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US support for tariff barriers remains high

US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has caused controversy this week because of his aggressive stance on America’s economic relations with China. He recently promised, if elected, to declare China a “currency manipulator” and impose tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting fears of a trade war.

But while Romney’s comments have attracted criticism from some on his own side, who argue the US has more to lose than gain from a tariff war with China, GlobeScan’s most recent public attitudes tracking suggests that Romney’s stance on tariffs is consistent with a majority of US public opinion. Since it was initially measured in 2002, American public support for trade barriers as a way of protecting jobs has remained consistently high, rising from 60% in 2002 to 65% in 2011.

However, other findings suggest this is not part of a new mood of economic nationalism. GlobeScan’s data also show that the numbers who think that government should prevent foreign companies from buying national companies has fallen significantly since 2006. Taken together, these findings suggest that in hard economic times, the need to safeguard US jobs is winning out over both free-market doctrine and patriotic sentiment among the US public.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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Increased Foreign Investment will be “Good for Africa”: Global Poll

[jumplinks] Download The Press Release (PDF) 22 February 2012 – Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed in a new 22-nation poll for BBC World Service think that the recent increase in overseas investment in Africa will prove to be a good thing for the continent, with African citizens among the most upbeat. The findings of the poll, conducted by GlobeScan among 21,558 people, show that most respondents are relaxed about foreign companies purchasing long-term rights to African natural resources and land, … “Increased Foreign Investment will be “Good for Africa”: Global Poll”

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The global public worries about soaring price of food

Save the Children reported this week that the recent rise in global food prices was taking its toll on families across the developing world, and that half a billion children risk being born physically and mentally stunted over the next fifteen years if no concerted action is taken. GlobeScan’s recent polling for Save the Children, as well as its regular global attitudes tracking, confirm the scale of the problem.

GlobeScan’s own annual tracking research reveals high levels of concerns about the rising cost of food and energy among citizens across the world, with proportions saying this issue is “very serious” particularly high in the Philippines and the Latin American countries surveyed. The rising cost of food and energy is also of relatively high concern in China and Russia; concern has grown significantly in China over the past two years as food prices have continued to rise rapidly in that market.

In many developing countries, the effects of rising food and energy prices are particularly felt among those who have not benefitted from economic growth that has frequently been concentrated to specific sections of society, often leaving behind low-income and low-educated groups. In a recent survey fielded by GlobeScan on behalf of Save the Children in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and Bangladesh—countries where half the world’s malnourished children live—large majorities in all countries polled say that the rising price of food has become their most pressing concern this year. Concern is most acute in Nigeria and Bangladesh, where people overwhelmingly feel that food price rises are the most pressing issue they face.

A third of parents surveyed revealed that their children complained they didn’t have enough to eat. Around one in six parents (16%) – and nearly one in three in Nigeria (30%) – say they have allowed their children to skip school to help pay for their family’s food. The charity warns that if no concerted action is taken, half a billion children will be physically and mentally stunted over the next 15 years.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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A Life Free from Hunger: Tackling Child Malnutrition

Download the Full Report: “A Life Free from Hunger” (PDF) Download the Topline Results of the Global Nutritian Poll (PDF) 15 February 2012 – New global research by Save the Children has revealed that, after a year of soaring food prices, nearly half of surveyed families say they have been forced to cut back on food. Nearly a third of parents surveyed said their children complained that they didn’t have enough food to eat. The poll, conducted in India, Nigeria, … “A Life Free from Hunger: Tackling Child Malnutrition”

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Renewed concerns over nuclear risks among the public

The consequences of high oil prices–still around $100 a barrel–are making themselves felt again. Exxon has announced increased profits, and prices at the fuel pump are at near-record levels.

So the fact that fears of further price increases are at the top of consumers’ concerns about energy, according to GlobeScan’s world public attitudes tracking, should not come as a surprise. Nearly one in four citizens (23%) across nine countries polled since 1998 now cites rising prices as their primary energy-related concern.

The latest data also reveals the impact of last year’s incident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant. Concern about the risks posed by nuclear power had fallen away significantly the last time this question was fielded in 2008, as many governments contemplated ramping up their nuclear programs in response to increasing concerns over energy security and supply. But the Fukushima accident has clearly made many think again, and worries about the risks of nuclear power are now mentioned as the primary energy-related concern by nearly as many (21%) as possible price increases.

However, other recent GlobeScan findings suggest that some countries are bucking the trend. While support for building new nuclear power stations has fallen in many countries, it has remained stable in the USA, and has risen in the UK. With support for nuclear expansion also high in China and Pakistan, it is too soon to say that public opinion has swung decisively against nuclear power.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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Doubts about democracy growing in world’s richest nations

Citizens of some of the world’s richest, most democratic nations are questioning whether their countries are really governed in accordance with the public will, according to the latest GlobeScan tracking.

In 2011, GlobeScan asked citizens to say whether they considered that their country was “governed by the will of the people.” With many of the countries also surveyed back in 2002, the findings show how perceptions have shifted over nearly a decade.

They reveal that there have been significant decreases in four of the world’s biggest economies—Germany, Japan, the UK and the USA—in the proportions who believe that the will of the people governs their country. Proportions who believe this have fallen from 32% to 21% in Germany, 44% to 29% in the USA, 27% to 21% in the UK, and 15% to 4% in Japan—the lowest proportion in the survey.

Despite unrest about alleged vote-rigging in recent parliamentary elections, Russia is one of the few countries where the number of citizens satisfied with the government’s responsiveness to public opinion has increased over the decade—still, fewer than one in five Russians (19%, up from 12%) believes that the country is governed by the will of the people.

With negative perceptions of public power more common in the world’s major democracies than in China (where 47% believe the country is governed by the will of the people), it seems that elections in themselves may no longer be sufficient to create a strong sense of popular sovereignty.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011 

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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Experts rate activist tactics focused on key business value drivers as most effective

The last year has seen an increased profile for activism of all types. Sometimes this has manifested against the practices of corporations (such as the ongoing Occupy movement) while at others the targets are governments, as with the Arab Spring and Wikipedia’s online protest against proposed US anti-piracy legislation.

GlobeScan and SustainAbility recently polled an international panel of experts in sustainability on what they considered the most effective activist tactics to be. As the chart above shows, the panel (drawn from businesses, NGOs, government and academia) rated tactics that focus on key business value drivers as the most effective in influencing corporate behaviour: product boycotts (or on the flip-side, preferential purchasing) for their impact on sales and shareholder activism for its effect on access to capital. The most confrontational tactic – civil disobedience – is seen as the least effective by some distance, while the more collaborative method of dialogue with companies is rated the second-least effective.

With experts also rating socially responsible investors – a group in a particularly strong position to shape companies’ business value drivers – as the most important audience for businesses and government to pay attention to, the pressure on companies to respond to different agendas as they move towards sustainability looks likely to increase.

 

Finding from The 2011 GlobeScan/SustainAbility Survey 

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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Financial Short-Termism a Major Obstacle to Sustainable Change in Business: Expert Poll

Download the Press Release (PDF) 26 January 2012 – Financial short-termism represents a critical barrier to businesses’ transition to sustainability, according to a new poll. The latest wave of The Sustainability Survey—GlobeScan and SustainAbility’s regular survey of attitudes across businesses, NGOs, academia and government—reveals that a very large majority (88%) of the 642 experts polled see pressure for short-term financial results as a barrier to businesses becoming more sustainable. The survey, conducted in December 2011, asked experts to say whether they … “Financial Short-Termism a Major Obstacle to Sustainable Change in Business: Expert Poll”

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Targeting Business Value Drivers Most Effective Tactic to Drive Sustainable Behaviour by Companies: Expert Poll

24 January 2012 – Sustainability experts around the world believe that social activist tactics that directly impact business value drivers, such as product boycotts on sales or shareholder activism on access to capital, are the most effective ways of driving changes in corporate strategy and behaviour, according to a new poll released today. The latest findings from The Sustainability Survey Research Program released by international consultancies GlobeScan and SustainAbility also indicate that experts believe activists will play a critical role on … “Targeting Business Value Drivers Most Effective Tactic to Drive Sustainable Behaviour by Companies: Expert Poll”

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Mobile Phones Central to Developing Countries’ Economic Success, Quality of Life: Global Poll

[jumplinks] Download The Press Release (PDF) 23 January 2012 – Citizens of developing nations overwhelmingly see mobile phones as critical to their country’s economic success and to their own quality of life, a new 22-nation poll by the BBC reveals. The poll, conducted by GlobeScan among 21,558 people, indicates that the countries most likely to rate mobile phones as “essential” or “very important” to their economy are all in the developing world. Nigerians almost unanimously regard them as central to the … “Mobile Phones Central to Developing Countries’ Economic Success, Quality of Life: Global Poll”

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Natural resource depletion emerges as dominant environmental concern in global North

The depletion of natural resources has emerged as the dominant environmental concern among citizens of the global North, according to the latest wave of GlobeScan’s tracking survey of world environmental concerns, rating ahead of issues such as climate change and water shortages.

Environmental concern has been on a long-term upward trajectory, with majorities of the global public in countries tracked by GlobeScan rating a range of environmental challenges as “very serious,” despite a falling back of concern, particularly about the climate, in 2009.

The map above illustrates the degree to which regional dynamics and economic circumstances influence the perceived severity of environmental issues around the world. Water shortages are the dominant public concern in sub-Saharan Africa, air pollution and species loss in Latin America, and automobile emissions in rapidly urbanizing China. Climate change remains a second-tier environmental concern in most nations.

The continued pre-eminence of natural resource depletion, relative to other environmental challenges, as a concern in three key economies of the global North —the UK, the USA, and Germany—may reflect a convergence of environmental concern with economic worries, particularly about the possible impact of energy shortages in the future.

It also highlights the need for those seeking to raise public awareness of environmental issues to demonstrate the link between environmental degradation and people’s own quality of life.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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Waning support for free market economic system in the UK

Support for the free market as the best available economic system has slipped markedly in the UK over the past two years. This mirrors the sharp decline in support for free market economics recorded in the US last year—although it has since recovered a little there—and comes at a time when Occupy protestors have been camped in the City challenging the practices of the financial sector.

Nonetheless, it is still striking that this fall in support is happening when the UK has its first right-of-center government since 1997, which has vigorously defended the role of the City in British economic life and is pressing ahead with an ambitious programme of free-market reforms and cuts to public services.

In contrast, support for the free market economic system has strengthened over the past two years in India, where the economy has rebounded robustly following the global financial crisis.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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Corruption concerns in developing world pose challenge for business

While problems such as the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone, climate change, and unrest in the Middle East preoccupy governments around the world as 2012 begins, GlobeScan’s regular monitoring of global concern over a range of issues highlights that it is more immediate and everyday problems that are often at the forefront of citizens’ minds.

In GlobeScan’s annual tracking research, corruption once again emerges as one of the global problems considered to be most serious. It is also the problem that citizens are most likely to cite when asked which global problems they have discussed with their friends and family over the past month.

As this map shows, corruption tops the list of “most talked about” problems in a range of developing and emerging economies, including Peru in South America, Ghana and Egypt in Africa, Turkey in Europe, and India and Indonesia in Asia. Corruption is also often cited as a barrier to getting to grips with many of the other global problems that, as GlobeScan’s tracking shows, preoccupy many global citizens.

Taking a strong and public stand against corruption will be an important element in what businesses need to do to demonstrate their relevance to citizens’ lives, help build public trust, and maintain their social licence to operate.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011 

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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Public respect falls for nine of twelve industrial sectors

At the end of 2011, the external environment for business has rarely been more challenging. With the Eurozone crisis unresolved, the economic headwinds that have been afflicting most of the world’s industrialised economies continue to blow – and recent data on Brazil’s economy in the last quarter suggest they may be spreading to the BRIC economies that until now have been enjoying buoyant economic growth. At the same time, pressure to regulate to ensure environmental and social responsibility is on the rise.

GlobeScan’s tracking of public respect for business across a number of sectors illustrates that at a time when consumers have little to spend and jobs are scarce, businesses are finding it hard to retain public esteem. In nine of the twelve sectors that GlobeScan tracks, respect has fallen across twelve developed and developing economies, with falls particularly sharp for food (with prices on the rise), banking (suffering from diminished consumer trust since the bailouts in 2008) and oil (thanks to a combination of high prices and environmental impact worries).

To regain consumer respect, these sectors will need to show in 2012 that they are able to deliver affordable products and services in tough economic times, while keeping one step ahead of consumer expectations on social and environmental responsibility.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011 

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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GlobeScan and the Haas Center for Responsible Business release: The Future of Finance

“Inclusive Innovation” Offers Opportunity for the Financial Sector to Grow and Re-engage with Society: New Report Download the Future of Finance Report (PDF) 16 December 2011 – Global banking and financial sector experts see opportunities for the financial sector to grow and re-engage with society through “inclusive innovations,” a new report launched today, The Future of Finance, has found. Economic and regulatory uncertainty in many countries, and a degree of popular resentment exemplified by protests and a decline in reputation, presents … “GlobeScan and the Haas Center for Responsible Business release: The Future of Finance”

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Widespread Support for Arab Spring Protests: Global Poll

[jumplinks] Download the Press Release (PDF) 15 December 2011 – At the end of a year that has seen multiple revolutions in the Middle East, a new BBC global poll across 22 countries shows that a narrow majority thinks the Arab Spring protests were a good thing. The poll, conducted by GlobeScan among 21,558 people, reveals that 55% on average see the protests as “mostly positive,” with just over a quarter (28%) feeling they were “mostly negative”, and the rest undecided. … “Widespread Support for Arab Spring Protests: Global Poll”

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Unemployment Rises as “Most Talked-About” Problem: Global Poll

[jumplinks] Download the Press Release (PDF) 15 December 2011 – Unemployment has joined corruption and poverty among the world’s most talked-about global issues, according to a new poll for the BBC across 23 countries. The 11,293 people surveyed for the annual World Speaks poll by GlobeScan between July and September were asked to say which of a range of global issues they had talked about with friends and family over the past month. On average across the countries polled, nearly a … “Unemployment Rises as “Most Talked-About” Problem: Global Poll”

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Precipitous decline in optimism that technology can address climate change

As the Durban UN summit struggles to reach an agreement that will keep climate change within acceptable limits over the next decades, GlobeScan tracking reveals that the public in much of the world is losing faith that there will be a technological solution to the problems posed by a changing climate.

The optimism that developing nations, in particular, felt that the same technological innovation that was helping to drive strong economic growth in their countries would also solve climate change with minimal changes to human behavior, appears to have waned significantly, with major falls in confidence in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, and Pakistan.

These falls are mirrored in developed economies such as the UK, USA, and Spain, which were already more pessimistic that painful lifestyle adjustments could be averted in tackling climate change. If well-founded, this pessimism only underlines how critical it is that governments achieve a strong emissions-reduction agreement in Durban.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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Americans and British View Nonprofits as Effective Change Makers Yet Still Plan to Give the Same or Less

Social Good Survey Finds Engaging Donors Personally through Multiple Channels is Key to Securing Support in Tough Economy Download the 2011 Social Good Survey (PDF) 6 December 2011 – People in the United States and United Kingdom overwhelmingly trust nonprofits and charities ahead of governments and corporations to create social change, yet most say they will make charitable donations at the same or reduced levels as last year, according to a new survey by Fenton and GlobeScan. The 2011 Social Good Survey examines … “Americans and British View Nonprofits as Effective Change Makers Yet Still Plan to Give the Same or Less”

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Sense of Global Citizenship Declines in Major Nations

There has been a marked decline in people’s sense of global citizenship in the last two years in three of the world’s major economies—China, the UK, and the USA.

While GlobeScan’s latest findings indicate that a sense of global citizenship is on the rise in many emerging economies across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the ongoing economic malaise affecting the G7, the lack of progress on a new global free trade agreement, and the rekindling of doubts about the future viability of the global free market system may be among the factors that are depressing citizens’ sense of belonging to the global community in these three countries. In the UK, this year’s drop represents the continuation of a decline that started in 2007.

Nevertheless, the proportion of Chinese who see themselves as global citizens remains the highest of any country polled—62%. For a country that has spent much of its history seeking to isolate itself from the rest of the world, this is a striking turnaround.

 

Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011

For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)

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