Measuring social capital in RussiaThe following questionnaire was specifically designed to measure multiple forms of social capital in a variety of situations commonly faced by most households. It was part of the global Social Capital Initiative of the World Bank, supported by a grant from the Danish government development funds. The questionnaire was administered as part of the CSPP programme of studies of mass response to transformation in post-Communist countries; it was the seventh in a series of New Russia Barometer studies commenced in January 1992 (for more details see the CSPP Home Page). Fieldwork was by VCIOM (the Russian Centre for Public Opinion Research) between 6 March and 13 April 1998. The universe for the multi-stage stratified random sample was the adult population of the Russian Federation. There were a total of 2,002 respondents. Getting Things Done in Everyday LifeThe full text of all questions follow; a Russian-language version is available from the CSPP at a nominal charge. The replies, subdivided by age, are given in SPP 303. The questionnaire has the following divisions:
A. Getting FoodA.1a-Does your household have a plot of land where you grow food?
IF YES: A.1b-About how much time are you or other members of your household working this land during the season?
IF NO: A.1c-Do you sometimes help relatives or friends grow food on their land?
A.2- How often do you buy or get food from the following sources? Regularly/ Sometimes/ Seldom/ Never
A.3-Does your family have enough food for properly balanced nutrition?
A.4-How often do you yourself go shopping for food?
A.5- What would you do if a shop assistant made a mistake when you bought something? (One answer only)
A.6- In the past twelve months did your family often, sometimes, rarely or never have to do without: Often / Sometimes / Rarely / Never/
B. HousingB.1- Is your house a:
B.2- Who owns your house?
B.3- In the past year has anyone in your household spent time making repairs, improvements or painting your home?
B.4-If you had something broken at home, what would be the best way to get it fixed?
B.5- What should a family do to get a government-subsidized or enterprise- subsidized flat, even if not entitled to it according to the rules?
B.6- Would you say that to get a house or flat in this neighbourhood, most people had to have connections?
B.7a- How would you rate your current housing conditions?
B.7b- Have you lived here for the past ten years, since the changes of perestroyka?
a. IF YES: Is the condition of this house now: b. IF NO: Compared to your house ten years ago, is this place:
B.8-Would you say that people who live around here are usually ready to help each other or does each household have to depend on itself?
B.9- Do you feel safe when you go out on the streets?
B.10- Since the big changes of perestroyka, when you go out on the streets do you feel:
B.11- If a person does not feel safe on the streets, what should he or she do? Definitely/ Probably/ Not much help/ No help
B.12- In the past two years, have you or anyone you know been attacked or had something stolen from you when on the street?
B.13- If a person worries about a theft from the house, what should he or she do? Definitely/ Probably/ Not much help/ No help
B.14- Do you worry about thieves breaking in your house and stealing things?
B.15- In the past two years, have you or anyone you know had their house broken into and something stolen?
C. EmploymentC0.1-What is your current economic status?
IF A PENSIONER C0.2- If there was a mistake in calculating your pension, what would you do? (More than one answer acceptable)
C0.3- In the past 12 months has your pension:
IF EMPLOYED C1.1- To which group of workers do you belong?
C1.2- Which of these terms best describes your employer:
C1.3- If you had a choice, would you prefer working for:
C2.1a- About how many people are employed at the place where you work?
C2.1b- At your place of work, about how much of the week do people REALLY spend producing things for the enterprise?
C2.1c- Compared to before perestroyka, has the time people at your place of work spend producing things for the enterprise changed?
C2.2- Do the people who are your immediate colleagues at work usually help each other when problems arise?
C2.3- Do you trust your employer to look after your interests?
C2.4a- Are you a member of a trade union?
IF YES: C2.4b- Do you trust union officials at your place of work to look after your interests?
C2.4c- Do you trust national officials of your union to look after your interests?
C3.1a- At your place of work, are you sometimes asked to do favours for other people?
IF YES: C3.1b- Do people offer you money to do favours?
C.4.0- All in all, how satisfied are you with your job?
C4.1- Do you earn enough from your main job to buy all you really need?
C4.2- How much did you earn last month from all sources for the work that you did? (In new Roubles)
C4.3- What percentage of your wages are deducted as taxes to pay your social insurance and public services?
C4.4 If someone at your place of work was not paid money they had earned, what would you advise to be done? (More than one answer acceptable)
C 5.1- In the past 12 months at any time have you been: YES/ NO
IF YES: C5.1c- How many weeks did this happen?
C5.1d- Not been paid at all
IF YES: C5.1e- How many months did this happen?
Impact of Unemployment C5.2- Are you worried about losing your job?
C6.1- How long have you held your current job?
C6.2- If you were looking for a new job, what would you do? (Can choose more than one)
C6.3- If you lost your current job, how confident are you that you could find another?
C6.4- Have you done any of the following to improve your economic situation in the past year or are you likely to do so in the next year? Have done/ Likely/ Unlikely/ No
C6.5- Here are statements people sometimes make about their place of work. Completely agree/ Somewhat agree/ Somewhat disagree/ Completely disagree/ Difficult to answer
ASK EVERYONE C 7.1 With economic reform, some people have been able to make more money. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about people who are now making a lot of money? Definitely/ Somewhat agree/ Somewhat disagree/ Definitely disagree
C7.2- In the past month, have your or anyone else in this family earned money by working at a second job too?
IF YES: C7.3- Is this work:
D. Economic SituationD1- Here is a scale ranking how well an economy works. The top, plus 100, is the best and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put:
D2- All in all, how do you rate the economic situation of your family today?
D3- How would you compare your family's economic situation with what it was before perestroyka?
D4- What do you think the economic situation of your family will be in five years?
D.5- What was the total income of your family during the last month from all sources? (Old Roubles)
D.6a- Which activity on this card is the most important for the standard of living of you and your family? D.6b- And which is second in importance
E. Saving and BorrowingE.1- If a person is entitled to get a social benefit, such as unemployment pay, what should he or she do? (One answer only)
E.2a- Have you or anyone in your family filed such a claim in the past year?
IF YES: E.2b-Was it paid:
E.3- Could you borrow as much as a week's wage or pension from: Definitely/ Probably/ Probably not/ Definitely not/ Difficult to answer
E.4- If you had some savings, where would you keep them? (Two choices accepted)
E.5-When you are too old to work, what do you expect to rely on? (more than one answer permitted)
E.6a- Do you still have any investment fund or enterprise shares bought with the privatization vouchers?
E.7- Which of these statements are you more inclined to agree with: Definitely first/ Somewhat first/ Definitely second/ Somewhat second/ Don't know
F. Media of InformationF.1- How often do you usually read or watch: Regularly/ Sometimes/ Seldom/ Never
F.2a- How often do you talk about the problems of this country with friends?
F.2b- Do people often ask what you think about what is happening to this country?
F.3a- And how often do you talk about the problems of this city with friends?
F.3b- Do people often ask what you think about what's happening in this city?
F.4-How would you rate the following for finding out what is going on: In the country as a whole? In this city? Very good/ Fairly good / Not much use / No good
G. Public ServicesG.1-What should a person who needs a government permit do if an official says just be patient?
G.2- Compared to the old regime before perestroyka, would you say that today: Much better than before/ Better/ Much the same/ A little worse/ Much worse
G.3a- How much influence do you think the government in Moscow has on what happens around here?
G.3b- And how much influence do you think the government of this locality has on what happens around here?
G.4- And how much influence do you think people like yourself can have: A lot/ Some/ Not much/ None
G.5a-How widespread do you think bribe-taking and corruption is in the national government in Moscow?
G.5b- By comparison with Soviet times, would you say that the level of bribe-taking and corruption in Moscow has:
G.6a- How about public officials in this city/oblast? How widespread do you think bribe-taking and corruption is?
G.6b-By comparison with Soviet times, would you say that in this city/oblast the level of bribe-taking and corruption has:
G.7- Here are some proposals to make government more honest. Definitely agree/ Somewhat agree/ Somewhat disagree/ Completely disagree
G.8- Do you think that Russia's leaders control the situation in the country or that the situation is beyond control?
H. National AffairsH.1- What do you think of elections in which we have a big choice of candidates and parties for the Duma and the Presidency?
H.2-What do you think people like yourself should do, when there is a: A- National election? B- Local election? (Choose only one for each question)
H.3- Here is a scale for evaluating the political system. The top, plus 100, is the best, and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put:
H.4a- Some people think this country would be better governed if Parliament were suspended. How likely do you think this is to happen in the next few years?
H.4b- If Parliament was suspended, would you:
H.5- There are different opinions about the nature of the state. To what extent would you agree with the following statements: Completely agree / Generally agree / Somewhat disagree /Generally disagree/
H.6- For many years we had a different system of government and people have different views about it. Which of these statements comes closest to expressing what you think? (Choose only one)
H.7-Here is a scale ranging from a low of 1 to a high 10. On this scale, point 1 means complete dictatorship and 10 means complete democracy.
H.8a- Do you think that the national government in Moscow looks after the interests of people like yourself:
H.8b- Do you think that the government in this locality (oblast) looks after the interests of people like yourself:
H.9a- What rating would you give the President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, on a scale from 10 (best) to 1 (worst)? H.9b- What rating would you give the Prime Minister of Russia, Victor Chernomyrdin, on a scale from 10 (best) to 1 (worst)? H.10- How closely do you think the national government comes to the idea of the law-governed state ( pravovoye gosudarstvo) ?
H.11a- Some people say that laws in this country are often very hard on ordinary people. Do you agree or disagree?
H.11b- A writer once said: "The harshness of Russian laws is softened by their non-enforcement". Do you think this is true?
H.12- It is sometimes said that there is no need to pay taxes if you don't want to; the government will never find out about it. Do you think this is:
H.13- It is said that even if the government found out a person wasn't paying taxes, he or she could always give a "present" to an official who would help him find a way around paying taxes. Do you think this is:
H.14-Some people say that in Soviet times to get anything done by a public agency you had to know people in the Party.
H.15- Some people say that nowadays to get anything done by a public agency you need to pay money on the side.
H.16- Do you think any of these poses a big threat, some threat, a little threat or no threat to peace and security in this society ? Big threat/ Some threat/ Little threat/ No threat at all
J. HealthJ.1- Over the past 12 months, would you say your physical health has been:
J.2a- Do you take any physical exercise regularly, such as walking, sports, swimming or gymnastics?
IF Often/ Sometimes: J.2b- Do you do this exercise ? (More than one answer allowed)
J.2c- And do you smoke cigarettes?
J.3- Over the past 12 months, would you say your emotional health has been:
J.4-If you became seriously ill and needed some help in the house, is there anyone outside your family that you could count on to help?
J.5-If you needed to go to a doctor, would you:
J.6-How much change, if any, would you say there has been in the way doctors treat patients since the big changes in Soviet society?
J.7a- In the past year have you sometimes felt so bad that you could not go to work or engage in your normal everyday activities?
IF FELT BAD AT ANY TIME IN PAST YEAR J.7b-Did you visit a doctor?
IF YES: J.7c- How would you describe the treatment given?
J.7d- How much did you have to pay the doctor?
IF DID NOT GO TO DOCTOR J.7e-Was that because... (More than one answer accepted)
J.8a In the past year, have you or any member of your family been in hospital?
IF YES: J.8b-Was this hospital:
J.8c- If so, how would you describe the treatment given?
J.8d- About how much did it cost?
IF No one in hospital: J.8e-Was that because: (More than one answer accepted)
J.9- What should a person with a painful disease do, if a hospital says it is necessary to wait for months?
J.10-How would you say hospital treatment of patients has altered since the big changes in Soviet society with perestroyka?
J.11-Some people feel they have completely free choice and control over their lives, while others feel that what they do has no real effect on what happens to them. How about yourself? Where would you place yourself on this scale of how much free choice and control you have over the way your life turns out? One (1) represents 'None at all' and ten (10) represents 'A great deal.'
K. Community AssociationsK.1 On whom do you rely when you have a problem first of all? And next?
Local, central government institutions/ Social services of enterprise, trade union / Charities, church/ Friends / Family / Myself/ Other K.2-Would you say that most people can be trusted or you can't be too careful in dealing with people:
K.3- To what extent do you trust each of the following institutions to look after your interests? Please indicate on a scale with 1 indicating no trust at all and 7 great trust.
K.4-Do you belong to any of the following type of organizations (more than one answer okay)
IF YES (for each group) K.4a- How active are you:
K.4b- Do members of this group often help each other out in other ways?
K.4c- When the group tries to do something, what difficulties does it have? Often/ Sometimes/ Seldom/ Not at all
K.5- If you went to see about something, would you expect fair treatment from: Definitely/ Probably/ Not likely/ Definitely not
K.6- To what extent do you think it is all right for a person to: All right / Sometimes all right/ Most of the time wrong/ Definitely wrong
K.7- In former times, when the Communist Party was the only party in the country, many people were members. Which of these phrases applies to them? Definitely/ Somewhat/ A little/ Not at all
L. Social BackgroundL.1- Gender
L.2- Age
L.3- Personal family situation
L.4- What is the total number of people in the household sharing their income, including yourself, all children and those temporarily absent.
L.4a- How many are employed?
L.4b- Total number in household
L.4c- How many are children age 15 or younger?
IF CHILDREN IN HOUSE L.4d- Who usually looks after children when parents are at work?
L.4e-You sometimes hear it said that pupils who want a good examination mark are expected to give "presents" to their teachers. At the school of your children, did this happen:
ASK ALL L.5a- What education have you had?
L.5b- Compared to your parents, have you had:
L.6- What should a parent do if their child's exam marks aren't good enough to be admitted to a university?
L.7a-What is your nationality?
L.7b-How proud are you of your nation?
L.8-Do you sometimes think of yourself as a European?
L.9-In the past, many people were members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Were you or anyone from your family a CPSU member?
L.10-There are people in a high position in this society and others who have a low status. What position do you have now?
L.11-How often do you go to church, religious services?
L.12-Does your household have any of the following? Yes/ No
L.13a- Does your family have any savings?
If YES: L13b- In the past year have your savings:
VCIOM Interviewer to code L.14-Town size
L.15-Geographical region L.16-Primary sampling unit |
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