Consumers Pessimistic
- Details
- Category: The Nation
- Published on Monday, September 05 2011 04:11
- Written by Rod Hughes
- Hits: 562
Two-thirds of Costa Ricans think that the government is performing poorly in economy policy such as combating inflation, poverty and unemployment, according to a survey conducted last month by the Statistics School of the University of Costa Rica.
But Edgar Gutierrez, director of the school, confesses he can't account for the Consumer Confidence Index dropping five percentage points in the last three months when the economy is stable and recovering nicely.
"Not even the reactivation of the economy, nor stable economic conditions (employment, exports, tourism) convince the citizens that things are not at all bad," Gutierrez commented. All three indicators above point to higher figures than last year.
He blames this black outlook on the future on the government's not doing enough to communicate the real state of the economy--such as having a lower unemployment rate than that of the United States.
Commentary: Ironically, overseas readers of this news blog may be better informed about robust increases in tourism, exports and employment than the average citizen.
Still, this is dangerous. If the public feels uncertain they cut their purchases to a minimum with a wait and see policy that injures retail merchants and eventually helps slow the entire economy. It also delays investment and business expansion.
Perception is powerful in economics. Perhaps it is time for President Laura Chinchilla to toot her own horn a little ...