
Abstract
We propose that false beliefs about the own current economic status are an important factor for explaining populist attitudes. Along with the subjects' receptiveness to right-wing populism, we elicit their perceived relative income positions in a representative survey of German households. We find that people with pessimistic beliefs about their income position are more attuned to populist statements. Key to understanding the misperception-populism relationship are strong gender differences in the mechanism: Misperception triggers income dissatisfaction for both men and women, but the former are much more likely to channel their discontent into affection for populist ideas.
Item Type: | Paper |
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Keywords: | perception, income, populism |
Faculties: | Economics > Collaborative Research Center Transregio "Rationality and Competition" |
Subjects: | 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics |
JEL Classification: | D63, D72, D91, P16 |
URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-epub-93484-6 |
Language: | English |
Item ID: | 93484 |
Date Deposited: | 25. Oct 2022, 12:45 |
Last Modified: | 25. Oct 2022, 12:46 |