Long-term decline of regions and the rise of populism: The case of Germany

Arbeitspapier

What characterizes regions where right-wing populist parties are relatively successful? A prominent hypothesis proposed in recent literature claims that places that are "left behind" or "do not matter" are a breeding ground for the rise of populism. We re-examine this hypothesis by analyzing the rise of populism in Germany. Our results suggest that the high vote shares of populist parties are not only associated with low regional levels of welfare as such, but also with the long-term decline of a region's relative welfare. Hence, it is not the regions that do "not matter" that are most prone to the rise of populism, but the regions that once mattered, but are in long-term decline. Moreover, we find that regional knowledge represents an important channel through which the historical decline in wealth explains voting behavior in German regions.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Jena Economic Research Papers ; No. 2021-006

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes ; Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior ; Regional and Urban History: Europe: 1913-
• Subject: Populism ; economic development ; territorial inequality ; economic history

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Greve, Maria ; Fritsch, Michael ; Wyrwich, Michael
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Friedrich Schiller University Jena
• (where): Jena
• (when): 2021

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/243077
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET