The political extremes and innovation. How support for extreme parties shapes overall and green scientific research and technological innovation in Europe

Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Zhuoying You and Peter Teirlinck

No 2525, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: This This paper explores the relationship between support for extreme political parties and research and innovation across regions in the European Union (EU). Extreme parties often exhibit deep scepticism towards expertise and science, with extreme right-wing parties, in particular, challenging the legitimacy of climate change; an attitude that may weaken green research and innovation. We draw on data from 1,137 EU regions —including scientific publication and patent records— and apply Tobit regression models to find that stronger support for extreme parties is associated with lower levels of scientific research and technological innovation, both overall and in their green forms. While this pattern is visible across the political spectrum, important differences emerge. Support for extreme right-wing parties is consistently tied to reduced research output and innovation performance, particularly in green technological sectors. By contrast, the relationship with extreme left-wing support is more variable, depending on the degree of radicalism, and shows no consistent negative connection with green innovation.

Keywords: research; innovation; climate change; extreme parties; regions; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D74 O32 O33 R10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-08, Revised 2025-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env, nep-eur, nep-ino, nep-pol, nep-sbm and nep-tid
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http://econ.geo.uu.nl/peeg/peeg2525.pdf Version August 2025 (application/pdf)

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Working Paper: The political extremes and innovation: how support for extreme parties shapes overall and green scientific research and technological innovation in Europe (2025)
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