Study title

Finnish Local Government Barometer 1995: Inhabitants

Dataset ID Number

FSD1136

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1136
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd1136

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Foundation for Municipal Development

Abstract

The survey studied public opinion on Finnish municipalities. The respondents were asked to assess different means of improving the financial situation of Finnish municipalities. They estimated which public services and duties could be subjected to retrenchment if the municipalities were to cut down expenses, where economic measures had already been taken, and how the public services in general had developed during the past two years. In addition, they were asked which services they and their families had needed or used. The respondents also stated which services should be provided by the municipality, and which could be provided by, for example, the state, private enterprises, voluntary organisations, or the citizens themselves.

The respondents were asked to assess how much influence certain municipal bodies and interest groups actually have in the respondents' home municipalities. They estimated whether the political power was evenly distributed, and which parties had too much or too little power.

Background variables included the respondent's municipality of residence, the type of locality, the respondent's occupational group, type of employment, sex, basic education, vocational education, phase of life, political views, income bracket of the household, age structure, number of family members, the occupational group of the head of the household, and his/her former occupation (if retired).

Keywords

financial resources; informal economy; local finance; local government; local government services; local taxation; municipal government; political power; public services

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Government, political systems and organisations (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Finnish Local Government Barometers

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Gallup Finland

Time Period Covered

1995

Collection Dates

1995-08-15 – 1995-09-06

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 15 or over living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Multistage

The sample was collected in three phases. In the first phase, the target persons were divided by province. Then, within each province, the target persons were divided according to community type: communities were grouped in different types so that cities were divided to big and small according to population size, and rural communities in three classes according to industrial structure. In the third phase, a group of starting points were designated for each of the selected municipalities in relation to their population. Starting point method was used, and each randomly selected point resulted in six interviews. From each household the person who matched the gender and age requirements stated in the selection card was interviewed.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview

Research Instrument

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

3.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of respondents, the variable denoting postal code was removed from the data during archiving. Variables bv6_1 - bv6_4 denoting number of children and household size were top-coded and variable bv2 denoting the respondent's age was categorised.

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

Foundation for Municipal Development: Finnish Local Government Barometer 1995: Inhabitants [dataset]. Version 3.0 (2023-11-07). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1136

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 Materials

Ilmapuntari : väestö 1995 (1995). Espoo : Suomen Gallup - (Gallup omnibus tutkimusraportti).

Related Publications

Kansalaismielipide ja kunnat: ilmapuntari 1995 (1995). Helsinki: Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö. Polemia-sarja; 13.

Blomberg, Helena & Kroll, Christian (1999). Who wants to preserve the "Scandinavian welfare state"? Attitudes to welfare services among the citizens and local government elites in Finland 1992-96. In: The end of welfare state? Responses to state retrenchment (eds. Svallfors, S. & Taylor-Gooby, P.). London: Routledge. ESA studies in European Society.

Blomberg, Helena & Kroll, Christian (2003). Kuntalaiset, paikalliset päättäjät ja hyvinvointipalvelut 1990-luvulla. Teoksessa: Laman varjo ja nousun huuma (toim. Olli Kangas). Helsinki: Kansaneläkelaitos. Sosiaali- ja terveysturvan tutkimuksia; 72.