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Household Context in Populist Attitudes in the Netherlands: The Effect of Cohabiting Partners on Each Other’s Attitudes Towards Right Wing Populism

Author(s): Yoav Roll

Friday 16  |   13:00-13:20

Room: TP41

Session: Political Change and Conflict [s53]

In many nations, the rise of right-wing populism [RWP] has become a major concern in recent years. The right-wing populist movement has been moving from the margins to the centre stage (e.g., Colantone & Stanig, 2019). Both cultural and economic factors are often cited as causes. Several socio-economic changes occurred, beginning in the 1980s, that contributed to the rise of RWP: globalization, deindustrialization, de-unionisation, and automation (Rodrik, 2018). This paper expends upon the economic perspective of RWP (e.g., Guriev & Papaioannou, 2022) and examines the influence of household context on the rise of RWP. Economic and social life are encapsulated in the household, with political ideas discussed and economic resources exchanged between members (De Graaf & Heath, 2023). Using the Dutch Longitudinal Survey of Social Science, this study explores how partners develop and influence each other’s attitudes towards RWP based on their incomes, level of education, class, and sector. Hybrid random-effects hierarchical regression models are utilized to trace differences both between- and within-individuals. Findings demonstrate the effect of the household economic context on attitudes towards RWP. It shows that while men and women are quite independent in their attitude formation, gender differences are still evident. Women seem to be influenced by their partners' economic standing to a greater extent than do men. Men seem to be affected more by their personal economic status than women. This paper corroborates the historic trend of women’s growing economic independence (De Graaf & Heath, 2023). However, the paper also illuminates the importance of the household context in the understanding of political behaviour, as well as the persistence of gender inequality.