Brexit - Populist Reaction to the 2008 Speculative Bubble Bursting?

Ejan Mackaay

CIRANO Working Papers from CIRANO

Abstract: As evidence accumulates about the harmful effects Brexit is likely to cause to the British economy, one may wonder what made a majority of Brits vote to leave the EU. Rather than treat it as a fit of ill temper or an unfortunate accident, this paper explores the idea that it should be seen as a populist reaction triggered by the burst of the speculative bubble in 2008-2009 and the subsequent economic mayhem. To make the case, the paper looks at (1) what populism is, (2) how it can arise as part of long-term economic waves and (3) what precisely happened in Britain before and after 2009.

Keywords: Law and Economics; Public Choice; Populism; Technological Revolutions and Bubble Collapses; Brexit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B52 K00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-03-24
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme and nep-int
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cir:cirwor:2020s-14

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