Rigged : understandings of 'the economy' in Brexit Britain

Most people find it hard to define ‘the economy’ beyond saying it is ‘to do with money’. This book explores what ‘the economy’ means to people’s lives in Brexit Britain and what goes through their minds when they hear politicians talking about it. Through research with people from a range of backgrounds in a city on the sSouth coast of England conducted between 2016 and 2018, it reveals what they understand about key aspects of ‘the economy’, including employment, austerity, trade and the economic effects of migration.The book comes at a crucial point. There is widespread commentary that those who support Leave attach less importance to ‘the economy’ than those who support Remain. However, political scientists have neglected research into what the term ‘the economy’ means to people. This book suggests that it is a less neutral term, based on shared goals, than it has been in the past. While high- income participants, regardless of their political beliefs or referendum vote, tend to feel connected to what could be described as the official version of ‘the economy’, lower- income participants feel less connected and see both ‘the economy’ and economic expertise as ‘rigged’. These changes are not just the result of the Brexit debate but have longer- term roots. The book highlights the value of political ethnographic methods for researching nebulous concepts such as this one. It will be of interest to a general and political science audience and contributes to debates in political behaviour and political economy. "Most people find it hard to define 'the economy' beyond saying it is 'to do with money'. This book explores what 'the economy' means to people's lives in Brexit Britain and what goes through their minds when they hear politicians talking about it. Through ethnographic research with people from a range of backgrounds in a city on the South coast of England conducted between 2016 and 2018, it explores what they understand about key aspects of 'the economy', including employment, austerity, trade and the economic effects of migration. The book contributes to debates in political behaviour and political economy. It comes at a critical point, when some argue 'Brexit identities' are becoming entrenched and there is widespread commentary that those who support Leave attach less importance to 'the economy'. The book suggests that before we can assess how much importance people attach to a term we need to know more about their underlying understanding of it.The fieldwork challenges the widespread assumption that everyone understands 'the economy' as a term for largely neutral and impersonal forces. It reveals that understandings of the term 'the economy' are shared by people with similar experiences of it, regardless of whether they support Leave or Remain. Understandings of what 'the economy' means seem to be changing, shaped by Brexit, the aftermath of the 2008 crash and decades of neoliberalism. This book will be of interest to a general audience as well as students and lecturers in political science." -- Back cover Most people find it hard to define 'the economy' beyond saying it is 'to do with money'. This book explores what 'the economy' means to people's lives in Brexit Britain and what goes through their minds when they hear politicians talking about it. Through ethnographic research with people from a range of backgrounds in a city on the South coast of England conducted between 2016 and 2018, it explores what they understand about key aspects of the economy, including employment, austerity, trade and the economic effects of migration. Within political science and media commentary people's Brexit identities are often portrayed as linked with the importance they attach to 'the economy'. But at a critical point in our history, this study suggests that understandings of what 'the economy' means may in themselves be changing Front matter Contents List of figures List of tables Series editor's preface Preface What is ‘the economy’? Researching understandings of ‘the economy’ Provisioning: ‘whole buildings have disappeared’ ‘Government debt is not an issue’ Trade and migration: ‘other people’ ‘The word economy is hollow’ Formal and rigged versions of ‘the economy’ in Brexit Britain ‘Economically, something new, something different’ Appendix References Index Most people find it hard to define 'the economy' beyond saying it is 'to do with money'. Through ethnographic research in a city on the South coast of England, this book explores what 'the economy' means to people's lives and what goes through their minds when they hear politicians talking about it. -- .