Summary of contributions to Foresight Centre research projects

1. The participation and position of Estonian businesses in global and local value chains

University of Tartu researchers under the leadership of Andres Võrk are conducting an analysis on the local value chains of Estonian businesses, the links of Estonian businesses to global value chains, and the links between the position and the productivity of value chains.

Big data analytics are used to put together a unique data base by linking the Tax and Customs Board data base – which includes information on transactions between companies – and the foreign trade data base of Statistics Estonia – which includes information on product and service groups, as well as the division into intermediate goods and consumption goods. The analysis will be completed by August.

2. The link between the investments of businesses and the productivity, and investment patterns of companies

Tallinn University of Technology Professor Kadri Männisoo is heading a research group that studies the effect of investments on the growth of productivity. The study looks at various investment patterns of businesses, and analyses their capacity to receive and their preparedness to achieve innovation through investments. The study will be completed by the end of May.

3. Ecosystems of Estonian entrepreneurship

Tallinn University of Technology researchers in cooperation with the PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies are conducting a study to define the ecosystems of Estonian entrepreneurship, identify their typology, and assess their development outlooks.

The ecosystem is defined as a community of interlinked businesses, business organisations, institutions (universities, public sector authorities), and business processes (enterprise birth rate, the number of enterprises with a large growth potential, etc.), the combined impact of the components of which largely determines the productivity of the businesses in the ecosystem. The study will be completed by mid-April.

4. Long term supply of labour force and its structure in Estonia

Researchers of the University of Tartu and Tallinn University are conducting a study under the leadership of Professor Raul Eamets to determine how the future supply of labour force might change at the combined influence of employment, migration and birth rate. The study will highlight the possible labour market developments that would pose the greatest challenges. It will analyse the extent to which migration patterns could affect the total supply of labour in Estonia, and what this might mean in view of the general changes in the labour market. 3–5 alternative long-term labour force supply scenarios are drafted. The analysis will be completed by June.

5. Dimensional changes of the labour market

Kaire Holts from the University of Hertfordshire is studying the nature of virtual labour (incl. platform work) and its significance for the future of the labour market. A platform work survey is conducted in cooperation with the University of Hertfordshire to study the use of this form of work in Estonia. The analysis will be completed in May.

Ave Lauren from the European Migration Network is drafting the typology of short-term work migration and is analysing different types of work migration. The analysis will be completed in March.

Merle Erikson and Annika Rosin from the University of Tartu are studying the options for the legal status of employees in Estonia in the context of new forms of work, and are analysing whether the new legal solutions introduced in other countries could suit Estonia. The analysis will be completed in April.

Heejung Chung from the University of Kent is comparing the data on flextime and flexplace work in Estonia in 2005–2015, linking the results to the postulate presented in international theoretical literature on what increased flexibility in the working relationship might entail for the employee, the employer, or the state. The analysis will be completed in April.

6. Models of work-related social protection and their compatibility with alternative labour market developments

Praxis, Centar and University of Tartu researchers under the leadership of Märt Masso and Janno Järve are analysing what the manifestation of certain labour market scenarios would mean to our social and tax system, and which good examples exist around the world on alleviating the risks of work in the future. The analysis will be completed in September.

7. State reform and (e-)governance

Praxis governance and civil society programme manager Rauno Vinni analyses the progress of state reform in Estonia; University of Konstanz Professor Ines Mergel assesses the state of e-governance in Estonia in broader terms; European University Institute Associate Professor Nele Leosk studies health care and social e-services; and the Head of the University of Tarty Skytte Institute Mihkel Solvak summarises the developments of e-governance.

Their work is supported by Oxford University Professor and Director of the Oxford Internet Institute Helen Margetts, Professor of University of Massachusetts and Director of the National Center for Digital Government Jane Fountain, University of Tallinn Professor Indrek Ibrus, Tallinn Technical University Associate Professor Külli Sarapuu, and other experts. ​

Mari Rell, Johanna Vallistu, Meelis Kitsing
Foresight Centre