IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v24y2023i7d10.1007_s10902-023-00685-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Subjective Well-Being and Populist Voting in the Netherlands

Author

Listed:
  • Martijn J. Burger

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam
    Open University of the Netherlands
    University of Johannesburg)

  • Susanna Eiselt

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Abstract

This study analyzes whether subjective well-being can explain the populist vote in the Netherlands. Using data on voting intention and subjective well-being for over 7700 individuals from 2008 to 2019—a period during which populist parties became well-established in the Netherlands—we estimate logit and multinomial logit random effects regressions. We find evidence of an association between decreased subjective well-being and the probability to vote for a populist party that goes beyond changes in dissatisfaction with society—lack of confidence in parliament, democracy and the economy—and ideological orientation. At the same time, we find no evidence for a relationship between subjective well-being and voting for other non-incumbent parties other than populist parties.

Suggested Citation

  • Martijn J. Burger & Susanna Eiselt, 2023. "Subjective Well-Being and Populist Voting in the Netherlands," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(7), pages 2331-2352, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:24:y:2023:i:7:d:10.1007_s10902-023-00685-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-023-00685-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-023-00685-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-023-00685-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon Hanson & Kaveh Majlesi, 2020. "Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(10), pages 3139-3183, October.
    2. Piet Ouweneel & Ruut Veenhoven, 2016. "Happy Protest Voters: The Case of Rotterdam 1997–2009," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 739-756, March.
    3. repec:cup:apsrev:v:65:y:1971:i:1:p:131-143_1 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Nowakowski, Adam, 2021. "Do unhappy citizens vote for populism?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Giebler, Heiko & Hirsch, Magdalena & Schürmann, Benjamin & Veit, Susanne, 2021. "Discontent With What? Linking Self-Centered and Society-Centered Discontent to Populist Party Support," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 69(4), pages 900-920.
    6. Algan, Yann & Beasley, Elizabeth & Cohen, Daniel & Foucault, Martial, 2018. "The rise of populism and the collapse of the left-right paradigm: Lessons from the 2017 French presidential election," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1805, CEPREMAP.
    7. Italo Colantone & Piero Stanig, 2019. "The Surge of Economic Nationalism in Western Europe," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 128-151, Fall.
    8. Italo Colantone & Piero Stanig, 2018. "The Trade Origins of Economic Nationalism: Import Competition and Voting Behavior in Western Europe," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 62(4), pages 936-953, October.
    9. Ruut Veenhoven, 2000. "The Four Qualities of Life," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-39, March.
    10. Simon Otjes & Tom Louwerse, 2015. "Populists in Parliament: Comparing Left-Wing and Right-Wing Populism in the Netherlands," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 63(1), pages 60-79, March.
    11. Kramer, Gerald H., 1971. "Short-Term Fluctuations in U.S. Voting Behavior, 1896–1964," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(1), pages 131-143, March.
    12. Sergei Guriev, 2018. "Economic Drivers of Populism," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 200-203, May.
    13. Zaslove, Andrej, 2008. "Here to Stay? Populism as a New Party Type," European Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 319-336, July.
    14. Anthony Downs, 1957. "An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(2), pages 135-135.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jante Parlevliet & Massimo Giuliodori & Matthijs Rooduijn, 2023. "Populist attitudes, fiscal illusion and fiscal preferences: evidence from Dutch households," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 197(1), pages 201-225, October.
    2. Eugenio Levi & Fabrizio Patriarca, 2020. "An exploratory study of populism: the municipality-level predictors of electoral outcomes in Italy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(3), pages 833-875, October.
    3. Jante Parlevliet & Massimo Giuliodori & Matthijs Rooduijn, 2021. "Populist attitudes, fiscal illusion and fiscal preferences: evidence from Dutch households," Working Papers 731, DNB.
    4. Albanese, Giuseppe & Barone, Guglielmo & de Blasio, Guido, 2022. "Populist voting and losers’ discontent: Does redistribution matter?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Amory Gethin & Clara Martínez-Toledano & Thomas Piketty, 2022. "Brahmin Left Versus Merchant Right: Changing Political Cleavages in 21 Western Democracies, 1948–2020," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(1), pages 1-48.
    6. Andreas Bergh & Anders Kärnä, 2021. "Globalization and populism in Europe," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 51-70, October.
    7. Eugenio Levi & Isabelle Sin & Steven Stillman, 2021. "Understanding the Origins of Populist Political Parties and the Role of External Shocks," Working Papers 21_09, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    8. Eugenio Levi & Isabelle Sin & Steven Stillman, 2024. "The lasting impact of external shocks on political opinions and populist voting," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(1), pages 349-374, January.
    9. Brey, Björn, 2024. "The effect of recent technological change on US immigration policy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    10. Backes, Annika & Mueller, Steffen, 2024. "Import shocks and voting behavior in Europe revisited," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    11. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
    12. Massimo Bordignon & Tommaso Colussi, 2020. "Dancing with the Populist. New Parties, Electoral Rules and Italian Municipal Elections," CESifo Working Paper Series 8626, CESifo.
    13. Gabriele Gratton & Barton E Lee, 2024. "Liberty, Security, and Accountability: The Rise and Fall of Illiberal Democracies," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(1), pages 340-371.
    14. Alexandre Chirat & Cyril Hédoin, 2023. "Toward an economic theory of populism: Uncertainty, Information, and Public Interest in Downs’s Political Economy," EconomiX Working Papers 2023-16, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    15. Gianmarco Daniele & Amedeo Piolatto & Willem Sas, 2018. "Who Sent You? Strategic Voting, Transfers and Bailouts in a Federation," Working Papers. Serie AD 2018-05, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    16. Mithani, Murad A., 2024. "Nationalistic political rhetoric: measurement and preliminary insights," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2).
    17. Kellermann, Kim Leonie, 2024. "Trust we lost: The impact of the Treuhand experience on political alienation in East Germany," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 54-75.
    18. Silva, Rui, 2024. "Well-being foundations of populism in Europe," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    19. Frédéric Docquier & Lucas Guichard & Stefano Iandolo & Hillel Rapoport & Riccardo Turati & Gonzague Vannoorenberghe, 2022. "Populism and the Skill-Content of Globalization: Evidence from the Last 60 Years," CESifo Working Paper Series 10068, CESifo.
    20. Robert Gold, 2022. "From a better understanding of the drivers of populism to a new political agenda," Working Papers 4, Forum New Economy.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:24:y:2023:i:7:d:10.1007_s10902-023-00685-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.