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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Courtney McNamaraORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.The literature on populism is divided on whether economic factors are significant and robust causes of populism. To clarify this, we performed the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence of a causal association between economic insecurity and populism. We combined database searches with searching the citations of eligible studies and recently published reviews. We identified and reviewed thirty-six studies and presented a concise narrative summary and numerical synthesis of the key findings. Although we found significant heterogeneity in several dimensions, all studies reported a significant causal association. A recurrent magnitude was that economic insecurity explained around one-third of recent surges in populism. We tested for publication bias by conducting a funnel-plot asymmetry test and a density discontinuity test of the distribution of t-statistics. We found significant evidence of publication bias; however, the causal association between economic insecurity and populism remains significant after controlling for it.
Author(s): Scheiring G, Serrano-Alarcon M, Moise A, McNamara C, Stuckler D
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: British Journal of Political Science
Year: 2024
Issue: ePub ahead of Print
Online publication date: 22/02/2024
Acceptance date: 03/01/2024
Date deposited: 19/06/2024
ISSN (print): 0007-1234
ISSN (electronic): 1469-2112
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123424000024
DOI: 10.1017/S0007123424000024
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