Four important opinions of average voters that differ from the views of the trained economist.
The average voter …
- Does not understand or appreciates the way markets work (and thus favors regulation and is suspicious of the profit motive)
- Prefers local over foreign (and thus tends to be protectionist)
- Equates prosperity with employment rather than with production (and thus overvalues the preservation of exiting jobs)
- Usually thinks economic conditions are getting worse (and thus favors government intervention in the economy)
From a discussion in the New Yorker about Bryan Caplan’s book “The Myth of the Rational Voter”.