Rent and resentment: The effect of rental burden on populist radical right support

Abstract

How does rental burden influence support for populist radical right parties? Existing theories suggest cultural and economic factors drive support for the populist radical right, but they often overlook the specific impact of housing costs. This thesis investigates the role of rental burden by analysing Germany’s Mietpreisbremse policy using a Two-Way Fixed Effects regression and a Difference-in-Difference estimation on aggregate and micro-level data from 2013 to 2021. Findings indicate that a decrease in rental burden leads to reduced support for the populist radical right, specifically the AfD. This effect is driven by status anxiety and geotropic effects. Results suggest that affordable housing policies can mitigate political discontent and reduce the appeal of populist radical right parties.