IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cer/papers/wp744.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Voting under Debtor Distress

Author

Listed:
  • Jakub Grossmann
  • Stepan Jurajda

Abstract

There is growing evidence on the role of economic conditions in the recent successes of populist and extremist parties. However, little is known about the role of over-indebtedness, even though debtor distress has grown in Europe following the financial crisis. We study the unique case of the Czech Republic, where by 2017, nearly one in ten citizens had been served at least one debtor distress warrant even though the country consistently features low unemployment. Our municipality-level difference-in-differences analysis asks about the voting consequences of a rise in debtor distress following a 2001 deregulation of consumer-debt collection. We find that debtor distress has a positive effect on support for (new) extreme right and populist parties, but a negative effect on a (traditional) extreme-left party. The effects of debtor distress we uncover are robust to whether and how we control for economic hardship; the effects of debtor distress and economic hardship are of similar magnitude, but operate in opposing directions across the political spectrum.

Suggested Citation

  • Jakub Grossmann & Stepan Jurajda, 2023. "Voting under Debtor Distress," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp744, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    • Handle: RePEc:cer:papers:wp744
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp744.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jakub Lonsky, 2021. "Does immigration decrease far-right popularity? Evidence from Finnish municipalities," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 97-139, January.
    2. Yann Algan & Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou & Evgenia Passari, 2017. "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," Post-Print hal-02381560, HAL.
    3. 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.
    4. Yann Algan & Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou & Evgenia Passari, 2017. "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(2 (Fall)), pages 309-400.
    5. Yann Algan & Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou & Evgenia Passari, 2017. "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(2 (Fall)), pages 309-400.
    6. Patrick A Testa, 2021. "The Economic Legacy of Expulsion: Lessons from Post-War Czechoslovakia," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(637), pages 2233-2271.
    7. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/2i9jel1usb85nr2j7tejsaldfu is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Susan Payne Carter & William Skimmyhorn, 2017. "Much Ado about Nothing? New Evidence on the Effects of Payday Lending on Military Members," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(4), pages 606-621, July.
    9. Randall Akee & William Copeland & E. Jane Costello & John B. Holbein & Emilia Simeonova, 2018. "Family Income and the Intergenerational Transmission of Voting Behavior: Evidence from an Income Intervention," NBER Working Papers 24770, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Sebastian Doerr & Stefan Gissler & José‐Luis Peydró & Hans‐Joachim Voth, 2022. "Financial Crises and Political Radicalization: How Failing Banks Paved Hitler's Path to Power," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(6), pages 3339-3372, December.
    11. Maxim Ananyev & Sergei Guriev, 2019. "Effect of Income on Trust: Evidence from the 2009 Economic Crisis in Russia," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(619), pages 1082-1118.
    12. Siedler, Thomas, 2006. "Family and Politics: Does Parental Unemployment Cause Right-Wing Extremism?," IZA Discussion Papers 2411, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Eugenio Levi & Isabelle Sin & Steven Stillman, 2021. "Understanding the Origins of Populist Political Parties and the Role of External Shocks," CESifo Working Paper Series 9036, CESifo.
    14. Tito Boeri & Prachi Mishra & Chris Papageorgiou & Antonio Spilimbergo, 2018. "A Dialogue between a Populist and an Economist," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 191-195, May.
    15. Martin Halla & Alexander F. Wagner & Josef Zweimüller, 2017. "Immigration and Voting for the Far Right," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(6), pages 1341-1385.
    16. Brian T. Melzer, 2011. "The Real Costs of Credit Access: Evidence from the Payday Lending Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(1), pages 517-555.
    17. Vojtěch Bartoš & Michal Bauer & Jana Cahlíková & Julie Chytilová, 2022. "Communicating doctors’ consensus persistently increases COVID-19 vaccinations," Nature, Nature, vol. 606(7914), pages 542-549, June.
    18. Győző Gyöngyösi & Emil Verner, 2022. "Financial Crisis, Creditor‐Debtor Conflict, and Populism," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(4), pages 2471-2523, August.
    19. Guzi, Martin & Huber, Peter & Mikula, Štěpán, 2021. "The long-term impact of the resettlement of the Sudetenland on residential migration," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    20. Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham & Isaac Sorkin & Henry Swift, 2020. "Bartik Instruments: What, When, Why, and How," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(8), pages 2586-2624, August.
    21. 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.
    22. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1divsbu8t888r9vqektjbmlqoa is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Maxim Ananyev & Sergei Guriev, 2019. "Effect of Income on Trust: Evidence from the 2009 Economic Crisis in Russia," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(619), pages 1082-1118.
    24. Martin Steininger & Ralph Rotte, 2009. "Crime, unemployment, and xenophobia?," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 29(1), pages 29-63, February.
    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. 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.
    2. Győző Gyöngyösi & Emil Verner, 2022. "Financial Crisis, Creditor‐Debtor Conflict, and Populism," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(4), pages 2471-2523, August.
    3. Marco Manacorda & Guido Tabellini & Andrea Tesei, 2022. "Mobile internet and the rise of political tribalism in Europe," CEP Discussion Papers dp1877, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Marco Manacorda & Guido Tabellini & Andrea Tesei, 2022. "Mobile Internet and the Rise of Communitarian Politics," CESifo Working Paper Series 9955, CESifo.
    5. Vrolijk, Kasper, 2023. "How does globalisation affect social cohesion?," IDOS Discussion Papers 5/2023, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    6. 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.
    7. Federico Boffa & Vincenzo Mollisi & Giacomo A. M. Ponzetto, 2023. "Do incompetent politicians breed populist voters? Evidence from Italian municipalities," Economics Working Papers 1861, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    8. Cevat G. Aksoy & Sergei Guriev & Daniel S. Treisman, 2018. "Globalization, Government Popularity, and the Great Skill Divide," NBER Working Papers 25062, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Lechler, Marie, 2019. "Employment shocks and anti-EU sentiment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 266-295.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. Marco Angrisani & Marco Cipriani & Antonio Guarino & Ryan Kendall & Julen Zarate-Pina, 2024. "Non-Cognitive Skills at the Time of COVID-19: An Experiment with Professional Traders and Students," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(02), pages 1-37, June.
    13. Laura Barros & Manuel Santos Silva, 2019. "#EleNão: Economic crisis, the political gender gap, and the election of Bolsonaro," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 242, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    14. Lechler, Marie, 2018. "Employment Shocks and anti-EU Sentiment," Discussion Papers in Economics 49414, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    15. 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.
    16. Morelli, Massimo & Gennaro, Gloria & Lecce, Giampaolo, 2021. "Mobilization and the Strategy of Populism Theory and Evidence from the United States," CEPR Discussion Papers 15686, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. K. Peren Arin & Efstathios Polyzos & Marcel Thum, 2023. "The Populist Voter: A Machine Learning Approach for the Individual Characteristics," CESifo Working Paper Series 10472, CESifo.
    18. Gabriel, Ricardo Duque & Klein, Mathias & Pessoa, Sofia, 2022. "The Political Costs of Austerity," Working Paper Series 418, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    19. Albanese, Giuseppe & Barone, Guglielmo & de Blasio, Guido, 2022. "Populist voting and losers’ discontent: Does redistribution matter?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    20. Fornaro, Paolo & Kaihovaara, Antti, 2020. "Microdynamics, granularity and populism: The Finnish case," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Debtor distress; distress warrants; populist parties; extremist parties; the Czech Republic;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D18 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Protection
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:cer:papers:wp744. 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: Lucie Vasiljevova (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eiacacz.html .

    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.