Opinion formation in a changing regional economy

Sammanfattning: This thesis consists of an introduction followed by four independent papers. Each paper explores different aspects of opinion formation or voting behavior, using diverse data sources and unique geographical perspectives.In the first paper, I examine the urban-rural divide in radical right populist support. The findings suggest that this divide arises from a combination of diverse population characteristics, such as the distribution of highly educated individuals (composition explanations) and location-specific factors, like population development and public service supply (contextual explanations).The focus of the second paper is to investigate how perceptions of the capitalcity relate to various characteristics of one’s own locality. The results indicatethat inhabitants in non-urban or mixed areas, as well as those dissatisfiedwith their own region’s development, are more prone to perceive the capitalto have negative effects on their own area and the country overall.In the third paper, I examine the electoral effects of refugee exposure due tounanticipated refugee camp settlements in neighborhoods. The results display that hosting refugees increases support for the radical right populist party amongresidents. These effects appear to abate with distance and over time.Lastly, the fourth paper focuses on the role of newspaper ownership for thepolitical bias of newspapers. The results demonstrate that newspapers held by the same owner tend to exhibit a similar slant, rather than aligning their bias with the preferences of their local readership. During election periods, co-owned news-papers demonstrate an even greater similarity in their ideological slant composition.