Cross-country Survey Research Articles

Public Confidence in the Judiciary and the Police – Does Respondents Internalize Montesquieu’s Ideas?

Abstract Due to its unique role in the separation of powers framework, judiciary is typically among the first targets of illiberal take-overs. The popular perception of the judicial system – translating into its legitimacy – might prove to be its ultimate safeguard or primary source of vulnerability. This paper employs cross-country survey data to uncover to what extent the idea of separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive is embedded in public perception. It analyses the data on trust in the judiciary (or the legal system) the Police and the national government. Assuming that separation of powers is well embedded in the public opinion, one could expect that courts and the police would be assessed separately (i.e., not highly correlated confidence levels). Moreover, it is reasonable to expect that confidence in the police and in the government – Montesquieu executive branch – would be higher than between the police and the judiciary. On the contrary, if respondents assessed institutional performance within functional clusters, courts and the police would be assessed jointly (i.e., highly correlated confidence levels). Evidence form WVS and European Social Survey suggests, that the latter is the case. Interestingly, the finding holds in both democratic and non-democratic systems, indicating serious vulnerability for liberal (constitutional democracy) design.

Deterrents to Participation in Sharing Economy Activities: Cross-Country Survey

Research background: Sharing economy is driven by a number of factors, such as intensified application of internet and smartphones, shift towards circular economy and sustainability, and globalization. An impact of globalization processes on consumer society is expressed not only in growth of international trade or development of transnational corporations, but also in change of cultural and communication patterns, specifically regarding change in attitudes towards ownership. Purpose of the article: The goal of the research is to evaluate consumers’ perception of a sharing economy. The current research continues the previous studies conducted by the authors but focuses on reasons for consumers’ negative attitude towards sharing economy. Methods: The study is conducted on the basis of survey results, which include 876 valid questionnaires. To understand the relationship between personal characteristics and lack of activity in sharing economy, the study implemented moderation statistical analysis. The choice of moderators was based on theoretical ground that estimates age, gender and education to influence person's choice on sharing economy; in this study those predictions are testing by means of moderation analysis. Findings & Value added: The authors tested the moderation effect of age, gender, and education on withdrawal from the sharing economy practices in relation to key sharing economy sectors (respondent was involved as service receiver/provider). Besides, the moderation effect of respondent's involvement into sharing economy as provider and receiver on withdrawal from the sharing economy practices in relation to key personal characteristics of the respondent was tested.

Asynchronous Fieldwork in Cross-Country Surveys: An Application to Physical Activity

Asynchronous Fieldwork in Cross-Country Surveys: An Application to Physical Activity

Experience of social mobility and support for redistribution: Beating the odds or blaming the system?

How does the experience of social mobility affect people's distributive preferences? Using cross-country survey data and a survey experiment, I examine the effects of experienced social mobility on support for redistribution. The results indicate an asymmetric relationship - experiencing downward mobility increases support for redistribution while experiencing upward mobility does not affect distributive preferences. In line with a common attribution bias, the self-serving bias, those with negative mobility experiences 'blame the system' and extrapolate from their negative experience onto society at large, which increases their demand for redistribution. Conversely, those who experienced positive mobility believe they `beat the odds' and do not extrapolate from their experience onto perceptions of societal mobility, leading to no less support for redistribution. This finding suggests significant implications at the aggregate and a potential demand-side explanation for the Great Gatsby Curve: As overall absolute mobility decreases (increases), ceteris paribus, demand for redistribution also decreases (increases).

Trust in Government Institutions and Tax Morale

What actions do governments around the world take that may affect individuals’ trust in the government that positively influence tax morale (or a positive attitude toward tax compliance)? This paper researches which are the most salient government institutions that breed individual trust and the extent to which this trust ends up increasing citizens’ tax morale. We use cross-country survey information from the World Values Survey and the Freedom House spanning 92 countries and six survey waves during the period 1981-2014. Conditional on the level of political rights and civil liberties, we confirm prior evidence that trust in government organizations positively influences tax morale. More importantly, our findings show that it is trust in output government organizations that implement and deliver public goods and services to the citizenry that has a significantly larger impact on tax morale as compared to citizens’ trust in input-side organizations, such as the legislative and the executive branches of the government that design policy. We also exploit periods of democratic transitions, when large variations in trust may be present, to assess the role of trust in government organizations for tax morale using a treatment effects model. Our results reveal a robust, positive impact of negative democratic transitions on tax morale.

Corporate Social Responsibility Perceived by Employees: Latvian Survey Results

There is empirical evidence that business commitment to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles has a direct positive impact on customer loyalty, employees’ performance, and, as a result, on the company’s value. The goal of the current paper is to evaluate the perceived importance of the company’s CSR-related practices from the viewpoint of employees. One hundred nineteen representatives of Latvian companies were surveyed, using the authors’ developed questionnaire consisted of 35 statements. Survey data was processed applying the frequency analysis and the logistic regression method. Most of the respondents (84%) perceive the company’s commitment to CSR principles as necessary. The base on the frequency analysis results, the most important CSR elements from the viewpoint of Latvian employees are paid leaves, consumer interests, and salary. Logistic regression yielded the elements, which contribute the most to the positive perception of CSR: ‘flexible work’, ‘support staff relaxation’ and ‘claims submission system’ within the group’ staff matters’. The measurement scale was tested for reliability and, based on Cronbach alpha results, was accepted as appropriate for use in a cross-country survey. Implications for Central European audience: Despite the high interest in CSR-related issues in academia, the number of published works in Baltic countries is limited. In this particular study, the authors tried to identify — what exactly affects employees’ positive attitude to CSR commitment — the company’s participation in charity programmes or its environmental responsibility, for example? This survey contributed to the theoretical knowledge base about CSR perception among the staff of Latvian companies. In turn, the future survey is planned to be extended, involving respondents from Central and Eastern European countries. This, in turn, will allow making conclusions about the differences in attitude to CSR practices expressed by employees from different countries.

Using a three-stage focus group design to develop questionnaire items for a mass survey on corruption and austerity: a roadmap

PurposeThis article presents focus groups as a method to enhance questionnaire design to frame and test items for a mass survey on corruption and austerity in democracy. Such methodology lacks systematization when it comes to the description of implementation procedures and the discussion of effective contribution to the development of survey questions on sensitive topics. The objective of this article is to contribute to the specialized literature on corruption by offering a novel focus group approach and a roadmap to guide researchers in the field when using this methodology to develop questionnaire items. This hands-on guide can be adaptable to other (survey) studies on issues prone to social desirability bias.Design/methodology/approachThis article proposes an innovative multi-technique (short questionnaire, visual stimuli and exploratory discussion with expert moderation) focus group approach to collect informal impressions about corruption and austerity. By developing a focus group design through the combination of different research techniques, the authors were able to triangulate reflexive, spontaneous and interactive qualitative bottom-up information about individual perceptions and reactions to sensitive topics. By describing how to implement these groups, other than discussing what type of qualitative information can be extracted from these discussions and to what effect, the authors seek to present a hands-on guide that can be replicated and adapted to similar studies. This roadmap will help researchers to test individual perceptions and reactions to sensitive topics through the use of tailored focus groups in order to enhance the quality of survey questionnaires prior to engaging in a high-cost fieldwork.FindingsThe article concludes that the adoption of the multi-technique focus group approach to requalify and test questions for a nationwide survey gives us a better understanding of the many ethical dilemmas individuals confront when thinking about and expressing their views on sensitive topics prone to social desirability bias. The proposed multi-technique focus group approach proved to be effective to engage participants during sessions and to obtain relevant and unanticipated information for the development of new questionnaire items and the reviewing of old ones.Research limitations/implicationsImplementing Focus Group (FG) in regions with different cultural traditions and levels of development and contrasting the perceptions, values and attitudes of two generations, with different formative backgrounds is not an easy task. In order to secure the adequate number and type of participants, the Focus Group were organized in close collaboration with four higher education institutions and two lifelong learning programs where the sessions took place. Participation was voluntary and consented, in accordance with the applicable legislation and standards for social research.Practical implicationsThe article presents an accessible and adaptable roadmap to researchers working in the field of corruption studies as well as anticorruption government agencies and CSOs interested in enhancing the quality of survey questionnaires on sensitive topics target of social desirability before engaging in a high-cost fieldwork and to describe relevant information that can be extracted from the discussions held.Social implicationsMost cross-country surveys on corruption tend to use basic/traditional measures to assess the phenomenon, such as questions on extension, acceptability and/or experience. They take almost for granted that people have the same understanding of this complex construct, which may not hold true, as the focus group discussions illustrate. The three-stage focus group design aims to improve the quality of a survey design regarding people's attitudes, perceptions and experiences of corruption in democracy, by contributing to the development of new questions that tap into the relationship between social condemnation and the individual's socio-economic conditions.Originality/valueThe article provides a low-cost combination of qualitative-oriented (questionnaire development through focus groups) with a quantitative-oriented research tool (mass survey implementation) to meet mixed-method research objectives and enhance the ability to capture several “non-statistical” dimensions of complex social phenomena that are often neglected when a single-methodology approach is used.

Industry 4.0 Implementation in B2B Companies: Cross-Country Empirical Evidence on Digital Transformation in the CEE Region

Previous research has pointed out that Industry 4.0 will lead to more sustainable production; however, it may have profound effects on European competitiveness. Today, firms in the CEE countries face a limited scope for continued economic expansion, and hence there is a growing pressure on them to move upward in the global value chain by investing heavily in advanced technology. Consequently, the authors argue that B2B firms from the CEE countries can have a massive impact on Europe’s long-term competitiveness by reversing the effect of digital transformation due to their strong interdependencies on other European economies. Therefore, in a cross-country survey, research data were collected (n = 302) about the driving forces, barriers, and role of stakeholders in the implementation of digital transformations. The authors found that some technologies are implemented much more frequently compared to others, with some indication for country specialization. The leading driving force is customer satisfaction followed by productivity and financial motives. Shortage of skilled human resources and high implementation costs are the main barriers. The firms tend to rely on universities and research centers, while the government is perceived only as a financial provider. The results are also informative for practitioners and policymakers—providing them with benchmarks.

Four Italian Media Repertoires between Legacy, Social and Digital Media

The contemporary media environment is characterized by a high degree of complexity. Users move across different media outlets and digital platforms, and media consumption practices are entangled with other everyday practices. However, this does not imply that everyone uses every existing media outlet or digital platform. Different elements may play a role in media choice and attention location. Relying on the media repertoires approach, and through factor analysis and cluster analysis (based on the cross-country and cross-regional survey PIN – “The Peoples’ Internet”) the aim of this article is to identify different clusters of users characterized by specific patterns and combinations of legacy media and digital platforms. Special attention will be given at the placement of social media in media repertoires as they have a profound impact on mediated societal processes such as political debate, everyday communication, and impact on the whole media ecology. The article will describe which clusters of Italian users can be identified based on their digital and legacy media use; which socio-demographic variables characterize the clusters and how the uses of social media differ within these clusters.

Hybrid meat

Hybrid meat

Tackling Private Over-Indebtedness in Asia

One consequence of interest rates remaining “too low for too long” since the Global Financial Crisis is the buildup in private leverage in emerging economies. These vulnerabilities have been laid bare by the COVID-19 shock. This paper employs the growth at risk framework (Adrian, Boyarchenko, and Giannone, 2019) to examine how different types of private leverage present risks to future GDP growth in Asian economies. We find evidence that private leverage can boost GDP growth in the near term, but can increase the risks of low growth over the medium term. For our sample, we also find that household debt poses a larger drag on future GDP growth than corporate debt. In the second part of the paper, we provide an overview of a strategy for prevention and resolution of over-indebtedness, with a focus on legal tools, and with considerations to account for the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a novel cross-country survey, we examine the role of legal techniques to prevent and treat corporate and household over-indebtedness, benchmarking those in ASEAN-5, China, India, Japan and Korea against international best practice. The analysis can inform a country-specific prioritized approach to strengthening legal frameworks.

Acceptability of App-Based Contact Tracing for COVID-19: Cross-Country Survey Study.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest public health crisis of the last 100 years. Countries have responded with various levels of lockdown to save lives and stop health systems from being overwhelmed. At the same time, lockdowns entail large socioeconomic costs. One exit strategy under consideration is a mobile phone app that traces the close contacts of those infected with COVID-19. Recent research has demonstrated the theoretical effectiveness of this solution in different disease settings. However, concerns have been raised about such apps because of the potential privacy implications. This could limit the acceptability of app-based contact tracing in the general population. As the effectiveness of this approach increases strongly with app uptake, it is crucial to understand public support for this intervention.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to investigate the user acceptability of a contact-tracing app in five countries hit by the pandemic.MethodsWe conducted a largescale, multicountry study (N=5995) to measure public support for the digital contact tracing of COVID-19 infections. We ran anonymous online surveys in France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We measured intentions to use a contact-tracing app across different installation regimes (voluntary installation vs automatic installation by mobile phone providers) and studied how these intentions vary across individuals and countries.ResultsWe found strong support for the app under both regimes, in all countries, across all subgroups of the population, and irrespective of regional-level COVID-19 mortality rates. We investigated the main factors that may hinder or facilitate uptake and found that concerns about cybersecurity and privacy, together with a lack of trust in the government, are the main barriers to adoption.ConclusionsEpidemiological evidence shows that app-based contact tracing can suppress the spread of COVID-19 if a high enough proportion of the population uses the app and that it can still reduce the number of infections if uptake is moderate. Our findings show that the willingness to install the app is very high. The available evidence suggests that app-based contact tracing may be a viable approach to control the diffusion of COVID-19.

A student-led curriculum framework for homeless and vulnerably housed populations

BackgroundMedical student demands for competency based homeless health education is increasing. Indeed, humans living homeless is a treatable health and social emergency. This innovation report outlines the initial development of an education framework for homeless health.MethodsA medical student task force and educators conducted a mixed method study, including a scoping review of homeless health curriculum and competencies, a cross-country survey of medical students, and unique clinical guidelines. The task force collaborated with persons with lived experience and clinical guideline developers from the Homeless Health Research Network. The students presented at the Toronto Homeless Health Summit and refined the framework with feedback from homeless health experts.ResultsThe main outcome was an evidence-based Homeless Health Curriculum Framework. It uses seven core competencies; with communication, advocacy, leadership, and upstream approaches playing the strongest roles. The framework integrated the new clinical guideline (housing, income assistance, case management and addiction). In addition, it identified approaches to support mental health care with trauma informed and patient centered care. It identified public health values, clinical objectives, and case studies. The framework aims to inform the design, delivery, service learning and evaluation for medical school curriculum.ConclusionsThis student-led curriculum framework can support the design, implementation, delivery and evaluation of homeless health within the undergraduate medical curriculum. The framework can lay the foundation for new doctors, research and development; support consistency across programs; and support the creation of national learning and evaluation tools.

The Mediating Role of Organizational Reputation and Trust in the Intention to Use Wearable Health Devices: Cross-Country Study.

BackgroundThe use of consumer wearable health devices for fitness tracking has seen an upward trend across the globe. Previous studies have shown that trust is an important factor in the adoption and use of new technologies. However, little is known about the influence of organizational reputation and trust on the intention to use wearable health devices.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the mediating role of organizational reputation and trust in the intention to use wearable health devices and to examine the extent to which the country of residence influenced the effect of organizational reputation on consumers’ trust in and intention to use wearable health devices.MethodsWe conducted a cross-country survey with participants from Kenya and South Africa using a Google Forms questionnaire derived from previously validated items. A series of mediation regression analyses were carried out using the PROCESS macro with the bootstrap CI procedure. A one-way, between-group multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was also used to determine the key factors that distinguish Kenyans and South Africans in their intention to use wearable health devices.ResultsA total of 232 questionnaire responses were collected. The results revealed that organizational reputation significantly mediates the relationship between trust propensity and trust, with an indirect effect of 0.22 (95% CI 0.143-0.309). Organizational reputation also plays a significant direct role in the intention to use a wearable health device, with a direct effect of 0.32 (95% CI 0.175-0.483). This role is regardless of participants’ country of residence. Furthermore, there is a significant mediating effect of trust on the relationship between trust propensity and the intention to use a wearable health device, with an indirect effect of 0.26 (95% CI 0.172-0.349); between perceived security and the intention to use a wearable health device, with an indirect effect of 0.36 (95% CI 0.255-0.461); and between perceived privacy and the intention to use a wearable health device, with an indirect effect of 0.42 (95% CI 0.282-0.557). The MANOVA test shows statistically significant differences in all variables for both groups, with the exception of organizational reputation where there is no significant difference between the two cohorts.ConclusionsOrganizational reputation has a significant direct influence on participants’ trust in and the intention to use a wearable health device irrespective of their country of residence. Even in the presence of perceived security and perceived privacy, trust has a significant mediating effect on the intention to use a wearable health device.

Does Information Change Attitudes Toward Immigrants?

Strategies aimed at reducing negative attitudes toward immigrants are at the core of integration policies. A large literature shows that misperceptions about the size and characteristics of immigrants are common. A few studies implemented interventions to correct innumeracy regarding the size of the immigrant population, but they did not detect any effects on attitudes. We study whether providing information not only about the size but also about the characteristics of the immigrant population can have stronger effects. We conduct two online experiments with samples from the United States, providing one-half of the participants with five statistics about immigration. This information bundle improves people's attitudes toward current legal immigrants. Most effects are driven by Republicans and other groups with more negative initial attitudes toward immigrants. In our second experiment, we show that treatment effects persist one month later. Finally, we analyze a large cross-country survey experiment to provide external validity to the finding that information about the size of the foreign-born population is not enough to change policy views. We conclude that people with negative views on immigration before the intervention can become more supportive of immigration if their misperceptions about the characteristics of the foreign-born population are corrected.

Increasing resistance to globalization: The role of trade in tasks

Based on empirical evidence from cross-country survey data, we argue that the surge of trade in tasks over the last decades can explain increasing resistance to globalization in industrialized countries. In a traditional trade model of a small open economy, we demonstrate that public education provides protection against losses from trade in goods and services if trade increases the relative price of skill-intensive goods. Furthermore, increasing public schooling expenditure may help securing support for trade reform by a majority of voters. However, if education provides task-specific skills and trade in tasks makes some of these skills obsolete in the open economy, raising public schooling expenditure is of limited help to secure support for trade reform by a majority of voters, even if the reform is welfare-improving. Therefore, our analysis indicates that, in contrast to past episodes of globalization, public education does not shield workers from losses from trade in tasks and that drastic changes of the education system are needed in order to counter the increase of protectionist sentiments. To preserve majority support for trade reform, policy makers should adjust public education to provide broader, less-specialized skills. Although broader skills are less productive in a closed economy, acquiring them pays off as they increase the likelihood that a proposal for welfare-improving trade reform can be successful in a referendum.

LMS-enabled blended learning utilization in distance tertiary education: establishing the relationships among facilitating conditions, voluntariness of use and use behaviour

Distance education has evolved partly through technologies that defined them in the various generations of distance education delivery. However, in the twenty-first century, the use of Learning Management System (LMS) has changed the face of distance education delivery. Even the traditional face-to-face based distance education mode is now adopting the LMS as a mediating technology between instructors and students. However, in the usage of LMS-enabled blended learning, several factors have been cited in the literature as enablers towards actual usage of LMS technology. Factors such as facilitating conditions, voluntariness of use and actual use behaviour have been important in contemporary literature. Despite their importance, the chasm in the literature is the nuances existing in terms of relationships between these three factors. This study fills the gap by defining a model based on the three factors to provide an in depth empirical study on their relationships and how they influence LMS-enabled blended learning uptake of distance education by tutors. The study thus employs a cross country survey to collect data from 267 tutors and offer analysis by way of a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. The study revealed important relationships among facilitating conditions, voluntariness of use and use behaviour of LMS-enabled blended learning such that facilitating conditions predicted voluntariness of use and actual use behaviour; voluntariness of use determined actual LMS use behaviour for blended learning in distance education. The study finally provided recommendations based on the findings for policy and practice of LMS-enabled blended learning in distance education.

Tackling Private Over-Indebtedness in Asia: Economic and Legal Aspects

One consequence of interest rates remaining 'too low for too long' since the Global Financial Crisis is the buildup in private leverage in emerging economies. These vulnerabilities have been laid bare by the COVID-19 shock. This paper employs the growth at risk framework (Adrian, Boyarchenko, and Giannone, 2019) to examine how different types of private leverage present risks to future GDP growth in Asian economies. We find evidence that private leverage can boost GDP growth in the near term, but can increase the risks of low growth over the medium term. For our sample, we also find that household debt poses a larger drag on future GDP growth than corporate debt. In the second part of the paper, we provide an overview of a strategy for prevention and resolution of over-indebtedness, with a focus on legal tools, and with considerations to account for the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a novel cross-country survey, we examine the role of legal techniques to prevent and treat corporate and household over-indebtedness, benchmarking those in ASEAN-5, China, India, Japan and Korea against international best practice. The analysis can inform a country-specific prioritized approach to strengthening legal frameworks.

Acceptability of App-Based Contact Tracing for COVID-19: Cross-Country Survey Evidence

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest public health crisis of the last 100 years. Countries have responded with various levels of lockdown to save lives and stop health systems from being overwhelmed. At the same time, lockdowns entail large socio-economic costs. One exit strategy under consideration is a mobile phone app that traces close contacts of those infected with COVID-19. Contact tracing apps work best when used by a large proportion of the population. The objective of this study is to investigate user acceptability of a contact-tracing app in five countries hit by the pandemic. Methods: We conducted cross-sectional anonymous online surveys in France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US. The survey asked about intentions to use a contact-tracing app under various scenarios. Our study sample consists of 5995 adults. Findings: We find very strong support for a contact-tracing app, with an overall acceptance rate of 74.8%. Acceptability is high regardless of the respondent's country or individual background, or the scenario considered. Trust in government is an important determinant of support. Interpretation: Acceptability of app-based contact tracing for COVID-19 was widely supported in five countries hit by the pandemic to various degrees and with different attitudes towards privacy. Our findings are therefore encouraging for the viability of this approach. Funding Statement: Economic and Social Research Council (grant ES/R011710/1), the University of Oxford and Volkswagen Foundation (grant Consequences of Artificial Intelligence for Urban Societies''). Declaration of Interests: None declared. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Oxford (reference number ECONCIA20-21-06).

Consumer perception of sharing economy: pilot survey in Latvia

The overwhelming goal of large-scale cross-country research is to evaluate consumers' perception of a sharing economy. The specific goal within the current paper is to evaluate the appropriateness of the existing questionnaire to study goals and the quality of questions. Besides, respondents' experience in using Sharing economy services was analysed. The pilot survey was conducted by the authors, involving 244 respondents. The current research allowed making conclusions about the overall perception of sharing economy among Latvian citizens. Most popular sharing economy activities in which respondents are engaged in were determined. The reasons for avoiding participation in the sharing economy were detected. The results of the research will be used to conduct a cross-country survey that will be aimed to compare the perception of a sharing economy in different countries.