Alessia Aspide

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Don’t miss this week's webinar on Wednesday, 17th Dec, at 1pm CEST. Alexandre Afonso (@alexandreafonso.bsky.social) will present his co-authored paper on public opinion towards immigrants & Martin Ruhs will join us to discuss.

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In a second experiment, we study preferences in the context of parties' platforms: when asked how to reduce debt, people prefer immigration over austerity, and would rather increase immigration than let debt grow unchecked.

Using a real figure from Italy’s 2023 budget law, showing that public debt falls when immigration rises, we find that informing citizens of the fiscal effects of immigration leads to more positive views of immigrants and stronger support for pro-immigration policies.

The mass politics of public debt, immigration, and austerity Several European governments are confronting both high public debt and ageing populations. Policymakers will confront the unpopular choices of austerity, increasing immigration, or continuing to le...

Immigration can help ageing countries reduce public debt by easing fiscal pressure. Yet this narrative is rarely heard in media or political discourse.

🔍 How does the public react when the fiscal benefits of immigration are made visible?

Check out our latest publication 👇🏽 @mdigiuseppe.bsky.social

Understanding Public Support for Budget Cuts and Tax Increases In her dissertation, political scientist Alessia Aspide explores how public attitudes toward fiscal policy are formed. Her key finding: fiscal preferences are not shaped in a vacuum, but are deeply em...

Next week, on the 15th of May, Alessia Aspide @aspidea.bsky.social will defend her thesis 'Fiscal Preferences in Context: Fiscal rules, political agendas, and the mass politics of public debt'.

Read about her key findings here: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

The Deportation Nightmare Begins Whatever Trump intends, this will spiral out of control

The attack on immigrants — which I don't think Trump can moderate — will make America poorer as well as uglier paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-deport...

Application deadline: January 15, 2025

Special Call:

The MPIfG is offering a one-year postdoctoral fellowship in economic sociology or political economy, intended for researchers (f/m/d) from Palestine and Lebanon

career.mpifg.de/jobposting/e...

Public finance issues in Europe often bring Greece or Italy to mind. But France? This insightful piece unpacks the turmoil surrounding France's budget deficit and explains how it has largely avoided scrutiny—until now. A must-read! 👇

The non-effect of European fiscal rules on public opinion Do European fiscal rules make it easier for governments to “sell” spending cuts to their voters? Drawing on a survey experiment in Italy, Alessia Aspide finds such rules have little impact on domes…

Also here: blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...

"Austerity remains a looming spectre on the political horizon of Europe. International obligations can raise public support for costly domestic policies, but can European fiscal rules influence public opinion and boost support for austerity?"

Check the results of my survey experiment!