Study title

EVA Survey on Finnish Values and Attitudes 2015

Dataset ID Number

FSD3001

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3001

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA)

Abstract

The main themes of the survey were leadership, work, taxation and security of Finland.

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, taxation, changes in society, health care, environment, entrepreneurship, public services, Finland's foreign relations, NATO membership, regulation of alcohol, social services, national debt, etc.

Regarding the parliamentary elections of 2015, the respondents were asked what the new government should focus on (e.g. lowering taxation, increasing funding for education, crime prevention, cutting public expenditure) and how well certain characteristics and descriptions (e.g. "patriotic, always promotes Finland's interests") applied to the four prime minister candidates (Antti Rinne, Juha Sipilä, Timo Soini, Alexander Stubb). Opinions were charted on why Finland's capacity for decision-making has been poor. Reasons mentioned included, for instance, the inexperience of decision-makers, politicians' fear of media reaction and negative publicity, shift of decision-making to the EU, and the strong role of bureaucracy.

Regarding taxation, the respondents' opinions were surveyed on statements about tax policy (e.g. "On the whole, taxation in Finland is too high", "Taxation should not be lowered if it leads to weakening social security and public services") and which taxes should be increased and decreased. Views on the likelihood of certain future developments in occupational life were investigated. The respondents were also asked which ways of increasing the amount of work done in Finland they regarded acceptable in order to finance the welfare state (e.g. increasing weekly working hours, raising retirement age). Self-perceived health status and use of private and public health services were surveyed as well as opinions on the quality of health services in Finland.

The respondents were asked how well certain characteristics/descriptions applied to Russia (e.g. "good neighbour and associate", "centralised dictatorship"). 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 the euro were advantageous or disadvantageous to Finland in the economic situation at the time of the survey, and whether they would have voted for or against Finland's EU membership if a referendum had been held at the time of responding.

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.

Keywords

European integration; businesses; decision making; health services; leadership; national security; occupational life; parliamentary elections; taxation; well-being (society)

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Social behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Economic systems and development (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

EVA Surveys on Finnish Values and Attitudes

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Taloustutkimus

Time Period Covered

2015

Collection Dates

2015-01-09 – 2015-01-22

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged between 18 and 70 living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Multistage

The Internet panel of Taloustutkimus, randomly drawn from Finland's population register, consists of people aged 15-79 who have entered their demographic and sociographic information when registering to the panel and have given their consent to Taloustutkimus to invite them to participate in different surveys. Answering any survey is voluntary and participants can leave the panel any time they want.

The sample for this study was drawn from among the Taloustutkimus panel members, to be representative of the 18-70-year-old Finnish population (excluding the Åland Islands) in terms of age, gender, province of residence, education, economic activity and occupational status, industry of employment, and political party allegiance (what party would vote for in parliamentary elections). The participants completed an interactive online questionnaire using a secure connection provided by Taloustutkimus. Reminder e-mails were sent twice to selected groups of non-respondents and to persons who had completed only a part of the questionnaire. The original survey population was supplemented by sending survey invitations to an additional sample selected from the panel. The total number of respondents was 2,056 persons.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

23

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 and Finnish.

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

Number of Cases and Variables

189 variables and 2056 cases.

Data Version

2.0

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable with which the data can be weighted to represent the Finnish population aged 18-70 in terms of age, gender, province of residence, education, economic activity and occupational status, industry of employment and political party allegiance.

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

Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA): EVA Survey on Finnish Values and Attitudes 2015 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-18). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3001

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

Apunen, Matti & Haavisto, Ilkka & Sipola, Johanna & Toivonen, Sarianna (2015). Ken on maassa jämäkin? EVAn Arvo- ja asennetutkimus 2015. EVA Raportti 1/2015. Helsinki: Taloustieto.

Häkkinen, Sini (2016). Pakko-ottoja vai avain sivistykseen. Suomalaisten mielipiteet verotuksen oikeudenmukaisuudesta. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Valtio-opin kandidaatintutkielma.

Penttilä, Katariina (2017). Ympäristöhuolen muutos ja sukupuolittuneisuus Suomessa 1986 - 2013. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. Sosiologian kandidaatin tutkielma.

Erola, Marko & Haavisto, Ilkka & Hokkanen, Eveliina & Kauhanen, Antti & Koskinen, Seppo & Malm Lindberg, Henrik & Makkula, Janne & Vihriälä, Vesa (2018). Työn uudet ehdot raportti. Miten avaamme työmarkkinoiden umpisolmut? [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta. EVA Raportti. https://www.eva.fi/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/eva_raportti_tyon_uudet_ehdot.pdf [viitattu 29.6.2018].

Lauronen, Sanna (2018). Turvallinen Nato? Suomalaisten YYA- ja EU-sukupolvien väliset erot Nato-kannatuksessa. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Valtio-opin kandidaatintutkielma.

Alpimaa, Markku (2020) Talouspoliittiset asennemuutokset Suomessa vuosina 1984-2020 EVA:n arvo- ja asennetutkimusten valossa. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Sosiologian pro gradu -tutkielma. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20201223102803

Mattiniemi, Inka (2022) Turvattomana Venäjän kainalossa? Suomalaisten Venäjä-asenteet ja inhimillinen turvallisuus. Pro gradu -tutkielma. Tampereen yliopisto.

Männikkö, Veikko (2023). "Hur har den finländska Natoopinionen utvecklats? En analys på hur den finländska Natoopinionen fluktuerat och vilka faktorer som skapar stöd på individnivå". Valtiotieteiden pro gradu-tutkielma. Vaasa: Åbo Akademi. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20230913124672