AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
A Dialogue between a Populist and an Economist
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 108,
May 2018
(pp. 191–95)
Abstract
In this imaginary dialogue, a populist and an economist discuss the role of economic shocks to explain populism. A simple correlation between economic shocks and populism is weak. However, economic shocks can explain well the phenomenon of populism in countries with low pre-existent level of trust. This is confirmed both at the macro cross-country level and also by micro evidence obtained from surveys. Finally, this finding is consistent with the "ideational approach" in political science, which emphasizes how the populist narrative opposes the "corrupt elite" to the "virtuous people."Citation
Boeri, Tito, Prachi Mishra, Chris Papageorgiou, and Antonio Spilimbergo. 2018. "A Dialogue between a Populist and an Economist." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 108: 191–95. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20181121Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- A11 Role of Economics; Role of Economists; Market for Economists
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification