Do people in new democracies that are undergoing market reforms turn against these reforms when the economic adjustment is painful? The conventional wisdom is that they will. According to "economic voting" models, citizens punish elected governments for bad economic performance. The contributors to this collection, in contrast, begin with the insight that citizens in new democracies may have good reasons to depart from the predictions of economic voting. They use state-of-the-art statistical techniques to analyze changes in aggregate support levels, as reflected in public opinion polls, in response to changes in inflation, unemployment, production, and wages. They find that public opinion of reforms does not always conform to the expectations of the economic voting model.

1. Introduction: economic voting and pro-market reforms in new democracies Susan C. Stokes; Part I. Europe: 2. Political reactions to the economy: the Spanish experience José Maria Maravall and Adam Przeworski; 3. The economy and public opinion in East Germany, 1991-95 Christopher J. Anderson; 4. Public support for economic reforms in Poland Adam Przeworski; Part II. Latin America: 5. Public opinion, presidential popularity and economic reform in Argentina 1989-1996 Carlos Elordi and Fabian Echegaray; 6. Economic reform and public opinion in Fujimori's Peru Susan C. Stokes; 7. Economic reforms, public approval in Mexico, 1988-1997 Jorge Buendia Laredo.