Estonian Human Development Report

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Figure 6.3.3. Employed 15–74-year-olds 35 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Source: Estonian Statistical Yearbook, 2004, p. 208, 2007, p. 219, 2008, p. 188. 2004 The conformity of education with the needs of the labour market can be understood as setting restrictions on the supply of “less necessary” professions, by referring to possible unemployment. However, one must rec- 2005 2006 2007 Total employed Primary education Secondary education Tertiary education Figure 6.3.4. Unemployment among various education levels 25 20 15 10 5 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Source: Estonian Statistical Yearbook, 2004, p. 208, 2007, p. 219, 2008, p. 188. 2004 2005 2006 2007 Primary education Secondary education Tertiary education Total Figure 6.3.5. 25–64-year-old population with at least secondary education in the European Union 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Czech Republic Poland Slovakia Slovenia Lithuania Sweden Austria Belgium Ireland Finland Cyprus Hungary France ESTONIA Greece Latvia Bulgaria United Kingdom Denmark Romania Italy The Netherlands Germany Luxembourg Spain Malta Portugal Source: Social Life in Figures, 2007, p. 13. ognize that actual demand is quite a good indicator of the direction of the market and people are usually quite sensible, at least with regard to recognizing great risks, such as studying useless professions. The great difficulty of predicting labour market trends increases the probability of errors, especially when economic cycles are changing. At the same time, there is no guarantee that planning jobs and replacing the market with the political preferences of a “smart” government would be more successful in preventing these errors. All the more because, in the case of a small open economy, job-related decisions are often made at the headquarters of international companies located outside Estonia. Another important topic in the given field is the relationship between academic and vocational education. A more direct connection with enterprise exists in the case of vocational education than in the case of academic education. However, one must keep in mind that this concerns current enterprise, but sufficient information about enterprise in Estonia in ten years is unavailable. However, one can ascertain that the connection between vocational education and enterprise has significantly improved during the last ten years. Companies have invested in the infrastructure of vocational educational institutions, the connection between learning and practical training has intensified, and the financial resources of schools and companies have increased significantly. EU funds have played an important role in supporting these types of connections. According to the theories of economic growth, a positive correlation exists between more comprehensive and better education and economic modernization. Educated workers make the implementation of more complicated technology possible in order to develop the economic structure and make it more competitive. When the service economy started to develop, it was determined that employment would increase in the occupations that require a higher level of education (Bell, 1975). The increase of Estonia’s educational level has also promoted changes in the economic structure and thereby increased the incomes of people with higher education and improved their position in the labour market. Compared to the other European Union member states (Figure 6.3.5.), Estonia’s educational level indicators are somewhat higher than average. In Estonia in 2006, the ratio of those with secondary education among the 25–64- year-old population was 82%, while the EU average was 77.8%. The number of people among 25–29-year-olds with higher education was significantly higher than the European Union average, 37.7% and 28% respectively. At the same time, there are great differences between the determination, quality and resource allocation of higher education by countries. This makes the comparability of formal indicators difficult. The ratio of people with at least secondary education is a slightly better general indicator for such comparisons. 35 Estonia’s educational levels: primary level or lowest level – without elementary education, elementary education, basic education, vocational education for young people without basic education; secondary education – vocational education based on basic education, general secondary education, secondary vocational education based on basic education, secondary specialized education based on basic education; tertiary education – secondary specialized education based on secondary education, higher education, master’s and doctoral degrees. | 134
Health care financing Health and health care are treated as a right in both the Estonian Constitution, which speaks of everyone’s right to health protection (Estonia…, 1992), and in the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, which defines preventive health care and treatment as a right based on the terms of domestic legislation and practices, (European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, 2004). This right is defined by the general objectives of the health care system, which include the good health of the population, satisfaction with the system and protection against financial risks (The World Health Report, 2000). Estonia, like the majority EU countries, implements the principle of national health care insurance, whereby a third party (the Health Insurance Fund) provides the population with financial protection for the use of services. The money is collected as a social tax, the insurance is compulsory, the insurance coverage is universal and availability depends on need. These principles generally apply although various countries may organize the financing from general taxation, from income taxes, or from compulsory private insurance (Aaviksoo, Paat, 2007). In addition to national health insurance and the national budget, which provide financing for the treatment costs of uninsured persons, financial coverage is also provided by private insurance. This component is currently marginal in Estonia. The other important aspect of health care related to financial resources is the distribution of costs or the rate of the patients’ cost-sharing. The largest portion of health care costs was covered by the Health Insurance Fund (in 2004, 66%, and the national budget 8.5%) and the self-financed portion was 21% (Aaviksoo, Paat, 2007). Moreover, the patients’ cost-sharing has continually increased; in 1999 it was only 14%. The increase of health care costs in budgets is also confirmed by household surveys (Household Budget Survey, 2006). This is primarily related to paying for medicine, although in 2003 and 2004, visit and in-patient fees were established and the procedure for paying for adult dental care was changed (Aaviksoo, Paat, 2007). Due higher health insurance tax revenues, the quantity of services financed by the Health Insurance Fund has also increased although, as mentioned above, the patients’ contribution has increased even more. Health insurance coverage has improved, although in 2007, there were still 60 thousand uninsured persons in Estonia. The waiting period for out-patient visits to specialists has constantly increased. However, assessments for the availability of medical treatment have not significantly worsened during the last few years (Aaviksoo, Paat, 2007). On the one hand, the situation in the health care system reflects the state of country’s well-being, while on the other hand it affects what happens in the economy. Statistics confirm that the greater the role of market relations in this field, the greater the increase in health care cost as related to the increase in the standard of living, both absolutely as well as in relationship to GDP. At the same time, this does not guarantee equal access to health care services. The US is a typical example of this (Paying for Healthcare, 2004). Figure 6.3.6. Assessment of the availability of medical services, 2001–2006 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Source: Aaviksoo, A., G. Paat (2007). Cannot say Poor Rather poor Rather good Good Figure 6.3.7. Figure 6.3.7. Average gross wages, old-age pensions and inflation, 1997=100% 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 Source: Statistics Estonia. 2001 2002 The financing of the Estonian health care system is designed according to a European model, whereby the basic part is covered by health insurance tax, and the service side is standardized to a great extent. This system, which has functioned with only small problems, has been implemented under conditions of certain economic growth. The expansion of the tax base has guaranteed the increasing flow of resources and has smoothed the faults of the system. Economic recession, the reduction in tax revenues and possible deficit of services will increase dissatisfaction with the system and will create pressure for the expansion of private insurance. Social insurance and the economy Expenditures on social insurance include pensions and pension supplements financed from social tax revenues and the national budget, national family and parental benefits, social benefits for disabled people, and other benefits paid to families (for instance funeral benefits, student loan write-offs). The largest ratio of these costs is pensions, which constituted 6% of GDP in 2007. In the same year, national family benefits constitute 1.1% of GDP, including parental benefits totalling 0.5% of GDP. The average old-age pension has increased 2.7 times between 1997 and 2007, while actual purchasing power has only increased 78.7%, since a portion of the nominal pension increase has been eaten away by inflation. During the same period, average gross wages increased 3.2 times and the actual wage increase was 106% (2.06 times). The 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Average gross wage index Average old-age pension index Inflation Actual average gross wage index Actual average old-age pension index 135 |
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Estonian Human Development Report
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Estonian Human Development Report T
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4.2. Ethnic differentiations in sat
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Preface This year, the Estonian Hum
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CHAPTER 1 Estonian Human Developmen
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Figure 1.1.3. Life expectancy in co
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Figure 1.2.2. Life expectancy at bi
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to reality. The greatest inaccuracy
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Figure 1.2.9. Internal migration ev
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12. Marksoo, A. 1992. “Dynamics o
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Table 1.3.1. PISA 2006 study result
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Table 1.3.2. Number of students in
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1.4. The gross domestic product and
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Figure 1.4.3. Estonian GDP (right a
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1.5. Changes in the Estonian Human
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2.2. Health of Estonian residents i
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Table 2.2.4. Differences in life ex
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Figure 2.4.1. Healthy life years of
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Figure 2.4.4. Various accidents, tr
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2.5. Lifestyle and behaviour as a s
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Figure 2.5.5. Smoking in Estonia in
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Figure 2.6.1. Overview of the compo
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Table 2.6.2. Use of specialized med
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dren. The majority of services are
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Figure 2.8.2. How much a health dis
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2.10. Policy recommendations aimed
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CHAPTER 3 Quality of life and life
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Table 3.2.1. Characteristics of liv
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Table 3.2.4. An assessment of the e
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Figure 3.2.4. Difference in the job
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Table 3.2.6. Agreement with stateme
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Figure 3.3.1. Satisfaction with lif
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Figure 3.3.4. Percentage of people
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Figure 3.4.1. Types of quality of l
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Figure 3.5.1. Percentage of teenage
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Figure 3.5.4. Percentage of respond
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Arieh A., Conti C., Kutsar D., Nicg
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Figure 3.6.2. Subjective quality of
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Pieper, A. Sixsmith, Care related q
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Figure 3.7.1. The placement of Euro
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Figure 4.2.1. Life satisfaction by
Page 86 and 87: Table 4.2.1. Factors forming genera
Page 88 and 89: Annexes Annex 4.2.1. Socio-demograp
Page 90 and 91: Figure 4.3.1. Changes in the assess
Page 92 and 93: Figure 4.3.4. Attitudes of the Esto
Page 94 and 95: olds considered themselves to be pa
Page 96 and 97: Table 4.4.3. Agreement of the Russi
Page 98 and 99: Table 4.5.2. The prospects of non-E
Page 100 and 101: Figure 4.5.4. Certainty of Estonian
Page 102 and 103: mote equal opportunities. At the (e
Page 104 and 105: CHAPTER 5 Quality of life in a cons
Page 106 and 107: Figure 5.2.1. GDP and AIC per capit
Page 108 and 109: Figure 5.2.3. Distribution of consu
Page 110 and 111: Figure 5.2.4. Indexes of environmen
Page 112 and 113: Table 5.3.1. Comparison of countrie
Page 114 and 115: Figure 5.3.3. Comparison of types o
Page 116 and 117: Table 5.3.5. Connections between po
Page 118 and 119: Table 5.4.1. Who and what are the f
Page 120 and 121: Table 5.4.3. Young people’s asses
Page 122 and 123: Figure 5.4.6. Time spent on the con
Page 124 and 125: Table 5.4.6. The perception of prob
Page 126 and 127: 5.6. Summary To briefly summarize t
Page 128 and 129: Table 6.2.1. Objective and subjecti
Page 130 and 131: Figure 6.2.4. Relationship between
Page 132 and 133: Figure 6.2.7. Difference between th
Page 134 and 135: Figure 6.3.1. GDP, government secto
Page 138 and 139: Figure 6.3.8. Percentage of social
Page 140 and 141: References 1. Aaviksoo, A., G. Paat
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Page 144 and 145: Figure 6.4.3. Creations of jobs ind
Page 146 and 147: Figure 6.4.5. Public expenditures o
Page 148 and 149: Figure 6.4.6. Ratio of the particip
Page 150 and 151: 6.5. Cities as development engines
Page 152 and 153: Table 6.5.2. Existence of developme
Page 154 and 155: have been underfinanced or are not
Page 156 and 157: Table 7.1. Factors that favour and
Page 158 and 159: Table 7.2. Potential economic devel
Page 160 and 161: Authors Chapter 1 Ene-Margit Tiit,
Page 162 and 163: Margit Keller (PhD) is a Senior Res
Page 164 and 165: Special prizes Estonian Human Devel
Page 166 and 167: Estonian Human Development Report H
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Page 170 and 171: Estonian Human Development Report T
Page 172 and 173: Honorable mentions Estonian Human D
Page 174 and 175: Estonian Human Development Report P
Page 176 and 177: Estonian Human Development Report A
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Estonian Human Development Report

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