Macroscope | Globalisation glitter dulls as people get richer
International cooperation and economic progress likely to stall if governments in rich countries are held back by reluctant populations
People in wealthy countries are more likely to doubt the virtues of global trade and foreign investment than those in developing and emerging economies, creating an undercurrent that complicates efforts to deepen and broaden world markets.
The scepticism was revealed in a survey of about 50,000 people in 44 countries by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre released in September.
Respondents from countries including France, Italy, Japan and the United States expressed the strongest doubts about foreign economic engagement. The bad news is those countries represent 30 per cent of the world economy. The better news is a median of 81 per cent of respondents believe international commercial activity is a good thing.
Pew calls itself a "fact tank" and produces surveys on public attitudes and opinion trends on a wide range of issues across the world. Public views influence government behaviour in important ways and the work of the research centre deserves to be taken seriously.
The survey asked questions about the effects of trade and foreign investment on jobs and wages. Respondents were less convinced here, although poorer countries again showed a greater tendency to see positive links. The survey divides economies into advanced, emerging and developing categories and this relationship holds across all three groupings.
Only ideologues would insist that jobs and wages will always rise with more trade and investment. There are winners and losers and positive effects can take time to become discernible outcomes.
