Economic Drivers of Populism

Abstract

The recent wave of populism is different from the previous ones, thus generating the demand for noneconomic explanations, such as identity politics and cultural factors. In this paper, I discuss several pieces of evidence that show that economic factors, such as an increase in unemployment during the Great Recession, skill-biased trade and inequality (especially inequality of opportunity), have also played an important role in the recent rise of antiestablishment sentiment.