"Populism"—in today's climate, neo-fascism would be a better phrase because the original populists actually had policies that were popular and effective (in some cases at least) in boosting the well-being of the people—is only strengthened by a small amount via the economic insecurity channel. But other factors boosting "populism" have currently made it influential enough that that small boost can be politically decisive. Excellent work from Yotam Margalit: Yotam Margalit: Economic causes of populism: Important, marginally important, or important on the margin https://voxeu.org/article/economic-causes-populism: 'A common explanation for the rise of populism is economic insecurity driven by forces such as trade, immigration, or the financial crisis. This column, part of the Vox debate on populism, argues that such view overstates the role of economic insecurity as a driver. In particular, it conflates economic insecurity being important in explaining the overall populist vote and being important by affecting election outcomes on the margin. The empirical findings indicate that the share of populist support explained by economic insecurity is modest...
#noted #2020-02-29
