IWS Documented News DAILY POSTINGS

IWS Documented News Service

_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies-----------------Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor--------------------Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

________________________________________________________________________

This service is supported, in part, by donations. Please consider making a donation by following the instructions at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/iws/news-bureau/support.html

 

European Commission

Special Eurobarometer 421

 

THE EUROPEAN YEAR FOR DEVELOPMENT: CITIZENS' VIEWS ON DEVELOPMENT, COOPERATION AND AID [January 2015]

http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_421_en.pdf

[full-text, 100 pages]

 

[excerpts]

...The European Union (EU) and its 28 Member States together remain the world's biggest

aid donor: in 2013 they provided €56.5 billion in official development assistance - more

than half of global official aid. The EU has long been a driving force for international

cooperation, not only in providing financial support but also in pushing international

debate forward.

The fieldwork was conducted during continued unrest and violence in the Middle East

(Palestine, Syria, Iraq) and an Ebola epidemic in West Africa. All of these events received

significant media coverage, which may have influenced the way respondents approached

some of the questions in the survey.

...

The main objective of the survey was to gauge:

 awareness of the European Year for Development 2015;

 opinions on the main challenges for developing countries;

 the perceived importance of helping people in developing countries, and the importance of development aid;

 levels of commitment towards aid increases promised by the EU;

 Europeans' personal commitment and involvement as regards helping developing countries;

 the perceived effectiveness of different types of action to reduce poverty in developing countries; and

 levels of knowledge of EU and national development aid.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 4

MAIN FINDINGS ................................................................................................. 7

YOUNG PEOPLE AND DEVELOPMENT ................................................................... 8

1. AWARENESS OF 2015 - THE EUROPEAN YEAR FOR DEVELOPMENT .......... 11

2. UNDERSTANDING OF DEVELOPMENT ....................................................... 12

2.1. Challenges facing developing countries ................................................ 12

2.2. Important elements for leading a life in decent conditions .................. 16

3. RELEVANCE OF SUPPORTING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES .......................... 18

3.1. Perceived importance of helping people in developing countries ......... 18

3.2. Tackling poverty in developing countries as one of the main priorities of

the EU and national governments ..................................................................... 20

3.3. Benefits for the EU and its citizens from tackling poverty in developing

countries .......................................................................................................... 27

3.4. Tackling poverty in developing countries as a moral obligation ........... 30

3.5. Contribution of development aid to a more peaceful and equal world .. 31

4. ATTITUDES TOWARDS INCREASING EU AID ............................................ 34

5. PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO AND INVOLVEMENT IN DEVELOPMENT ...... 38

5.1. The role of individuals in tackling poverty ............................................ 38

5.2. Personal commitment to development ................................................. 42

5.3. Personal involvement in helping developing countries ......................... 46

6. EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACTION IN REDUCING POVERTY

IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ............................................................................ 49

6.1. Volunteering in organisations .............................................................. 50

6.2. Official development aid from governments ......................................... 51

6.3. Donating to organisations .................................................................... 52

7. KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION REGARDING DEVELOPMENT AID AND

RELATED ISSUES .............................................................................................. 54

7.1. Knowledge of where national or EU development aid goes .................. 54

7.2. Sources of information about development aid .................................... 60

CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 63

 

________________________________________________________________________

This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.