DAVOS, Switzerland

THE future looks bleak in much of the developed world. It looks bright in the developing world.

Two opinion surveys released in connection with the World Economic Forum here showed optimism among corporate chief executives and the public in many emerging markets. But there are doubts in many of the world’s leading economies.

In the United States, just 27 percent of the people questioned in the Gallup International Voice of the People survey said they expected the next generation to be more prosperous than the current one, while 43 percent expected less prosperity.

Fear that the future will be worse is even greater in some other countries. In France, only 11 percent of respondents said they expected a more prosperous future. The figures in Japan, Germany and Italy were almost that low.