Study title

Finnish Local Government Barometer 2004: Inhabitants

Dataset ID Number

FSD2095

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2095

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Foundation for Municipal Development

Abstract

The Local Government Barometer 2004 was conducted in the year of municipal elections. The survey charts citizens' opinions on their own possibilities of influence, ways to improve those possibilities, decision-making powers of municipal managers and the importance of local politicians and political parties. The respondents were also asked to rate the adequacy of various municipal services, such as children's day care, care for the elderly, medical centres and income support. Their interest in different forms of social participation (e.g. serving in elective offices or taking part in voluntary organisations) was examined. Characteristics of a good municipal councillor were studied.

The respondents were presented with a set of attitudinal statements which pertained to local government and municipal services. They assessed the efficiency, functionality and paternalism of Finnish municipal system, considered the privatisation of public services, and evaluated the powers of officials. In conclusion, respondents were asked how they perceive themselves as voters in municipal elections. Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, occupational group, type of municipality, level of education, economic activity, province and county of residence, gross income of household, number of household members, household composition, choice of political party if parliamentary elections were held now and in the previous parliamentary elections.

Keywords

inhabitants; local authorities; local government; local government elections; local politicians; municipal councillors; municipalities; public services; referendums; social influence; social participation

Topic Classification

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

• TNS Gallup Finland

Data Producers

• Foundation for Municipal Development

Time Period Covered

2004

Collection Dates

2004-04-08 – 2004-05-10

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

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

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Multistage

The sampling was conducted in three stages. First, the target population was divided into NUTS2 major regions. In the second stage, the target population within major regions was further divided into municipality types. The municipalities were grouped into municipality types by dividing towns into large and small towns based on the number of inhabitants, and by dividing rural municipalities into three categories based on their economic structure. Based on these strata, a representative sample of municipalities was selected. In the third stage, a number of starting addresses were chosen in each municipality based on the number of inhabitants. The interviews were conducted by randomly selecting a starting point (household) and interviewing one individual in four subsequent households. In each household, an individual who met the gender and age criteria was selected to be 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: English and Finnish.

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

Number of Cases and Variables

113 variables and 1005 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variables denoting municipality, postal code and major region have been removed from the data.

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 2004: Inhabitants [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2005-08-11). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2095

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

Kansalaismielipide ja kunnat: ilmapuntari 2004 (2004). Helsinki: Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö. Polemia-sarja; 55.

Kallio, Johanna (2010). Hyvinvointipalvelujärjestelmän muutos ja suomalaisten mielipiteet 1996-2006. Helsinki: Kansaneläkelaitos. Sosiaali- ja terveysturvan tutkimuksia; 108.

Laiho, Anna (2013) Kuntalaisten ja kunnanvaltuutettujen mielipiteet kunnallisista palveluista 2000-luvulla. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Sosiaalipolitiikan pro gradu -tutkielma.