An analysis of the outcomes of the World Value Survey (§4.2) over the period 1989-2004 has been used to identify popular support for the transition to a market economy in India and China (Migheli 2010). It is based on a set of questions about the role of competition, government intervention, income inequality, hard work and fairness for economic performance. The questions concerned values (e.g. do you consider competition harmful?) but also beliefs (e.g. are larger income differences an incentive for economic growth)? The answers may imply a causal relation as, for instance, in the belief that competition is good because it provides an incentive to work hard or the conviction that hard work is irrelevant because one’s success depends on luck and connections. The author considered also the role of socio-economic variables which are known to influence preferences: religion, education level, city size, age, gender and the state of health  Besides, the different histories of India and China since the 1950s and the uncertainties of the present transition will also play a role.

It was found, amongst others, that Indian people are on average less prone to support the characteristics of a free and competitive market and blame poverty less on laziness and lack of willpower of the poor than the Chinese. In both countries, there is a change towards preferences for a less competitive market. Perhaps, the author suggests, this is a reaction against the policies currently undertaken by the governments, because more competition means more uncertainty as compared to a strongly regulated or centralized economy. It is also found that people expect the government to intervene in order to insure a minimum level of well-being for the population and that the preference for a market economy weakens when people have confidence in the government.

Another attempt to extract belief systems from answers to questionnaires or behaviour in participatory workshops is an exercise organized in New Zealand, with the aim to make a shared conceptual mental model of the health system (Cavane et al. 1999). Such a shared model, in the form of a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD), is supposedly helpful in finding solutions for persistent problems (Morecroft and Sterman 1992, Vennix 1999). Two groups of staff from the Ministry of Health participated in a series of workshops, during which clusters of issues were identified and subsequently translated in a conceptual model. One group consisted of policy managers, the other of clinicals (medical/health practitioners). The authors – and most participants – found the CLDs useful in illustrating the roots of different world views, for instance whether one looks at the issue from a micro or a macro perspective. The exercise illustrates the different ways in which individuals and groups understand their responsibility and tasks: “The policy group looks to the effectiveness of the whole sector, while the clinicians look to the delivery of a service.” (Cavane et al. 1999:336). It was evident that the values of people as expressed in their jobs are linked to their professional backgrounds and the beliefs and models acquired during education and work. More examples are given in the thematic chapters.