Study title

Socio-economic and economic policy views of independent retailers in the Cologne retail grocery trade. Topics: number of employees and trainees; family members employed; hours worked each week; start of self-employment; previous employment and educational history; advantages of not being self-employed; provision for old age; membership in a cooperative society and the retail association; reasons for memberships; judgement on regulations for admission as a grocer; attitude to rationalization in trade; use of special offers to promote sales; managing the rate of turnover; interest in expansion of business; policy on product variety and specialization; costing procedure; support for price fixing; renovation of business premises; reading trade papers and books; general life satisfaction; perceived social classes; self-evaluation of social class; social origins; characterization of the middle classes; party preference; turnover and turnover development; reasons for increase or decrease in turnover; profit situation and profit tendency; relationship of personal capital to outside capital; other property; business in one´s home; taking of goods for personal use; attitude to government measures to support the retail grocery trade; future plans for one´s own children; class assessment of selected occupations. Indices: prosperity; reading standard; housing and social class. Demography: age (classified); sex; marital status; number of children; ages of children (classified); school education; vocational training; income; household income; size of household; housing situation; self-assessment of social class; possession of durable economic goods; possession of assets; membership. Interviewer rating: location of business; position relative to transport system; display windows; access to business; front of business; window decoration; size and condition of shop premises, general impression of business and respondent; sincerity and willingness of respondent to cooperate;...