. Buser, Thomas, 2024. "Adversarial Economic Preferences Predict Right-Wing Voting," IZA Discussion Papers 16711, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Rawi Abdelal, 2020. "Dignity, Inequality, and the Populist Backlash: Lessons from America and Europe for a Sustainable Globalization," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 11(4), pages 492-500, September.
    15. Salvatore Bimonte & Luigi Bosco & Arsenio Stabile, 2022. "In Virus Veritas Lockdown and Happiness Under COVID-19," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 823-842, November.
    16. Robert Gold, 2022. "From a better understanding of the drivers of populism to a new political agenda," Working Papers 4, Forum New Economy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Populism; Inequality;

    JEL classification:

    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights

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