Government And The Economy: Student Perspectives From South Africa

Abstract

The economic role of the state is in the forefront of international news, following the collapse of major financial groups in some countries, and ballooning government deficits and debt in others. While the extent of government intervention, such as bailouts and takeovers, has been unprecedented elsewhere, political interference in the economy is nothing new in South Africa. This research investigates student opinions about state intervention vis á vis individual freedom and the operation of market forces in the South African economy. A fourteen-item Likert scale measuring student opinion was developed based on the Economic Attitudes Survey (Soper & Walstad, 1983). Interrelationships between economic opinion and student gender, prior economics knowledge, field of study and socio-economic background are explored.