Study title

Finnish Local Government Barometer 2005: Inhabitants

Dataset ID Number

FSD2236

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2236

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Foundation for Municipal Development

Abstract

The survey focused on the project to restructure local government and local government services in Finland. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to municipalities (e.g. everyone who wants can influence decisions in his/her municipality of residence, my municipality should be merged with the neighbouring municipality/ities, municipal services should be increased rather than cut). Views were probed on whether municipal services had improved, got worse or stayed the same over the past two years. Other topics included whether the present municipality structure, merged municipalities or regional areas would be the best basis for providing particular services (child day care, education, care of the elderly, primary health care, library services etc.), and who should provide these services (the municipality itself or private service providers).

The respondents were asked for which services the citizens themselves should carry a larger financial or operational responsibility, and what strategies would be acceptable for improving the finances of the municipality. Opinions on the optimal number of municipalities and municipality mergers were charted. One question explored what would be good arguments for diminishing the number of municipalities. Finally, the respondents were asked who held the real power in the municipality.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, economic activity and occupational status, type of neighbourhood, age(s) and number of children, education, employment status, household income, household composition, region of residence (NUTS3), economic activity and occupational status of the household's main earner, who in the household was responsible for everyday shopping, which political party R would vote for if the parliamentary elections were held at that time, and which political party R had voted for in the last municipal election.

Keywords

administrative areas; local finance; local government; local government organizations; local government policy; local government services; municipalities; privatization

Topic Classification

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

2005

Collection Dates

2005-08-15 – 2005-09-04

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 drawn in three stages. In the first stage, the number of subjects required by the survey was regionally divided by major regions (NUTS2). In the second stage, the number of subjects was further subdivided within each major region by the type of neighbourhood. The type of neighbourhood was determined in two different ways: city municipalities were divided into large and small cities according to their population size, and rural municipalities into three groups based on the occupational structure of the population. The survey municipalities were representatively selected on the basis of the forementioned strata. In the third stage, starting points (addresses) were selected in each municipality based on their population size. The interviews were conducted by using random-walk method. Four interviews were made starting from each of the randomly selected starting points. One member corresponding to the age and gender eligibility criteria was chosen for the interview from each sample household.

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

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Weight variables and variable identifying R's postal code 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 2005: Inhabitants [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-24). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2236

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

Kansalaismielipide ja kunnat : ilmapuntari 2005 (2005). Helsinki : Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö. - (Polemia-sarja; 60).

Related Publications

Kansalaismielipide ja kunnat: ilmapuntari 2005 (2005). Helsinki: Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö. Polemia-sarja; 60.

Kallio, Johanna & Niemelä, Mikko (2008). Kuntalaisten ja kunnan viranhaltijoiden asennoituminen kuntien väliseen yhteistyöhön hyvinvointipalvelujen tuottamisessa. Kunnallistieteellinen aikakauskirja 36(3), 260-273.

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

Katara, Henna-Riikka (2012). Hyvinvointivaltion kannatus ja palvelujärjestelmä. Kuntalaisten ja kunnanjohtajien mielipiteiden vertailua vuosina 1996-2006. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Sosiaalipolitiikan pro gradu -tutkielma

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