Study title

Relative Income: Online Experiment 2021

Dataset ID Number

FSD4004

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4004
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4004

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Kirchler, Michael (University of Innsbruck)
• Kotakorpi, Kaisa (Tampere University. Faculty of Management and Business. The Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research)
• Matthews, Peter Hans (Middlebury College & Aalto University & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics)
• Metsälampi, Satu (University of Turku)
• Miettinen, Topi (Hanken School of Economics & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics)
• Xiageng, Xu (Hanken School of Economics & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics)
• Statistics Finland

Abstract

The study examined Finns' perceptions of their own income level in relation to other groups, as well as attitudes and values related to income levels.

The survey respondents were divided into seven different treatment groups, in relation to which they were asked to compare their own income data for 2018. Respondents in a specific treatment group received information about their income level in relation to that group. The treatment groups were: age, municipality of residence, educational level, occupation, and national income level. In addition, one treatment group was allowed to choose one of these five treatment groups, and one group was a control group that did not receive any information about income levels in relation to others.

In addition to these groups, one separate group of respondents was promised 15 euros for completing the survey. The aim was to examine the effect of the reward on response rates. These respondents can be identified in the data by the variable "incentive." There were also differences between respondents in the order of the questionnaire. The variables named "show" in the data indicate the order in which the questions were presented to the respondents. More detailed information on the structure of the survey can be found in the questionnaire and the background information form.

First, respondents were asked to assess their own income level in relation to that of other Finns in 2018 by estimating what proportion of Finns in that group earned less than the respondent themselves. Respondents were then provided with information about their income level in 2018 in relation to their own treatment group.

Next, respondents were asked about their satisfaction with life, their current job, and their income level, and they were asked about their plans for the future. In addition, respondents were asked about their views on various social and political issues, such as trust, immigration, benefits, and income distribution. After this, respondents were asked about their views on opportunities in Finland and asked to describe themselves through various statements.

Finally, respondents were presented with a hypothetical situation in which they were offered money and had to decide how they would use it. The options given were donating to charity, voluntarily paying tax, and buying lottery tickets. The incentive group, on the other hand, was given the opportunity to choose whether to use part of the reward offered to them for the above-mentioned purposes or to keep the entire reward for themselves.

Background variables include year of birth, gender, type of housing, level of education, and political orientation.

Keywords

employment; income; income distribution; incomes policy; labour and employment; low income; quality of life; satisfaction; taxation; unemployment; unemployment

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Income, property and investment/saving (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social conditions and indicators (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Statistics Finland
• Kirchler, Michael (University of Innsbruck)
• Kotakorpi, Kaisa (Tampere University. Faculty of Management and Business. The Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research)
• Matthews, Peter Hans (Middlebury College & Aalto University & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics)
• Metsälampi, Satu (University of Turku)
• Miettinen, Topi (Hanken School of Economics & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics)
• Xiageng, Xu (Hanken School of Economics & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics)

Funders

• Academy of Finland (332550 / 346250)
• Austrian Science Fund (FWF) (SFB F6310)
• Finnish Cultural Foundation (00210723)
• Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation (20177011)

Time Period Covered

2021

Collection Dates

2021-04 – 2021-06

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People born between 1975 and 1985 who speak either Finnish or Swedish as their native language, have lived in Finland for at least 10 years by 2021, and have a profession and a degree. (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified: Disproportional

20,000 individuals were selected for the sample from the target population, which was defined by the following characteristics: born between 1975 and 1985, speaking Finnish or Swedish, not residing in the Åland Islands, having lived in Finland for at least 10 years in 2021, having a profession, having completed a degree, and not being a child. Statistics Finland overrepresented people with basic and secondary education based on the response rates observed in the pilot study (2020). In addition to the sample of 20,000 people, 1,000 people were selected for a separate group called No Incentive. The aim was to compare the response rates between those who were promised a 15 euro reward for participating (incentive) and those who were not promised a reward (no incentive). Respondents in this group can be identified from the variable "incentive" in the survey data.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

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: English.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

117 variables and 6741 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Statistics Finland supplemented the original data with various demographic and socioeconomic register data. The data archived at FSD does not include these register variables.

For reasons of anonymity, researchers have removed variables describing respondents' municipality of residence and occupation.

For identification reasons, information relating to education and occupations was removed from the open-ended response at FSD. Entries made by FSD in the data are marked with [square brackets].

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

Kirchler, Michael (University of Innsbruck) & Kotakorpi, Kaisa (Tampere University) & Matthews, Peter Hans (Middlebury College & Aalto University & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics) & Metsälampi, Satu (University of Turku) & Miettinen, Topi (Hanken School of Economics & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics) & Xiageng, Xu (Hanken School of Economics & Helsinki Graduate School of Economics) & Statistics Finland: Relative Income: Online Experiment 2021 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2025-11-19). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4004; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4004

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 Publications

Metsälampi, Satu. (2025). Essays on Behavioral Public Economics. Doctoral Dissertation, Turku: University of Turku. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-02-0103-6.

Xu, Xiaogeng, Satu Metsälampi, Michael Kirchler, Kaisa Kotakorpi, Peter Hans Matthews, and Miettinen Topi. (2023). Which Income Comparisons Matter to People, and How? Evidence from a Large Field Experiment. Helsinki GSE Discussion Papers. https://www.helsinkigse.fi/media/pages/discussion-papers/discussion-paper-9/81a45fd2be-1685519837/dp9.pdf