Views of the Economy

UCL Uncovering Politics

We talk endlessly about the economy in politics. The state of the economy is said to shape election results, with incumbents doing well if it's up, and badly if its down, but what is the economy? Do we all agree on what this idea means? Do different conceptions lead to different ideas across society about the policies that should be pursued?

Questions such as these were cast into sharp light by the vote for Brexit in 2016. Did leavers and remainers have different understandings of the economy and was this what drove their decision?

A fascinating new study by Dr Anna Killick seeks to answer such queries and she joins us to look at how people view the economy.

Host: Dr Alan Renwick

Dr Anna Killick

Anna's book ‘Rigged: understanding of "the economy" in Brexit Britain’ is available through Manchester University Press for those who want to delve deeper into her research of the divisions in how people on low and high incomes viewed the economy.

UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.