Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote.

ABSTRACT: This study evaluates evidence pertaining to popular narratives explaining the American public's support for Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election. First, using unique representative probability samples of the American public, tracking the same individuals from 2012 to 2016, I examine the "left behind" thesis (that is, the theory that those who lost jobs or experienced stagnant wages due to the loss of manufacturing jobs punished the incumbent party for their economic misfortunes). Second, I consider the possibility that status threat felt by the dwindling proportion of traditionally high-status Americans (i.e., whites, Christians, and men) as well as by those who perceive America's global dominance as threatened combined to increase support for the candidate who emphasized rees

SUBMITTER: Mutz DC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5948965 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature