That view was held by a majority in 27 countries and by well over two-thirds of respondents in Latin America, continental Europe, non-oil-producing nations of the Middle East, and East Asia.

The strongest finding of this poll is the widespread view that people perceive recent developments in their economies as unfair

”This widespread perception of unfairness is something leaders need to be concerned about,” he told IPS, noting that the survey, which was carried out between late October and early January, was completed before the recent turmoil in the world's major stock markets.

The poll, the latest in an annual series on global attitudes sponsored by BBC, also found that half of the 34,500 respondents polled in 34 countries believe that ”economic globalisation, including trade and investment” is growing too quickly, while another 35 percent -- mostly in developing countries -- say that it is not growing quickly enough.

Countries where two-thirds or more of respondents complained that globalisation's pace was moving ”too quickly” included Spain (68 percent), the United Arab Emirates (77 percent), Egypt (78 percent), Australia (73 percent), and China (72 percent).

Overall, one in five respondents said globalisation is moving ”much too quickly”, while another 32 percent said it was growing ”a bit too quickly”.

”Few want to slam the brakes on globalisation, though many want to press the brakes lightly,” said Kull, who also noted that pluralities and majorities in a number of developing countries took the opposite view, apparently in the belief that globalisation promoted greater equity and economic growth.

Majorities in only five countries thought the pace of globalisation should be accelerated. They included Turkey (71 percent), the Philippines (71 percent), Portugal (57 percent), Indonesia (54 percent) and Brazil (51 percent).

While the survey found widespread unease with globalisation, it found no predictable correlation with perceptions of economic fairness.

In 12 countries -- most notably France, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Japan, Germany, and, to a lesser extent, the U.S. and Britain -- the most common view is that recent economic developments were unfair and that globalisation is proceeding too quickly.

Most respondents in Lebanon, Argentina, Israel, and Chile shared that view.

Most respondents in eight other countries, on the other hand, said they believed that the burdens and benefits of recent economic developments at home had been unfairly distributed and that globalisation should be accelerated. Those included Turkey, the Philippines, Portugal, Indonesia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico and a representative sample of the five Spanish-speaking countries of Central America.

In yet eight other countries -- Australia, Canada, UAE, Egypt, China, India, Ghana, and Nigeria -- the most common view was that their economy works fairly but that globalisation was proceeding too quickly.

Asked whether their countries' economic conditions were getting better or worse, majorities -- sometimes large majorities -- in 21 countries out of the 34 countries surveyed made negative assessments

Italian respondents were by far the most negative: 86 percent said conditions were worse; 50 percent said they were ”much worse.” Among other developed countries, the U.S. (74 percent ”worse”); Portugal (72 percent) and France (70 percent) were the most unhappy.

Among developing countries, Indonesians and Filipinos (76 percent worse, 46 percent ”much worse”) were the most negative, followed by Central Americans (70 percent worse and 49 percent ”much worse”), followed by Mexicans (68 percent worse); Israelis and Turks (65 percent); and South Koreans (64 percent).

Respondents in 10 countries, by contrast, said their economies appear to have improved. Chinese (84 percent better, 53 percent ”much better”) were the most enthusiastic, followed by Canada (72 percent), Australia (81 percent), the UAE (69 percent), Russia (63 percent), and India (56 percent).

In the three African countries surveyed, perceptions of economic trends were relatively evenly split -- slight majorities in Ghana and Nigeria (53 percent) were favourable; a slightly larger majority (56 percent) in Kenya was negative.

The poll found a general correlation between perceived improvements in the economy and perceptions of fairness in most countries.

Respondents who rated their countries' economic trends negatively tended to rate their economies' fairness even more negatively, a trend that was particularly marked in all the Latin American countries -- Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Central America.

In Indonesia and the Philippines, for example, respondents were among the most negative about economic trends and also about fairness. Satisfaction with economic gains and fairness were also highly correlated in the UAE.

In Russia, by contrast, perceptions of economic improvement were positive, but a mere 11 percent of respondents said they thought the gains had been equitably distributed. China and Australia offered a similar contrast -- positive perceptions about economic trends, combined with majorities who believed that the benefits and burdens of those trends were being distributed unfairly.

Overall, noted Doug Miller, president of the polling group Globescan, which also participated in the survey's design, ”There is real public unease about the direction of the economy, but it's not only about a downturn. It also has to do with how fairly benefits and burdens are shared, and the pace of globalisation.”

Source: IPS - Inter Press Service News Agency