Study title

Changing Municipalities 1990

Dataset ID Number

FSD1190

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1190

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Granqvist, Nina (Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration)
• Pikkala, Sari (Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration)
• Ståhlberg, Krister (Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration)

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• Göteborgs universitet
• Universitet i Oslo
• Aarhus Universitet

Abstract

The survey charted the situation and range of activities of Finnish municipalities. Respondents were asked to evaluate the economic situation of their municipality. They also rated the importance of problems pertaining to local politics, municipal administration, municipal economy, local circumstances and relations with central government. Respondents were asked what the biggest problem in the municipality was. Opinions on the obstacles to solving that problem and different solution strategies were charted. The survey also studied whether certain actions had been taken in municipalities, for example, combining and abolishing municipal committees, organising in-house job-related training or attempts to increase citizen participation.

Respondents were asked about the Free Municipality/Administrative Experiments. They also rated the importance of the experiment's goals, such as discovering new working methods, learning from experience, breaking old habits and cutting expenditure. Respondents indicated to what extent they agreed with statements relating to issues raised in public discussion, such as reforms made in municipalities and the relationship between local authorities and the State. Respondents were also asked whether their municipality buys services from private companies (outsourcing) and whether it supports voluntary work. The impact of outsourcing the services and supporting voluntary work were assessed.

Municipal and city managers (local government Chief Executive Officers) were asked how much time they spend taking care of certain duties and how often they communicate with different bodies (e.g. the media, residents and other municipalities). Managers assessed which tasks take most of their time and whether their time management was appropriate. Lastly, they rated the importance of different aspects of Chief Executive Officer's work, such as promoting cooperation between sectors, informing employees, creating new routines, controlling the budget, coordinating actions, and finding out about the views of residents.

Background variables included municipality, type of municipality, province, respondent's year of birth, level of education. Respondents were also asked about their career development and years in present position.

Keywords

free municipalities; local authorities; local government; management; municipal administration; municipal managers; municipal planning; municipalities; public administration

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Elites and leadership (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Government, political systems and organisations (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration

Data Producers

• Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration

Time Period Covered

1990

Collection Dates

1990-03-01 – 1990-04

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Political-administrative area (Municipality)

Universe

Finnish municipalities (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

The questionnaire was sent to all municipal and city managers in Finland. Non-respondents were sent a reminder letter first and contacted by telephone later.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

85

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

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD1191 Changing Municipalities 1993

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

There were two different questionnaires regarding questions 11-14 ( one for municipalities participating in the Free Municipality or Administrative Experiment and the other for the rest of the municipalities). The questionnaire for those taking part in the Free Municipality Experiment is archived at FSD.

Answers to open-ended questions 15 and 16 (regarding type of services outsourced to private companies) and 12a in the Free Municipality and Administrative Experiment questionnaire are missing. There are only four variables for question 27 (work experience): municipality, government, organisations, and private sector.

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

Granqvist, Nina (Åbo Akademi University) & Pikkala, Sari (Åbo Akademi University) & Ståhlberg, Krister (Åbo Akademi University): Changing Municipalities 1990 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2004-10-15). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1190

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

Pikkala, Sari (1991). Hur leds kommunerna?: en granskning av ledarskapsstilar bland de finländska kommundirektörerna. Kunnallistieteellinen aikakauskirja 19(1), 32-44.

Pikkala, Sari (1993). Omgivning, ledarskap och förändring i kommunerna. Åbo: Åbo Akademi. Meddelanden från Ekonomisk-statsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Åbo Akademi; A:391.

Pikkala, Sari (1994). Johtajakuvan muutos kunnallishallinnossa. Kunnallistieteellinen aikakauskirja 21(3), 74-83.

Kommuner och kommunala ledare i Norden (1996). Red. Lawrence Rose. Åbo: Åbo Akademi. Meddelanden från Ekonomisk-statsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Åbo Akademi; A:469.