Education, Youth and Labor Market in the Era of

Globalization.Estonia. Latvia. Lithuania

Basic information HistoryPoliticsEconomyEducationLabor market

Structure

History, Politics and Economics of the Baltic States

Basic Information

Brief History -1920 Recognized as independent

countries -1939 Soviet Union occupies the Baltic

States and installs pro Soviet regimes -1990 Baltic States re-declare their

independence Stalin and Hitler signed a Non-aggression

Pact (Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact) In the 1980s, due to a weakened central

power in the USSR, the Baltic States asserted their autonomy and questioned the legality of their incorporation within the Soviet Union.

Old City

Politics

Government Structure All three Baltic States are

Parliamentary Democracies Latvia and Estonia –President

elected by the Parliament Lithuania- President elected by

popular vote

1991-Latvians set fire near Lenin monument

Current Presidents Lithuania's Head of State is President Dalia Grybauskaite who

resigned as an EU Commissioner when she won Lithuania's Presidential election in May 2009. She is Lithuania's first woman President.

Latvia's head of state is President Valdis Zatlers who was elected in 2007. The Latvian parliament has one chamber called the Saeima.

The Estonian head of state is President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who represents Estonia in international relations. Political control lies with the Prime Minister, Andrus Ansip, who leads a minority coalition consisting of his centre-right Reform Party and the nationalist Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (PPRP).

Economy

Economy Market based economy Early 2000s saw the highest expansion/growth in their

economy 2006 Unemployment below European Union average 2008 recession in Estonia and Latvia, 2009 in Lithuania 2011 Estonia adopted euro as its currency The economic and social structure of the Baltic states went

through fundamental changes after their joining the USSR. The Soviet Union took over planning and development and there was heavy investment in large projects in Estonia and Latvia and industrialization and urbanization in Lithuania. They had lower living standards than Europe, but higher than the USSR.

Economy Postwar socioeconomic policies

transformed all three countries from predominantly rural societies into largely urbanized countries.

In 1939 Estonia had been 66 percent rural; Latvia, 65 percent; and Lithuania, 77 percent.

Economy The transition to the market based

economy was challenging Throughout the 1990s there was an

increase in privatization, national currencies were reintroduced, and foreign investment increased.

Economy An important part of Baltic economy is

agriculture. Potatoes Dairy cattle Cereal grains Pigs Fodder crops Fish Timber The Baltic region is not rich in natural resources.

Though Estonia is an important producer of oil shale (an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen, a substitute for conventional crude oil), it imports a large share of mineral and energy resources.

Economy Industry in the Baltic states is prominent, especially

the production of food and beverages, textiles, wood products, and electronics and the traditional stalwarts of machine building and metal fabricating. The three states have the highest productivity of the former constituent republics of the Soviet Union.

The global economic crisis of recent times damaged the economies of the Baltic States. The recession in Latvia was the worst in Europe and this economic crisis led to the fall of its government.

Latvia needed a €7.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid bankruptcy in 2009.

Baltic States among the Unemployment Leaders in EuropeUnemployment rate in the European Union as of the beginning of 2011, %

Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia

Economy The Baltic States have a “flat tax” system

which is everybody pays one tax rate regardless of income. This has been adopted by several other Eastern European nations and Russia. (A flat tax system was recently proposed by Gingrich and Perry during their campaign).

Education, Youth and Labor

Markets in the Era of Globalization

ESTONIA

EDUCATION SYSTEM

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

Estonia

Lithuania

Latvia

Trends In Education

Significant decline in the number of pupils in compulsory education

The number of years a student stays in education has changed little over the last

decade

Student/teacher ratios have fallen at both primary and upper secondary levels

There are relatively more men in vocational training (upper secondary level), while

there are more women in tertiary education

The age of entry into tertiary education increased very slightly over the

period 2000 to 2009

The share of women studying maths, science and technology subjects have

remained stable over the last decade

AUTONOMY INCREASED FOR SCHOOLS AND HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

FINANCING OF EDUCATION – A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN TIMES OF CRISIS

TERTIARY EDUCATION GRADUATES FIND EMPLOYMENT TWO TIMES FASTER THANPEOPLE WITH LOWER QUALIFICATIONS

TRENDS IN LABOR MARKET

ESTONIA

Youth- 16-24 years old

Ethnic inequalities in labor market

TRENDS IN LABOR MARKET

LATVIA

Labor Market Overview

TRENDS IN LABOR MARKET

LITHUANIA

Labor Market Overview

Labor Market Overview

 http://web.mit.edu/people/fjk/essays/baltics.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50985/Baltic-states

http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/sovietun.html

http://www.civitas.org.uk/eufacts/FSMS/MS17.htm

Sources

http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/01/18/the-death-of-quot-social-europe-quot/

Global election http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200807

30_its_a_global_election/ Flat tax

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/flat_taxes_are_big_in_the_former_ussr_have_they_worked_20111112/

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