Research-based perspectives on the connection between economic policy and rising support for authoritarian populism
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Key Takeaways Overview In 2025, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth began to explore the evidence behind a link between the effects of economic policies and global support for authoritarian populist candidates for political office. We saw the U.S. experience as part of a global trend and want…
Populist voters feel a sense of loss that is reshaping democracies around the world
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Overview Across Europe, populist parties—once relegated to the political fringe—are now mainstays of national politics. Some are even winning power in the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Austria, and beyond. Whether left-wing or right-wing, populists share a message that resonates widely: The system has…
Threats to social status and support for far-right political parties
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Overview Once on the political fringes, far-right parties have become established actors in many democracies. The European Parliament election in 2024, for example, resulted in far-right parties receiving more than 20 percent of the vote, and far-right parties are now represented in nearly all natio…
A place-based economic development strategy to foster rural U.S. prosperity
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Overview Whether one lives in a city of 2 million people or a town of 2,000, we all want to live in healthy and thriving communities, to have the chance to move forward in life, and to be free from the worry about “just getting by.” That is why it is important for policymakers to […]
How U.S. tax policies have fueled right-wing populism
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Overview Among the many factors fueling support for right-wing populism in the United States is federal tax policies. The nation’s tax system confuses, frustrates, and angers many citizens in ways that leave them vulnerable to populist appeals from the right. A mismatch between how the federal tax s…
To restore democracy, end shareholder primacy at U.S. corporations and on Wall Street
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Overview Workers in the United States have no say over business decisions made in their workplaces by corporate America. Unions, of course, are important for workers’ ability to exercise power over their terms and conditions of employment, but they have no role in interrupting the laser focus of sha…
The political implications of bad jobs and the decline of unions
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Overview Bad jobs have become a distinctive feature of the U.S. economy over the past few decades. Globally, a lack of adequate demand, or what economists call “secular stagnation,” has meant there are too few jobs for too many people, leading to wage suppression and jobless recoveries. Poor job qua…
Federal and state governments can help solve the employment problems of people in distressed places to spur equitable growth
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Overview Places in the United States differ greatly in their residents’ access to jobs, including access to good jobs. In economically distressed places, these job problems can be addressed by creating more jobs, particularly good jobs, and by improving residents’ access to those jobs. Effective pol…
More accurately measuring economic sentiment will help build a U.S. economy—and democracy—that works for all
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Overview When politicians and members of the media discuss the state of “the economy” in the United States, they often use a small handful of data points. Of all the indicators of economic performance, just four are relied on as the primary gauges of the U.S. fiscal direction: Gross Domestic Product…
Understanding the role of immigration and economic factors in boosting support for far-right political parties
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Overview Far-right and right-wing populist political parties differ in many respects, but nearly all share one common thread: strong opposition to immigration. These parties often push for stricter border controls and, in some cases, advocate for repatriating immigrant communities already in the cou…