Male Breadwinner Effect: When Unemployment Hits among Conservative Gender Norms

• In Event: Economic Insecurity, Policy Preferences, and Voting Behavior

Abstract

We study the effect of employment loss on men’s support for populist right-wing parties in Germany. Developing a formal model on identity, we predict that given conservative gender norms, unemployment triggers severe psychological stress among men as they can no longer meet the societal expectation of being the breadwinner. As one of the consequences, men become more likely to identify with other dominant group statuses, such as being a native. This shift in identity focus leads to increased support for right-wing populist views. We test our theory with survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) from 1984-2020. Using difference-in-differences, we estimate the effect of losing employment on men’s political attitudes and self-reported voting.

Authors

• Selina Hofstetter, Tecnológico de Monterrey

• Anna Maria Wilke, New York University

• Tinghua Yu, Birkbeck, University of London