Estonian Human Development Report

est of Estonia, non-Estonians living in Tallinn who have
obtained country-specific human capital are more likely
to want salaries equalling at least four times the minimum
wage, but there is also an opposite trend – when
seeking work, non-Estonians with Estonian citizenship or
language skills are also more likely to ask for the lowest
pay despite their equal preconditions. These findings show
that the expectations of non-Estonians with Estonian citizenship
or Estonian language proficiency in Tallinn are
firmly differentiated, depending apparently on factors not
controlled in the analysis, such as the existence of a useful
social networks. However, generally in Tallinn, the certainty
of non-Estonians that they can find acceptable jobs
is lower than that of Estonians despite their Estonian citizenship
and language skills.
The analysis carried out regarding Ida-Viru County
shows that in the case of good Estonian language skills,
the demands of non-Estonians with respect to salary as
well as correspondence between education and job are
not as high as those of Estonians. When looking for
work, the non-Estonians in Ida-Viru County are unlikely
to ask for higher salaries than Estonians, despite their
Estonian citizenship. Therefore the job expectations of
non-Estonians with Estonian citizenship and good Estonian
language skills are somewhat lower than expectations
of Estonians.
Elsewhere in Estonia, Estonian language skills and
Estonian citizenship (along with Russian language skills)
are a beneficial resource for non-Estonians, on which their
high salary demands may be based. These three regions
also denote different models of coexistence between non-
Estonians and Estonians: Tallinn, which is based on individual
as well as communal competition; Ida-Viru County,
which is a model of relatively isolated community existence;
and the rest of Estonia, which is a model of individual
integration.
Assessment of equal opportunities
In the developed societies of the West, the perception of
equal opportunities is considered to be an important basis
for the functioning of the market economy and the legitimacy
of the society as a whole 25 . In the case of legitimate
economic orders, even those that find themselves in unfavourable
situations feel they have sufficient opportunities.
The data presented in Figure 4.5.5. confirms that the
majority of Estonians believe that the opportunities for
non-Estonians to find good jobs in private enterprise are
equal to those of Estonians, while the non-Estonians are
considerably more pessimistic.
Yet the pessimistic assessments of non-Estonians
regarding equal opportunities compared to Estonians
do not depend directly on their personal position in the
labour market. No matter how favourable the personal
preconditions of a specific non-Estonian for competing
with Estonians in the labour market are, they share the
assessment of less successful “compatriots”, since their
assessments differ greatly from those of Estonians. Therefore
one can say that all non-Estonian groups share a critical
assessment of the equality of their opportunities,
Figure 4.5.5. Assessment of the equality of labour
market opportunities, by ethnicity, %
15–24
25–39
40–59
60–75
All
15–24
25–39
40–59
60–75
All
Opportunities for finding a good job in private enterprise
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
61
Source: Integration of Estonian Society: Monitoring 2008.
60
54
54
58
25
16
19
20
20
21
25
24
22
26
23
27
25
25
30
75 50 25 0 25 50 75 100
Opportunity of getting a management position in national or
local government agencies
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
Non-
Estonians
Estonians
equal
29
28
29
33
33
11
13
5 11
5 8
16
12
slightly better for Estonians
4
6
30
75 50 25 0 25 50 75 100
34
36
38
38
16
12
15
20
17
52
59
57
54
74
41
87
49
84
38
34
29
81
29
80
much better for Estonians
although those with the most resources are actually capable
of competing with Estonians and do so. A comparison
of age groups confirms that non-Estonians belonging to
the youngest age group give a somewhat more optimistic
assessment of the equality of opportunities compared to
other age groups. However, a third of them also think that
Estonians have better opportunities for getting good jobs
in private enterprise.
Estonians do give a considerably more critical
assessment of the opportunities for non-Estonians to get
management positions in national or local government
agencies. Less than a third of Estonians believe that
both ethnic groups have equal opportunities. However,
among non-Estonians only 6% are optimistic. Again,
15–24-year-old non-Estonians are slightly less critical,
although nine-tenths of them do not believe in equal
opportunities.
There are several reasons why non-Estonians do not
believe that the rules of the Estonian labour market pro-
25
According to American political scientist R.E. Lane (1986) the distribution mechanism of the market is considered to be fair if two
procedural rules apply: (1) opportunities must be perceived as sufficiently open and (2) diligence must be important on the market,
i.e. the principle of merit must apply.
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