Understanding the social and cultural bases of Brexit*

We use data from a large scale and nationally representative survey to evaluate two narratives about the social bases of Brexit. The first narrative sees Brexit as a revolt of the economically left-behinds. The second narrative attributes Brexit to the resurgence of an English nationalism. There is some, albeit not always consistent, evidence that people in relative poverty or those living in areas that have seen greater Chinese import penetration are slightly more pro-Leave. People living in economically deprived neighborhoods are not more pro-Brexit. Using the Weberian class–status distinction, it is social status, not social class, which stratifies Brexit support. Individuals for whom being British is important are more pro-Leave. But those who see themselves as British rather than English, and those reporting omnivorous cultural consumption are less supportive of Brexit. Overall, there is empirical support for both narratives. But the weight of the evidence suggests a strong cultural dimension in Brexit support.     

The impact of rice research expenditure policy in Thailand

This study explored the economic, social and environmental impact of Thai rice research expenditure (categorized as breeding expenditure, production expenditure and processing expenditure) during 2008–2015, using the simultaneous equation modeling technique. The results showed that production-research expenditure was the most explicit to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer usage, while breeding-research expenditure was the most explicit in terms of increasing farmers’ economic status from planting rice. Processing expenditure seemed to be the least effective spending among the three types.