Populism and Civil Society

IMF Working Papers, November 16, 2018

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Populism and Civil Society

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Bibliographic details

• Authors: Tito Boeri, Prachi Mishra, Chris Papageorgiou, Antonio Spilimbergo
• Published: November 16, 2018
• Series: IMF Working Papers
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484382356.001

Overview

• Populists claim to be the only legitimate representative of the people. The study asks whether this implies no space for civil society, given that since Tocqueville (1835) associations and civil society are recognized as key factors in a healthy liberal democracy.
• Geographic focus: Europe and Latin America.
• Time emphasis: stronger effects observed after the global financial crisis.

Research questions and scope

• Primary questions:
  • Do individuals who are members of civil associations vote less for populist parties?
  • Does membership in associations decrease when populist parties are in power?
• Empirical focus: experiences of Europe (rich civil society tradition) and Latin America (long history of populists in power).

Main findings

• Individuals belonging to associations are less likely by 2.4 to 4.2 percent to vote for populist parties.
• The average vote share for populist parties is from 10 to 15 percent.
• The effect of association membership on lower propensity to vote for populist parties is strong particularly after the global financial crisis.
• Membership in trade unions has unclear effects on voting for populist parties.

Implications and interpretation

• Association membership is associated with a meaningful reduction in voting for populist parties relative to their average vote share.
• Civil society associations appear to act as a bulwark against populist voting, especially in the post-global financial crisis period.
• Trade unions do not show a clear directional effect and warrant separate examination.

Subject areas and keywords (as listed)

• Subject: Civil society, Economic sectors, Education, Financial crises, Global financial crisis of 2008-2009, Labor, Labor unions, National accounts, Personal income
• Keywords: associations, Civil society, crisis party discipline, Democracy, Europe, Global, Global financial crisis of 2008-2009, Labor unions, Latin America, Manichean view, Personal income, political party, populist discourse, populist ideology, populist movement, populist parties, populist regime, populist vote, understanding populism, voting, WP

Content in this bundle

• Populism and Civil Society, WP/18/245, November 2018
  • Populism and Civil Society, WP/18/245, November 2018 (Markdown version)
  • Populism and Civil Society, WP/18/245, November 2018 (PDF)