Populism and the Skill-Content of Globalization

Docquier, Frédéric;Iandolo, Stefano;Rapoport, Hillel;Turati, Riccardo;Vannoorenberghe, Gonzague
(2026) The Economic Journal — (2026)

Files

Revised Populism and Globalization.pdf
  • Embargo Access until 2027-02-16
  • Adobe PDF
  • 9.99 MB
Request a copy

Details

Authors
  • Docquier, FrédéricLISER, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research
    Author
  • Iandolo, StefanoDISES, Université degli Studi di Salerno
    Author
  • Rapoport, HillelParis School of Economics, CEPII, LISER and CEPR
    Author
  • Turati, RiccardoDEA, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, IZA and RFBerlin
    Author
  • Vannoorenberghe, GonzagueUCLouvain
    Author
Abstract
We propose new ways to measure populism, using the Manifesto Project Database (1960-2019) as main source of data. We characterize the evolution of populism over 60 years and show empirically that it is significantly impacted by the skill-content of globalization. Specifically, imports of goods which are intensive in low-skill labor generate more right-wing populism, and low-skill immigration shifts the distribution of votes to the right, with more votes for right-wing populist parties and less for left-wing populist parties. In contrast, imports of high-skill labor intensive goods, as well as high-skill immigration flows, tend to reduce the volume of populism.
Affiliations

Citations

  • APA
  • Chicago
  • FWB

Docquier, F., Iandolo, S., Rapoport, H., Turati, R., & Vannoorenberghe, G. (2026). Populism and the Skill-Content of Globalization. The Economic Journal. Accepted/in-press. https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueag019 (Original work published 2026)