Do Smarter People Have More Conservative Economic Attitudes? Assessing the Relationship Between Cognitive Ability and Economic Ideology

Evidence on the association of cognitive ability with economic attitudes is mixed. We conducted a meta-analysis ( k = 20, N = 46,426) to examine the relationship between objective measures of cognitive ability and economic ideology and analyzed survey data ( N = 3,375) to test theoretical explanations for the association. The meta-analysis provided evidence for a small positive association with a weighted mean effect size of r = .07 (95% CI = [0.02, 0.12]), suggesting that higher cognitive ability is associated with conservative views on economic issues, but effect sizes were extremely heterogeneous. Tests using representative survey data provided support for both a positive association of cognitive ability with economic conservatism that is mediated through income as well as for a negative association that is mediated through a higher need for certainty. Hence, multiple causal mechanisms with countervailing effects might explain the low overall association of cognitive ability with economic political attitudes.

The research of the economic attitudes of Ukrainian youth: theoretical and practical aspects

The article is a theoretical-empirical research of the economic attitudes of Ukrainian students. Theo-retical analysis has allowed the authors to outline a con-ceptual research scope under the framework of behav-ioral economics, which regards economic attitudes as one of the types of social attitudes in the dispositional structure of personality. The purpose of the research is to conduct an empirical research of the features and patterns of economic attitudes of the student com-munity; to consider a layered organization of economic attitudes and partial elements of factor ideas; to ana-lyze correlation relationships between economic attitudes and indices of students’ economic status (the actual level of revenues and expenses). Research methods. The research and analysis of the features of economic attitudes of students have relied on O.Deineka and K.Zabielina survey for express diag-nostics of the economic attitudes of young people. It has allowed the authors to characterize the scope of economic attitudes of a man in a holistic way, taking into account different spheres of economic behavior and socio-economic roles. Results. Based on quantita-tive and qualitative data processing, the research has established that the general level of economic atti-tudes of a study sample is above average. It has been found out that students’ assessment of their financial situation as sufficient/insufficient does not depend on actual cash security but closely correlates with an over-all index of economic attitudes (r = .310; p ≤ .001). This fact proves that not a sum of money, but the very sub-jective assessment of its amount as sufficient/insuf-ficient is instrumental in the attitude towards eco-nomic issues. The most significant factors influencing the economic attitudes of youth are the factors of “eco-nomic orientation activity” and “economic planning and financial optimism”. Conclusions. Thus, a positive attitude to economic issues is peculiar to those stu-dents who strive to be financially aware, be in the loop of economic and financial life in a country and predict their financial situation and economic prospects.Keyw ords: attitudes, economic attitudes, students, financial situation, financial optimism. Стаття представляє теоретико-емпіричне дослідження економічних атитюдів українських студентів. Теоретичне аналізування дало змогу означити концептуальне поле дослідження в межах поведінкової економіки, що розглядає економічні атитюди як один з видів соціальних атитюдів у диспозиційній структурі особистості. Метоюдослідження є емпірично дослідити особливості та закономірності економічних атитюдів студентства; розглянути рівневу організацію економічних атитюдів та парціальні частки факторних представлень; проаналізувати кореляційні взаємозв’язки економічних атитюдів з показниками економічного становища студентів (реальним рівнем еконо-мічних доходів та витрат). Методидослідження.Вивчення та аналіз особливостей економічних атитюдів студентської молоді проводились за питальником експрес-діагностики економічних атитюдів молоді О. Дейнеки іК. Забєліної, що дало змогу комплексно охарактеризувати поле економічних атитюдів людини, враховуючи різні сфери економічної поведінки та соціально-економічних ролей. Результати. На основі кількісної та якісноїобробки даних встановлено, що загальний рівень економічних атитюдів у дослідженій вибірці вищий середнього. Досліджено, що оцінювання студентами власного фінансового стану як достатнього/недостатнього не залежить від реального грошового забезпечення, але тісно корелює із загальним показником економічних атитюдів (r = .310; p≤ .001). Це свідчить про те, що провідну роль у ставленні до економічних питань відіграє не кількість грошей, а саме суб’єктивне оцінювання їх кількості як достатньої/недостатньої. Найбільш значущими факторами, що впливають на економічні атитюди молоді, виявились фактори “орієнтувальної активності в економіці”та “економічного планування і фінансового оптимізму”. Висновки.Таким чином, позитивне ставлення до економічних питань характерне для тих студентів, котрі намагаються бути фінансово обізнаним, бути в курсі подій економічного і фінансового життя в країні та прогнозують власне фінансове становище та економічні перспективи.Ключовіслова:атитюди, економічні атитюди, студенти, фінансовий стан, фінансовий оптимізм.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TIME AND ECONOMIC MIND OF ENTREPRENEURS. EVIDENCE FROM SMALL BUSINESS OF RUSSIAN INDUSTRIAL REGION

"Entrepreneurs, as the most active social group sensitive to public mood, perhaps feel the changes in the time of life in a digital society (time pressure illusion) most of all. On the other hand, the very internal temporal organization of a person involved in entrepreneurial activity can determine the characteristics of his or her mind and behavior in the economic sphere. The aim of the study is to reveal the impact of the psychological time of the representatives of small businesses on their economic minds. The study involves 109 representatives of small businesses in various fields (wholesale and retail trade, education, tourism, consulting, production, etc.), registered in the Chelyabinsk region and operating in the Russian Federation (mean age 34.9, 42% male). The respondents completed electronic forms of Inventory of Time Value as an Economic Resource (Usunier), Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Attitudes towards Time (Nuttin), and Inventory of Polychronic Values (Bluedorn). To diagnose the features of the economic mind of entrepreneurs, the Economic Attitudes Questionnaire (Deyneka & Zabelina, 2018) was used. Regression analysis showed that certain components of psychological time (positive attitude to the past, present and future, the value of time as an economic resource) determine the formation of constructive economic attitudes of small business owners, namely the value of independent economic achievements, willingness to invest, unwillingness to sacrifice vocation and health for money, financial optimism. Thus, the lack of fixation on past failures, a positive attitude towards the present and the future, the ability to transfer time into money create a psychological foundation for the formation of entrepreneurs' attitudes in economic life. The results can be used in the consulting of the future entrepreneurs."

Modern economic behavior: attitudes, representations and psychological characteristics of youth

The subject of this research is the peculiarities of economic behavior, namely economic attitudes (activity in the economic sphere, financial literacy, trust in economic institutions, etc.) and representations (concept of money, shortage of money resources, financial security, solutions to financial problems). The goal lies in determination and description of the economic behavior (economic attitudes and perception of money) and their correlation with the psychological characteristics of young people (self-regulation of stressful states and resilience). The research involved young people under the age of 35. The following toolset was used: “Questionnaire for instant diagnostics of economic attitudes” developed by O. S. Deinek, E. V. Zabelina, “Diagnostics of stress condition” developed by A. O. Prokhorov, “Test for resilience” adapted by E. N. Osin, E. I. Rasskazova.. As a result of the conducted research, the author determines various patterns of the economic behavior of youth, as well as correlation of economic attitudes and perception of money with the psychological resources of a person. It is established that youth with an active economic position, financial literacy, and trust in economic institutions is characterized with the ability to adequately assess stressful circumstances and effectively cope with stress. Youth with an attitude towards socioeconomic comparison of own opportunities with others, as well as with passive adaptation to the market conditions experiences strong discomfort due to economic inequality. The author reveals that young people are exposed to stressful situations and anxiety in the situations of uncertainty and financial risks.

Socio-economic attitudes of the Ukrainian population at the end of 2020

The national survey data is presented on the self-assessment of financial situation, delay or non-payment of wages, pensions, shadow incomes, subsistence wage, indices of socio-economic assessments and expectations of the Ukrainian population, the level of trust in the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as on the general political situation in Ukraine.

Socio-economic attitudes of the Ukrainian population: June – September 2020

According to the national survey, the paper reveals self-assessment of the financial situation, shadow income, indices of socio-economic assessments and expectations of the Ukrainian population, the level of trust in all branches of government, and the overall assessment of the political situation in Ukraine.

The economic culture of the polish countryside in the process of 9. changes – an outline of the issues

The paper The Economic culture of the Polish countryside in the Process of Changes – an outline of issues sets up a thesis that the transformation process has a multidimensional character and that its final effect is decided by an interaction between the organizational-institutional and mental-cultural level. Drawing attention to the cultural aspect increases the accuracy of the formulated diagnoses, explanations and prognoses. The author’s arguments are based on three elements. Firstly, she indicates the theoretical aspects of understanding the economic culture – the ways of defining and operation; secondly, she discusses the essential components of the traditional economic culture of the countryside, indicating the impact that the traditional value system has on contemporary economic attitudes and mentality. Thirdly, she points out how the changes connected with the transformation process exert an influence on modification of the crucial elements of this culture, adapting it to the requirements of contemporary world.

Who Is Open to Authoritarian Governance within Western Democracies?

Recent events have raised concern about potential threats to democracy within Western countries. If Western citizens who are open to authoritarian governance share a common set of political preferences, then authoritarian elites can attract mass coalitions that are willing to subvert democracy to achieve shared ideological goals. With this in mind, we explored which ideological groups are most open to authoritarian governance within Western general publics using World Values Survey data from fourteen Western democracies and three recent Latin American Public Opinion Project samples from Canada and the United States. Two key findings emerged. First, cultural conservatism was consistently associated with openness to authoritarian governance. Second, within half of the democracies studied, including all of the English-speaking ones, Western citizens holding a protection-based attitude package⸺combining cultural conservatism with left economic attitudes⸺were the most open to authoritarian governance. Within other countries, protection-based and consistently right-wing attitude packages were associated with similarly high levels of openness to authoritarian governance. We discuss implications for radical right populism and the possibility of splitting potentially undemocratic mass coalitions along economic lines.