Jan 16 Reuters Barely two in five people believe their families will be better off in the future, according to a regular global survey that also identified growing levels of distrust in institutions among lowincome households.

The Edelman Trust Barometer, which for over two decades has polled the attitudes of thousands of people, found that economic pessimism was at its highest in some of the world39;s top economies such as the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan.

It further confirmed how societies have been divided by the impacts of the pandemic and inflation. Higherincome households still broadly trust institutions such as government, business, media and NGOs. But alienation is rife among lowincome groups.

This has really shown the mass class divide again, said Richard Edelman, whose Edelman communications group published the survey of over 32,000 respondents in 28 countries interviewed from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28 of last year.

We saw it in the pandemic because of differential outcomes in terms of health, now we see it in terms of the impact of inflation, he added. The World Health Organisation and others have noted the higher toll of the pandemic on the poor, while those on low incomes suffer most from costlier basic items.

Globally, only 40 agreed with the statement my family and I will be better off in five years compared to 50 a year before, with advanced economies most downbeat the United States 36, Britain 23, Germany 15 and Japan 9.

Fastgrowing economies…