Rental Market Risk and Radical Right Support.

Area of Science:

• Political Science
• Urban Studies
• Economics

Background:

• Existing research links economic threat to anti-establishment party support, primarily via labor market changes.
• Urban development and rising rents are understudied sources of economic anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of urban development and rent price appreciation on political affiliation.
• To identify if rising rents influence support for anti-establishment parties.

Main Methods:

• Utilized geo-referenced panel data at the individual level.
• Incorporated longitudinal data on rental housing costs at the postcode level.
• Focused analysis on Germany, a country with high rental housing prevalence.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that increasing local rent levels correlate with heightened support for radical right parties.
• Identified this effect most strongly among long-term residents with lower household incomes.
• Observed a particular concentration of this trend in urban areas.

Conclusions:

• Urban development and associated rent increases are significant, previously overlooked factors driving economic insecurity.
• These factors have notable implications for political landscapes and party support.
• Findings suggest a need to broaden the scope of economic factors considered in political science research.