International Social Survey Program: Role of Government II, 1990

The International Social Survey Program (ISSP) is an ongoing program of cross-national collaboration. Formed in 1983, the group develops topical modules dealing with important areas of social science as supplements to regular national surveys. This survey is the second one to explore the "role of government" topic. The first survey was conducted in 1985-1986 and is released by ICPSR as INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE PROGRAM: ROLE OF GOVERNMENT, 1985-1986 (ICPSR 8909). Participating countries in the 1990 survey include the Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain, the United States, Italy, Hungary, Norway, Ireland, and Israel. These data report citizens' opinions on the functions of their national governments and on what governments should and should not be doing. Questions were asked concerning taxes, gun control, cuts in government spending, government creation of new jobs, government spending on environmental concerns, law enforcement, health issues, education, defense, unemployment benefits, and the cultural arts. Other items focused on the role of public protest meetings, publications, and demonstrations, and the legality of police surveillance, including telephone taps, opening mail, and detaining people overnight for questioning. Respondents were also queried about the role of government in several industries, including electric power, steel, banking, and insurance. Demographic variables include age, sex, marital status, employment status, occupation, union membership, education, political party affiliation, religion, left-right self-placement, vote in the last election, subjective social class standing, size of household, family income, and parents' education and occupation.