INET Oxford member David Weisstanner, from the Employment, Equity and Growth Programme, has won the CES/JEPP Political Economy and Welfare Network Best Paper Prize 2019, together with his co-author Sarah Engler (University of Zurich).The paper, which has been published at the Journal of European Public Policy, looks at how income inequality and radical right voting are linked. The authors find that rising inequality signals to voters higher up in the income and status hierarchy the threat of a ‘steep’ social decline. When inequality increases, these voters then turn to radical right parties who offer to defend existing social boundaries.

The prize jury has selected this paper for its theoretical clarity, its substantive relevance especially in ongoing societal and political discussions, and its methodological rigor.