Show Notes
In this episode, we speak with Victoria Barone, Assistant Professor at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss her recent NBER paper that examines the possible relationship between the opioid epidemic and the political realignment between the Republican and Democratic parties.
While the public health consequences of the crisis are well-documented, Barone’s research uncovers a startling political fallout. We explore how the rise in opioid-related deaths and addiction has altered voting patterns, shifted party leanings, and influenced electoral outcomes in the hardest-hit communities.
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While we take a quick summer break, we wanted to re-release an episode that felt timely, given the rise of right-wing populism around the world. More than 25 percent of countries around the world are currently governed by populists, from Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, to Donald Trump in the United States. Based on these findings, populism is at an all-time high, and taking a significant economic toll, according to a recent paper by Christoph Trebesch and his co-authors.