16101. Populist Leaders and the Economy
- Author:
- Manuel Funke, Moritz Schularick, and Christoph Trebesch
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
- Abstract:
- Populism at the country level is at an all-time high, with more than 25% of nations currently governed by populists. How do economies perform under populist leaders? We build a new cross-country database identifying 50 populist presidents and prime ministers 1900-2018. We find that the economic cost of populism is high. After 15 years, GDP per capita is more than 10% lower compared to a plausible non-populist counterfactual. Rising economic nationalism and protectionism, unsustainable macroeconomic policies, and institutional decay under populist rule do lasting damage to the economy.
- Topic:
- Economics, Nationalism, Populism, and Economic Growth
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus