The Public Supports a Transatlantic Trade Pact – For Now
The ultimate public verdict on a U.S.-EU trade and investment agreement has yet to be rendered, but on the eve of such negotiations, both Americans and Europeans seem disposed to try.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The ultimate public verdict on a U.S.-EU trade and investment agreement has yet to be rendered, but on the eve of such negotiations, both Americans and Europeans seem disposed to try.
The economic euphoria in India over the last few years, inspired by the country’s seemingly inevitable march toward double-digit growth, has soured. Although still relatively upbeat compared with many other countries, the Indian public’s confidence in their country’s direction and future economic growth has declined significantly.
Add faith in the work ethic and in capitalism to the lengthening list of casualties from the Great Recession. Four years after the Lehman Brothers’ fiasco and the ensuing global economic downturn, the idea that effort in a competitive economy can lead to success is seriously questioned in a number of major economies, including Japan, Russia and Greece, especially among those who have suffered the most.
The economic mood is exceedingly glum around the world. Across the 21 countries surveyed, a median of just 27 percent think their national economy is doing well. Only in China, Germany, Brazil and Turkey do most people report that current national economic conditions are good.
Two decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Russians, Ukrainians, and Lithuanians are unhappy with the direction of their countries and disillusioned with the state of their politics. Enthusiasm for democracy and capitalism has waned considerably over the past 20 years, and most believe the changes that have taken place since 1991 have had a [...]
With an election approaching, Czechs are unhappy with conditions in their country and frustrated with the way democracy is working, but are committed to free market economics and democratic values.
Members of the post-communist generation offer much more positive evaluations of the political and economic changes their countries have undergone over the past two decades than do those who were adults when communism collapsed.
Publics of former Iron Curtain countries generally look back approvingly at the collapse of communism. Majorities in most former Soviet republics and Eastern European countries endorse the emergence of democracy and capitalism. However, the initial enthusiasm about these changes has dimmed in most of the countries surveyed.
A Slideshow Presentation with commentary by Andrew Kohut
The speed of the war in Iraq and the prevailing belief that the Iraqi people are better off as a result have modestly improved the image of America. But in most countries, opinions of the U.S. are markedly lower than they were a year ago.