Research Policy Network (RPNs)
Political Economy
Politics and economics
Populism
Depending on the definition, in the last ten years the European populists’ vote share in general elections increased by about 10-15 percentage points. Today, the number of large countries with populists in government is higher than ever in history.
There are two reasons to be concerned about the populists’ popularity. One is that their promises are not macroeconomically sustainable (as in Latin America in the past or in Turkey today). Most populists, however, have learned this lesson and once in power, recognise the macroeconomic constraints. The second reason is much more important - modern populists promise and, once in power, implement policies that (i) destroy economic and political checks and balances and (ii) create barriers for economic and political competition.
The evidence-based policy advice on why the recent rise of populism took place and how to counter it is still quite scarce. The main objective of this RPN is to bridge the gap between research and specific practical solutions.
In addition, the RPN will maintain the VoxEU Populism page as a forum for the wider debate.
Events
The Populism RPN hosts several events, including an annual meeting which is jointly organised with the Political Economy programme area’s annual symposium.
The RPN also co-organises the monthly POLECON Webinar Series with the Political Economy Programme and Preventing Conflict: Policies for Peace RPN.
Members
VoxEU Video
Rise in mobile tech and populism
Sergei Guriev looks at whether mobile broadband internet is a liberation or disinformation technology.
