Contrary to the late Muammar Gaddafi’s belief that women and men are the same, only that women have the gift of giving birth, and men do not (as written in the Green Book ), a study conducted by experts from the University of Nebraska proves otherwise, at least as far as economics is concerned. In fact, the conclusion of the study is that there is a considerable gap in the economic and political views of economic experts in the US in relation to gender. The study included only economists in executive positions.
Women prefer the government’s role in the economy, while men still believe in the market and business. As many as 65% of respondents said that the American economy is not overly regulated, while this opinion is shared by only 41% of their colleagues.
“As a group we are market-oriented,” says co-author Ann Mary May, “but as individuals women are more accepting of new laws, regulations, and government interference in economic activity.”
This attitude is even more interesting if compared to the recent research conducted by “Google” related to the elections in the USA. “Google” research shows that President Obama is supported by even 10% more women than his opponent Rumney, who is supported by 3% more men. Of course, the results are interesting when you consider that President Obama represents “Democrats” who lean more towards socially regulatory measures as opposed to “Republicans” who are more conservative.
What are the positions on other issues:
- Health insurance , 40% of female economists believe that the employer must pay for insurance, while 37% are against it; in men, this relationship is completely different. A total of 52% of them oppose it, and only 21% support it, which shows the very liberal attitude of male economists.
- Education , women oppose (although there is a narrow difference) the voucher system for the education of children and students (with vouchers you can choose a public or private school), while men prefer the idea – 61% are in favor and 14% are against.
- Standards for employees , women believe that the policy regarding work standards (working hours, etc.) should be aligned with foreign countries, while men do not agree with it (60% versus 23%).
Men’s and women’s views still agree that the economy in Europe is too regulated, that allocations for the US military are too large, but also that “Wall Mart” is useful and good for society.
Although there are traditionally more men in economics, today as many as 1/3 of doctoral students in the field of economics (in the USA) are women. Since 1946, the Economic Council of the White House has had only three women as presidents, two of them Bill Clinton and one of Barack Obama.
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The study was published by “USA Today”