(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in 34 countries feel that economic gains in their own nations have not been well distributed, according to a poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes released by BBC World Service. 64 per cent of global respondents think the share of benefits and burdens of recent economic developments has not been fair.

In October 2007, a study by the Boston Consulting Group revealed that the world’s wealth expanded by 7.5 per cent in 2006, reaching $97.9 trillion U.S. It also showed that the wealth gap continued to grow over the past five years, with much of the benefits going to the already well-off.

On Jan. 31, Robert Rubin—head of the Citigroup financial institution—said a major issue facing the United States economy today is a growing wealth gap, adding that the problem is also affecting many nations. Rubin declared: "It’s a paramount task for policy makers to understand why market economy and globalization are associated with severe income distribution issues in almost every country; and then they must create policy to address the problem."

Polling Data

Thinking about the economic developments of the last few years, how fairly do you think the benefits and burdens have been shared (in your country)?

Source: Program on International Policy Attitudes / BBC World Service
Methodology: Telephone and face-to-face interviews with 34,528 adults in 34 countries, conducted from Oct. 31, 2007, to Jan. 25, 2008. More information on accompanying report.

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