National Economy South Africans evaluations of the national economy seem to be following the same general trend of increasing pessimism. Since 1994, different opinion surveys have revealed a clear pattern that, while South Africans may not be satisfied with how things are, or how they have gone recently, they have maintained much higher expectations of how things will develop in the future. This is why one of the most concerning findings of Opinion 99 is the decline in optimistic expectations. Government Management of the Economy Evaluations of important aspects of the government s handling of the economy are mixed, depending on the specific dimension. They receive very negative and declining evaluations on the overall direction of the economy and job creation.
Evaluations are fairly positive and increasing with regard to housing.
Ratings have been steadily positive in terms of income redistribution and foreign investment. The government receives more positive evaluations in terms of housing construction. However, economic evaluations are declining amongst South Africans of all population groups. Whites, coloureds and Indians are more pessimistic, and have become increasingly more pessimistic. Moreover, while blacks remain far more optimistic about the future of the economy than other South Africans, their expectations have moderated in the past year.