Economic Causes for the Rise of Populism

In recent years, radical right-wing political groups and populist movements have gained popularity in many Western democracies. In a new EconPol Forum article, Florian Dorn, David Gstrein and Florian Neumeier summarize the existing literature on the extent to which economic factors contribute to the rise of populism. In particular, right-wing extremists gain votes in regions where the risk of poverty increases. In Germany, a 1 percentage point increase in the share of households below the poverty line is associated with a 0.5 percentage point increase in the share of votes for extreme right-wing parties in federal elections.