Tekijät

• Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA)

Asiasanat

European Union, European economic and monetary union, European integration, education, environment, equal opportunity, labour and employment, market economy, political influence, political participation, social change, social inequality, social justice, social reform, values, welfare policy

Sisällön kuvaus

The main themes of the survey were social change and the need for transformation in society, equality and inequality, and the European Union.

First, the respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to, for instance, political parties and the political system, science and technology, employment, economic growth, changes in society, equality, education, environment, free competition, public services, globalisation, Finland's NATO membership, market forces, national debt, immigration etc.

Opinions were charted on why the Finnish society was slow to change and reform. Reasons mentioned included, for instance, sensible caution and moderation, lack of public funds, complexity and size of social problems, bureaucracy, inability to cooperate of different actors in society, lack of leadership in society, atmosphere that discourages responsiblity and risk-taking, and opposition to reform among citizens.

The respondents were also asked what kind of voter they were (i.e. core voter, swing voter, abstaining voter) as well as how they would place themselves on the left-right and liberal-conservative axes. One set of questions charted opinions on the equality/inequality between Finns in various issues and between different groups, for instance, income distribution, health, educational opportunities, genders, generations/age groups, municipalities, occupational groups, taxation, political rights and opportunities, freedom of speech, and ethnicities. Views on the acceptability of different means of influencing in society were investigated (e.g. boycotting, infiltrating and/or recording in production facilities, legal demonstrations, rioting, traffic blockades, nonviolent direct action in order to draw the attention of the media).

Views were charted on characteristics of the Finns and Finland and the effects of these characteristics in society. Opinions were studied on Finnish education in international comparison.

Relating to the European Union, opinions were charted on Finland's EU membership and the currency change to euro. The respondents were also asked whether the EMU membership and euro were advantageous or disadvantageous to Finland in the economic situation at the time of the survey, whether their opinion of the EU had become more positive or negative, and whether they would vote for or against Finland's EU membership if a referendum were held at the time of responding.

The background variables included the respondent's gender, year of birth, region of residence (NUTS3), basic and vocational education, economic activity and occupational status, industry of employment, political party choice if parliamentary elections were held at the time of survey, membership in a trade union, self-perceived social class, and number of inhabitants in the municipality of residence.