Online Appendix Empowered and Enraged: Political Efficacy, Anger, and Support for Populism in Europe Question wording Study 1 Experimental treatment We’ll present you a series of questions to assess your level of knowledge on the economy and finances. Each question has several possible answer options, of which only one is correct. If you do not know the question, simply chose the “Don’t know” option. [Correct answers in bold] 1. Let us assume that you need to borrow €100. Legally, which is the lower amount of money you have to return? Response options: “€100”, “€100 and the 3% of the interest rate”, “€105”, “I do not know” 2. Let us assume that you deposit €2,000 in a savings account with a fixed interest rate of 10%. The account has neither commissions nor taxes. If you neither make any further payments into this account nor withdraw any money from it, how much money will you have in the account at the end of two years? Response options: “€2,020”, “€2,040”, “€2,200”, “€2,420”, “I do not know”. 3. If interest rates rise, what should happen with price of the bonds? Response options: “It will increase”, “It will decrease”, “Interest rates do not affect the price of the bonds”, “I do not know”. 4. What limit does the Stability and Growth Pact set for government deficit and debt? Response options: “A deficit equivalent to 60% of the GDP and a debt equivalent to 3% of the GDP”, “A deficit equivalent to 30% of the GDP and a debt equivalent to 6% of the GDP”, “A deficit equivalent to 3% of the GDP and a debt equivalent to 60% of the GDP”, “A deficit equivalent to 6% of the GDP and a debt equivalent to 60% of the GDP”, “I do not know”. Populist attitudes Which of the two following statements do you agree most with? Response options: “It is better that a country’s economic policy is decided by public representatives and experts”, “It is better that a country’s economic policy is decided directly by the citizens”. To what extent do you agree with the statement you have chosen? Response options: “Very much”, “Somewhat”, “A little”. Emotions Thinking about the economic situation of the country, to what extent does it makes you feel…? Response options: “Not at all”, “A little”, “Somewhat”, “A fair amount”, “Very much”. 1. Anger 1 2. Fear 3. Optimism. Manipulation check To what extent do you agree with the following statements? Response options: “Totally disagree”, “Somewhat disagree”, “Neither agree nor disagree”, “Somewhat agree”, “Totally agree”. 1. I think I have a good understanding of the economic and financial issues affecting the country 2. I consider myself to be well qualified to have a voice in the country’s economic policy. Study 2 Populist attitudes To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? Response options: “Disagree Strongly”, “Disagree”, “Neither”, “Agree”, “Agree Strongly”. 1. The politicians in [country] need to follow the will of the people 2. The people, and not politicians, should make our most important policy decisions 3. The political differences between the elite and the people are larger than the differences among the people 4. I would rather be represented by a citizen than by a specialized politician 5. Elected officials talk too much and take too little action 6. What people call “compromise” in politics is really just selling out on one’s principles Internal efficacy To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Response options: “Disagree Strongly”, “Disagree”, “Neither”, “Agree”, “Agree Strongly”. 1. I consider myself well-qualified to participate in politics 2. I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of the important political issues facing our country 3. I think that I am as well-informed about politics and government as most people. Emotions The economic situation in my country makes me feel… (Please report your feelings on a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 means “Not at all” and 10 means “Very much”). 1. Angry 2. Disgusted 3. Fearful 4. Anxious Education What is the highest level of education that you have completed? Coded using a standardized 9-level standardised scheme running from “Primary education or less” to “Doctoral degree or equivalent”. 2 Political sophistication Additive index based on four factual knowledge items: 1. Can you tell who is the person in this picture? [Picture of Jean Claude Junker] Response options: (1) José Manuel Durão Barroso, former President of the European Commission; (2) Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe; (3) Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; (4) Jean Claude Juncker, current President of the European Commission. 2. What does public deficit mean? Response options: (1) The lack of public service provision; (2) The money the government owes to its creditors; (3) The money the government fails to collect due to tax fraud; (4) The difference between government receipts and government spending. 3. Who sets the interest rates applicable in [respondent’s country]? Response options: (1) The government of [respondent’s country]; (2) The International Monetary Fund; (3) The European Central Bank; (4) The Central Bank of [respondent’s country]. 4. As a percentage, what do you think is the current unemployment rate in [country of respondent]? Responses within a ±1% of the official rate were considered correct. A “Don’t Know” option was offered and people could also skip the question. 3 Table A1. Descriptive statistics of Study 1 Experimental conditions Total Variable [range] Control Treated Difference p sample Female [0, 1] 0.50 0.52 0.47 0.04 0.11 (0.50) (0.50) (0.50) Age [18-65] 41.05 40.62 41.49 -0.87 0.16 (12.13) (12.05) (12.19) Education [1-9] 0.45 0.45 0.44 0.01 0.55 (0.28) (0.29) (0.28) Populism [0-1] 0.38 0.42 0.34 0.08 <0.001 (0.31) (0.32) (0.30) Anger [0-1] 0.68 0.69 0.66 0.03 <0.05 (0.26) (0.26) (0.26) Anxiety [0-1] 0.65 0.65 0.64 0.01 0.31 (0.26) (0.26) (0.26) Optimism [0-1] 0.33 0.33 0.33 -0.01 0.60 (0.25) (0.25) (0.24) Internal efficacy [0-1] 0.55 0.57 0.53 0.04 <0.001 (0.21) (0.22) (0.21) N 1,515 763 752 Standard deviations in parentheses. 4 Table A2. Treatment effects on internal political efficacy and feelings of anxiety and optimism, Study 1 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Efficacy Eff. item 1 Eff. item 2 Fear Optimism Treatment -0.042*** -0.040*** -0.045*** -0.013 0.007 (0.011) (0.012) (0.012) (0.013) (0.013) Constant 0.567*** 0.571*** 0.564*** 0.652*** 0.327*** (0.008) (0.008) (0.009) (0.009) (0.009) N 1,515 1,515 1,515 1,515 1,515 Standard errors in parentheses. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 Table A3. Descriptive statistics of Study 2 Variable # Observations Mean Std. Dev. Min Max Populist attitudes 16,765 0.696 0.178 0 1 Internal efficacy 16,765 0.584 0.222 0 1 Anger 16,765 0.550 0.315 0 1 Anxiety 16,627 0.551 0.279 0 1 Female 16,765 0.519 0.500 0 1 Age 16,765 44.800 14.800 18 95 Education 16,765 0.464 0.234 0 1 Political sophistication 16,765 0.509 0.277 0 1 5