Populists are causing GDP to shrink. This is what researchers at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy found out in an analysis spanning 120 years.
15 years after a populist came to power, his country's gross domestic product (GDP) was on average 10 percent lower than in a comparable state not governed by populists. The decline usually began two to three years after coming to power. “In the medium and long term, virtually all countries governed by populism experience subpar economic performance,” the authors write.