The Ideological Basis of the Grexit Debate
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2015-11-14
Author(s)
Abstract
What explains the sharp divide among European publics over the ``Grexit," that is, the possibility of allowing Greece to default and leave the Eurozone? Being part of a currency union can provide its member states with benefits, but when a member state faces default, maintaining the currency union can impose substantial redistributive costs on the other members, giving rise to disagreements over the desired policy response. We explore such an instance, examining the divisions underlying the Grexit debate using original survey data from four of the largest European economies. We contend that differences in economic self-interest among citizens, as well as the often-mentioned chasm between supporters of mainstream and extremist parties, provide little insight into the domestic divide over the Grexit. Instead, we argue that the key factor was the split between left and right. We lay out a set of theoretical explanations for the prominence of left-right ideology in structuring the public debate. Testing these arguments, we find that the primary mechanism was a systematic difference between left and right voters in expectations about the economic consequences of a Grexit for Europe as a whole, the outcome of which some perceive as the free market's dictate.
Funding(s)
Language
English
Keywords
political economy
economic crisis
currency unions
democracy
public opinion
surveys
european union
comparative politics
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Event Title
10th Annual Meeting of the International Political Economy Society (IPES)
Event Location
Stanford
Event Date
13.-14.11.2015
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
245980