How Do OECD Forum Attendees Compare With General Publics Around the World on Views About the Future Economy and Democracy

How Do OECD Forum Attendees Compare With
General Publics Around the World on Views About
the Future Economy and Democracy?
Richard Wike
Director, Global Attitudes Research
May, 2019

2
Pew Research Center
• Established 1996
• Funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, foundations
• Non-profit, non-partisan fact tank in Washington
• Since 2001, we have surveyed in 108 countries
• www.pewresearch.org
• @pewresearch

3
Methodology
• Results of online survey of 358 registered OECD Forum attendees
conducted from April 18 to May 13, 2019
• General public surveys:
2018 Global Attitudes Survey of 27 countries
Survey of eight Western European countries conducted Oct. 30-Dec. 20, 2017
Additional results from surveys of U.S. adults conducted May 2017 and
December 2018
• In each country, samples are representative of the adult (18+)
population

VIEWS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC FUTURE
4

5
Pessimism for the Next Generation’s Economic Prospects
Source: 2019 Pew Research Center survey of OECD Forum attendees and Spring 2018 Global Attitudes Survey.
% who say when children today in their country grow up, they will be __ financially than their parents
53%
54
46%
36
OECD Forum attendees
27-country median
Worse off Better off
% who say the average working person in this country will have __ job security by the year 2050
65% 22% 12%OECD Forum attendees
Less About the same More

ATTITUDES TOWARDS AUTOMATION
6

7
Thought Leaders and Average Citizens Agree
Automation Will Increase
Note: 9-country median includes data from Canada, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Japan, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil.
38%
28
47%
48
9-country median
Definitely will happen Probably will happen
How likely do you think it is that in the next 50 years, robots and computers will do much of the work
currently done by humans?

% who say their country is __ for a future where robots and computers are doing much of the work
currently done by humans
76% 21%
Not prepared Prepared
13%
69
85%
31
Bad thing Good thing
8
OECD Attendees and U.S. Public Disagree About
Impact of Automation
Source: 2019 Pew Research Center survey of OECD Forum attendees and survey of U.S. adults conducted Dec. 11-23, 2018.
Among those who say robots and computers doing much of the work currently being done by humans
definitely will happen or probably will happen, % who say robots and computers doing much of the
work currently done by humans is a __ for your country
OECD Forum
attendees
U.S. public
OECD Forum
attendees

73%
80
71%
79
9-country median
9-country median
9
Many See Negative Impacts from Automation
% who say if robots and computers were able to do much of the work currently being done by humans, the
following is likely to happen
Inequality between rich
and poor would be much
worse than it is today
Ordinary people would have
a hard time finding jobs

71%
45%
65
63
32
58
9-country median
9-country median
*
*
10
OECD Attendees See More Positive Impacts from Automation
* No median data available.
% who say if robots and computers were able to do much of the work currently being done by humans,
the following is likely to happen
There would be new, better-
paying jobs
People would find their jobs more
meaningful and fulfilling since
machines would mostly be doing
things that people find unappealing
The economy would be much
more efficient
People would be able to focus less
on work and more on the things
that really matter to them in life

85%
65%
74
72
72
64
60
55
11%
23%
21
18
22
26
34
29
A lot Some
9-country median
11
Who Has Responsibility for Training the Workforce?
% who say __ have a lot of responsibility to make sure their nation’s workforce has the right skills and
education to be successful in the future
Schools
Governments
Individuals
themselves
Employers

65%
77
50
42
53
36
30
20
12
OECD and U.S. Public Views of Jobs Threatened by Automation
Source: 2019 Pew Research Center survey of OECD Forum attendees and survey of U.S. adults conducted May 1-15, 2017
86%
82
67
59
56
29
28
22
Insurance claims
processor
Fast food worker
Legal clerk
Construction worker
Software engineer
Teacher
Your own job or
profession
Nurse
Your own job or
profession
OECD Forum attendees U.S. adults
% who say it is likely that the following jobs will be replaced by robots or computers in their lifetimes
Insurance claims
processor

69% 67
13
OECD Attendees and U.S. Public More Concerned than
Enthusiastic About Job Hiring Algorithms
Source: 2019 Pew Research Center survey of OECD Forum attendees and survey of U.S. adults conducted May 1-15, 2017.
35%
22
Somewhat
Very
EnthusiasticWorried
% who say they are __ about the development of algorithms that can evaluate and hire job candidates
Very
Somewhat

51%
47
48%
44
Somewhat
Very
14
OECD Attendees and U.S. Public Share Similar Views of
Robot Caregivers
Source: 2019 Pew Research Center survey of OECD Forum attendees and survey of U.S. adults conducted May 1-15, 2017.
Somewhat
Very
EnthusiasticWorried
% who say they are __ about the development of robot caregivers for older adults

15
Recommendations to Prepare for Automation
Note: Quotations may have been edited for grammar, spelling and clarity.
Source: 2019 Pew Research Center survey of OECD Forum attendees.
Thinking about a future where robots and computers do much of the work currently done by humans,
what’s the most important thing that governments need to do to prepare for this future?
“(1) Demand decision-making by humans,
not computers (2) Laws requiring access
to algorithms (so the people affected by
the system can have insight in the
working of the algorithm) (3) Right to
bias-free algorithms.”
“I worry that some people will have no
purpose - just giving money to those
without jobs is not enough, people need
a purpose and to feel useful.”
“In theory, I believe that automation
would be a great thing for humanity
because it would free up space for
everyone to develop their hobbies and
creative sides, but in practice I know that
it will probably end up being used by
billionaires to get even richer and not
rely on people while millions starve.”
“They would be two things: … to create
a legal system in which humans
increasingly work less and gain more,
and are able to spend more time to do
things they like … And on the other
hand prepare young people to have the
skills and competencies for their
proper adaptation to the labor market
of the future.”

17
Who Would Do Better Job of Solving Country’s Problems:
Elected Officials or Ordinary Citizens?
Note: 8-country median includes data from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
Source: 2019 Pew Research Center survey of OECD Forum attendees and survey of eight Western European countries conducted
Oct. 30-Dec. 20, 2017.
% who say __ comes closer to their view
8-country median
67%
52
33%
44
OECD Forum
attendees
8-country
median
Ordinary people would do a
better job solving the country's
problems than elected officials
Ordinary people would do no
better solving the country's
problems than elected officials

94%
52
48
11
78%
49
66
26
Representative
democracy
Rule by experts
Direct democracy
Rule by a strong leader
18
Broad Support for Representative Democracy, Differences Over
Direct Democracy
Note: Full question wordings for political systems: Representative democracy, “A democratic system where representatives elected by
citizens decide what becomes law”; Direct democracy, “A democratic system where citizens, not elected officials, vote directly on major
national issues to decide what becomes law”; Rule by experts, “Experts, not elected officials, make decisions according to what they think is
best for the country”; Rule by a strong leader, “A system in which a strong leader can make decisions without interference from parliament
or the courts”.
% who say __ would be a good way of governing their country
38-country median

19
Views of Democratic Rights
% who say it is important for their country to have the following things
38-country median 93%
65%
89
61
69
74
6%
21%
9
24
25
22
Women have the
same rights as men
Honest elections are
held regularly with a
choice of at least two
political parties
People can practice
their religion freely
Somewhat
important
Very
important
Women have the
same rights as men
People can practice
their religion freely
Honest elections are
held regularly with a
choice of at least two
political parties
38-country median

20
Views of Government Censorship
% who say it is important for their country to have the following things
38-country median
90%
55%
80
56
76
50
9%
29%
18
31
21
29
The media can report
the news without
government censorship
People can say what
they want without
People can use
the internet without
Somewhat
important
Very
important
The media can
report the news
without government
censorship
People can say what
they want without
government
censorship
People can use the
internet without
government
censorship
38-country median

21
OECD Attendees Are Generally More Likely than General Public
to Support Some Types of Free Speech
% who say people should be able to say __ publicly
98%
51
48
37
21
80%
35
26
35
25
Statements that
criticize the
government's policies
Statements that are
offensive to your
religion or beliefs
Statements that are
sexually explicit
Statements that are
offensive to minority
groups
Statements that call
for violent protests
38-country median

22
Recommendations to Improve Democracy
Note: Quotations may have been edited for grammar, spelling and clarity.
Source: 2019 Pew Research Center survey of OECD Forum attendees.
Thinking about our political system, what’s the most important thing that our country can do to
improve the way democracy works?
“Implementing real open government
policies: open data, wider transparency,
participation mechanisms, collaborative
design of public policies.”
“It is crucial for elected officials to
represent people accurately in terms of
gender, ethnicity and social
background.”
“Change voting from opt-in to opt-out,
where everyone is automatically
registered to vote, unless they
purposefully decide to remove their own
right to vote.”
“Western ‘democracies’ are
increasingly plutocracies. The most
important things are to: (1) give power
back to politics, (2) free politics from
the power of economic elites.”

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All Pew Research Center reports are available
online at www.pewresearch.org
Richard Wike
Director, Global Attitudes Research
@RichardWike

How Do OECD Forum Attendees Compare With General Publics Around the World on Views About the Future Economy and Democracy

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