|
THEMES // EMERGING MIDDLE-CLASS // GLOBAL SOCIETY, 2-INCOME HOUSEHOLD & GLOBAL WEALTH |
|
An Increasingly Integrated Global Society
- Within the U.S. and Europe, regional differences, attitudes, incomes, and lifestyles are blurring as global trade carries people from one area to another.
- Inter-racial marriage also continues to mix cultures geographically, ethnically, socially, and economically.
- Minorities are beginning to exert more influence over national agendas as the growing number of minorities in the U.S. is mirrored by the expanding population of refugees and former �guest workers� throughout Europe.
|
|
The Boom In Two-Income Households
- In 75% of U.S. households, both partners worked full time in 2006, up from 63% in 1992.
- In Europe, dual-income households now outnumber single-income households by about two to one. Countries in northern Europe tend to have a higher percentage of dual-income households than those in southern Europe.
- Growing numbers of grandparents are raising their grandchildren, providing an inexpensive childcare option for parents seeking increased prosperity through dual incomes.
|
|
Technology Is A Major Driver of Global Wealth
- As late as the 1940s, the product cycle (idea, invention, innovation, imitation) stretched to 30 or 40 years. Today, it seldom lasts 30 to 40 weeks.
- 80% of the scientists, engineers, and doctors who ever lived are alive today � and exchanging ideas in real time on the internet.
- It is estimated that, at current rates, all of the technical knowledge we work with today will represent only 1% of the knowledge that will be available in 2050.
|
|
|
