Ipsos found 59% said Australia was on the wrong track
Economic optimism should be treated as a strategic asset, the Centre for Optimism says, because it can help drive investment, innovation, enterprise and productivity.
Chief optimism officer Victor Perton made that case at the International Association for Peace and Economic Development forum. He argued that economic confidence is not just about feelings, but about whether people believe they can act on opportunities.
“People invest, create, employ, learn and cooperate when they believe the future will be better than the present,” Perton said.
According to Perton, optimism gives people the confidence to act before certainty arrives. That matters when people decide to invest, innovate, start a business, learn new skills or take a prudent risk.
A 2024 international study covering 42 mainly OECD countries found evidence that economic optimism supports innovation activity and economic performance. The study also found producer optimism was particularly important for productivity.
Perton linked those findings to The Optimism Economy: A National Framework for Economic Optimism, developed with economist Dr Anand Kulkarni and strategist Robert Masters AM. That framework argues that forward-looking confidence can contribute to productivity, innovation and sustainable economic growth.
Ipsos data shows an optimism gap
Perton warned of an emerging “optimism gap” in developed democracies. In that gap, people stay hopeful about their own lives while becoming more pessimistic about their country.
In Australia, 59% of people surveyed by Ipsos in June said the country was on the wrong track. At the same time, around two-thirds of Australians remained optimistic that 2026 would be a better year for them personally.
“That gap matters. A country needs people who can see credible possibilities ahead and believe their actions can make a difference,” Perton said.
However, Perton said governments cannot manufacture optimism. Instead, they can create conditions for realistic optimism through opportunity, trustworthy institutions, investment and credible pathways to a better future.
He called for real pathways to work, learning, ownership, enterprise and participation. Business, he said, should invest in people, skills, innovation and ideas that create future opportunity.
Leadership also matters, according to Perton. He said optimistic leadership should not ignore difficulty or promise certainty, but should help people see credible possibilities ahead and believe their actions can shape the future.
