We know populism has been on the rise and huge amounts of research has gone into documenting its drivers. But it might be more useful to look at what actually decreases populism, given that it’s here.
Which is where new research published last week comes in. The study digs into the relationships between populist voting, economic shocks and certain kinds of redistribution. Italy is the focus, which given they got going on this whole populism thing early is appropriate.
The research measures the impact on populist voting of areas of southern (poorer) Italy receiving EU cash aimed at reducing regional inequalities that northern regions did not get. The conclusion: areas that received support saw 2.5%-3% fewer populist votes compared with similar parts of the north. The visible attempt to support these regions meant anti-establishment ideologies were less prevalent. It’s worth noting that another effect was to reduce voter turnout, so it’s not all good news.
So what’s the policy lesson for the UK? More EU funding isn’t the most helpful idea a week into newly Brexit-ed Britain. But there’s a more useful takeaway: this is another reason for policy-makers to get serious about regional inequalities in the week the government’s industrial strategy council produced a report arguing that productivity gaps across the UK are at their highest for a century. Employment and earnings gaps have closed recently, but productivity differences are stubbornly high. Time to start cutting them down to size.
• Torsten Bell is chief executive of the Resolution Foundation. Read more at resolutionfoundation.org
