Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/274532 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
W.E.P. - Würzburg Economic Papers No. 104
Publisher: 
University of Würzburg, Department of Economics, Würzburg
Abstract: 
We propose that false beliefs about own current economic status are an important factor for explaining populist attitudes. Eliciting subjects' receptiveness to rightwing populism and their perceived relative income positions in a representative survey of German households, we find that people with pessimistic beliefs about their income position are more attuned to populist statements. Key to understanding the misperception-populism relationship are strong gender differences in the mechanism: men are much more likely to channel their discontent into affection for populist ideas. A simple information provision does neither sustainably reduce misperception nor curb populism.
Subjects: 
Perception
Income
Populism
JEL: 
D63
D72
D91
P16
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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