Study title

Finnish Local Government Barometer 2010: Inhabitants

Dataset ID Number

FSD2623

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2623

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Foundation for Municipal Development

Abstract

The survey studied Finnish citizens' views on municipalities and municipal service provision. One theme pertained to the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

First, views were probed on the sufficiency of municipal service provision in different issues, for instance, care for the elderly, health services, public transport, sports facilities, library and cultural services, primary and lower secondary schools. The respondents were presented with a list of services and asked which could be cut down if municipalities had to reduce costs. The services mentioned were educational institutions, child day care, care for the elderly, social assistance, and health care. They were also presented with a list of social problems, such as rising prices, prostitution, racism, crime, income disparity, high taxation, and asked which were the three problems the future parliament and government should focus on.

Next, the respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of attitudinal statements relating to the financing of services, cutting down services, democracy, economic and social disparity, minimum income guarantee, public political influence, raising the municipal tax rate etc. Some questions focused on what methods the respondents would find acceptable to ensure the financing and services of municipalities. The methods mentioned included, for instance, raising the municipal tax rate, increasing borrowing, cutting/delaying investments, decreasing the quality of municipal services, lowering wages.

The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Finland were covered with questions on what characteristics the parliamentary candidate the respondents would vote for should have and what policies their candidate supported (for instance, cutting public expenditure, harsher punishments for crime, promoting the interests of minorities). Views were probed on the characteristics and policies of different political parties. Finally, the respondents were asked whether they would be willing to go abroad for medical treatment or rehabilitation in the future.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, economic activity and occupational status, education, employment status, region of residence (NUTS3), major region (NUTS2), degree of urbanity of the municipality, household composition, household gross income, number of persons in the household, which political party R would vote if the parliamentary elections were held at that time, and which party R had voted for in the previous parliamentary elections.

Keywords

government policy; local finance; local government; local government services; parliamentary candidates; parliamentary elections

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic 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

2010

Collection Dates

2010-09-09 – 2010-10-12

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 municipality. Municipality type 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. The number of starting point was based on the population size. The interviews were conducted by using the random-walk method. Four interviews were made starting from each of the randomly selected starting points. In each household, one member corresponding to the age and gender eligibility criteria was chosen for the interview.

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 variables indicating municipality of residence and 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 2010: Inhabitants [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-20). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2623

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 2010 - 2011 (2011). Helsinki: Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö. Polemia-sarja; 79.

Related Publications

Kansalaismielipide ja kunnat: Ilmapuntari 2010-2011 (2011). Helsinki: Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö. Polemia-sarja; 79.

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