Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/331483 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper No. TI 2025-056/III
Publisher: 
Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam and Rotterdam
Abstract: 
We study the possible increase of partisan polarization in the Netherlands over the period 1998-2023, in particular its relationship with the degree of urbanization, the so-called urban-rural divide. Using national election results at the municipal level and municipal characteristics, we show that urban-rural polarization has indeed increased. A novel aspect of our paper is the introduction of shocks as possible explanatory variables. The effect of a shock on polarization depends on the type of shock. An exterior shock tends to increase cohesion and lower polarization, but an interior shock leads to less cohesion and more polarization.
Subjects: 
urban-rural divide
elections
shocks
geographic polarization
regional resentment
JEL: 
C52
D72
D74
D83
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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