Poll shows two sides to globalization

LONDON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A majority of people in 22 out of 34 countries believe economic globalization is proceeding too quickly, a British study released Thursday said.

The numbers, based on 34,500 people questioned, reflect the varying perceptions of people from developed and developing counties, the BBC study said.

In G7 countries -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada -- an average of 57 percent held the belief that, "globalization, including trade and investment," is spreading too rapidly.

An even larger group -- a majority of those polled in 27 of the 34 countries -- believed that, "economic developments of the last few years," have not been fairly distributed.

In Turkey, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico and the countries of Central America, however, the majority of those who perceive economic development as proceeding unfairly are likely to only say it is also proceeding too slowly.

"Few want to slam the brakes on globalization, though many want to press the brakes lightly," said Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes.

"Also, people in some developing countries still want to accelerate globalization and appear to believe that this will help break down some of the inequities of their country," he said.