Study title

Finnish Local Government 2004: Municipal Elections 2000

Dataset ID Number

FSD2266

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2266

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Helander, Voitto (Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration)

Abstract

The survey studied municipal (local government) election candidates, their motivation, and views on municipal services and the role and tasks of councillors. Party membership and elected offices held by the candidate were charted. In addition, some questions pertained to the internet services of the respondent's municipality. The respondents were asked how many times they had stood as candidates in municipal elections before, and whether they would be available when the new council appoints members of other elected bodies. The respondents evaluated their possibilities of influencing and how easy or difficult various matters connected to campaigning had been. They also told about the forms and financing of their campaigns. The respondents' views on the parties' or constituency associations' activities in selecting the candidates were queried. Some questions pertained to the position of women in municipal politics.

Opinions on organising municipal administration and services were charted by presenting the respondents with a set of attitudinal statements. Views were probed on how well municipal services functioned and whether the municipality should invest more or less in a particular service. The respondents rated the importance of various statements on service provision and developing administration. They were also presented with statements connected to decision-making in their own municipality of residence.

Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, mother tongue, marital status, number of children aged under 18, and education.

Keywords

citizenship; councillors; elected officials; local government; local government elections; politics; public administration; public services; social influence; women's role

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Government, political systems and organisations (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Elections (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Finnish Local Government 2004

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration

Data Producers

• Åbo Akademi University. Department of Public Administration

Time Period Covered

2000

Collection Dates

2000-09 – 2001-01

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Espoo, Haukipudas, Humppila, Hämeenlinna, Iitti, Jaala, Joroinen, Kaarina, Karstula, Kemiö, Kerava, Kiikala, Kokkola, Kolari, Kotka, Kristiinankaupunki, Kuhmoinen, Lappeenranta, Leppävirta, Lieksa, Liljendal, Lumijoki, Mikkeli, Multia, Naantali, Noormarkku, Närpiö, Oulainen, Outokumpu, Padasjoki, Pieksämäki, Porvoo, Pudasjärvi, Punkaharju, Pyhäntä, Pylkönmäki, Ranua, Rääkkylä, Sonkajärvi, Suolahti, Tyrnävä, Vaasa, Vahto, Varkaus, Vehkalahti, Vimpeli, Virrat

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Municipal election candidates (local council candidates) in Finland

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Mixed probability and non-probability

Two-stage stratified sampling in selecting project municipalities. Total study of election candidates in project municipalities.

The project municipalities were selected separately from those with less than 10,000 inhabitants (28 municipalities) and from those with more than 10,000 inhabitants (19 municipalities). The selection aimed to be representative within both groups in relation to all municipalities with the same population size. Large municipalities were over-represented because 70% of the Finnish population lives in large municipalities. Representativeness criteria included regional location, age and education of the population, industry structure, municipal economy parameters, political situation and variables related to municipal policy. The selected municipalities form a small scale model of all Finnish municipalities. The Åland Islands municipalities were excluded because of special features caused by their autonomy.

The sample consisted of 5,580 persons that stood as candidates in the project municipalities. The total of 3,591 responses were obtained. Some information on the candidates was received directly from the population register of Finland. In August 2000, the necessary permissions were requested from the Ministry of Justice, and it was agreed on that the population register would deliver the candidates' social security numbers to NovoGroup for the task of compiling a candidate database. The following information was included: the candidate's name, party, electoral alliance, gender, year of birth, council membership during the ongoing term, number of votes received, whether he/she was elected, and occupation/title.

After two weeks, a reminder letter was sent. At the end of October, the last reminder letter was posted to the 37 municipalities where the response rate would have remained under 60%. Altogether 50 of the returned questionnaires had to be disregarded, because some of the respondents had returned them empty, and others twice.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

64.3

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

Background variables bv1-bv4 are obtained from the register. Party variable bv2 has been edited in two ways: it has been converted from a string variable to a numeric variable, and the constituency associations have been combined (YHD.).

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

Helander, Voitto (Åbo Akademi University): Finnish Local Government 2004: Municipal Elections 2000 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2008-01-14). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2266

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

Helander, Voitto (2003). Vallantavoittelijan muotokuva. Analyysi vuoden 2000 kunnallisvaalien ehdokkaista. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia nro 40 & Acta nro 157.

Related Publications

Helander, Voitto (2003). Vallantavoittelijan muotokuva. Analyysi vuoden 2000 kunnallisvaalien ehdokkaista. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia nro 40 & Acta nro 157.