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Where Have All The Jobs Gone? Gross Job Flows In Estonia

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  • Jaan Masso
  • Raul Eamets
  • Kaia Philips

Abstract

This paper documents and analyses gross job flows and their determinants in Estonia over the years 1995–2001, using a unique database from the Estonian Business Registry. This database contains all (including also micro and small firms) officially registered firms in Estonia, the total number being almost 52,000. There are several important findings in the paper. Our results show that job flows (job creation and job destruction rates) have been extremely high in Estonia and are comparable to the levels documented for the US. These rates have not decreased recently, although worker flows (transitions between labour market states) have dropped. We also found that the firm-specific component in job flows excess of employment change had relatively lower importance than in western studies due to the emergence of small and medium-sized enterprises and labour reallocation between the economic sectors. The high inter-sectoral mobility has helped maintain high levels of job flows, while both are high also due to a favourable institutional environment, especially due to low start-up costs and a large share of micro enterprises in Estonia.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaan Masso & Raul Eamets & Kaia Philips, 2004. "Where Have All The Jobs Gone? Gross Job Flows In Estonia," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 28, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    • Handle: RePEc:mtk:febawb:28
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Veerle Miranda & Marialuz Moreno Badia & Ilke Van Beveren, 2012. "Globalization drives strategic product switching," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 148(1), pages 45-72, April.
    3. Martin-Barroso, David & Nuñez-Serrano, Juan Andres & Turrion, Jaime & Velazquez, Francisco J., 2011. "The European Map of Job Flows," MPRA Paper 33602, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2011.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job creation; job destruction; labour reallocation; Estonia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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