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ehavioural patterns. Therefore, it is pertinent to take a look behind the averages and find out how wealth, satisfaction or the use of the Internet is actually distributed by age groups, regions, etc. The situation in which several different groups of authors or organisations come to similar conclusions by examining the same phenomenon adds credibility to the results. An example is the information being received from several sources about the increasing differences between men and women in Estonia related their life expectancy, wages conditions and educational levels. So, it must be true that gender-related matters are out of order and the time is ripe for conducting a broader analysis and taking some practical steps. Friendly scepticism about the information received from the rating industry is definitely appropriate, but this should be accompanied by the realisation that there is often nothing more precise or reliable to replace it. 6.1.1 The ideal world Most measures of development are constructed as rankings. Those at the top of ranking get plusses and are defined as better and more developed; ending up toward bottom gives to a minus – defines you as being second-rate. Either explicitly or covertly, rankings indicate a desired direction of movement – toward the things that are expected in today’s world, be it longer life expectancy, greater competitiveness or a more perfect democracy. Could collecting plus points from various rankings allude to some more general ideal, to a model of a dream society toward which the globalising world is moving – a movement that is esteemed by others? No attempt has been made to construct this ideal world, which would be based on the measures of development, and this is probably not a good idea. The sample of measures is very changeable; they are often born and disappear along with their authors, and their interpretation is contradictory. At the same time, it cannot be denied that many of the paths that get plus points have validated themselves globally and serious efforts are being made to try and achieve them. Some have even become globally or nationally accepted developmental objectives, including the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the European Union’s smart growth or Estonia’s Smart and Active People programmes. Using the Gallup ladder metaphor, one can say the following: there are dozens and dozens of developmental ladders in use around the world and not only are they being eagerly climbed, but the climbers of these ladders are being zealously assessed and compared. So what if the tops of the ladders are hidden in the fog and a clearly defined objective for making the climb is not visible. Comparing and ranking the climbers on the developmental ladders adds momentum to their climbs. Getting a step ahead of one’s neighbour is exciting and provides self-confidence; clearly lagging behind causes concern and forces one to try harder. This is true regardless of the critics for whom all this is just a useless rat race or the increasingly thorough satisfying of ever more pointless needs. The more serious critics offer their own alternatives. A good example is the New Economics Foundation Figure 6.1.1 Estonia and European Union The following are higher than the EU average in Estonia Media freedom Internet freedom Economic freedom Intensity of media use Schoolchildren’s level of knowledge Trust in the European Union Optimism about the future The following correspond to the EU average in Estonia The following are lower than the EU average in Estonia Life expectancy Democracy Competitiveness of the economy Innovation capability Corruption Years of healthy life Trust in government institutions Percentage of people with higher education Productivity of work Wealth, wage level Life satisfaction Tolerance Gender equality Ecological Footprint 210 Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013
that repudiates the GDP-centric mindset and has created a Happy Planet Index, which is rapidly gaining popularity. From Estonia’s point of view, most of these ladders seem reasonable and pertinent: even the anti-globalists and euro-sceptics want to live healthy lives with some banknotes in their pockets, and none of them want to fall victim to criminals or end up in the grasp of corrupt superiors. Regardless of the criticism and the qualms, the development ladders we see circulating in the world represent the current understanding of what is important and significant in life. Climbing them will not lead to an ideal world, but it will make life more worthy of human dignity. 6.1.2 The next step It has taken Estonia two decades to settle into the open world and the global marketplace. In this report, we compare the length of our steps both globally and in respect to selected reference states. Figure 6.1.1 provides a generalised comparison with our immediate environment – the European Union. The spheres of life where Estonia is an achiever in the EU context are included, as are the areas where we lag behind. When examining Estonia’s position in the world, as well as in Europe, a unique contradiction becomes evident – the indicators of our potential are often better than our actual results. Estonia has been able to create a favourable environment, without any significant restrictions, for people, companies, and civil society organisations to act. We follow the rules; our procedures are simple and technology-friendly, even outdoing the countries of “old” Europe. The Estonian taxpayers have to spend relatively little to service the state debt. We have built an environment that supports development, but, at the same time, have not succeeded in adequately converting this into benefits for the local people. Our health, wallets and life satisfaction continue to among the poorest in Europe. The development environment is good, but the development itself does not meet expectations. Thus, our next challenge is to transform Estonia’s potential into actual life quality. The following are some observations based on this report, which could support the steps that we will need to take. Firstly – the broader view. Today, there are great fluctuations in the assessments of Estonia: the external view consists mostly of a wonderful success story; the internal view is indecisive and critical, and sometimes downright dramatic. The dramatic internal view is often supported by a narrow base of comparison, which usually starts with the statement, “But in Finland, they ….” Broader comparative circumstances would benefit the Estonians’ mindset. By examining the broader context, we would find out that ideal worlds do not exist, and on the global arena, we have actually coped very well – we are one of the few societies with a population of about one million which has established itself in the world. A broader comparison would also help to increase the people’s self-confidence in Estonia and cure them of the need to cling to past concerns. It would help to shift their attitude from someone who is endangered and waiting for help toward someone who is responsible and makes a contribution. Because our actual position in the world tells us outright – we have to tend not only to our own business, but also to the business of Europe and the world. Secondly – the obstinate view. In the course of twenty years, the Estonian state and people have been good learners, adopting the things that already existed – be it the European Union’s rules, NATO’s standards or the correct wording of human rights issues. Unfortunately, imitation can only produce a middling result, not the best one. Becoming one of the best requires stepping outside the well-worn path, having the courage to risk, taking a critical of view oneself, but also having the ability to compromise. In this regard, we lag behind the most capable players – be it enterprise in the economic sphere, leadership in the social sphere, or clearly argued involvement in politics. Our conservative self-interest needs to be purposefully complemented by a more constructive and creative attitude toward life. Thirdly – the comprehensive view. The report points out that some unreasonably large differences in the society are hidden behind Estonia’s excellent average indicators – be it regional differentiations, gender gaps or differences between Estonians and other ethnic groups. A small society cannot allow itself the luxury of being splintered or of wasting its human capital – those who lag behind have to be brought up to speed. Experience teaches us that the successful small states of the world do not recreate America at home, but rather strive to create Nordic countries, in the belief that the price of vitality is internal harmony. The attitudes of the elite who are focused on the social sphere, which were described in chapter five of this report, point to the fact that things are changing. Fourthly – the direct view. The next step requires that we also face some inconvenient truths, which capable Estonia has preferred to ignore – whether the topic is our title of European HIV-positive champion, the hot potato of immigration, the Russian complex that consistently impedes us, and forces us to write preambles, fight against gas pipelines and be ashamed of Yeltsin bas-reliefs. Instead, we must look at the Estonian-Russians with a clear gaze and recognise their contribution to the improvements in our life, supported by the knowledge that those who ignore problems can achieve mediocrity but not excellence. The global marketplace is a harsh world, where survival is not guaranteed for anyone. It is a kind of miracle that, after surviving the meat grinder of the twentieth century, Estonia has been able to establish itself and cope in this marketplace. Unfortunately, the rules of the marketplace do not allow for any let-up. A great step has been taken and the next one is just ahead. Estonia’s skeleton – its judicial area, economic environment and democracy – works but it requires some fine tuning. Now the focus must shift to the content – smarter enterprise, better-paid work, transparency in politics, flexibility in education, and uniform development. This requires a fresh viewpoint and leadership, but we must also rid ourselves of any impediments. Estonia has been remarkably capable at removing external limitations, now we have to come to grips with the internal ones. A broader, more obstinate, more comprehensive and more honest view of ourselves and the world will hopefully help us to join those who are the best, not only in potential, but also in the context of actual life quality. Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013 211
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ESTONIAN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2
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Table of Contents 1 Human Capital /
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Dear Reader Since the moment when E
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1Human Capital Estonian Human Devel
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the HDI’s content has also been h
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Figure 1.1.1 The human development
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Figure 1.1.7 The income sub-index:
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The results of the Princeton Projec
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the hypothetical generation. The to
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Figure 1.2.3 Life expectancy. Eston
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Table 1.2.2 also presents the most
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The new trends that are appearing i
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Figure 1.2.8 Components of populati
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New features were introduced into E
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Initiation of Voluntary Birth Contr
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Table 1.3.1 Best-known educational
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(OECD 2012b). Therefore a certain r
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The reciprocal dependence of the pr
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Figure 1.3.8 Percentage of students
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Table 1.3.4 The quality of educatio
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1.4 Health Raul-Allan Kiivet Change
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Table 1.4.1 Usage of prescription m
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allude to the fact that approximate
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promote healthy lifestyles among th
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Figure 1.5.1 The World Values Surve
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Table 1.5.2 Estonia’s participati
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Figure 1.5.3 The percentage of the
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Figure 1.5.5 Percentage of the Esto
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The fact that Estonia’s position
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Summary Mati Heidmets The global vi
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2People and Society Estonian Human
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Table 2.1.1 Structure of the Bertel
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tioning market economies (15 states
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2.2 Freedom and democracy Martin M
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Table 2.2.1 Democracy indicators Po
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Figure 2.2.2 The distribution of th
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would be something that none of the
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political participation are general
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strongest, while a very small perce
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is concerned, Estonia is one of the
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Figure 2.4.2 Average circulation of
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2.5 Corruption Jüri Saar In accord
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Lithuania, 61%; and in Russia, 69%.
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2.6.2 Intentional homicides in Esto
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crime. And thirdly, there was a wis
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References 1. Ahven, A. & Tabur, L.
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states included in the EU Kids Onli
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2.8 Public assessments of the state
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Figure 2.8.4 Changes releated to tr
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of the state’s development are en
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Table 2.9.1 The positions of Estoni
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3. IEP (2011). Structures of Peace.
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3Welfare and the Quality of Life Es
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choices made, not what people say t
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Figure 3.1.5 Public social spending
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tion agreed upon the social contrac
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References 1. Aidukaite, J. (2006).
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hand, to the “inequality of acces
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and explanations of the extent of i
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5- much more than I deserve. Some d
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people in Estonia consider the inco
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Table 3.3.1 Experienced Well-Being
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at about 70%. In Latvia and Lithuan
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sign. It seems that the usual view
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3.4 Quality of life Anu Toots 3.4.1
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a uniform composite indicator has n
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3.4.6 The components of life qualit
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Figure 3.4.4c Perceived quality of
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Figure 3.4.5 Changes in the depriva
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3.5 Environment dimension of well-b
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Figure 3.5.1.b Estonia’s position
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3.5.4 Energy intensity The energy i
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productivity, which is defined as t
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perceive themselves as worse off th
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4The Economy Estonian Human Develop
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vide a valuable connection for maki
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Figure 4.1.3 Components of economic
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ule of law, the sub-indicators for
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References 1. Acemoglu, D.; Robinso
Page 161 and 162: Development Report employs generali
Page 163 and 164: and pasture land, and this was capi
Page 165 and 166: Basing the total and net savings re
Page 167 and 168: 4.3 Labour market Reelika Leetmaa,
Page 169 and 170: The problems include the very limit
Page 171 and 172: • Expenditures for active labour
Page 173 and 174: who lose their jobs. These ensure i
Page 175 and 176: 4.4 Productivity and the economic s
Page 177 and 178: labour costs at the company level r
Page 179 and 180: Table 4.4.4 Comparison of the produ
Page 181 and 182: Figure 4.4.1 Annual average increas
Page 183 and 184: 4.5 Innovation Erik Terk, Katrin M
Page 185 and 186: Table 4.5.2 Comparison of innovatio
Page 187 and 188: Table 4.5.4 Comparison of the indic
Page 189 and 190: in order to make the R&D potential
Page 191 and 192: It is characteristic of the South K
Page 193 and 194: mechanisms for increasing their sta
Page 195 and 196: Globalisation and Policy Patterns 5
Page 197 and 198: When Estonia regained its independe
Page 199 and 200: 5.2 The impacts of globalisation an
Page 201 and 202: Table 5.2.2 Support of the differen
Page 203 and 204: 5.3 Development policies Erik Terk,
Page 205 and 206: • C -the “Estonia-centred” su
Page 207 and 208: Figure 5.4.1 Support for the possib
Page 209: Summary Erik Terk Estonia is part o
Page 214 and 215: EDR 2012/2013 authors Clemens Buche
Page 216 and 217: EDR 2012/2013 authors Alari Purju i
Page 218: Editor-in-Chief: Mati Heidmets Prod
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