Chinese Attitudes on Environmental Pollution Reported

A recent Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Project report on the survey, Environmental Concerns on the Rise in China, found that fear of water and air pollution is growing among the Chinese. In 2012, 36% of Chinese said that air pollution was a "very big problem" and in 2013 that number grew to 47% of the respondents. Regarding water pollution in 2012, 33% of respondents said that it was a "very big problem" while in 2013, 40% said the same. This represents a one-year increase of 23% and 18% respectively in Chinese attitudes about air and water pollution.

This report is based on the 2013 Spring Pew Global Attitudes Survey administered in face-to-face interviews of 3,226 Chinese adults from March 4 to April 2, 2013. The sample was taken from 12 cities, 12 towns, and 12 villages in east, west and central China. 

themostsearched.org offers several teaching tools on environmental matters and attitudes about the environment, including "Attitudes about Global Warming in the United States", "Visual Understanding Environment" , and "Contamination and Pollution."

Read more: 
http://www.pewresearch.org/
http://www.pewglobal.org/
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/09/19/environmental-concerns-on-the-rise-in-china/
http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2013/09/Pew-Global-Attitudes-Project-China-Report-FINAL-9-19-132.pdf

themostsearched.org resources:
http://themostsearched.org/resource/3430
http://themostsearched.org/resource/3148
http://themostsearched.org/resource/2931

Wealthy Countries Continue to Struggle with High External Debt to GDP Ratio's

According to the World Bank, it appears that while some developing countries managed to balance their checkbooks despite the worldwide economic downturn, the struggle continues for wealthier countries to decrease their debt. In the United States, our external debt to GDP ratio has increased from 84.1% in 2006, to 100.2% in 2012. In comparison, Portugal's external debt to GDP ratio is the highest among all the countries measured. From 2006 to 2012, their debt ratio increased from 189.0% to 228.9%. Greece has the second highest ratio but endured the largest increase in the debt ratio. In 2006, the World Bank estimated that their debt ratio stood at 125.8%. By 2012, it exploded by more than 80% to 206.4%. France has the third highest debt ratio, 190.8%, followed by Germany at 170.4%, Spain at 169.7%, Italy at 118.9%, and then the United States at 100.2%.
     
Interestingly, despite the struggles of developed countries to stabilize their debt, developing countries continue to enjoy low levels of external debt to GDP ratios. China's ratio stood at 9.5%, followed by 17.2% for Brazil, 18% for India, 27% for Mexico, 29.3% for Russia, and 41.3% for Turkey.

2013 U.S. Crude Oil Production Expected to Reach 20-Year High

Business Insider’s Chart of the Day uses data from the Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook to illustrate the EIA’s projection for U.S. crude oil production.  2012 production is 6.3 million barrels per day (bbl/d).  The EIA predicts 2013 production will rise to its highest level in twenty years: 6.8 million bbl/d.  And while OPEC production represents 40% of the world’s oil supply, the EIA predicts OPEC production to drop significantly in 2013.  On the other hand, the Administration forecasts 2013 North American production to rise more than any other oil-producing region in the world.  The EIA also predicts global oil consumption to rise 0.9 million bbl/d to 89.94 million bbl/d.  Roughly half of this increase is due to Chinese oil consumption, which is predicted to climb 0.76 million bbl/d.

More Chinese Women in Labor Force than Indian Women

Recent findings released by Gallupindicate that China’s female labor force participation rate (70%) is significantly greater than India’s (25%).  Not only are Indian women less likely to be present in their country’s labor force than Chinese women, women in India’s labor force are three times more likely to be unemployed (with an unemployment rate of 15%) than their Chinese counterparts (with an unemployment rate of 5%). Furthermore, women in China are nearly twice as likely to be employed full-time than women in India (21% verses 11%).  In addition, 53% of highly educated Chinese women reportedly hold a “good job” whereas only 17% of Indian women who received tertiary education maintain a “good job”.  There are also significant discrepancies in the literacy rates of Chinese females (91%) and the Indian females (50%).   In sum, Chinese women are much more likely to receive even a basic education than Indian women, and, among Chinese and Indian women who receive higher education, Chinese women are much more likely to find full-time employment. While the Chinese economy (with a 9% growth rate) is currently out-performing India’s economy, (with a 6.8% growth rate) China’s growth is expected to stall due to low fertility rates and an aging population. On the other hand, India’s population of working-aged citizens is expected to steadily increase until about 2030 and this can lead to major economic growth if India encourages greater female labor force participation.  

Chinese Leaving in Droves for Other Developed Nations

On October 31, the New York Times highlighted China's difficulties in keeping residents from emigrating to other developed nations. While China's economy has experienced robust economic growth in recent years, more and more Chinese continue to leave the nation in search of a new life.  The lack of religious freedom and the lure of a more liberated social and economic environment has driven an increasingly high number of Chinese out of the country. In 2010, 508,000 Chinese departed for one of the 34 developed countries that compose the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The U.S. welcomed 87,000 permanent residents in 2011, up from 70,000 in 2010.  But this feeling of uncertainty and unrest is not a one-way street.  The lethargic recoveries hampering the economies in the West has driven Chinese students back home in droves. In 2011, the number of students returning to China was up 40% from the previous year. Even still, it appears China is experiencing a sort of "brain drain." The United States' investment-based green card program allows foreigners to obtain a green card if they invest over $500,000 into American businesses. Chinese citizens obtained well over 2,000 of these specialized permits, more than double the investment-based green cards of all other nationalities combined.  

Chinese Public Expresses Concern over US Relations

Despite China’s vast economic growth, many citizens are concerned for the state of the nation. Concerns regarding food safety, corruption, income inequality, and relations with the US were at the top of the public's list of worries. Food safety is a paramount issue for the country. In 2008 only 12% of those surveyed considered food safety a very big problem. Over the past 4 years, this figure increased by nearly 30 percentage points, with 41% reporting that they worry about the safety of their food.  The Chinese public is also concerned about corrupt officials. About half of those polled reported that corruption was a large problem for the country. Additionally, the growing inequality between the rich and poor is a huge problem in the minds of Chinese citizens. When asked whether they agreed that in China “it’s really true that the rich just get richer while the poor get poorer”, 81% completely agreed or mostly agreed. 

Their concerns are not isolated to the state of domestic affairs. Many Chinese express growing reluctance to work with the US. In 2010, 68% of those surveyed said the country’s relationship with the US was one of cooperation, but in 2012 only 39% adopted this same view. Moreover, in 2010, 52% of those surveyed expressed confidence in Obama. In 2012, this figure dropped to 38%. Although these figures may seem to be a cause for concern for the Obama administration, it is important to note that many Chinese people still support American ideas about democracy. A majority of Chinese people between the ages of 18-49 support American ideas concerning democracy and when broken down by education, 65% of those with some college also embrace these key values.

Countries Improving Conditions to Conduct Business

According to a measure produced by the International Finance Corporation, Georgia, followed by Rwanda and Belarus, showed the greatest improvement in the ability to conduct business. The IFC measures the ease of handling business by taking into account various factors, such as how long it takes a company to pay taxes and become incorporated. Egypt, Mali, Colombia, and China also topped the list. 

The Economist notes that corruption, or lack thereof, plays a major role in a countries ability to easily conduct business. As figure 2 illustrates, greater corruption perceptions correlate to a lower “ease of doing business” ranking. Additionally, it appears that the position of countries to handle business has improved in most areas since 2005 partly because many states are following Singapore’s model of business. Singapore holds the top spot in the Global Dynamism Index, an index that measures which countries have the best business environments.