74 pc Indians think country’s economic conditions good: Pew

Washington :More Indians are today bullish about the country’s economic state than they were a year ago as nearly three-fourth believe the economy is doing well, despite concerns about a worldwide recovery, according to a new study.

Pew Research in a report released yesterday said 74 per cent of Indians they interviewed believed the country’s economic conditions are good, a 10 per cent jump from a year ago.

“In emerging markets, half or more in 14 of 21 countries see their economy as negative. The gloomiest are Ukrainians (94 per cent), Lebanese (89 per cent) and Brazilians (87 per cent),” the report said.

“At the same time, 90 per cent of Chinese, 86 per cent of Vietnamese and 74 per cent of Indians think economic conditions are good in the year 2015,” it said.

Last year, according to Pew, some 64 per cent of Indians thought that the economy was doing well.

According to the survey, a median of just 40 per cent in advanced economies say conditions are good, as do 45 per cent in emerging economies and 46 per cent in developing nations.

The study concluded that the overall sentiment is largely unchanged from economic sentiment in comparable countries in 2014.

Pew said there is sign of growing public faith in an economic recovery in some of the largest economies.

Roughly four-in-ten Americans (40 per cent), Europeans (38 per cent) and Japanese (37 per cent) say economic conditions are good in their countries.

Such sentiment is up 30 percentage points in Japan from the low point in 2012; up 23 points from the low in the US in 2009; and up 23 points from the low in 2013 for the median of five European Union nations.

“European and Japanese views, while far from positive, have now returned to or exceed pre-financial-crisis levels. But American attitudes, while rebounding, are still more negative than they were in 2007.

“This modest recovery in public economic sentiment parallels a gradual pickup in economic growth in many of these economies,” it said.

PTI