Many around the world were pessimistic about inequality even before pandemic
Across 34 countries, a median of 65% said in 2019 they felt pessimistic about reducing the gap between the rich and poor in their country.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Across 34 countries, a median of 65% said in 2019 they felt pessimistic about reducing the gap between the rich and poor in their country.
Spain’s public is concerned about democracy, inequality and their children’s financial future. But views of the economy have rebounded overall.
Despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage in the U.S. has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago. And most of what wage gains there have been have flowed to the highest-paid tier of workers.
The fortunes of the middle classes across Western Europe are moving in different directions. Some nations are experiencing both growing incomes and expanding middle classes, while other nations are witness to stagnant or declining incomes and shrinking middle classes, a new Pew Research Center analysis of 11 Western European countries has found. But in a few other countries studied, the middle-class shares are decreasing even as incomes overall are rising.
The American middle class is smaller than middle classes across Western Europe, but its income is higher.
Large-scale refugee flows and lack of progress in slowing global warming are the top risks that the world faces in the coming decade, according to a survey by the World Economic Forum of executives and experts.
Growing economic inequality, increasing joblessness, global pollution and severe weather events are among the world’s most pressing threats experts say.
People in emerging and developing nations are optimistic about the financial future of their children. It’s a different story in richer nations, where most believe prospects for the next generation are grim.
The world’s third largest economy faces long-term challenges, including pessimistic forecasts from the Japanese public, the hollowing out of Japan’s working-age population and the nation’s exorbitant public debt.
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