This article aims to develop a conceptual framework to address the economic dimension
of right-wing populism. Moving beyond classic left-right economics and the divide
between economic and cultural approaches, it argues that the political economy
of right-wing populists is intertwined with cultural values in the construction of the
‘true’ people as an economic community whose well-being is in decline and under
threat, and therefore needs to be restored. Looking at populist traditions across Europe
and the United States, the paper emphasizes the significance of ‘producerist’ frames
in economic populism. This is illustrated through an empirical analysis of differences
and similarities in the economic policies and discourses of three established
right-wing populist parties based in Europe (FN, SVP and UKIP), and the Tea Party
and Donald Trump in the United States. We find that economic populist frames are
common to all of the parties under scrutiny, albeit subject, however, to different interpretations
of the producerist antagonism and groups. Our findings confirm that
the intersection between economic populism and producerism provides a new—and
fruitful—perspective on right-wing populism, while simultaneously demonstrating
the relevance of a transatlantic approach to the study of the populist phenomenon.