The first glimmer of hope for the global economy, according to Ipsos-Reuters study
4 June 2009
Consumer confidence in the state of the economy is starting to stabilise after eighteen months of decline and there is a glimmer of hope for the first time since the beginning of the GFC, according to the latest Ipsos Reuters Global Poll.
Conducted by Ipsos in 23 countries, including Australia, covering 75 per cent of the world’s GDP, “The Consumer Pulse of the Global Economy” examines consumers’ views of the current state of the economy as well as household expenditures and directly compares this with the results from the same survey undertaken in October/November and April/May each year for the last two years.
Twenty-three thousand respondents were asked “Thinking about our economic situation, how would you describe the current economic situation in your country?” The results remained steady with 31 per cent in November 2008 saying the economic situation was either somewhat good or very good compared with 29 per cent in May this year.
Ipsos, Director of Public Affairs, John Sergeant said: “This stabilisation is fuelled by a slight improvement in consumer confidence in the US along with significant improvements in India and China.”
“Interestingly, in the Asia Pacific region overall, including Australia, there was an increasing trend overall from 32 per cent to 38 per cent. This suggests that our region will lead the world out of recession and emerge relatively strongly. (see chart 1)
“In contrast, Europe as well as Brazil and Russia registered net declines. In fact in Europe, Italy was the only country to register a positive change, with an increase from 10 per cent to 17 per cent in consumer confidence,” Sergeant added.
In response to the slowdown, 73 per cent of consumers globally and 74 per cent in Australia say that they have cut their household expenditure. However, these cuts have not deepened over the last year, which serves as another indicator that the economic situation globally is starting to stabilise, according to the Ipsos Reuters poll. (see chart 2)
The survey also examined people’s view about who is to blame for the global economic crisis. Globally, 40 per cent of participants felt banks and financial professionals were the primary culprits. In Australia, this was slightly higher at 42 per cent with the Bush administration, the US government and the Obama administration also being assigned blame. (see chart 4)
This research was undertaken by Ipsos and was completed in May. There were 1,000 respondents surveyed in each country across a balance of age, gender, city, population and education levels. Countries included the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, South Korea, China, Japan, Australia, Russia, India Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Great Britain.
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About Ipsos
Ipsos is one of the world's leading survey-based marketing research firms. Founded and run by market research professionals, Ipsos interprets, simulates, and anticipates the needs and reactions of consumers, customers and citizens – locally, nationally and around the world. Ipsos has a direct presence in more than 60 countries and conducts research in more than 100.