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• C –the “Estonia-centred” supporters of income<br />

gap reduction. They are critical of integration with<br />

the world and the EU, as well as support the reduction<br />

of income differences – 23% of the respondents;<br />

• D – the “Estonia-centred” rejecters of income gap<br />

reduction. They are not happy about the policies<br />

that promote globalisation or income equality – 11%<br />

of the respondents.<br />

The globalists favouring the income gap reduction include<br />

an above average share of PhDs and below average share of<br />

politicians, while the group of globalists that rejects income<br />

equalisations has a greater representation of economic elite<br />

and, especially, entrepreneurs. We find a large number<br />

of cultural figures, but also politicians, among this Estonia-centred<br />

group, which favours income equalisation. Yet,<br />

of both cultural figures and politicians, a minority (less than<br />

a third) belong to the above group. Among the economic<br />

elite this combination of attitudes is clearly unpopular.<br />

Groups A and C tend to favour increasing the role of<br />

the state, more than the others do. Both of these groups very<br />

strongly support increasing the role of the state in regional<br />

policies, and the promotion of educational activities. Group<br />

C, characteristically, places greater emphasis on the role<br />

of the state in social security, in the organisation of ethnic<br />

relations and in healthcare policies, but also in the development<br />

of economic structures. For this part of globalists who<br />

favour equalisation, the corresponding spheres of activity<br />

Table 5.3.2<br />

Support for various organisational forms in policymaking, %<br />

Entrepreneurs<br />

Economic<br />

policymakers<br />

Politicians<br />

Cultural figures<br />

PhDs<br />

Total<br />

are the promotion of innovation, management of migration,<br />

and the improvement of the environment. The globalists<br />

that reject income equalisation also indicate less than average<br />

support for increasing the role of the state in the spheres<br />

of activity under observation. However, more than 50% of<br />

them still support the strengthening of the state’s role in<br />

regional development and the organisation of education.<br />

5.3.3<br />

Cooperation and development networks<br />

in the shaping of policy<br />

In addition to the content of policies, an important issue<br />

is the matter of the mechanisms used to create and realise<br />

these policies. Some theoreticians believe that at least<br />

five or six variants can be differentiated, depending on<br />

the level of state domination, starting from total statism,<br />

where the state is not interested in any kind of involvement<br />

or feedback, and ending with the “Dutch” approach<br />

to procedures, in which policies are actually developed by<br />

the concerned parties, and the state controls the process<br />

from a distance and indirectly (Peters &Pierre, 2006). In<br />

this study, we differentiated three methods:<br />

• Civil servants authorised by the politicians are the<br />

developers and the organisers of the realisation process.<br />

The goal is speed and efficiency, and if necessary,<br />

experts are invited to participate in the process<br />

of policymaking. Consulting with interest groups is<br />

not considered important –if it is done, it tends to<br />

be a formality.<br />

• In the course of creation (and if possible, in the implementation)<br />

of the policies, meaningful cooperation<br />

takes place with the umbrella organisations of societal<br />

institutions (e.g. employers, employees, organisations<br />

representing the rural population, professional associations,<br />

etc.). However, narrower interest groups or<br />

individuals are not allowed access to the process.<br />

Establishing objectives and<br />

developing solutions is primarily<br />

the task of politicians<br />

and state officials<br />

When establishing objectives<br />

and developing solutions,<br />

the state should organise<br />

cooperation with the<br />

umbrella organisations of<br />

the important social partners<br />

(corporativist option)<br />

The establishment of objectives<br />

and development of<br />

solutions must be organised<br />

so that it is possible for all<br />

the interest groups and<br />

individuals to participate<br />

(network-based option)<br />

15 2 5 3 11 6<br />

31 24 33 23 50 33<br />

54 74 63 74 39 61<br />

• Network-type cooperation, in which all the interested<br />

parties, including individuals, are allowed to<br />

participate and to express their opinions.<br />

We got the following results when we asked the respondents<br />

to indicate which form of policymaking they preferred<br />

(Table 5.3.2). If we exclude PhDs the network-based<br />

option for policymaking was favoured overwhelmingly.<br />

The question is, to what extent does this result reflect<br />

strong democratic aspirations, and to what extent a limited<br />

trust in the state, or the weakness of the representative<br />

organisations in Estonia. The most favoured option<br />

may be very promising, and if it succeeds, it could open<br />

up important opportunities for the social mobilisation of<br />

the population in economy-related matters; but in practice,<br />

this is far from easy to implement.<br />

References<br />

1. Chang, H.-J. (2001) Kicking Away the Ladder. Development<br />

Strategy in Historical Perspective. Anthem.<br />

2. Kuusk, K. (2012). Eksperimenteeriv majanduspoliitika. Tallinn:<br />

Estonian Development Fund.<br />

3. OECD (2011). OECD Public Governance Reviews. Estonia. Paris.<br />

4. Peters, B.G., & Pierre, J. (2006) Governance, Government and<br />

the State, The State. Theories and Issues. Ed by C. Hay & D.<br />

Marsh. Basingstoke (UK) and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.<br />

5. Võtmevaldkond: Riigivalitsemine. Ekspertrühma raport. Estonian<br />

Development Fund 2010.<br />

Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013<br />

203

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