Political Orientation of the Self-Employed in the Postindustrial Economy

• In Event: Socio-Economic Conflicts and Political Behavior

Abstract

The self-employed have typically been regarded as a bastion of right-wing voting. However, this bloc has been reshaped in recent years by an important structural shift: the rise of the “solo self-employed” (those without employees). This new category is particularly heterogeneous, including self-employed professionals as well as younger and economically insecure gig workers. Importantly, many members of this group increasingly resemble employees, but are exposed to heightened economic risks due to low levels of savings and a lack of access to the traditional social safety net. Unsurprisingly, then, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the self-employed particularly hard. Many countries have provided targeted aid to the self-employed during the pandemic, though identifying and calibrating financial aid to this group presents many challenges. How have these changes affected the political attitudes of the self-employed? To answer this question, I leverage variation in the exposure of the self-employed to this economic shock across rich democracies. In addition to looking at individual-level attitudes, I also consider how mobilization during a crisis may contribute to new collective identities. In particular, I examine the sustained mobilization of the self-employed in the UK, where numerous campaign groups have emerged to represent those “excluded” from governmental aid. Broadly speaking, this paper aims to contribute to the literature on how economic position affects political behavior, while emphasizing that this link is not automatic or deterministic, but is mediated by political structure and identities.

Author

• Sophie Hill, Harvard University