Regional deprivation and populism: Evidence from Germany and the U.S

Michael Bayerlein

No 2231, Kiel Working Papers from Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel)

Abstract: A widely held view is that increasing globalisation and inequality are fostering support for populist actors. Surprisingly, when focusing on Germany and the U.S., populist voting is highest in less globalised regions with rather equal income distributions. Addressing this puzzle, I ask how the regional variance in populist voting can be explained. In my answer, I introduce the concept of spatial inequality, which describes the regional inequality within countries, and construct a measure of public goods scarcity. I argue that the spatial inequality induced feeling of being left behind is positively correlated with populist voting and that this effect is mitigated by public goods provision. Using county level data to develop spatial inequality and public good scarcity indices, I can provide empirical support for these arguments. The findings have important implications for understanding the sub-national variance in populist voting and the role of relative economic deprivation as well as public goods provision.

Keywords: Populism; Voting Behaviour; Inequality; Public Goods; Regional Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D63 D72 H41 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022, Revised 2022
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-pol and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:2231

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