The dual economy, climate change, and the polarization of American politics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4237355 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas Oatley (0000-0002-1604-6092, Tulane University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 1355-1380 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Socio-Economic Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1475-1461 • E-ISSN: 1475-147X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ser/mwad052 |
| OpenAlex | W4387327499 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 32 |
This article explores two questions. What generates the political division over climate change policy in the United States? How is the division over climate change policy related to the broader polarization of contemporary American politics? I argue that the geographies of America's dual economy-the knowledge economy and the carbon economy-and exposure to the climate crisis intersect to generate a new axis of conflict, which I call the carbon-climate cleavage. This cleavage produces political division over climate change and provides materialist elements that accompany the sociocultural factors that shape contemporary polarization. I demonstrate the existence of the cleavage and its impact using data on economic geography, political attitudes on climate change policy, and support for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. The empirical analysis indicates that carbon economy communities oppose climate change policy and support Trump, while knowledge economy residents support climate change policy and oppose Trump
Climate change · Economics · Polarization (electrochemistry) · Political economy · Political economy of climate change · Political science · Politics · Presidential election · Presidential system · Climate Change and Geoengineering · Climate Change Communication and Perception
Climate at what cost? A survey experiment on trade-offs between decarbonization ambitions and socioeconomic costs
Asset struggles
Broken links
Navigating Eco‐Social Policymaking
Why the Fed and ECB parted ways on climate change
What makes Guatemalan citizens green
What kind of energy transition? Public opinion trade-offs between economic growth, ecological sustainability, and equity
The Ecologism/Productivism cleavage
There is more to national economies than the national economy
The Vanishing Middle Class
Ethnic antagonism erodes Republicans’ commitment to democracy
Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure
Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour
Boomerang Effects in Science Communication
The China Shock
Prisoners of the Wrong Dilemma
Green Industrial Policy and the Global Transformation of Climate Politics
Why has regional income convergence in the U.S. declined
The centre-periphery divide and attitudes towards climate change measures among Western Europeans
The Trade Origins of Economic Nationalism
Identity crisis
Democratic Limits to Redistribution
Is Polarization a Myth
Race, Place, and Building a Base
Vote Switching in the 2016 Election
Climate‐Science Communication and the Measurement Problem
Economic Self-Interest and Americans’ Redistributive, Class, and Racial Attitudes
Populism in Place
Winners and Losers in International Trade
Support for Free Trade
Why Don't Trade Preferences Reflect Economic Self-Interest
Climate Change
The Causes of Populism in the West
Interests, Norms and Support for the Provision of Global Public Goods
Asset Revaluation and the Existential Politics of Climate Change
United States
Monetary Populism in Nineteenth-Century America
Creating Climate Coalitions
Gone For Good
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 9 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |