FSD3373 Welfare and Inequality in Finland 2012
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Study title
Welfare and Inequality in Finland 2012
Alternative Title
WEBE 2012
Dataset ID Number
FSD3373
Persistent identifiers
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3373https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3373
Data Type
Quantitative
Authors
- Kainulainen, Sakari (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences)
- Saari, Juho (University of Eastern Finland)
Abstract
The study charted Finnish opinions on welfare and inequality. The study was part of the Wellbeing and social cohesion in an unequal society (WEBE) project funded by the Academy of Finland (decision number: 252317).
First, the respondents' satisfaction with their financial circumstances was charted with questions regarding, for example, whether they would want to earn more money, own more clothes, be able to eat out more often, and be able to go on holiday to exotic places more often. The respondents' self-perceived success in important areas of life, such as relationships and self-esteem, was charted next by using the Flourishing Scale (FS). The respondents were then asked about their general life satisfaction, mood, ability to achieve things and perceived status in society.
Next, satisfaction with specific domains of life, such as standard of living, personal health and personal safety, was examined by using the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI). Regarding income and personal finance, net income of the household and the ease of covering usual expenses with the income were surveyed. The respondents' perceptions regarding various different groups in Finland, for example, the homeless, immigrants, middle class, and rich, were surveyed. Some questions focused on the respondents' personal health, and they were asked, for example, whether they had had problems with moving or exercise, felt pain or suffering, or experienced fears or depression on the day the survey was conducted. The respondents were then asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with various statements concerning work and family life, living circumstances, communities they belonged to, and environment and nature.
Feelings of loneliness, depression, failure, happiness and being loved or in love in the past 12 months were charted. The respondents were also asked how well various statements described them (e.g. whether they thought people should live independently, spoke directly and openly with others, and liked talking to their neighbours). Next, the respondents were asked how much they cared about the well-being of different groups (e.g. the homeless, immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, children in poor families, the elderly). The respondents' opinions concerning the people living in their neighbourhood were charted and trust in other people was examined. The help the respondents received from people close to them was surveyed with questions on, for example, who helped them with practical issues and who would help them financially if they needed it.
The respondents were then asked whether they thought Finnish society had offered or would offer them better or worse opportunities compared to others of the same age (e.g. in standard of living, income, hobbies and starting a family). Some questions concerned the respondents' life management, for instance, whether they ate healthy food, used alcohol or drugs, and took care of people close to them. Negative life events were surveyed with questions on whether the respondents, a family member or a friend had experienced challenging life circumstances (e.g. homelessness, substance abuse, over-indebtedness, disability). A number of statements about social assistance (the social security benefit of the last resort) and social security were presented (e.g. whether the respondents thought that many people apply for social assistance on fraudulent grounds or that EU membership is a disadvantage for social security). Finally, the respondents were asked whether differences in income, health, neighbourhoods and education were too high in Finland.
Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, year of birth, marital status, household composition, type of accommodation, housing tenure, level of education, economic activity and occupational status, municipality and NUTS3 region of residence, and whether R's municipality of residence at present was the same as R's municipality of residence at birth.
Keywords
quality of life; satisfaction; social inequality; social security benefits; social status; well-being (health)
Topic Classification
- Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
- Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)
- Social conditions and indicators (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Series
Welfare and Inequality in FinlandDistributor
Finnish Social Science Data Archive
Access
The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.
Data Collector
- Kainulainen, Sakari (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences)
Time Period Covered
2012
Collection Dates
2012-03-19 – 2012-05-15
Nation
Finland
Geographical Coverage
Finland
Analysis/Observation Unit Type
Individual
Universe
Finnish-speaking Finns aged 20-64 residing in mainland Finland
Time Method
Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section
Sampling Procedure
Probability: Simple random
The survey was conducted as a postal survey, but the participants were also offered the choice of responding to an online survey. The sample of 5,000 persons was selected using simple random sampling based on information of the working-age (20-64) population obtained from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. 1,888 persons responded to the survey.
Collection Mode
Self-administered questionnaire: Paper
Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)
Research Instrument
Structured questionnaire
Response Rate
38
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
To prevent identification of respondents, background variables bv1 denoting municipality of residence at present, bv7 denoting municipality of residence at birth and bv8 denoting the name of the municipality of residence at birth were removed from the data. Variable bv2 denoting the name of the municipality of residence at present was categorised into the largest cities in Finland. Additionally, open-ended variables V11 and V12 that contained exact job titles were removed from the data.
Weighting
FSD does not have information on how the weight variable bv12 was created.
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
Kainulainen, Sakari (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences) & Saari, Juho (University of Eastern Finland): Welfare and Inequality in Finland 2012 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2020-06-17). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3373; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3373
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
Niemelä, Mikko & Saari, Juho (2013) Suomalaisen yhteiskunnan notkelmat. Teoksessa: Huono-osaisten hyvinvointi Suomessa (toim. Niemelä, Mikko & Saari, Juho), 6-21. Helsinki: Kelan tutkimusosasto. Teemakirja; 10.
Related Publications
Yksinäisten Suomi (2016). Toim. Saari, Juho. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.
Heiskanen, Aino (2021) Päätöspuihin perustuvat koneoppimismenetelmät ekonometriassa. Kandidaatin tutkielma, Tampereen yliopisto.
Study description in machine readable DDI-C 2.5 format
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