Industrial Structure and Party Competition in an Age of Hunger Games:Donald Trump and the 2016 Presidential Election Donald Trump and the 2016 Presidential Election

Thomas Ferguson (), Paul Jorgensen and Jie Chen
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Thomas Ferguson: University of Massachusetts, Boston
Paul Jorgensen: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Jie Chen: University of Massachusetts, Boston

No 66, Working Papers Series from Institute for New Economic Thinking

Abstract: The U.S. presidential election of 2016 featured frontal challenges to the political establishments of both parties and perhaps the most shocking election upset in American history. This paper analyzes patterns of industrial structure and party competition in both the major party primaries and the general election. It attempts to identify the genuinely new, historically specific factors that led to the upheavals, especially the steady growth of a `dual economy` that locks more and more Americans out of the middle class and into a life of unsteady, low wage employment and, all too often, steep debts. The paper draws extensively on a newly assembled, more comprehensive database of political contributions to identify the specific political forces that coalesced around each candidate. It considers in detail how different investor blocs related to the Republican Party and the Trump campaign as the campaign progressed and the role small contributors played in the various campaigns, especially that of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. It also critically evaluates claims about the final weeks of the election in the light of important overlooked evidence.

Keywords: banking and financial regulation; political economy; presidential elections; Donald Trump; America First; political parties; political money; international economic policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D71 D72 G38 L51 N22 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 100 pages
Date: 2018-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pke and nep-pol
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:thk:wpaper:66

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3125217

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