Study title

Finnish Local Government 2004: Office-Holders and Elected Officials 2003

Dataset ID Number

FSD2265

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2265
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd2265

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Pikkala, Sari (Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration)

Abstract

The survey studied municipal elected officials' and office-holders' opinions on their influence, municipal decision-making practices, reform of service provision, and alternative organising models.

First, the respondents' work history, elected offices, and political party membership were surveyed. They were asked to place themselves on the left-right axis and on the hard-soft scale. They were also asked whether they were actively involved in any organisation or association, and how they thought different aspects of the relationship between a municipality and the state affect municipalities' chances to perform their duties.

The respondents rated how well or badly certain municipal services functioned in their municipality, and evaluated whether the municipality should invest more or less in a particular service in the future. Services covered included social services, health services, education and cultural services, and municipal technical services. The respondents gave their views on the working relations between different bodies in the municipality and on the various organisational options for municipal government. The municipality's international activity and the importance of different forms of globalisation were also surveyed.

Developmental needs in municipal service provision were charted by asking the respondents how often they interacted with certain operators. The respondents' Internet and e-mail use was canvassed. Those respondents who were elected officials were asked about the time they allocated on elective office tasks, their willingness to be renominated, their party activity, and their opinions on the political parties' actions.

The survey also charted the extent of influence different operators/bodies had on municipal decision-making. Some questions focused on the respondents' methods of influencing decision-making. Views on municipal management were probed.

Finally, the respondents were presented with a set of statements on local/municipal democracy. They also gave their views on how much influence they had on various matters, and evaluated the upper management of their municipality using different scales.

Background variables included the respondent's status and activity sector in the municipality, age, gender, and education.

Keywords

elected officials; internationalism; internet; joint authorities; leadership; local finance; local government; local government officers; local government organizations; mayors; municipalities; political parties; public services; social influence

Topic Classification

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

Series

Finnish Local Government 2004

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Pikkala, Sari (Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration)

Data Producers

• Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration

Time Period Covered

2003

Collection Dates

2003 – 2004

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Espoo, Haukipudas, Humppila, Hämeenlinna, Iitti, Jaala, Joroinen, Kaarina, Karstula, Kemiö, Kerava, Kiikala, Kokkola, Kolari, Kotka, Kristiinankaupunki, Kuhmoinen, Lappeenranta, Leppävirta, Lieksa, Liljendal, Lumijoki, Mikkeli, Multia, Naantali, Noormarkku, Närpiö, Oulainen, Outokumpu, Padasjoki, Pieksämäki, Porvoo, Pudasjärvi, Punkaharju, Pyhäntä, Pylkönmäki, Ranua, Rääkkylä, Sonkajärvi, Suolahti, Tyrnävä, Vaasa, Vahto, Varkaus, Hamina, Vimpeli, Virrat

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Members of municipal councils, executive boards and key committees, and municipal chief executives

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Mixed probability and non-probability

Two-stage stratified sampling in selecting project municipalities. Total study of the elected officials and office-holders selected with judgmental sampling.

The project municipalities were selected separately from those with less than 10,000 inhabitants (28 municipalities) and from those with more than 10,000 inhabitants (19 municipalities). The selection aimed to be representative within both groups in relation to all municipalities with the same population size. Large municipalities were over-represented because 70% of the Finnish population lives in large municipalities. Representativeness criteria included regional location, age and education of the population, industry structure, municipal economy parameters, political situation and variables related to municipal policy. The selected municipalities form a small scale model of all Finnish municipalities. The Åland Islands municipalities were excluded because of special features caused by their autonomy.

The basic sample of elected officials included the members of municipal committees covering the following branches: administration and government services, social and health services, education and cultural services, and technical and auditing services. Many of these members held several elected offices simultaneously. The overlaps were taken into account in that the persons holding several offices were sent only one questionnaire. The sample in the 2003 survey included 4,503 elected offices. After removing the overlaps, the final sample size was reduced to 3,180. Thus, the final sample consisted of elected officials, not elected offices. The sample of municipal office-holders consisted of chief executives and presenting officials of municipal committees. The sample in the 2003 survey included 581 municipal office-holders. Altogether, the sample consisted of 3,771 persons. 2,247 (60%) of them responded. Municipal office-holders had a clearly higher response rate than elected officials. Members of municipal boards or committees responded less frequently than other groups in the survey. Municipality size did not affect response rate. Instead, municipality-specific fluctuations of response rate were remarkable.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

60

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

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variables k2a and k17 are based on register information, not on subjective responses (elimination of overlaps, see sampling procedure).

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

Pikkala, Sari (Åbo Akademi University): Finnish Local Government 2004: Office-Holders and Elected Officials 2003 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2007-11-01). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2265

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

Pikkala, Sari (2005). Kunta päättäjän perspektiivistä. Tutkimus kuntien luottamushenkilöistä ja viranhaltijoista 1995-2003. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia nro 54. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto

Related Publications

Pikkala, Sari (2005). Kunta päättäjän perspektiivistä. Tutkimus kuntien luottamushenkilöistä ja viranhaltijoista 1995-2003. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia nro 54

Pikkala, Sari (2007). Ei enää ehdokkaaksi: tutkimus valtuustoluopujista ja luopumisen taustoista 1996-2004. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia 57; Acta 192. Helsinki: Suomen kuntaliitto; [Turku]: Åbo Akademi.

Pikkala, Sari (2009). Avhoppare och utslagna. Personomsättning i finländska kommunfullmäktige. Åbo: Åbo Akademis förlag.

Leskinen, Jussi (2011). Yhteiskuntaryhmien väliset taloudellis-poliittiset intressikonfliktit kuntien palvelutuotannon New Public Management -hallintoideologiaa koskevien intressiasemien muotoutumiseen vaikuttavina tekijöinä. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. Valtio-opin pro gradu -tutkielma. urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-21922