Estonian Human Development Report
Estonian Human Development Report - Eesti Koostöö Kogu
Estonian Human Development Report - Eesti Koostöö Kogu
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Figure 4.2.1. Life satisfaction by ethnic majority and<br />
minority groups*<br />
60<br />
55<br />
50<br />
45<br />
40<br />
35<br />
30<br />
25<br />
20<br />
* To calculate the satisfaction index, the following questions have been summed<br />
up: How satisfied are you with the current economic situation in the country<br />
/ the government / performance of democracy in the country? How satisfied<br />
are you with your life on the whole / your standard of living / your work? How<br />
happy are you? (A higher aggregate index value indicated greater satisfaction.)<br />
Source: European Social Survey 2006<br />
Minority<br />
Majority<br />
Denmark<br />
Finland<br />
Switzerland<br />
Norway<br />
Cyprus<br />
Sweden<br />
The Netherlands<br />
Ireland<br />
Austria<br />
Belgium<br />
Spain<br />
United Kingdom<br />
ESTONIA<br />
Slovenia<br />
Germany<br />
Slovakia<br />
France<br />
Poland<br />
Portugal<br />
Latvia<br />
Romania<br />
Hungary<br />
Russia<br />
Ukraine<br />
Bulgaria<br />
Other research also shows that possessing (or not possessing)<br />
citizenship is an important identifier in the evaluation<br />
of material opportunities, while at the same time, satisfaction<br />
in various life spheres is affected most by ethnicity and<br />
income – the satisfaction of the Russian-speaking population<br />
that possesses <strong>Estonian</strong> citizenship is lower than the<br />
satisfaction of <strong>Estonian</strong>s with the same income and educational<br />
levels (Kasearu & Trumm 2008).<br />
The comparison of Estonia with other countries is also<br />
motivated by the fact that in the case of the Latvian sample<br />
with a historical and political background to similar Estonia’s,<br />
neither minority status nor citizenship are significant<br />
factors in describing one’s life satisfaction. Therefore Estonia’s<br />
situation is unique and deserves more precise analysis.<br />
General life satisfaction among<br />
Europe’s majority and minority groups<br />
An overview of the theories of wellbeing and quality of<br />
life are provided above (Kasearu & Trumm 2008). Some<br />
research that deals specifically with the subjective perception<br />
of wellbeing among ethnic majority and minority<br />
groups emphasizes the significance of material resources<br />
and the physical environment, as well as socio-demographic<br />
factors, as the creators of satisfaction (i.e. Mata<br />
2002). Other research considers subjective elements to be<br />
more important in the creation of the quality of life – such<br />
as the strength of one’s family and network of intimates<br />
(see Bajekal et al. 2004) and the feeling that one is able to<br />
control certain life experiences (Lackland 1989).<br />
Figure 4.2.1. shows a comparison of the aggregate evaluations<br />
of majority and minority groups 20 in 25 European<br />
countries related to life satisfaction. The figure shows that<br />
the evaluations of the ethnic majorities and minorities 21 in<br />
many countries are relatively similar. However, a trend is<br />
apparent that ethnic majority groups tend to be more satisfied<br />
than ethnic minorities (mean value of 42.44 and 40.58<br />
respectively). The evaluations of ethnic majority and minority<br />
groups are relatively similar in countries with strong<br />
economies and relatively clear and open minority policies<br />
(e.g. Norway, Finland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom<br />
and France) and countries with more unsettled economic<br />
and political regimes (e.g. Ukraine and Russia). There is a<br />
trend toward somewhat lower satisfaction among minorities<br />
in post-socialist countries, such as Bulgaria, Ukraine,<br />
Poland and Slovakia, which may be a reflection of the difficulty<br />
of designing integration policies in transition countries.<br />
The lower satisfaction assessments in some “old” EU<br />
member states may reflect relatively liberal immigration<br />
policies, while there are difficulties in finding solutions for<br />
specific spheres related to integration (e.g. instances of discrimination<br />
in Denmark, education issues in Germany, the<br />
Netherlands, etc.). Even in countries with relatively similar<br />
socio-economic backgrounds, the “pattern” of the assessments<br />
of the majority and minority groups can be quite<br />
different – for instance, the evaluation of the majority and<br />
minority groups in Norway, Sweden, and Finland are quite<br />
similar, while they differ in Denmark. Therefore it is quite<br />
difficult to explain the similarities and differences in satisfaction<br />
evaluations based on macro conditions, which indirectly<br />
points to the smaller impact of objective factors as the<br />
creators of satisfaction.<br />
In the comparison of 25 countries it turns out that<br />
Estonia has the greatest difference in the evaluation of life<br />
satisfaction between the majority and minority groups –<br />
<strong>Estonian</strong>s are noticeably more frequently satisfied with<br />
life than other ethnic groups. This may be explained, to a<br />
certain extent, by the very drastic change in the status of<br />
the Russian-speaking population after the collapse of the<br />
Soviet Union. However, the same thing occurred with the<br />
Latvian Russian-speaking population, but in Latvia the<br />
gaps in the satisfaction evaluations based on ethnic group<br />
are somewhat smaller.<br />
Age is a very important factor in the evaluation of life<br />
satisfaction (see Annex 4.2.1., Chapter 3 Realo), and this<br />
may have a greater effect on evaluations in the case of immigrants<br />
– younger people may be more satisfied since they<br />
have adapted better to the society. Figure 4.2.2. presents an<br />
overview of the satisfaction evaluations of ethnic majority<br />
and minority groups in different age groups. From the figure<br />
we can see that Europe is characterized by a greater percentage<br />
of satisfaction among the middle-aged population.<br />
Estonia is an exception with the greatest percentage of satisfaction<br />
among the youngest age group. In the oldest age<br />
group, the satisfaction evaluations of Estonia’s population<br />
are comparable to the European average (see Figure 4.2.2.).<br />
20<br />
In the analysis, the ethnic majority and minority have been formed based on whether the respondent defines him or herself as belonging<br />
to the majority or minority group. The alternative would have been to differentiate the ethnic groups based on whether people<br />
were born in the specific country or not. However, an initial analysis showed that self-determination was the important distinguishing<br />
factor for the quality of life. Earlier studies have also shown that the time one has lived in the country is an unimportant factor<br />
for subjectively describing the ability to cope (Verkuyten 1986).<br />
21<br />
In the analysis here and hereafter the shorter singular version of “ethnic minority group” has been used, which actually includes the<br />
accumulated data of the ethnic minority groups that live in the various countries.<br />
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