Populism
Responses to Populism Require Understanding Why Voters Lose Faith in Experts
Expert civil servants devise ever more sophisticated policies to tackle emergencies such as climate change. But when voters lose faith in experts, they vote for anti-elite populist leaders who promise to drain the swamp in the civil service. Gabriele Gratton and Barton E. Lee write that understanding populist voters’ calculations and mistrust is key to designing democratic institutions that can address the most pressing challenges of our times.
How Anthony Downs’s Analysis Explains Rational Voters’ Preferences for Populism
In new research, Cyril Hédoin and Alexandre Chirat use the rational-choice theory of economist Anthony Downs to explain how populism rationally arises to challenge established institutions of liberal democracy.
History Suggests Economists Need To Think Precisely About Populism
Economists have become increasingly interested in questions about populism over the last decade and particularly since Brexit and the election of American President Donald Trump. However, the definition of populism remains contested. Alan de Bromhead and Kevin O’Rourke argue that economists need a better understanding of populism’s history and its variegated goals when ascribing specific characteristics and behaviors to populists and their movements.
How Trust in Institutions Impacts Monetary Policy
Social trust in democratic institutions affects the ability of those institutions to carry out policy. In new research, Rustam Jamilov shows how decreasing trust in the U.S. institutions has reduced the ability of the Federal Reserve to influence the economy in states that exhibit lower levels of trust.
The Historical Cost of Populism
Most work on populism has investigated the reasons why voters choose populist leaders and governments. In new research, Moritz Schularick, Christoph Trebesch, and Manuel...
Event Notes: Populism and Economics in Latin America
Recent elections have led to a shift in power and ideology across Latin America. Newly elected leaders have brought a new outlook for their...
Are We Witnessing the Fall of the American Liberal Order?
In the past 30 years, liberalism has not lived up to its promise to deliver economic returns for the broad majority of society. But...
Piketty on the Covid-19 Crisis: “It Is High Time to Use This Opportunity to Counter the Dominant Ideology and Significantly Reduce Inequality”
In an interview with ProMarket, Thomas Piketty speaks about his new book, the role of ideology as a driver of inequality, and what the...
The World After Covid-19: Inequality Within Rich Countries Will Increase, Globalization Will Reverse, Politics Will Remain Turbulent
The negative effects of the crisis on growth will be very strong. But it will not affect everyone in the same way. If the...
Populism Weakened the Immune System of Our Democracies. Chile Is an Example
Modern societies have developed immune systems to deal with epidemics: international cooperation, social cohesion, universal health care systems. But today we face the greatest...
