Does money make the world go 'round?

Consumers in emerging markets are far more likely to attribute financial success to good luck rather than good management, and are also more likely to think about money and how to get it. A series of agree/disagree questions explored how people feel about money and its relative importance in their lives.

So who's the most obsessed with money? Eighty-three percent of Indonesians agree with the statement 'I think about money - and how to get more of it - regularly', followed by 76% in both India and Malaysia.

Executive Director for Consumer Insights for Synovate in Asia, Mike Sherman, attributes this more to need than culture.

"There is a bit of 'you want what you don't have' in this result but it's far more a need issue. It's not the same as obsessing over something you don't really need like a gadget. Money is life and death and, despite ever-growing affluence, many people in these markets are still engaged in a daily struggle to get it," he said.

"What is possibly more to do with culture is the 72% of Indians who agreed that financial success is due to good luck not good management, miles ahead of the next highest agreement level of 44% in Bulgaria and Malaysia. In India, luck and fortune plays a great significance in people's lives in general.

"On the other hand, only 12% of respondents in Australia, 14% in Canada and 16% in the US agreed... these cultures are heavily geared around reward linked to hard work," he said.

Money equals problems in the minds of 57% of emerging markets respondents. Their developed markets counterparts did not agree... only 31% of them saw a link between more money and greater problems in life.

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> Money talks. But what language does it speak?

> Developing a dislike for debt

> Taking charge... and Lady Luck

> About the 'Defining financial success' survey