German Internet Panel, Wave 59 (May 2022)

The German Internet Panel (GIP) is a long-term study at the University of Mannheim. The GIP examines individual attitudes and preferences that are relevant in political and economic decision-making processes. To this end, more than 3,500 people throughout Germany have been regularly surveyed online every two months since 2012 on a wide range of topics. The GIP is based on a random sample of the general population in Germany between the ages of 16 and 75. The study started in 2012 and was supplemented by new participants in 2014 and 2018. The panel participants were recruited offline. The GIP questionnaires cover a variety of topics that deal with current events.<br>The questionnaire contains numerous experimental variations in the survey instruments. Further information can be found in the study documentation.

Opinion on the need for reform of the healthcare system in Germany; favored measures for financing the healthcare system (increase contributions to health insurance, increase co-payments by patients, general tax increases, reduce remuneration of doctors, reduce remuneration of pharmacies and the pharmaceutical industry, limit medical services, other, do not favor any of these measures); preference for GP model vs. free choice of doctor; opinion on the need to reform social security for the unemployed in Germany; conditions for receiving unemployment benefit II (Hartz IV) (no other conditions, neediness, actively seeking work, accepting reasonable job offers, accepting any job offer, having previously worked in Germany, German citizenship, other conditions, unemployment benefit II should be abolished without replacement, unemployment benefit II should be abolished and replaced by something else); opinion on the regulation of the German labor market; opinion on the need to reform the pension system in Germany; most and least favored proposals for financing statutory pensions (increase contributions to statutory pension insurance, raise retirement age, general tax increases, reduce the amount of statutory pension, none of these); opinion on the need to reform the education system in Germany; federal government should spend more or less money on the education system than at present; most important area of the education system on which the federal government should spend more money and especially less money (childcare for 1 to 5-year-olds (kindergarten, nursery), primary and secondary schools (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium), vocational training (apprenticeships and vocational schools), academic education (universities, universities of applied sciences and teacher training colleges), further education for working people, other areas); eligible areas of education; opinion on the need to reform the tax system in Germany; government should take measures to reduce income disparities; acceptance of tax evasion; opinion on reforms to the labor market and social systems in the member states of the eurozone; opinion on the EU´s power to make decisions on reforms in the member states; policy areas in which the European Union should make more or should decide more or less than at present (foreign and security policy, economy and finance, justice and home affairs, labor and social affairs, competition policy, agriculture and fisheries, environment, education, other areas); areas in which the state should most likely expand and most likely reduce services (health services, basic security for the unemployed, job promotion for the unemployed, old-age pensions, education, childcare facilities, in none of these areas); assessment of the debt brake, preferred timetable (year) for the debt brake; expected date of return to the debt brake; opinion on the reform of the debt brake (debt should generally be limited even more strictly, debt should generally be made easier, debt should be allowed if it finances climate policy, debt should be allowed if it finances investments in public infrastructure, debt should be allowed if it is used to finance social benefits in areas such as pensions or health, debt should be allowed if it is used to finance financial aid for poor regions in Germany, no more limits on permitted debt in future, debt rules should remain as they are); evaluation of the European Stability Pact; opinion on the reform of the European Stability Pact (debt in Europe should generally be even more strictly limited, debt in Europe should generally be made easier, debt should be allowed in Europe if it is used to finance climate policy, debt should be allowed in Europe if it is used to finance investments in public infrastructure, Debt should be allowed in Europe if it is used to finance social benefits in areas such as pensions or healthcare, debt should be allowed in Europe if it is used to finance financial aid for poor countries in the EU, no more limits on permitted debt in Europe in future, the European Stability Pact should remain as it is).

Health: diseases; likelihood of sharing personal health data via sensors on smartphones, smartwatches or other devices for specific purposes (three different situations with different characteristics); likelihood of sharing personal health data provided by health insurance companies for specific purposes (three different situations with different characteristics); likelihood of sharing personal health data from blood samples for specific purposes (three different situations with different characteristics); reasons for refusing to share personal health data (open response coding); self-assessment of how closely the descriptions of the three situations were read before selecting a response regarding sharing health data; ever donated blood, provided sensor data, shared own medical records or other personal data, did not share personal data.

Stressors and pressures at work: frequency of very fast-paced work and a large amount of work in recent months; job insecurity (I am worried that my employment will be terminated before I want it to be, there is a risk that I will lose my current job in the coming year).

Number of different statements agreed with (drink driving is not a small thing, violence against political opponents is sometimes justified, harsher penalties for crime should be introduced in Germany, it is understandable that some people evade taxes, the high salaries for managers are justified, public broadcasting fees benefit democracy, we would all be better off if we ate less meat, it is okay to use violence for some political goals); acceptance of political violence (intimidating a political opponent on the internet; removing a political opponent´s leaflets, event notices or election advertising, preventing other people from attending a political opponent´s event, shouting down a political opponent to prevent them from speaking, using violence to prevent a political opponent from speaking); agreement with statements about political violence (violence against political opponents is sometimes justified, it is okay to use violence for some political goals, do not agree with any of these statements).

Current emotional state (tension, anxiety); likelihood of a major economic crisis in Germany due to the war in Ukraine; stockpiling of food or hygiene products for emergencies; likelihood of the war in Ukraine spreading to several countries.

Demography: sex; age (year of birth, categorized); highest level of education; highest level of professional education; marital status; household size; employment status; German citizenship; frequency of private Internet use; federal state.

Additionally coded were: respondent ID, GIP; household ID, GIP; person ID (within household); year of recruitment (2012, 2014, 2018); interview date; current online status; assignment to experimental groups.

Questionnaire evaluation (interesting, varied, relevant, long, difficult, too personal); overall assessment of the survey; respondent made further comments on the questionnaire.