Labour market studies in Estonia : Labour market studies in Estonia Raul Eamets
University of Tartu
Data : Data Estonian Labour Force Surveys
First ELFS in 1995 (1989-1994)
1997, 1999, 1999, 2000 annual
Since 2001 quarterly
Estonian Business Registry 1995-2001 about 52 000 firms
Household surveys
Unemployment Insurance Board statistics
Other surveys (migration survey by Saar Poll , etc)
Education databases
Research Centres : Research Centres Tartu University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies
Institute of International and Social Studies
(TPU)
Bank of Estonia
Institute of Economics (TTU)
The Estonian Institute for Future Studies, etc
University of Tartu : University of Tartu Probably the biggest group
2 senior researchers
9 PhD students
6 MA students
Since 1999 25 international projects and 10 domestic projects
Co-operation with ILO, EC, EF, ETF, ETUI, OECD, World Bank and others
More than 80 publications
University of Tartu : University of Tartu Main research areas
1. Labour market flexibility issues
a) Institutional aspects
Employment protection ( high EPL index)
Trade unions (No effect on wages)
Labour policy efficiency, (UI and labour market flows, unemplyment duration)
b) Labour market mobility
Workers flows (was very high, today declining)
Geographical mobility
Jobs flows (still very high)
University of Tartu : 2. Education and labour market
Mapping the situation
Educational and occupational mismatch
(educational dispersion)
First attempts to implement MRM method
Firm level surveys (Järvamaa)
Sectoral studies (connection of macro level analysis with miro-level survey data)
Long-run plans with Ministries University of Tartu
University of Tartu : University of Tartu Other topics
Return to human capital
Workers Displacement
Microeconometric analysis of firm level data, (productivity decomposition, firms’ demographics, JD, JC)
Hidden unemployment (Discuragement effect)
Regional unemployment
University of Tartu : Other topics
Unemployment and macroeconomic shocks (Russian crisis)
Labour demand issues
Comparative studies of Baltic states
Labour market discrimination (Russian minorities)
Sectoral surveys on industrial relations
Analysis of collective agreements University of Tartu
University of Tartu : Other labour research related activities
European Foundation of Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin)
EIRO network – industrial relations, since 2003
EWCO network – working conditions, since 2004
News, comparative studies, statistics
University of Tartu
University of Tartu : Current/Future topics
6th Framework LoWER3 project, (low wage, low-skilled workers, earnings inequality )
Effects of Introduction of unemployment insurance system in Estonia (World Bank)
Working conditions and employment (ILO).
Studies on the representativeness of the social partners at sectoral level in the European Union and monographs on the situation of the social partners in the candidate countries (University of Louvain and the EU Commission)
6th Framework Financial Participation of Employees in the New Member and Candidate Countries of Central Eastern Europe
University of Tartu
PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies: Labour and Social Policy Program : PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies: Labour and Social Policy Program Active since January 2001
Main Research Areas:
Trends and Developments in the Labour Market
Tax/Benefit Systems and Work Incentives
Evaluation of the Impact of Active Labour Market Policies
Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue
Impact of the EU Enlargement on Labour Market and Social Policy
PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies: Education Program : Active since March 2002
Main Research Areas and Projects
Forecasting and Planning Educational Training Needs and Anticipation of Skills Needs
Study on Training Needs in Food Processing Industry
Arrangement of the Vocational Education and Training network with respect to regional aspect of specialization
Planning of State Order on Problematic Training Fields to meet the needs of economy
Developing learning possibilities in postsecondary education in Ida-Virumaa county
Study on further education quality factors
PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies: Education Program
PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies: Education Program :
Main Research Areas and Projects
Compulsory Education and Drop-outs
Compulsory Education Dropout Analysis
Assessing the Effectiveness of Investments in Education
Education Inequality in Estonia, 1959-2000: Average Years of Schooling and Education Gini Coefficient
PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies: Education Program
Bank of Estonia : Bank of Estonia The labor economics research topics in Bank of Estonia (2002-2004):
- The impact of minimum wage on wages and employment
- The impact of taxes on employment
- The impact of benefits on unemployment
- The impact of minimum wage, benefits and tax allowance in a general equilibrium framework
- Gender differences in pay
- Estonian labor market institution in comparison with other countries
Bank of Estonia : Selected results:
Minimum wage increase leads to employment reduction for the group of workers who are directly affected by this change, i.e. those whose wages have to be raised as a result.
The comparison indicates that the tax burden on labour is moderately higher in Estonia than the OECD average.
As the impact of taxes on unemployment is generally known to depend on the flexibility of wages, the conclusion is made, that high tax burden on labor might have impact on low-paid workers in Estonia
Unemployed men search more actively for new jobs than women.
Bank of Estonia
Bank of Estonia : Selected results:
According to estimations, unemployment benefits do not affect the reservation wage, but decrease the intensity of an unemployed person’s job search, leading to longer unemployment periods.
On the whole, the Estonian labour market was still relatively flexible, but the unemployment insurance system introduced in 2003 and the gradual increase of the minimum wage will make it more rigid.
Bank of Estonia
Institute of International and Social Studies (TPU) : Institute of International and Social Studies (TPU) YOUTH’S TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO THE LABOUR MARKET: COPARTNERS OR COMPETITORS
(ESF supported project)
The main goal of the project was to analyse factors affecting the youth’s transition from school to the labour market. Based on ELFS data, especially on special YOUTH MODULE, which was included into the ELFS questionnaire in 2002 as additional block of questions, the influence of broad variety of different factors such as personal resources (education, skills etc.) and ascriptive variables (gender, nationality) were analysed.
UNEMPLOYMENT RISK OF NON-ESTONIAN YOUTH
Reasons, policy options
Institute of International and Social Studies (TPU) : GLOBALIFE (Life Courses in the Globalization Process)
The GLOBALIFE project is a multidisciplinary and international comparative research program funded by the German Volkswagen Foundation. The project uses a life course and longitudinal approach to study the following processes in different countries (12-15) over long spans of historical time:
(1) the transition from youth to adulthood;
(2) changes in career mobility;
(3) the development of gender-specific patterns in work-family linkages;
(4) the transition from employment to retirement.
Institute of International and Social Studies (TPU)
Institute of Economics (TTU) : Institute of Economics (TTU) Long-term unemployment
Youth in labour market
Adult training
Social policy, social convergence
Restructuring of firms
Job flows
Future challanges : Future challanges Labour market transition (restructuring) is over, what will be attractive topics for future research, from academic point of view?
Dilemma: mainstream or Estonian speciality
Comparative studies (Baltic States)
Labour shortage (employment of old people, migration issues, reduction of inactivity)
Flexible employment forms (Teleworking etc)
Education and labour demand
Sectoral studies
Personnel economics??