Subscribe
The intersection of wealth and politics is creating widespread economic inequality
The intersection of wealth and politics is creating widespread economic inequality, felt most people surveyed across 36 countries.
A median 54 per cent of adults across the nations surveyed said the gap between the rich and the poor is a very big problem in their country, according to the new report by American think tank Pew Research Center released January 9, 2025.
The median share of the people who see economic inequality as a very big problem was higher in middle-income countries than in high-income ones (62 per cent vs 48 per cent). Argentina, Kenya and South Africa were among the countries where people were most likely to say economic inequality was a very big problem — 70 per cent of the respondents held this view in each of the countries.
The analysis focused on public opinion of inequality and its contributing factors in 36 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, the Middle EastNorth Africa region, North America and sub-Saharan Africa. The report also explored views of children’s financial futures and the economic system reform in each country.
Around 60 per cent believed that rich people having too much political influence contributed majorly towards economic inequality. A median of 57 per cent adults across the countries expressed the apprehension that children in their country would be worse off financially than their parents.
This view was especially prevalent in several high-income nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the most part, this view about the economic future was shared by younger and older adults alike, as well as by people with higher and lower incomes.
In complete contrast, the public in several countries was more optimistic about the financial future of the next generation. This included a few South Asian and Southeast Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
The view of optimism was shared with some Latin American countries too. About half of those surveyed in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico think today’s children will be better off than their parents, while around four in 10 or more said they would be worse off.
The survey found that the COVID-19 pandemic had also contributed to the economic pessimism of the people. In 15 out of 31 countries with available trends, the proportion of people believing that children will be financially worse off than their parents is higher now compared to pre-pandemic surveys.
A majority in 33 of 36 nations surveyed was also of the view that the country's economic system demanded either major changes or complete reform. This was especially true for people in middle-income nations like the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa region.
Individuals in numerous affluent nations also sought modifications to the economic system. In most European countries surveyed, a minimum of 60 per cent of adults desired significant economic changes or a complete overhaul. In the United States, 66 per cent held this opinion.
The connection between money and politics was perceived as a major cause of economic inequality. In the list of six potential factors, rich people having too much political influence was seen as a major factor for the widespread economic inequality.
The other factors were problems with our education system; some people working harder than others; some people are born with more opportunities than others; robots and computers doing work previously done by humans and lastly discrimination against racial or ethnic minorities.