In explaining the rise of populism, it’s not economic anxiety vs. identity politics – it’s both

Deindustrialization has decimated the blue-collar workforce in the US. … Our research examines the effects of deindustrialization on electoral politics. Specifically, we explore how deindustrialization affected voting in three US presidential elections (2008-2016), using county-level data which captures localized manufacturing job losses. Our argument is that responses to what we […] Read more »

Can Reality Live Up To Expectations?

All indicators right now point to “go.” Americans have never been more optimistic about their financial futures, and many are busy planning social, active summers. But the recent April jobs report suggests that we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves. Jobs growth was much slower than projected, and unemployment […] Read more »

Americans’ Confidence in Their Finances Has Mostly Recovered

After slipping last April, the percentage of Americans feeling positive about their finances has fully rebounded to where it was in 2019. Fifty-seven percent now describe their current financial situation as excellent or good. That is one percentage point higher than the 56% recorded in 2019 and significantly better than […] Read more »