Different Cohorts and Evaluation of Income Differences in Estonia (original) (raw)

Social Consequences of Transition: Who Recognize Themselves To Be Poor in Estonia?

Eesti Social protection systems in the Baltic States, 2003

Under the former central planning regime Estonia like the other post-socialist countries was characterized by more egalitarian income distribution than western market economies. This situation has changed dramatically after the onset of transition; as a consequence the income inequality has ...

A Demographic Analysis of Income Distribution in Estonia*

Comparative Economic Studies, 1999

This paper identifies the head ofhousehold demographic characteristics associated with the Estonian distribution ofincome. Using measures of income inequality and regression analysis on 1995 household data, we examine how household income is distributed by the age, gender, race, and education level of the heads of household The Gini coefficient estimates indicate that the household incomes associated withfemale and elderly heads have an equalizing effect. Households headed by younger males or those who are educated contribute to greater income disparity. The regression analysis confirms these results and suggests that social transfers for households headed by women, the disabled, and the elderly, have an equalizing effect on the income distribution. We also find that farm households appear to lag far behind their urban counterparts in earnings and income.

Changes in Intergenerational Mobility and Educational Inequality in Estonia: Comparative Analysis of Cohorts Born between 1930 and 1974

European Sociological Review 26(3)

We analyse intergenerational social mobility in Estonia comparing four cohorts born between 1930 and 1974. The article addresses three main research questions. First, how have absolute mobility rates changed in Estonia? Second, what have been the trends in social fluidity across birth cohorts? Third, what is the role of education in explaining changes across cohorts? Separate analyses are carried out for men and women. Analysis is based on data from the Estonian Social Survey, 2004-2005, which gathered retrospective information about the work histories of respondents as well as their social origins. We find that social fluidity certainly varies across cohorts but not in any way that could be characterized as a trend towards greater or lesser inequality. Comparisons of cohorts born in the 1930s and in the 1940s showed that social fluidity increased for both sexes. The increase continued for the cohort born in the 1950s but only for women belonging to that cohort. For men the association between origin and destination started to increase in the cohort born in the 1950s. For women that trend was noticeable for the youngest (1974) cohort. Our conclusion is that changes in social fluidity, across cohorts in Estonia, have been driven by changes in educational inequality.

Generational Differences in Attitude toward Income Redistribution in the Baltic States: A Cohort Analysis

Research in Economics and Business Central and Eastern Europe, 2013

Preferences for redistribution have been shown to depend upon individual and institutional characteristics. Previous studies have demonstrated that those who have lived under a socialist regime favor more redistribution even after the regime changes. This paper tests a similar hypothesis based on the experience of the Baltic States. Income redistribution preferences in the Baltic States are traced across 3 waves of the European Values Survey. In addition, a model of preferences in 2008 is estimated. Each age cohort was subject to very different political regimes, including the youngest who have never worked under the Soviet socialist system. While the impacts of the commonly used variables confirm previous studies, I do not find that living under socialism increases a preference for redistribution once other factors are considered. Changes in preferences through the transition period are evident and differences between groups have diminished in a short period of time.

Estonia: Visible Inequalities, Silenced Class Relations

East European Politics & Societies 29:565-576, 2015

In postcommunist estonia, the topic of inequality was considered "embarrassing." The dominant popular assumption was that inequalities just happen naturally. Class and inequality discourse was effectively marginalized due to long-lasting success in focus-ing attention on nationalizing issues. A "transition culture" that lionized the capitalist future has also contributed to the marginalization of class discourse. Because of this marginalization, and the power of national/ethnic discourse and transitional culture, those most economically vulnerable were deprived of the cultural and discursive resources to resist the most extreme market-oriented policies. Sociologists did discuss inequality more seriously, but mostly according to a gradational and functional strati-fication paradigm: the central focus has been on individual attributes that divide people into classes. The analysis focusing on relations of exploitation and domination have been virtually absent in postcommunist estonia. We conclude that the main challenge for estonian social science is to incorporate concepts of power, exploitation, and domination perspective into study of inequality.

Public Beliefs in the Causes of Wealth and Poverty and Legitimization of Inequalities in Russia and Estonia

Social Justice Research - SOC JUSTICE RES, 2000

The article analyzes the attributions of the causes of poverty and wealth in Russia and Estonia in 1991 and 1996 and their determinants. Among the latter are the perceived actual justice of the society, the perceived size of the middle class, and the personal position in the system of inequalities. Despite the economic hardships and a rise in inequalities in both countries, individualistic explanations of wealth and poverty have increased over the 5 years between the surveys. At the same time respondents in both countries demonstrated a growing awareness of the importance of starting positions and connections to achieve wealth. The perceived middle class has a significant effect on attributions of poverty but not on wealth. Russians in Estonia have a particular bias against wealth, whereas non-Russians in Russia are more likely to justify wealth on the basis of individual merit. Explanations of poverty and wealth in Estonia are more rooted in the factors of socialization (age, educa...

Estonia – Highly Unequal but Classless?

STSS Vol 4 / Issue 2 Studies of Transition States and Societies, 2012

In this short essay, we try to assess the utility of class analyses for understanding the contemporary Estonian society. Erik Wright (2009) identifi es three strands of class analysis: a stratifi cation approach, a Weberian approach and a Marxist approach. We address the following questions: Which kind of class analysis is most present in Estonia today? Which is most needed? The main conclusion is that due to this marginalisation of class discourse, as well as the power of national/ethnic discourse and transitional culture, those most economically vulnerable were deprived of the cultural and discursive resources to resist the most the extreme market-oriented policies. The conditions for structuration of class relations were created, while the class and inequality discourse was marginalised.

Inequality across Three Generations under Pressure from Sovietization Policies

2021

This article explores the multigenerational impact of Sovietization policies on the reproduction of educational inequalities in Estonia. Estonia provides an opportunity to assess the multigenerational effect under conditions of regime changes after transitioning from the independent Estonian Republic to Soviet Estonia and thence to the newly independent post-Soviet Estonia. During Sovietization, a wide range of measures involving repressions and positive discrimination were applied to abruptly hinder intergenerational continuity. Analysis based on retrospective data from the Estonian Family and Fertility Survey 2004 indicates grandparents’ social positions are associated with grandchildren’s attainment of higher education. Their influence is only partially mediated through the parental generation. Overall, the Sovietization policies have not reduced either the two or three-generational reproduction of inequality. Moreover, these policies produced unintended consequences, facilitatin...

Income redistribution in Estonia

As transition countries establish and reform their market processes, they also must determine the nature of the social support system and the extent to which income will be redistributed in society. In this paper, we consider the impact of redistribution by comparing the level and distribution of gross factor income and disposable income in Estonia. We also consider these income statistics by different demographic groups to see which households are most significantly influenced by redistribution programs.