The Legacy of Growing Up in a Recession on Attitudes Towards European Integration
Despina Gavresi, University of Luxembourg
In the midst of recurring crises and the rising appeal of populist movements, it is more crucial than ever to understand the factors that underpin EU cohesion and solidarity. This paper examines the long-term consequences of experiencing a recession on individual attitudes towards the European Union (EU). Using data from the European Social Survey (ESS), we demonstrate that individuals who have been exposed to multiple recessions throughout their lifetime tend to manifest lower trust in European institutions, are opposed to a deeper European integration, they are more inclined to support to leave EU and vote for Eurosceptic parties. Interestingly these results hold particularly in the face of asymmetric shocks experienced within the EU, where the results are statistically insignificant or even the opposite in the face of symmetric shocks. Via a series of robustness and heterogeneity checks, the paper underscores the significant and long-standing implications of past economic crises on shaping public attitudes towards the EU, suggesting that historical economic experiences matter and should be factored in policy-making to maintain EU cohesion.
