Electoral Chairs’ Seminars – 23 March

Does Austerity Cause Polarization?

Evelyne Hübscher (Central European University)
Thomas Sattler (University of Geneva)
Markus Wagner (University of Vienna)

In recent decades, governments in many Western democracies have shown a remarkable consensus in pursuing austerity during periods of strained public finances. In this paper, we show that these decisions have consequences for political polarization. Our macro-level analysis of 166 elections since 1980 finds that fiscal restraint increases both electoral abstention and votes for non-mainstream parties, thereby boosting party system polarization. A detailed analysis of selected fiscal adjustments also shows that new, small and radical parties benefit most from austerity policies. Finally, survey experiments with a total of 8,800 respondents in Germany, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom indicate that the effects of austerity on polarization are particularly pronounced when the mainstream right and left parties both stand for fiscal restraint. Austerity is a substantial cause of political polarization and hence political instability in industrialized democracies.

Contact Semih Çakır if you would like to participate in the seminar.

This content has been updated on 22 March 2022 at 18 h 17 min.