The debate about how the economy shapes people's views of governments has been long and intense. Much, as we shall see, is at stake: whether citizens in democracies have the capacity to induce governments to act in their interest. The spread of democracy and the dramatic conversion of governments to pro-market economic policies offer new opportunities for understanding the link between economic performance and popular opinion. The authors of this book analyze the dynamics of public opinion in new democracies because we believe these experiences can shed light on enduring questions about how democracies work.

What we find in this study is the following. Governments that embark on painful adjustment are not always opposed by the public that must endure the pain. In the six new democracies pursuing market reforms that we study, people sometimes rally in support of governments and reforms when times are hard. Sometimes they do so because they believe that hard times now foreshadow good times ahead. Conversely, they may observe good times now but believe that good news is a prelude to disaster. Sometimes painful adjustment makes people pessimistic about the future but they still rally in support of the government, reasoning that the bad times they experience are not the government's fault. Rather, the government's reform program may be an antidote against today's ills and the force needed to counteract opposition to change. Some painful costs are just toohigh, such as when many people are thrown out of work.