Support for democracy in the Fiji Islands: does schooling matter?

Abstract

PurposeEducation is highly regarded as having a central influence on individuals' understanding and backing of democracy, but whether this occurs in young and small democratic states remain unknown. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether schooling and education have a positive impact on an individual's democratic values in Fiji, whose democratic system has been subject to three coups since independence in 1970.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the goal of this paper, the ordered probit probability model is used. The ordered probit model serves as a better framework for statistical analysis whenever field survey responses are ordinal as distinct from numerical.FindingsThe results from an ordered probit model reveal that the education level does not affect an individual's democratic values. However, it is found that gender, age, and ethnicity do have an influence on individuals' endorsement of democracy.Practical implicationsDemocracy has more than once proved to be an elusive dream in Fiji. This paper aims to provide the answer whether education can be the facilitating factor in transition towards a more democratic state.Originality/valueThis is the first study which comprehensively explores whether schooling and education has a positive impact on an individual's democratic values in Fiji.

Human capital investment under exit options: Evidence from a natural quasi-experiment

“…• Business: In 1992, FJ$20 million in public funds were granted to Fijian-owned businesses through Fijian Holdings Limited. The annual number of publicly-subsidized loans to Fijianowned rms through the Fiji Development Bank roughly tripled after 1988, and their terms were made more concessional (Ratuva 2002;Gounder and Prasad 2005). In 1990, the Fiji National Provident Fund created the Small Business Equity Scheme, which over the next decade paid out over FJ$17 million to business owners-roughly 90% of whom were Fijian (Ratuva 2002).…”