More Positive Attitudes

Growing positivity seems like a good idea most of the time for most people.  While the definition of what is and isn’t positive remains subjective, most would likely agree that there ought to be more of it.  According to this survey from Gallup, there was an uptick of positivity for the first time since 2014 in their latest global research on how the world is feeling.

Gallup created a Negative Emotions Experience Index which is comprised of things like stress, sadness, anger, worry, and physical pain.  While the 2024 data have not been released, Atlas recently came upon the results of the 2023 survey showing that negativity is now back down to pre-pandemic levels.  The group gathered data from adults in 142 countries.  After a small uptick in 2008 (remember the Global Financial Crisis?), negativity held steady for the three following years before beginning a steady trend higher, peaking in 2021 and holding that level in 2022. 

While economics is mostly taught as a discipline quantifying the behaviors of rational actors, Atlas believes it is driven by emotions, chemical reactions in our brains that we may not have a lot of control over from moment to moment.  How positivity correlates to the economy is not entirely clear.  For instance, economic growth has continued upward despite positivity falling for a decade.  One data point hardly makes a trend, so it’s worth looking at the next release of this survey later this year.  Nevertheless, any uptick in positivity seems like a good development, one which seems more likely to further fuel economic growth, ceteris paribus.