On Latin American Populism, and Its Echoes around the World

Bibliographic Data

ID4029154
AuthorsShane Edwards (0000-0002-3249-9702, Sebastian Edwards is Henry Ford II Professor of International Economics, Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, California, and Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts., corresponding author), Sebastián Edwards
Year2019
Volume33
Issue4
Pages76-99
Publication date2019-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Economic Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0895-3309 • E-ISSN: 1944-7965
PublisherAmerican Economic Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1257/jep.33.4.76
OpenAlexW2979619678
LanguageEN
Citations received30

In this article, I discuss the ways in which populist experiments have evolved historically. Populists are charismatic leaders who use a fiery rhetoric to pitch the interests of "the people" against those of banks, large firms, multinational companies, the International Monetary Fund, and immigrants. Populists implement redistributive policies that violate the basic laws of economics, and in particular budget constraints. Most populist experiments go through five distinct phases that span from euphoria to collapse. Historically, the vast majority of populist episodes end up badly; incomes of the poor and middle class tend to be lower than when the experiment was launched. I argue that many of the characteristics of traditional Latin American populism are present in more recent manifestations from around the globe

Charisma · Economic history · Economics · Globe · Immigration · Latin Americans · Middle class · Multinational corporation · Political economy · Political science · Populism · Rhetoric · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America · Populism, Right-Wing Movements

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