Does public self-belief contribute a measurable amount to GDP?
Is success as much a matter of will, as it is of economic conditions?
I would say that apathy and cynicism have a significant impact on success. In an individual, self belief is often the difference between being able to perform a task, and not being able to. A depressed person lacks any self-belief, and therefore do not believe they are capable of anything. It may be the same with countries.
While the budget allocated to a project is important, often the attempt at a project is governed by the public’s mood, or government’s mood beforehand – a self-confident public and government may propose something ambitious – while a pessemistic attitude could lead to a less costly stop gap measure, reasoning they fear consequences of failure.
What do you think?