- NEW YORK: As the saying goes, money isn’t everything, but it certainly means more to people now than before the global financial crisis, and especially in China, Japan and South Korea, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
A survey in 23 countries found two-thirds of 24,000 people questioned, or 65 percent, agreed money was more important to them now than previously, with younger people particularly putting more emphasis on money and seeing it as a sign of success. Citizens of South Korea, Japan and China were the most likely to say money meant more to them now, with 84 percent in each putting more value on cash, followed by India with 78 percent. “Perhaps not surprisingly, those nations (saying money was more important now) directly correlate with those who put the greatest weight in money as a determinant of success,” said John Wright, a senior vice president at opinion research firm Ipsos. The countries where citizens were least likely to say that money was more important now than previously were the Netherlands at 50 percent, Mexico, Germany, Britain, Belgium and Canada.