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Economic Conditions and the Rise of Anti-Democratic Extremism

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin Crost

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Abstract

This paper provides evidence that adverse economic conditions contributed to the rise of anti-democratic extremism in the United States. A state-level analysis shows that increases in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession led to a large increase in the number of anti-democratic extremist groups. Further analysis shows that anti-democratic extremism is most strongly affected by the male unemployment rate and the white unemployment rate, consistent with the observation that most members of these extremist groups are white men. The effect of unemployment is concentrated in states with high pre-existing racial resentment, proxied by the number of racist web searches at baseline. If unemployment had remained at its pre-recession level, the increase in anti-democratic groups between 2007 and 2010 could have been reduced by more than 60%.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Crost, 2021. "Economic Conditions and the Rise of Anti-Democratic Extremism," HiCN Working Papers 350, Households in Conflict Network.
    • Handle: RePEc:hic:wpaper:350
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    5. Douglas L. Miller & Marianne E. Page & Ann Huff Stevens & Mateusz Filipski, 2009. "Why Are Recessions Good for Your Health?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 122-127, May.
    6. Anderson, D. Mark & Crost, Benjamin & Rees, Daniel I., 2020. "Do economic downturns fuel racial animus?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 9-18.
    7. Jefferson, Philip N. & Pryor, Frederic L., 1999. "On the geography of hate," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 389-395, December.
    8. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2000. "Are Recessions Good for Your Health?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 617-650.
    9. de Bromhead, Alan & Eichengreen, Barry & O'Rourke, Kevin H., 2013. "Political Extremism in the 1920s and 1930s: Do German Lessons Generalize?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 73(2), pages 371-406, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Klinenberg, Danny, 2024. "Selling Violent Extremism," Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series qt2rj4t2rh, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Great Recession; Economic Conditions; Unemployment; Anti-Democratic Extremism; Anti-Government Movement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War

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