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Greek Social Issues 6-2013: “Citizens on Governance, 2013”

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Governance Survey

Public Issue has been conducting its Governance survey since 2004. The aim is to systematically track public opinion on government choices and the country’s governance. Based on nineteen (19) policy sectors, the survey records not only general but also specific social evaluations of each government.
Citizens participating in the survey assess government performance on the basis of a 5-point evaluation scale. The detailed responses are then re-codified on a corresponding 3-point scale (“improvement”, “no change”, “deterioration”).
The nineteen (19) policy sectors, which are empirically assessed, cover (schematically) four (4) broader areas of governance, namely i) “Economy and Development”, ii) “Welfare State”, iii) “Law and Order” and iv) “Quality of Life”. These four policy areas correspond to what citizens subjectively consider to be “governance“.

Areas of Governance

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Policy areas and sectors of governance

The policy area “Economy and Development” comprises six (6) of the nineteen (19) governance sectors which are measured in the survey. This area covers the assessments of Greek citizens concerning the current situation with regard to i) unemployment, ii) prices, iii) agriculture, iv) small and medium enterprises (SMEs), v) regional development and vi) tourism.

The area “Welfare State” consists of the following six (6) sectors: i) public transport, ii) corruption, iii) public education, iv) citizen services, v) social security and vi) public health.

The area “Law and Order” comprises four (4) sectors of governance and tracks citizens’ attitudes on: i) policing, ii) crime, iii) immigration and iv) drugs.

Lastly, the area “Quality of Life” records citizens’ assessments in three (3) specific sectors: i) environmental protection, ii) quality of life in the cities and iii) consumer protection.

The present analysis focuses on the first two policy areas, i.e. “Welfare State” and “Law and Order”. The other two will be covered in a forthcoming issue of the GSI series.

Policy sectors by area of governance

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Attitudes toward policies implemented & sectors of governance, 2013

The governance survey is conducted at regular intervals, which enables the systematic and thorough monitoring of any changes in the evaluations of public opinion on account of government choices. In addition, the consistent repetition of the survey also provides the comparative dimension of the examination of any changes, either positive or negative, in the survey indicators.
The present situation in the various sectors of governance, as assessed by citizens (March 2013), is compared to the opinion they had formed one year previously, thus giving the percentages of improvement, no change or deterioration by sector (Figures 1-4).

Governance Indicators

From the combination of governance sectors, four (4) separate aggregate indicators are calculated, one for each policy area: i) Economy and Development, ii) Welfare State, iii) Law and Order, iv) Quality of Life. These indicators take values from -1 to 1, where -1 means deterioration and 1 means improvement of the situation in the specific area of government policy implementation. Subsequently, from the four separate aggregate indicators, the overall Governance evaluation Indicator is calculated, which also takes values from -1 to 1.

The present analysis covers the first two aggregate indicators: “Welfare State“, “Law and Order” (Figure 5).

Main findings of the survey

  • In five (5) of the ten (10) sectors of government policy implementation being examined (Public Health, Crime, Social Security, Public Education, Citizen Services), the recorded rates of deterioration exceed the 2013 measurement by 50% (Figure 1).
  • In the other five (5) sectors (Public Transport, Drugs, Corruption, Policing, Immigration), citizens report no change (Figure 1).
  • Currently, the rate of improvement is lower than the corresponding rate of ‘no change’ or deterioration in all sectors (Figure 1).
  • One year after the change of government (June 2012), the governance indicator for Welfare State shows a deterioration (-0.420 against -0.369 in the Q3 2011 measurement). The greatest increase in the rate of deterioration is recorded in the sector of Public Health (76%, against 55% in 2011) (Figure 5, Table 1).
  • In contrast, the Law and Order indicator, which is directly related to citizens’ sense of security, shows an improvement (-0.319 against -0.498 in the previous measurement of 2011). The highest increase in the rate of improvement is seen in the sector corresponding to government handling of immigration (26%, against 6% in 2011) (Figure 5, Table 2).

WELFARE STATE

Corruption
Nearly 5 out of 10 citizens (47%) estimate that the problem of corruption has remained at the same levels over the past 12 months, 32% that it has deteriorated and 22% that it has improved (Figure 6). Relative to the July 2011 measurement (before elections and the change of government), the proportion of citizens reporting an improvement in the situation rose sharply from 15% to 22% (+7%), whilst the corresponding proportion reporting a deterioration fell from 50% to 32% (-18%) (Figure 7, Table 1).

Public Transport
Roughly 6 out of 10 citizens (61%) believe that the situation regarding public transport has stayed the same over the past 12 months, 26% that it has deteriorated and 13% that it has improved (Figure 6). Assessments of citizens do not differ significantly from the previous measurement in July 2011 (Figure 8, Table 1).

Social Security
Approximately 7 in 10 citizens (73%) believe that social security in the country has deteriorated, 23% that it has remained the same and 4% that it has improved (Figure 6). Assessments of citizens do not differ significantly from the previous measurement in July 2011 (Figure 9, Table 1).

Public Education
Roughly 6 out of 10 citizens (62%) believe that the situation in education, i.e. in the country’s public schools and universities, has deteriorated over the past 12 months, 35% that it has remained at the same levels and 4% that it has improved (Figure 6). Relative to the July 2011 measurement, the proportion of citizens reporting a deterioration of the situation rose from 52% to 62% (+10%) (Figure 10, Table 1).

Citizen Services
Approximately 1 in 2 citizens (54%) believe that the services provided to citizens by the State, i.e. by ministries and public administration in general, has deteriorated over the past 12 months, 37% that it has remained at the same levels and 9% that it has improved (Figure 6). Compared to the previous measurement (July 2011), there is a marked deterioration (+14%) (Figure 11, Table 1).

Public Health
Just over 3 in 4 citizens (76%) believe that the situation regarding public health, i.e. in the country’s public hospitals, has deteriorated over the past 12 months, 19% that it has stayed the same and 5% that it has improved (Figure 6). Relative to the previous measurement (July 2011), the proportion of citizens reporting a deterioration rose sharply from 55% to 76% (+21%), whilst the corresponding proportion reporting an improvement fell from 8% to 5% (-3%) (Figure 12, Table 1).

LAW AND ORDER

Immigration
Nearly 4 out of 10 citizens (39%) estimate that the situation regarding immigration and immigrants has remained at the same levels over the past 12 months, 35% that it has deteriorated and 26% that it has improved (Figure 13). Relative to the previous measurement (July 2011), the proportion of citizens reporting an improvement in the situation rose sharply from 6% to 26% (+20%), whilst the corresponding proportion reporting a deterioration fell from 66% to 35% (-31%) (Figure 14, Table 2).

Crime
Roughly 3 out of 4 citizens (73%) believe that the situation regarding crime has deteriorated over the past 12 months, 18% that it has remained at the same levels and 10% that it has improved (Figure 13). However, compared to the previous measurement (July 2011), there has been a relative improvement in the situation (+6%) (Figure 15, Table 2).

Drugs
Approximately 1 in 2 citizens (53%) believe that the situation regarding the problem of drugs has remained the same over the past 12 months, 43% that it has deteriorated and 4% that it has improved (Figure 13). Compared to the previous measurement (July 2011), the proportion of citizens reporting a deterioration declined from 49% to 43% (-6%) (Figure 16, Table 2).

Policing
More than 4 out of 10 citizens (44%) believe that neighborhood policing has remained at the same levels over the past 12 months, 34% that it has deteriorated and 21% that it has improved (Figure 13). Citizens’ assessments differ little from the previous measurement in July 2011 (i.e. before elections and the change of government) (Figure 17, Table 2).