The Price of Populism: Financial Market Outcomes of Populist Electoral Success

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Reference

Stöckl, S., & Rode, M. (2021). The Price of Populism: Financial Market Outcomes of Populist Electoral Success. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 189, 51-83. (ABDC_2022: A*; VHB_3: A)

Publication type

Article in Scientific Journal

Abstract

Following financial research on the importance of public policy for asset prices, we hypothesize that the success of populist movements impacts risk assessments in financial markets. Building a novel dataset, findings show for a sample of Western democracies that the success of populist parties has a direct impact on volatility in major domestic market indexes, measured from option prices spanning national elections. Despite its anti-capitalist rhetoric, the political insecurity generated by populist movements on the far left only partially translates into financial insecurity in the context of institutionalized democracies. In turn, we find the electoral success of right-wing populists to reduce risk assessments, which could be driven by its frequent association with rent-seeking and big business.

Persons

Organizational Units

  • Chair in Finance
  • Institute for Finance

Original Source URL

Link

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.06.037