Authors

• Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA)

Keywords

achievement, automation, economic power, economic, social and cultural rights, heads of state, income, income distribution, industrial development, political power, robots, social inequality, values, work attitude

Abstract

The study charted Finnish people's values and attitudes. The themes of the 2018 survey included the powers of the president, income distribution, the impact of robotics and artificial intelligence on work and employment, success in life and freedom in society.

First, the respondents were presented with attitudinal statements concerning a variety of social topics. Regarding automation, views were examined on whether replacing human work with machines would increase unemployment, exacerbate income disparity, or make a robot tax an essential factor in funding social services. Some questions covered inequality, whether income disparity was acceptable, if shortening work times would improve employment, and if zero-hour contracts, tax reliefs and aid to enterprises were needed. It was also asked if it could be possible to temporarily lower immigrants' wages to make it more profitable to employ them, thus helping them to integrate.

Next, the respondents' opinions on the powers of the president in different matters, such as foreign and security policy, education and research, and EU matters, were charted. Further questions on robots and artificial intelligence surveyed whether these factors had affected the respondent's own work in terms of salary, safety and working hours. Attitudes were examined towards utilising robots in e.g. self-driving cars and freight, social and healthcare services, warfare, industry, and surveillance.

Income-related questions covered the respondents' perceived income group and their estimation of how effortless it was to get by with the current income in the household. The respondents were presented with five different figures depicting hierarchy in society, and they were asked to evaluate which figure best described the situation in Finland and which figure they would choose for Finland in an optimal situation. Finally, it was queried how important the respondents deemed a wealthy family background, education, ambition or chance for succeeding in life. It was also asked if different spheres of life in Finland, such as entrepreneurship, living and building, gambling, and traffic, allowed too little, the right amount, or too much freedom.

Background variables included gender, age group, size of municipality of residence, region of residence (NUTS3), basic education, professional or vocational education, occupational status, type of employer, contractual (employment) relationship, industry of employment, perceived socioeconomic class, political party preference, and trade union confederation.