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Economic Growth and the Rise of Political Extremism: Theory and Evidence

Year: 2010

Type: preprint

Abstract: In many western democracies, political parties with extreme platforms challenge more moderate incumbents. This paper analyses the impact of economic growth on the support for extreme political platforms. We provide a theoretical argument in favor of growth effects (as opposed to level effects) on the support for extremist parties and we empirically investigate the relationship between growth and extremist votes. A lower growth rate increases the support for extreme political platforms but our estimates also indicate that extreme platforms are unlikely to gain majorities in OECD countries, unless there is an extreme drop in the GDP per capita growth rate.

Source: SSRN Electronic Journal

Authors: Markus Brückner, Hans Peter Grüner

Institutions: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, University of Mannheim, Centre for Economic Policy Research

Language: English

Topic: Populism, Right-Wing Movements

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W1573497219

Cites: 2

Cited by: 29

Related to: 10