from the new issue of Econ Journal Watch at http://econjwatch.org: >> Economic enlightenment is not correlated with going to college, at least >> among the 4835 Americans who completed a Zogby International online survey. >> Economic enlightenment is highest among those self-identifying >> “conservative” and “libertarian,” and descends through “moderate,” >> “liberal,” and “progressive.” Other variables include party affiliation, >> religious participation, union membership, NASCAR fandom, and Wal-Mart >> patronage. <<
from the horse's mouth: >> Economic Enlightenment in Relation to College-going, Ideology, and Other >> Variables: A Zogby Survey of Americans >> by Zeljka Buturovic, Daniel B. Klein >> Abstract: We present results of a December 2008 Zogby International >> nationwide survey of American adults, with 4,835 respondents. We gauge >> economic enlightenment based on responses to eight economic questions. A >> number of controversial interpretive issues attend our measure, including: >> (1) our designation of enlightened answers; (2) an asymmetry in sometimes >> challenging leftist mentalities without ever specifically challenging >> conservative and libertarian mentalities; (3) our simple eight-question test >> is merely a baseline and does not gauge the heights of economic >> enlightenment; and (4) a concern about response bias (namely, that less >> intelligent people would be less likely to participate in the survey). Even >> with the caveats in mind, however, the results are important. They indicate >> that, for people inclined to take such a survey, basic economic >> enlightenment is not correlated with going to college. We also show economic >> enlightenment by ideological groups, and we show that the finding about >> education holds up even when we look within each ideological group (with >> perhaps the exception of the “conservative” group). We discuss possible >> explanations for the finding that economic enlightenment is not correlated >> with going to college. We also report simple findings for the relation >> between economic enlightenment and each of the following variables: 2008 >> presidential vote, party affiliation, voting participation, race or ethnic >> group, urban vs. rural, religious affiliation, religious participation, >> union membership, marital status, membership in armed forces, NASCAR fandom, >> membership in the “investor class,” patronage at Wal-Mart, household income, >> and gender. Linked appendices provide all data and the survey instrument.<< Gee, what are the questions? >> The statements of the eight questions used are the following [with what the >> authors deem to be wrong answers]: 1. Restrictions on housing development make housing less affordable. • Unenlightened: Disagree 2. Mandatory licensing of professional services increases the prices of those services. • Unenlightened: Disagree 3. Overall, the standard of living is higher today than it was 30 years ago. • Unenlightened: Disagree 4. Rent control leads to housing shortages. • Unenlightened: Disagree 5. A company with the largest market share is a monopoly. • Unenlightened: Agree 6. Third-world workers working for American companies overseas are being exploited. • Unenlightened: Agree 7. Free trade leads to unemployment. • Unenlightened: Agree 8. Minimum wage laws raise unemployment. • Unenlightened: Disagree<< -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
