And it all boils down to one

More Filipinos believe that globalization is mostly good rather than mostly bad for the Philippines, according to the SWS survey of September 24 to October 2, 2006.

The survey, done in cooperation with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCGA) and WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO), also revealed that most Filipinos think that countries that sign trade agreements should be required to maintain minimum labor standards.

However, Filipinos are divided on complying with World Trade Organization (WTO) decisions on trade disputes if it rules against the Philippines.

These findings are part of the study done by CCGA and WPO in cooperation with polling organizations around the world, including the Philippines. Not all questions, designed by WPO and CCGA, were asked in all countries.

Respondents from the 18-nation survey were asked if "globalization, especially increasing connections of our economy with others around the world, is mostly good or mostly bad" for their country. In every case, positive answers (mostly good) outweigh negative ones (mostly bad).

The highest levels of support for globalization are found in export-oriented economies: China (87%), South Korea (86%) and Israel (82%).  In the Philippines, 49% believe that globalization is mostly good and 32% call it mostly bad. One in five (20%) responded Don't know.

In general, education affects Filipinos' opinion on globalization issues.  Support for globalization is higher among high school or college graduates, with 53-54% saying globalization is mostly good for the Philippines. In contrast, only two-fifths (41-45%) of non-elementary and non-high school graduates share this view.

Strong majorities in developing nations around the world, especially in Asia and Latin America, agree that trade agreements should require governments to maintain "minimum standards" for working conditions or for protection of the environment. The support for including standards on working conditions and the environment is highest in the United States (93% favor labor standards and 91% favor environmental standards) and in Israel (91% favor labor standards and 93% favor environmental standards).

Among the four Asian countries included in the survey, the support for both labor and environmental standards is strongest in China, 84% and 85% respectively.  In the Philippines, 55% say trade pacts should maintain minimum working conditions while 30% say they should not. Filipinos were not asked about environmental standards.

Again, most of the college graduates in the Philippines support labor standards, with 60% in favor of them, as compared to 54% among those who had some college education, 56% among those who had some high school education, and 49% among non-elementary graduates.

Most countries lean toward compliance with adverse rulings by the WTO, but there is a substantial variation. 

After being told that the WTO was "established to rule on disputes over trade treaties," respondents in eight countries were asked: "If another country files a complaint with the World Trade Organization and it rules against [survey country], as a general rule, should [survey country] comply with that decisions or not?"

The US public shows the highest support for obeying WTO decisions (73% yes, 22% no), while South Korea is the only country where a majority opposes complying with adverse WTO decisions (52% no, 37% yes).

Filipinos are divided with 48% in favor of compliance with adverse WTO rulings and 49% not in favor.

Education increases compliance with adverse WTO decision, with 51-54% of those with high school degree or more in favor. In contrast, 53% of those with high school education or less support non-compliance.

By area, most (58%) of Metro Manila respondents say the Philippines should comply with adverse WTO rulings, whereas most (51-52%) of those in Balance Luzon and Visayas oppose it. Mindanao respondents are split.

By class, most people in the Classes ABC favor compliance with adverse WTO rulings, but most of the Class E oppose it. Class D are divided.

This is the second in a series of reports based on the findings of an international survey conducted in 2006 by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and WorldPublicOpinion.org in cooperation with polling organizations in China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Russia, France, Thailand, Ukraine, Poland, Iran, Mexico, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Argentina, Peru, Israel, Armenia and the Palestinian Territories. These include roughly 56 percent of the world population.

The participating national survey institutes agreed to hold off public release of their national findings until the global results were completed and could be cited for comparison.

In the Philippines, the Social Weather Survey used face-to-face interviews of a national sample of 1,200 statistically representative households (300 each in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao), from 240 geographical spots selected from all regions. Error margins of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for regional percentages should be applied.