Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/330292 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
CITP Working Paper No. 023
Publisher: 
Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP), University of Sussex Business School, Brighton
Abstract: 
Regional economic conditions affect livelihoods and the geography of political resentment. Yet, individuals do not equally partake in their region's economic fortunes, and their perceptions of relative deprivation need not be the same. Grievances are likely to be shaped not only by income disparities but also by how personal prospects are tied to regional conditions. We argue that the interaction between subjective individual and regional relative deprivation crucially affects perceptions of shared experience and systemic unfairness. Through a large-scale survey experiment in Britain, we provide causal evidence that poor individuals in poor regions express more political resentment due to diminished personal financial prospects and social status. In contrast, political attitudes among poor and wealthy individuals are indistinguishable in affluent regions. Our findings reveal how reference groups affect subjective perceptions of relative deprivation and highlight the importance of egocentric mechanisms, whereby the local economy shapes expectations of individual prospects.
Subjects: 
Inequality
populism
democracy
regions
survey experiment
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.