Mielipiteiden luokat ja luokkien mielipiteet

Julkispalveluiden kannatuksen muutos Suomessa 1989-1993

Authors

• Jan-Erik Johansson

Abstract

Three questions were analyzed in this article: 1) what are citizens’ attitudes toward public services in Finland; 2) how have attitudes toward public services changed during the years 1989-1993; and 3) how are socio-economic characteristics related to attitudes concerning public services. Three hypothesis were formulated. 1) The same latent structure behind attitudes was expected, but 2) it was also assumed that attitudes to cutting public services become more positive in later measurements. 3) On the other hand, the opposite reaction was anticipated among those of more limited means, namely women, the elderly and the unemployed. The data consisted of three cross-sectional surveys, which were gathered in 1989, 1992 and 1993. The total numbers of respodents were 13 960, 5 302 and 11 022 respectively. Latent class analysis was used to analyze the data. This method is well-suited in handling categorical data, particularly when latent nominal variables are sought after. The results of the analysis revealed five different attitudinal response patterns toward public services. The same basic pattern was found every year. Some changes, however, emerged. In general, privatization gained more popularity among respondents. This shift was also found among women, the unemployed and the elderly, i.e emong those who are said to be the more dependent on services and transfer payments in the public sector. Research findings were discussed in relation to both previous theoretical and empirical research.