As the economic crisis continues, at least two-thirds of adults in the United States and the five largest European countries (between 66% and 79%) support increased regulation by their governments’ business activities to prevent future financial global market crises. In Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany and the United States this support for increased regulation has increased since October while in Italy it has held steady.

This is one of the findings of a Financial Times/Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactive® among a total of 6,237 adults (aged 16-64) within France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and the United States and adults (aged 18-64) in Italy between January 28 and February 5, 2009.

Other findings from this survey include:

- Two-thirds of adults in Spain (68%) and Italy (66%) and just over half of adults in Great Britain (51%) and France (52%) would support governments requiring banks to make loans even if they are making a loss. Just over half of Germans (54%) and three in five Americans (62%) would oppose this plan;

- In October, 45% of adults in France and three in ten Britons (31%) said taxpayer money should never be used for bailouts of commercial banks; now only 18% of Britons and 37% of French adults feel that way as the economic crisis continues. Italians and Spaniards, however, are of the opposite mind. In October, one-third of adults in Spain (32%) and 28% of Italians said never, while this month almost half of Spaniards (46%) and 36% of Italians say taxpayer money should never be used for bailouts of commercial banks. In Germany and the U.S., attitudes have not changed much – in Germany 38% say never both in October and now while in the U.S., 39% said never in October compared to 36% now;

- One thing that has stayed consistent over the past four months is attitudes towards bankers’ pay. In October between 68% and 88% of adults in the six countries said that governments should place a cap on the pay of bankers whose banks accept public support. This month it is between 65% and 87%; and,

- Almost three-quarters of Italians (74%) and Germans (73%), 70% of Spaniards and just under two-thirds of Americans (65%), Britons (63%) and French adults (63%) would support increased regulation by their governments of commercial banks. This support has increased since October among adults in Great Britain (was 56% in October), France (was 56%), Spain (was 58%), Germany (was 67%) and the U.S. (was 63%) and decreased slightly among Italians (was 79%).

So What?

In the past, increased regulation has often been seen as something bad, something governments do that causes more paperwork or problems for people trying to run businesses. But, as more information is coming out about how economies around the world moved into recession, as well as information about the actions of those running certain industries is coming into light, people are more readily acceptable of these increased regulations to ensure that future crises are possibly prevented. The mood today is very different from that when President Ronald Reagan said that, "the government is the problem."