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

Maria Greve, Michael Fritsch, Michael Wyrwich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

What characterizes regions where right-wing populist parties are relatively successful? A prominent hypothesis proposed in the emerging “geography of discontent” literature claims that places that are “left behind” constitute 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 high vote shares of populist parties are associated with the long-term decline of a region's relative welfare, which goes beyond a lifespan of people inhabiting such “left behind” places. Moreover, we are able to show that a place-based collective memory about past prosperity plays a crucial role in shaping present resentment. Finally, we find the education level of the regional population to be an important channel through which the collective memory about the past translates into populism support today.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)409-445
Number of pages37
JournalJournal of Regional Science
Volume63
Issue number2
Early online date2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Regional Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Funding

Financial support provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the framework of a joint research project Modernisierungsblockaden in Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft der DDR (Obstacles to Modernization in the Economy and Science of the GDR; project number 01UJ1806DY) is gratefully acknowledged. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. Financial support provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the framework of a joint research project (Obstacles to Modernization in the Economy and Science of the GDR; project number 01UJ1806DY) is gratefully acknowledged. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. Modernisierungsblockaden in Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft der DDR

FundersFunder number
Modernisierungsblockaden in Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft der DDR
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung01UJ1806DY

    Keywords

    • economic development
    • economic history
    • populism
    • territorial inequality

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