Study title

Power Structures of Finnish Society 1991

Dataset ID Number

FSD1090

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1090
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd1090

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (University of Tampere. Department of Political Science)
• Kuusipalo, Jaana (University of Tampere. Department of Political Science)

Abstract

In this power structure survey, the Finnish power elite is under observation. The respondents were from the following sectors of the society: politics, administration, business life, organisations, mass media, science, and culture. The study focuses on institutional positions of leadership, roles in various sectors, and not on the persons in these positions as such. The study comprises 1,115 positions with 997 persons. The themes of the survey included, among others, career, internationalisation, interaction, power, family and leisure, childhood home, and the position of the sexes in Finland. In view of the respondents' career, they were asked their main job and eventual other jobs, their elected offices, membership in different organisations and unofficial groups, and factors affecting career development. In addition, the respondents were asked about their eventual absences from work life, and reasons for these absences. Internationalisation was studied by asking whether the respondents had studied or worked abroad and if they had personal contacts with citizens of other countries.

Interaction was measured by presenting the respondents with a list of possible contact partners and asking them about the frequency and nature of the contact. The listed contact partners included the president, political party organisations, ministries, municipality, army, church, the media, voluntary organisations, institutes of higher learning, and enterprises. In addition, the respondents were asked how often they appear in the mass media, to what extent they keep in touch with their acquaintances from school and younger years, and what forms of contact the respondents find most important in view of their own organisation. In relation to power, the respondents were asked to assess the influence of various bodies (the Parliament, representatives of cultural life, the press, and labour market organisations), and the intensity of antagonism between various groups in Finland. The respondents were presented with a number of statements relating to power and decision-making in society and asked whether they agreed with them. They were also asked to name the biggest social problems in Finland at the time of the survey.

Family and leisure-related questions pertained to work-life balance, who is responsible for household duties, and who takes care of the children. The respondents were asked whether their gender had affected their career and whether they had in their own position tried to promote the equality between men and women, and if they had, in what way. Furthermore, the respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to the position of women in Finland.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, year of birth (categorised), number of children (categorised), province of residence, own and spouse's basic and vocational education, which political party R would vote for if the parliamentary elections were held at that time, self-reported social class, annual gross income.

Keywords

decision making; democracy; democracy; elite; political power; social influence; social problems; women's rights

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Elites and leadership (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Power Structures Surveys

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (University of Tampere. Department of Political science)

Time Period Covered

1991

Collection Dates

1991-11-11 – 1991-12

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Persons in leading positions in various sectors of Finnish society

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

Collection Mode

Self-administered writings and/or diaries: Paper

Research Instrument

Semi-structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.1

Related Datasets

FSD1239 Power Structures of Finnish Society 2001

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Following variables were removed from the data during archiving to protect anonymity: q2 (marital status), q4_1 - q4_3 (children's birth years), q28a & q28b (hobbies), q45_1 & q45_2 (parents' positions of trust in the Parliament and the Government). The distribution in q45_2 (parents' positions of trust in the Parliament) was: father N=10. To protect anonymity, the distribution in q45_1 (parents' positions of trust in the Government) is not disclosed. In addition, q2 (birth year) was categorised and top- and bottom-coded. Some response alternatives in the "province of residence" variables q32_1 & q32_2 were also categorised together, and values in the "number of children" (q4) variable were categorised into two categories. In variable q17a_1 (how often the respondent contacted the Finnish president), response alternatives "monthly" and "a few times per year" were categorised into a single category.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (University of Tampere) & Kuusipalo, Jaana (University of Tampere): Power Structures of Finnish Society 1991 [dataset]. Version 1.1 (2004-04-27). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1090

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka & Borg, Sami (2004). Sukupolvien valta-asemien muutos eliiteissä ja eduskunnassa. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 69(2), 147-158.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (1992). Vallan ytimessä: tutkimus suomalaisesta valtaeliitistä. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2003). Euroopan integraatio ja suomalaisen eliittirakenteen muutokset. Tiedepolitiikka 28(1), 29-44.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2003). Valta muutoksessa. Helsinki: WSOY.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2013). Eliitti ja kansa. Kaksi eri maailmaa? Päättäjien ja kansalaisten asenne-erot vuosina 1991-2011. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 78(3), 245-258. URN:NBN:fi-fe201306144023

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2014). Suomen poliittinen järjestelmä. Valtasuhteiden muutokset 1990-luvun alun jälkeen. Teoksessa Forsberg, Tuomas & Raunio, Tapio (toim.), Politiikan muutos. Tampere: Vastapaino 2014, 77-122.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2014). Eduskunnan valta ja asema eliittien ja kansalaisten silmin. Teoksessa Raunio, Tapio & Wiberg, Matti (toim.), Eduskunta. Kansanvaltaa puolueiden ja hallituksen ehdoilla. Helsinki: Gaudeamus 2014, 91-108.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (1993). The Anatomy of the Finnish Power Elite. Scandinavian Political Studies, Vol. 16, No 4, 305-337.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2006). Social Upheaval and Transformation of Elite Structures. The Case of Finland. Political Studies Vol 54, Nr 1, 2006, 23-42.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2007). Nordic Elites in Comparative Perspective. Comparative Sociology 6 (2007), 158-189.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2013). Opening the Inner Circle of Power: Circulation in the Finnish Elites in the Context of Major Societal Changes 1991-2011. Comparative Sociology 12(2013), 255-288.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2013). Suomi murroksessa 1991-2011: Muuttuiko eliittirakenne? Politiikka 54:4, 269-284, 2012.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2013). The Changing Influence of the Finnish Parliament since the Early 1990s. In: Raunio, Tapio & Nurmi, Hannu (toim.), The Serious Game of Politics. Festschrift for Matti Wiberg. Helsinki: Finnish Political Science Association 2014, 177-192

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2015). Elite Recruitment and Coherence of the Inner Core of Power in Finland. Changing Patterns during the Economic Crises of 1991-2011. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka (2014). Vallan sisäpiirissä. Suomalaisen eliittirakenteen muutos. Tampere: Vastapaino.