Life in Life in TransitionTransition
Office of the Chief Economist
EBRD
Life in Transition SurveyLife in Transition Survey29,000 households
surveyed in September 2006
Joint project with the World
Bank
28 transition countries,
plus Turkey
Life satisfaction
Questions include:
Political, economic and social values
Trust in public
institutions
Corruption
Public spending priorities
Transition Transition –– past, present and futurepast, present and future
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
My householdlives better
nowadays thanaround 1989
All thingsconsidered, Iam satisfiedwith my life
now
Children whoare born now
will have abetter life thanmy generation
DisagreeNo viewAgree
Looking back, only 30% of people believe that life is better now than in 1989Today, more people are satisfied than dissatisfied with their livesLooking ahead, a majority of people believe that the future will be better for their children
Younger people more upbeat than Younger people more upbeat than older generationolder generationOlder generation has borne the brunt of painful economic and political reformsYounger generation poised to reap the benefits
0%10%20%30%40%50%
60%70%80%90%
100%
18-34 35-49 50-64 65+
DissatisfiedNo viewSatisfied
The page of history has turnedThe page of history has turnedStrong support for democracy and marketsStrong support for democracy and markets
More people support democracy and market economy than alternativesBut one in ten still support a combination of planned economy and authoritarian governmentAnd one in five believe that form of political and economic system does not matter for them
10%
20%
36%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Dem
ocra
cyDo
esn’
t mat
ter
Auth
orita
rian
govt
Market economyDoesn't matter
Planned economy
…… but significant variation across the but significant variation across the regionregion
R2 = 0.6366
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Percent of respondents who support democracy
SEE CIS+M CEB
CEB countries clustered around moderately high support for both democracy and marketsWhile support for democracy and markets in SEE and CIS+M varies more widely
Percent of respondents who support market economy
The better off tend to support The better off tend to support democracydemocracy……
Support for democracy,by income group
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Low income Mediumincome
High income
Democracy Doesn't matter Authoritarian gov't
…… as well as market economiesas well as market economies
Support for market economy,by employment
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Unemployed Employed
Market economy Doesn't matter Planned economy
Transition has eroded trustTransition has eroded trust……
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Most people couldbe trusted prior to
1989
Most people can betrusted now
DistrustNo viewTrust
Across the region, societal trust was stronger prior to 1989In general, trust is low in the transition countriesLITS confirms previous survey findings in this field
…… but not for every institutionbut not for every institution
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Arm
edFo
rces
Pre
side
ncy
Ban
ks
Polic
e
Gov
ernm
ent
Cou
rts
Parli
amen
t
Polit
ical
Parti
es
TrustDistrustNo view
Corruption remains a problemCorruption remains a problem……
"There is less corruption now than around 1989"
14% 9%19%
23%16%
17%
63%75%
63%
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
CEB SEE CIS+M
Agree No view Disagree
…… particularly in some sectorsparticularly in some sectors
Corruption in public services
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Une
mpl
oym
ent
bene
fits
Oth
er b
enef
its
Pol
ice
Cou
rts
Offi
cial
docu
men
ts
Publ
iced
ucat
ion
Roa
d po
lice
Publ
ic h
ealth
syst
em
Infrequent Sometimes Frequent
Public prioritises spending on human Public prioritises spending on human capitalcapital
CEB
Education
Health
Housing
Pensions
SEE
Education
Health
Housing
Pensions
CIS+M
Education
Health
Housing
Pensions
Remaining categories are ‘Environment’, ‘Public infrastructure’ and ‘Other’
Life in Life in TransitionTransition
Office of the Chief Economist
EBRD
www.ebrd.com/economics