Downward Mobility and Far-Right Party Support: Broad Evidence

Much debate has centered on the relative effects of economic and cultural factors on support for far-right parties. Recent work, however, has proposed a synthesis focused on the role of social status, a concept capturing a combination of economic position and social esteem. While previous studies have adduced suggestive evidence that status loss shapes far-right support, this paper presents the broadest empirical assessment of the proposition to date. Focusing on long-term status change, operationalized as intergenerational occupational mobility, we find a strong relationship between mobility and support for the far right across 11 European countries. Moreover, adopting a modeling approach that addresses confounding between status levels and status change, we demonstrate an asymmetry: while downward mobility predicts increased far-right voting, upward mobility has little effect. The findings suggest that long-run economic forces that have depressed the occupational prospects of native-born workers contribute to the far right's rise.