New Democracies Barometer IV - Autumn 1995
Countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Belarus and Ukraine. For analysis, see SPP 262
I ECONOMY
Q1. Have you or anyone in your family been unemployed at some time in
the
last year?
Yes, self/ Yes, other member family/ No one
IF YES, self or family member:
Q2. How many weeks unemployed? -----
Q3. In the past year, have you or another member of your family at some
time been on short time or not paid for a full week's work by your
employer?
Yes, self/ Yes, other member family/ No
IF YES, self or family:
Q4. How many weeks paid on short time? -----
Q5. What is your current employment situation?
Part-time employed
Full time employed (1-3: go to 6)
Apprentice
Self-employed (Go to 7)
Unemployed, no state benefit (Go to 8)
Unemployed, receiving state benefit
Pensioner and also employed
Pensioner and not employed
No job; state income maintenance grant
(e.g. invalid, maternity)
Not employed (e.g. housewife, student)
IF EMPLOYEE, Q. 6 codes 1-3
Q6. What type of employer do you have?
Government agency
State enterprise
State enterprise now privatized
Private enterprise, never state
Collective farm
Independent farmer
IF IN THE LABOUR MARKET (that is, Q. 6, codes 1-4)
Q7. Do you get enough money from your regular job to buy what you really
need?
Definitely enough
Just enough
Not quite enough
Definitely not enough
ASK ALL
Q8. Do you or anyone in your family have a second job to earn some money?
Yes, self/ Other member of family/ No one does
Q9. a) Which activity on this card is the most important for the
standard of living of you and your family?
Growing own food
Repairing house
What we get as favours
What we get with help of friends, relatives
Buying goods with foreign money
Earnings second job
Incidental earnings
Earnings regular job
Pension, unemployment benefit
Benefits at place of work, such as
holidays, meals
b) And which of these is second most important?
Options as in 9a
Q10. In the past year has your family:
Saved money
Just got by
Spent some savings
Borrowed money
Spent savings and borrowed money
Q11. Sometimes people have to do without things that people usually
have.
In the past 12 months, has your household sometimes had to do without
any
of the following?
Often/Sometimes/ rarely/ never
Food
Heating, electricity
Clothes you really need
Q12. How long do you think it will be before you have reached a standard
of
living with which you are content?
1-2 years
3-5 years
6-10 years
More than 10 years
Never
Can't say
Already content
Q13. How long do you think it will take the government to sort out the
economic problems of this country?
1-2 years
3-5 years
6-10 years
More than 10 years
Never
Can't say
Already content
Q14. Do you feel that our country's economic reform programme is going
too
fast, too slow or at about the right speed?
Too fast/ too slow/ about the right speed/
Here is a scale for rating how the economy works. The top, plus 100,
is the
best; at the bottom, minus 100, is the worst.(SHOW CARD)
Q15. Where on this scale would you put the socialist economy before
the
revolution of 1989? -----
Q16 Where on this scale would you put our present economic system? -----
Q17. Where would you put our economic system in five years time? ------
Q18. As for your own family, how do you rate its economic situation
today?
Very satisfactory
Fairly satisfactory
Not very satisfactory
Very unsatisfactory
Q19. When you compare your overall family economic situation with five
years ago, before the big changes in the economy, would you say that
in the
past it was:
Much better then
A little better then
About the same
A little worse then
A lot worse then
Q20. What do you think about the economic situation of your family will
be
in five years time?
Much better then
A little better then
About the same
A little worse then
A lot worse then
Q21. On this card you will find a pair of alternatives. Please tell
me for
each pair do you:
Definitely agree first alternative
Somewhat agree first alternative
Somewhat agree second alternative
Definitely agree second alternative
a. It will take years for government to deal with the problems inherited
from the Communists
OR
b. If our system can't produce results soon, that's a good reason to
try
some other system of government.
c. Rising prices are the biggest threat to my family
OR
d. Unemployment is the biggest threat for my family
e. Incomes should be made more equal so there is no big difference in
income
OR
f. Individual achievement should determine how much people are paid;
more
successful people should be paid more.
g. Individuals should be responsible for their own welfare
OR
h. The state should be responsible for everyone's economic security
j. State ownership is the best way to run an enterprise
OR
k. An enterprise is best run by private entrepreneurs
1. A good job is one that is secure even if it doesn't pay very much
OR
m. A good job pays good money even if it risks unemployment
n. It is better to have lots of goods in the shops even if the prices
are
much higher
OR
p. It is better when prices are kept low by the state even though there
are
often few goods in the shops
II POLITICS
Here is a scale for ranking how our system of government works. The
top,
plus 100, is the best; at the bottom, minus 100, is the worst.(SHOW
CARD)
Q22. Where on this scale would you put the former Communist regime?
Q23. Where on this scale would you put our present system of governing,
with free elections and many parties?
Q24. Where would you put our system of governing five years in the future?
Q25. Our present system of government is not the only one that this
country
has had, and some people say we would be better off if the country was
governed differently. What do you think? Please tell me for each point
whether you:
Agree strongly / Agree somewhat/ Disagree somewhat/ Disagree strongly
a. We should return to Communist rule
b. The army should govern the country
c. Better to get rid of Parliament and elections and have a strong leader
decide everything
d. The most important decisions about the economy should be made by
experts
and not the government and Parliament.
Q26. There are many different institutions in this country, for example,
government, courts, police, civil servants. Please show me on this scale
how great is your personal trust in each of these institutions that
I read
to you:
(Scale from 1: Have no trust to 7: Great trust)
a) Parties
b) Courts
c) Police
d) Civil servants
e) Government of the day (Regierung)
f) Military
g) Parliament
h) Churches
j) National bank
k) Farmers organisations
l) Ecology groups
m) Women's groups
n) Old Communist trade unions
p) New, independent trade unions
q) Media
r) Private enterprise
s) President
Q27. Do you think any of these pose a real threat to peace and order
in
this society.
Big threat/ Some / A little/ None
a) Russia
b) Germany
c) USA
d) Neighbouring countries
e) Ethnic groups, minorities in our country
f) Immigrants, refugees from other societies
Q28. Some people think this country would be better governed if parliament
were suspended and we did not have lots of political parties. How likely
do
you think this is to happen in the next few years?
Very likely
Maybe
Not very likely
Not at all likely
Q29. If Parliament was suspended and parties abolished, would you:
Definitely approve
Somewhat approve
somewhat disapprove
Definitely disapprove
Q30. To which religious group do you belong?
Roman Catholic
Uniate Catholic
Protestant
Orthodox
Jewish
Muslim
Other
Not a believer
Refused
IF Respondent has a religion:
Q31. How often do you attend religious services? (Read out)
At least every week
About once a month
A few times a year
Once a year
Less often
Never
Q32. Do you feel close to one political party or movement or not?
Yes/ No/ Don't know/ Refuses to answer/
IF YES:
Q33. How close do you feel to this party?
Very close
Somewhat
Not very close
Q34. Were you or any other person in your family formerly a member of
the
Communist Party or one of the organizations closely associated with
it?
Yes, self
Yes, other members of family
No
Q35. Are you or another member of your household a member of a trade
union?
Yes, self
Yes, other members of family
No
Q36. What do you think of a partnership of the employers and employees
associations and the government in this country:
Very positive
somewhat positive
somewhat negative
very negative
Q37. On this card are two contrasting alternative terms that people
can
apply to trade unions. Please tell me for each pair, which you think
applies
Left alternative Fully / Somewhat. Right alternative: Fully / Somewhat
Q37.1 Powerful --Without influence
Q37.2 Helpful -- Self seeking
Q37.3 Corrupt -- Clean
Q37.4 Confused -- Clear sense of direction
Q37.5 United -- Quarrelling
Q38. With which of the following do you most closely identify yourself?
Q38a. And which do you identify with secondly? 1st 2nd
a. Local community or city in which I live
b. Region
c. Country
d. Europe
e. Other
f. Don't know
Q39. Now another topic. NATO countries spend 2.6 percent of their national
income for Defence, the countries of East and Central Europe give 3.6
per
cent for military purposes. The defence budget in ----(our country)
is ---
percent of the national income. (Czech 2,9; Slovakia 2,2; Hungary 1,7;
Slovenia 1,4; Croatia 9,1; Poland 2,4; Bulgaria 3,0; Romania 2,5; Belarus
3,2;
Do you think this is:
Too high/ about right/ too low
Q40. Please tell me for each of the following propositions you agree
or
disagree with:
a. For this country to join NATO would be positive
b. Hostility to foreigners is our first problem
c. Separate national armed forces are good for the integration of Europe.
Q41. In this envelope is a ballot with the names of political parties.
Please put a cross by the name of the party that you would vote for
if an
election was held next Sunday.
[Answers coded on multi-national NDB file]
Q42. Are there any parties on this list that you would never vote for?
(Show Card)
[Answers coded on multi-national NDB file]
III SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC
S 1. Gender
Male/ Female/
S 2. Age in years
S 3. Marital status:
Single/ Married / Separated, divorced/ Widow-Widower
S 4. How old were you (or will you be) when you finish fulltime education?
---- (In years)
S 5. What is the highest educational qualification you have obtained
(or
expect to) obtain?
Elementary, secondary without any qualification
Vocational qualification for manual trade
Non-manual vocational qualification (e.g. secretary, civil service clerk);
Academic secondary education to university entrance
University study or equivalent
S 6. Compared to your parents, have you had:
More education
About the same amount
Not as much
S 7. Adults living in household who are: N adults
a) Adults in work or looking for work ---
b) Adults with pension ----
c) Other adults (housewife, student age 18+) -----
S 8. And how many children under 18 live in your household? -----
Total in household
S 9. What is your own average monthly income? -----
(EITHER record actual sum OR show card with income categories)
(If no income, code 0 = No personal income)
S 10. And for your household, altogether what is the total monthly income?
(EITHER record actual sum OR show card with income categories)
S 11. Does your household have any of the following? Yes/No
a. Colour tv
b. Telephone
c. Car
d. Own shares in enterprises
S 12a. Do you have as much as a month's wages in savings?
Yes, in national currency
Yes, in foreign currency
No
IF Yes: S 12b. Have savings: In the past year, have your savings
Increased
Stayed the same
Decreased
S 13. Some people are interested in books, others are not. How about
yourself. Do you:
Never bother reading books
Occasionally read a book
Often read books
Interviewer to code
S 14. Date of interview
Institute to code
S 15. Size of town
Rural, village up to 5,000
5,001 to 20,000
20,001-50,000
50,0001-100,000
100-999,999
1 million or more
National capital (If not the only city in one of previous categories)
S 16. Region