Support for Economic Reform? Popular Attitudes in Southern Africa

Journal Article

2003

Authors
Journal Title

World Development

Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher

Elsevier

Publisher

University of Cape Town

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Abstract
Do ordinary people support programs of economic reform? If so, why? If not, why not? This article breaks new ground by reporting and comparing public opinion from seven Southern African countries based on systematic Afrobarometer surveys. It finds that people support some adjustment policies (such as price reforms) but oppose others (such as institutional reforms). An eclectic explanation is offered for these attitudes that draws on structural factors (especially poverty), cultural values (such as self-reliance), and exposure to mass media. The most formative influence on mass economic opinion in Southern Africa, however, is the institutional legacy of settler colonialism as expressed through race and nation.
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