Bruce StokesDirector, Global Economic AttitudesPew Research Center

June 2013

A Tale of Woe: Middle Eastern Economic Attitudes

Spring 2013 Pew Global Attitudes Survey

Economic Conditions

2

Most in Middle East Dissatisfied With Country Direction

Median percentages for Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian territories and Israel.

Q1.

2007 2009 2011 20130

20

40

60

80

100

29 24

4234

69 74

55 60

Satisfied Dissatisfied

3

Notable Dissatisfaction in Egypt

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

20

40

60

80

100

4

27

41 Israel

21

55

20

13 Tunisia

6 12 Palest. ter.7

11 Lebanon

% Satisfied

Q1.

4

Economies Are Not Doing Well

2002 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

20

40

60

80

100

14

53 Turkey46

43 Israel

33

27 Jordan

53

23 Egypt

10

22 Palest. ter.17

11 Tunisia5 10 Lebanon

% Good

Q4.

5

Little Optimism in Middle EastOver the next 12 months, ___ will improve

 National economic

conditionsPersonal economic

situation  % %

U.S. 44 43

Canada 29 34

Africa 60 68

Latin America 44 57

Asia/Pacific 40 48

Middle East 28 32

Europe 19 20Q5 & Q7.

6

Few Say Economy Will ImproveOver the next 12 months, the economy will…

Tunisia

Turkey

Egypt

Jordan

Israel

Palest. ter.

Lebanon

50

39

29

28

27

27

19

19

24

26

33

39

33

33

25

32

42

37

30

35

48

Improve Remain the same Worsen

Q5.

7

Personal Finances Bad

Israel

Turkey

Palest. ter.

Tunisia

Jordan

Lebanon

Egypt

38

46

50

57

69

70

79

59

52

48

42

30

30

21

GoodBad

Q6.

8

Worried about Personal Finances? Get an Education!

Personal economic situation is good

  Less than college College degree Diff  % %

Egypt 10 65 +55Jordan 24 65 +41Lebanon 25 48 +23Turkey 50 71 +21Tunisia 40 60 +20Palest. ter. 45 56 +11Israel 57 66 +9Q6.

9

Few Think Children Will Be Better Off than Parents

Tunisia

Israel

Turkey

Jordan

Lebanon

Palest. ter.

Egypt

49

41

39

31

26

23

22

4

22

8

22

20

29

29

39

27

43

43

47

38

42

Better off Same (Vol) Worse off

Q8.

10

Better Educated Are Optimistic about Future Generations

Children today will be better off than their parents

 Less than

college degree College degree Diff  % %

Jordan 25 68 +43Turkey 37 59 +22Egypt 19 32 +13

Lebanon 24 33 +9

Palest. ter. 22 27 +5

Israel 41 41 0

Tunisia 50 49 -1Q8.

11

Many Face Personal Deprivation

 

Could not afford food

Could not afford health care

Could not afford clothes

  2007 2013 Change 2007 2013 Change 2007 2013 Change

  % %   % %   % %  

Egypt 8 36 +28 44 48 +4 31 57 +26

Jordan 5 22 +17 16 36 +20 17 31 +14

Turkey 48 39 -9 47 36 -11 50 41 -9

Israel 14 5 -9 18 12 -6 21 12 -9

Lebanon 12 1 -11 22 13 -9 20 15 -5

Palest. ter. 43 27 -16 47 37 -10 50 37 -13

Tunisia -- 31 -- -- 39 -- -- 36 --

Q182a-c.

12

Many Low Income Sometimes Go Hungry

  % Could not afford food

Low income

Middle income

High income

High-low gap

% % %

Jordan 52 9 5 -47

Tunisia 45 26 11 -34

Turkey 51 41 22 -29

Palest. ter. 38 13 13 -25

Israel 17 6 0 -17

Egypt 40 37 30 -10Q182a.

13

Poor: More Than Half in 4 of 7 Nations Can’t Pay Health Care

  % Could not afford health care

Low income

Middle income

High income

High-low gap

% % %

Jordan 78 27 3 -75

Tunisia 59 29 12 -47

Lebanon 34 1 0 -34

Palest. ter. 52 19 22 -30

Israel 27 19 4 -23

Turkey 45 38 28 -17

Egypt 53 48 41 -12Q182b.

14

Spring 2013 Pew Global Attitudes Survey

Challenges and Policy Options

15

Everything is Economic Problem

73

72

63

60

Unemployment

Rising prices

Public debt

Rich-poor gap

% Very big problem

Median percentages for Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Palestinian territories and Israel.

Q21a-d. 16

Prices, Jobs Biggest Challenges% Very big problem

 

Lack of job opportunities

Rising prices

Public debt

Gap between rich and poor

  % % % %

Lebanon 91 92 89 86

Tunisia 90 90 78 82

Palest. ter. 86 79 72 60

Turkey 73 72 63 68

Israel 62 70 46 51

Egypt 60 62 44 49

Jordan 56 59 46 44

MEDIAN 73 72 63 60Q21a-d.

17

Curbing Inflation Top PriorityMost important for gov’t to address first

 

Rising prices

Lack of job opportunities

Gap between rich and poor

Public debt

  % % % %

Tunisia 48 27 4 5Jordan 44 20 9 11Egypt 36 31 11 10Israel 31 24 18 14Lebanon 24 21 10 13Turkey 21 43 11 8Palest. ter. 18 40 3 9MEDIAN 31 27 10 10

Q22.

18

Take Action on InflationMost important for gov’t to address first

 

Rising prices

Lack of job opportunities

Gap between rich and poor

Public debt

  % % % %

U.S. 9 41 17 28Canada 11 34 22 28Europe 10 52 11 17Middle East 31 27 10 10Asia/Pacific 40 33 8 10Latin America 29 46 10 4

Africa 30 47 5 3Q22.

19

Most Say Inequality Has Increased

Over the last five years, inequality has…

Lebanon

Israel

Palest. ter.

Tunisia

Turkey

Jordan

Egypt

87

81

73

71

70

54

53

11

13

16

15

9

33

32

2

2

7

12

18

7

9

Increased Stayed the same Decreased

Q24.

20

Economic System Seen As UnfairOur economic system…

Israel

Lebanon

Palest. ter.

Tunisia

Turkey

Jordan

Egypt

19

24

20

25

24

29

29

76

72

70

70

66

66

63

Favors wealthyFair to most

Q56.

21

Spring 2013 Pew Global Attitudes Survey

Perspectives on Egypt, Jordan

22

Economy Top Egyptian Priority

8381

6260

5651

4742

3227

Fair judiciary

Improved economic conditions

Uncensored media

Law and order

Freedom of speech

Honest elections

Religious parties can be part of gov't

Same rights for women as men

Freedom of religion for minorities

Civilian-controlled mili-tary

% Very important

Q122a-j.

23

Nothing Seems to Be Getting Better in Egypt

  Compared to the past, __ is …

  Getting better

Getting worse

Staying the same DK

  % % % %

Fairness of judicial system 35 35 23 8

Personal freedoms 33 36 28 3

Law and order 26 44 27 3

Morality 23 39 34 5

Standard of living 12 56 30 2

Q43EGYa-e.

24

Egypt: Economy Trumps Democracy

Which is more important?

 

2007 2011 2012 2013

% % % %

Good democracy 42 47 48 45

Strong economy 53 49 49 52

Don’t know 5 4 4 4Q89.

25

Huge Gender Gap in Jordan   Male Female Diff

  % %

Country satisfaction 47 28 +19

National economy is good 33 19 +14

Personal economic situation is good 38 20 +18

Personal economic situation will improve 42 22 +20

Children will be better off than their parents 41 19 +22

Q1, Q4, Q6, Q7 & Q8.

26

And a Generation Gap Too  18-29 30-49 50+

Youngest-oldest gap

  % % %

Country satisfaction 48 35 21 +27

National economy is good 32 25 18 +14

Personal economic situation is good 35 29 17 +18

Personal economic situation will improve 37 32 19 +18

Children will be better off than their parents 37 30 18 +19

Q1, Q4, Q6, Q7 & Q8.

27

Jordanian Rich and Poor Differ Widely on Priorities

  % Most important for government to address first

Low income

Middle income

High income

High-low gap

% % %

Rising prices 65 51 12 -53

Rich-poor gap 17 9 1 -16

Public debt 8 8 19 +11

Lack of job opportunities 7 24 29 +22Q22.

28

All Pew Global Attitudes Project reports and data are available online at www.pewglobal.org