The study on social security and fairness was conducted by the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research on behalf of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. During the survey period from July 5 to July 19, 2024, the German population aged 16 and over was surveyed in personal interviews on the following topics: distributive justice in Germany, perception of reforms to the welfare state and need for reform of the social security system, citizen´s income, economic situation and old-age provision. The respondents were selected using a quota sample. The findings are supplemented by the results of eight qualitative group discussions with a total of 48 participants from different social classes from all over Germany, which Ipsos conducted online from June 3 to 6, 2024. Only the results report is available for this qualitative study; no data was archived.
Assessment of distributive justice with regard to economic conditions in Germany; development of social justice in the last ten years; reasons for this assessment; assessment of distributive justice with regard to own participation compared to others; social justice most likely through stronger vs. less strong state intervention; importance of different areas of social justice (intergenerational justice, performance justice, opportunity justice, family justice, distributive justice and needs justice); realization of these areas of social justice; Split A: Perception of justice with regard to: similarly high retirement provision for all regardless of occupation vs. strong differences depending on the individual´s pension provision, tax advantages for parents compared to childless people vs. no advantages for parents, earnings according to performance vs. no major differences in income (end of split A); split B: perception of justice in relation to earlier retirement for people in physically demanding occupations vs. the same retirement age for all, unconditional basic income for all vs. state support only for the unemployed, as much state support for immigrants as for Germans in need vs. greater support for Germans in need (end of split B).

Welfare state: opinion on the need to reform the social security system in Germany; demand for an expansion of social security; particularly important tasks of the welfare state (e.g. securing pensions, ensuring adequate healthcare, combating the misuse of social benefits, etc.); trust in the social security systems (protection in the event of illness, protection in the event of unemployment and statutory pension); social groups that receive too little support in the welfare system (e.g. people in need of care, low earners, pensioners, single parents, sick people, children from low-income families, etc.) or groups that are overprovided for; assessment of personal benefits from the welfare state; preference for higher taxes and more comprehensive protection vs. less taxes and less protection; policy ensures more equality between the poorer and richer vs. policy increases social differences; perception of various reforms of the welfare state that have already been adopted or are still planned (e.g. introduction of the citizen´s income/abolition of Hartz IV, increase in unemployment benefit, etc.); reforms of the federal government in the area of the welfare state lead to more social justice vs. less social justice; reasons for this assessment; measures that contribute to more social justice in Germany and measures that tend to lead to less justice.

Citizen´s income: knowledge of detailed regulations on citizen´s income (e.g. amount, assumption of rent and heating costs, obligations of unemployed persons to cooperate, top-up option, sanctions for breaches of obligations, etc.); assessment of citizen´s income; assessment of these regulations as appropriate; assessment of the gap between citizen´s income and low income as appropriate or large or small; suitable measures to increase the gap between earned income and support income again (reduce Citizen´s Income, increase minimum wage, reduce income tax, other); effects of the current level of Citizen´s Income on the motivation of Citizen´s Income recipients to work; current level of Citizen´s Income leads to many Citizen´s Income recipients not going to work although they could work; abusive claiming of Citizen´s Income by many people vs.is the exception rather than the rule; opinion on the special regulation for Ukrainian refugees (regulation is fine, all refugees should receive citizen´s allowance, Ukrainians should receive less); respondent receives citizen´s allowance him/herself or knows other recipients of citizen´s allowance.

Economic situation and old-age provision: assessment of own economic situation at present and in comparison to five years ago; assessment of the risk of social decline; assessment of personal financial situation in old age; respondent lives entirely or predominantly on an old-age pension or retirement pension; income...

According to a consumer demand survey conducted by Capgemini Research Institute in late 2022, opinions regarding affordability versus sustainability were rather mixed. Overall, about 54 percent of consumers worldwide said they valued the affordability of a product above whether the product is sustainable. For more Capgemini insights, click here.

The cost of being sustainable

Producing more sustainable products tends to be a more difficult and expensive undertaking, which is why eco-friendly goods tend to come with a higher price tag. Considering how expensive life already is for many, it comes to no surprise that not all consumers are willing to pay a large sustainability premium. In 2022, the average premium deemed acceptable for sustainable consumer goods stood at approximately 24 percent. As anticipated, individuals with a higher annual income were willing to pay a higher average premium than those with a lower income.

Impact of inflation

Rising prices have had an impact on consumer attitudes and behavior in 2022 and 2023. When it becomes a struggle to afford day-to-day expenses, shoppers are less likely to worry about the sustainability or ethics of the goods they buy. During a global survey conducted in 2023, the number one worry among consumers was by far the issue of inflation. Far fewer survey respondents selected “climate change” as an important issue facing the world.

The study charted contacts of Finnish baby boomers' adult children with relatives and friends as well as giving and receiving help. The study was funded by the Academy of Finland (project id 250620) and Alli Paasikivi Foundation. FSD's holdings also include data on baby boomers collected in the same research project (FSD3255). First, the respondents were asked whether they kept up their health and whether they suffered from a long-term illness or a permanent injury. They were asked whether they considered themselves happy, if they considered religion important in their lives, and whether they had participated in charity or voluntary work within the previous year. Next, the number and gender of the respondents' children were enquired. The birth year of the respondents' and their spouses' parents was charted as well as whether the parents were still alive. More questions were asked regarding the respondents' and their spouses' living parents, such as how far away they lived, how the respondents perceived their state of health and financial circumstances, and how often they had been in contact within the previous year. They were also asked how close they were, whether they had had conflicts, and how often within the previous year the respondents had provided their own or their spouses' parents with practical or financial help. It was also enquired how often the parents had babysat the respondents' children or provided them with different kinds of help, and if the respondents had felt the need to restrict their parents ability to contact the respondents' children. Similar questions were also asked about siblings: how many brothers and sisters the respondents had, when they were born, whether they all shared the same parents, how far away they lived, how the respondents perceived their financial circumstances, how often they had been in contact, whether they had had conflicts, and whether they had received and provided help. It was also asked whether the respondents felt that their parents had treated all siblings equally, whether the siblings had children, whether they had babysat the respondents' children, and how often the respondents had been in contact with their siblings' children or provided them with financial help. Next, similar questions were asked about grandparents: whether they were alive, when they were born, and how often the respondents had contacted them within the previous year. Frequency of contacting other relatives, such as aunts and uncles, and friends during the previous year was also examined as well as whether they had babysat the respondents' children or provided practical or financial help, and whether the respondents themselves had provided such help to these people. The respondents were also asked how many close friends they perceived to have and how many relatives they considered 'close'. Attitudinal statements examined the respondents' views on whether grandparents have the responsibility to babysit their grandchildren, to advance grandchildren's and their families' financial security, and to take care of grandchildren if parents are not able to, as well as whether it is natural for daughters to take more responsibility than sons in caring for their aged parents, and whether children have the responsibility to take their parents to live with them when they are no longer able to live independently. Finally, the respondents were asked how responsibility should be shared between society and family concerning financial support to the elderly, helping the elderly with everyday chores, and caring for the elderly, and the respondents' opinions on giving and receiving help was charted with regard to whether they expected to be helped themselves in the future when providing help to others, whether they only provided help to those relatives or friends that they liked, and whether friends and relatives demanded too much of the respondents. Background variables included, among others, gender, marital status, own and spouse's birth year, economic activity (own and spouse's), education (own and spouse's), household composition, net monthly income, and perceived financial status.

Trends and consequences of the social change; individual attitudes, values, orientations and social behavior. Cumulative data set. Topics: Job status; labor situation; social prestige; socio-economic position (scale); place of work characterized in terms of ownership, branch of industry and size; experiences and periods of unemployment; job status of his/her spouse and parents; occupational intergenerational mobility; first job, evaluation of the place of work and occupation within one's own value system, job security; satisfaction with the job; education of parents and spouse; perception of the role of education; school ownership (state/private) and place; degrees and occupational titles obtained; social background; geographical mobility; marriage and family structure; attitudes towards family and the situation of women; socialization; one's own economic situation and that of the family; individual and household income; dwelling situation; position of household goods; debt and savings of the household; satisfaction with individual income and the economic situation of the family; current state of changes of the economic situation in Poland; economic distributive justice; distribution of incomes; acceptance of economic inequalities among different occupations and social strata; social position and its changes; encompassing class-strata identification; one's own present and past social position; self-evaluation of occupational, economic and educational status in comparison to that of the parents; judgment on social structure, social inequalities and systemic changes in Poland; assessment of factors determining success in life; perception of mechanisms creating social inequalities and determining levels of poverty and wealth; voting behavior and preferences; participation in presidential elections of 1990 1991, 1993, 1995 and in 1997 parliamentary elections and constitutional referendum; vote intention 1999; efficacy of the political system and democracy; trust in main social and political institutions; criteria for governing distribution of budgetary funds for different public goals; political and ideological orientations; interest in politics and public life; preferred political goals; postulated role of government in economy and public life; opinions on communism and socialism; self-identification on a left-right scale, tolerance toward communists, atheists and militarists; threats to Poland's independence from other countries; religious denomination and frequency of religious practices; strength of belief; belief in a life after death; trust in the Catholic Church, evaluation of the church and denominational organization influence on public life; tolerance toward atheists; attitudes toward contemporary ethical dilemmas (abortion, divorce, euthanasia, capital punishment) and law-abidance; satisfaction with one's own life in society; satisfaction with different domains of life (family, marriage, social, economic and professional situation) and their importance to the individual; measures of painful and joyful experiences; the will to live; joyfulness and happiness; trust in other people; state of health; smoking and alcohol consumption. In addition separate modules from the international comparative research project ISSP are included in the cumulative data set: Social Inequalities (1992), Environmental Protection (1993), Family and Social Roles of Women (1994), Sexual Experiences suplement (1994), National Identity (1995), Work Orientations II (split A in 1997) and Role of Government III (split B in 1997), Social Inequalities III (split A in 1999) and Religion (split B in 1999).

This data set was collected in Limpopo, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The target populations were participants in NDA projects that were mainly concerned with income generation namely, the Vukuzenzele Weaving Project, the Zamokuphila Piggery Farming Cooperative, the Asisukume Msinga Agricultural Cooperative, the RASEKO Agricultural Cooperative and Emazizini Primary Cooperative. 15 respondents were selected from each project. The administered questionnaire dealt with policy perceptions of poverty across different themes.