The long debate on the role of the government remains a central one in the Americas and in other regions. The 2008 Americas Barometer finds that the "average" citizen's level of support for the government over the private sector as the primary actor job creation reaches 56.4 points and above, on a 0-100 scale, in every country in Latin America or the Caribbean, of those included in the Americas Barometer survey. Individuals from wealthier households significantly oppose a primary role of the government in job creation. On the other hand, the wealthier the country in per capita terms, the larger the role envisioned for the government in job creation. There are important implications for the state's public policies.

El largo debate sobre el rol del Estado en la generación de empleo todavía permanece como un tema central en las Américas y en otras regiones. El Barómetro de las Américas 2008 encuentra que los niveles de apoyo del ciudadano "promedio", a que el Estado en vez del sector privado sea el principal actor en la creación de puestos de trabajo, alcanzan 56,4 puntos o más, en una escala de 0-100, en todos los países de América Latina o del Caribe incluidos en la encuesta del Barómetro de las Américas. Individuos que viven en hogares ricos se oponen significativamente al rol del Estado como principal generador de trabajo, pero, al contrario, mientras más rico es el país en términos de ingreso per cápita mayor es el rol que se espera del Estado como generador de empleo. Hay implicaciones importantes en cuanto a la política económica del Estado.

Esquemas de integração econômica regional abundam na América Latina, mas muito pouco se sabe sobre o grau de apoio popular a esses programas. Agora que os regimes democráticos governam quase toda a América Latina, a opinião pública pode ter impacto considerável nas políticas nacionais. Este trabalho examina as atitudes em relação à integração econômica em dezessete países continentais latino-americanos com dados de entrevistas com mais de 18 mil pessoas. Os benefícios percebidos da integração e as percepções sobre a situação econômica pessoal e nacional aparecem como fatores importantes, assim como altos níveis educacionais, o apoio à democracia e o gênero. Dois novos achados são que uma opinião positiva sobre a União Européia e a satisfação com o funcionamento da democracia se ligam a um maior apoio à integração.

Regional economic integration schemes abound in Latin America, yet very little is known about the degree of popular support for such programs. Now that democratic regimes rule in almost all of Latin America, public opinion can have an important impact on national policies. This paper examines the attitudes toward economic integration in 17 mainland Latin American countries with interview data from over 18,000 people. Perceived benefits of integration and perceptions of personal and national economic situation prove to be important factors, as are higher levels of education, support for democracy and gender. Two novel findings are that a positive opinion of the European Union along with satisfaction with the functioning of democracy are both linked to greater support for integration.

Interpersonal trust is a central concept in social capital theory and in the discussion of civic culture. Explanatory models of support for democracy, membership in associations, and civic involvement commonly include measures of interpersonal trust. Although central to the theoretical debate over civil society and democracy, this concept has been measured in very simplistic ways. The conflicting and contradictory results of recent studies may well stem from the lack of reliability in measurements of trust. This study, based on a unique data set that contains different measures of interpersonal trust and uses factor analysis, concludes that there are two dimensions of trust, one of which has been consistently ignored by previous studies.

La confiance interpersonnelle est un concept central autant dans la théorie du capital social que dans la discussion à propos de la culture civique. Il s’agit d’une variable-clé pour expliquer des attitudes favorables à un régime démocratique et à des pratiques d’association et d’interaction. Malgré sa position capitale dans le débat théorique sur la société civile et la démocratie, ce concept est habituellement mesuré de façon assez ingénue. Les résultats opposés et contradictoires de certaines études récentes sur l’impact de la confiance interpersonnelle dans l’appui à la démocratie peuvent être le fruit du peu de qualité des indicateurs employés. Dans cette étude, qui se sert d’une banque de données particulière disposant de différentes opérationalisations du concept de confiance mutuelle, et qui prend pour base l’analyse factorielle, on aboutit à la conclusion de l’existence d’un concept à double portée assez nette, dont l’une a été constamment ignorée dans les études précédentes.