Uurimusi palkade soolisest ebavõrdsusest Eesti tööturul

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone.Sooline palgalõhe on Eestis kõrge. Mitmetes varasemates uuringutes on hinnatud, kui suur osa keskmiste palkade soolistest erinevustest on tingitud soolistest erinevustest tunnustes nagu haridus, ameti- ja tegevusala jm. On aga leitud, et suurem osa soolisest palgaerinevusest ei ole Eestis selliste erinevusega selgitatav. Uurimistöö eesmärk oli hinnata, mil määral varemkasutatutest erinevate hindamismeetodite ja andmete kasutamine aitab paremini selgitada soolise palgalõhe kujunemist Eestis. Doktoriväitekiri koosnes kolmest uurimusest: Esimeses vaadeldi küsimust, mil määral on soolise palgalõhe suur mitteselgitatav komponent tingitud liiga vähedetailsetest andmetest. Näiteks kui tippspetsialistide kategoorias grupeeritakse kokku raamatukoguhoidjad ja neurokirurgid, tekib küsimus, kas analüüsis võrreldi võrreldavate töötajate palku. Leiti, et kuigi detailsemate ameti- ja tegevusala andmete kasutamine võimaldas mitteselgitatavat palgalõhet vähendada, jäi see ikkagi üpris kõrgeks (16,5%). Teises uuringus käsitleti palgalõhe hindamismetoodikate tehnilisemat poolt. Leiti, et teatud meetodi puhul (täppissobitamise põhine dekompositsioon) võib sisuliselt meelevaldne võrdlusgrupi valik (ehk see, kas hinnatakse meeste palgaeelist või naiste palgapuudujääki) viia vastupidistele järeldustele. Pakuti välja meetodi edasiarendus, mis eristaks eraldi komponentidena meeste palgaeelist ja naiste palgapuudujääki keskmise palga suhtes. Kolmandas uuringus testiti, kas palkade allapoole jäikus erineb sooti. Kasutades Maksuameti andmeid aastatest 2002-2008 leiti, et naised aktsepteerivad palgalangetust suurema tõenäosusega kui mehed. Üks võimalik selgitus on, et see tulemus peegeldab erinevusi riskikartlikkuses: mehed võivad keelduda palgalangetamisest, aktsepteerides pigem kõrgemat koondamisriski. See tõlgendus on siiski seni veel vaid hüpotees, mis vajab täiendavat testimist tulevastes uuringutes.  The gender wage gap in Estonia is high. Previously, several studies have estimated how much of the gender difference in average wages can be explained by gender differences in characteristics such as education, occupation, industry etc. It has been found that most of the gender wage gap is unexplained by such differences. The primary question addressed in this thesis is whether better explanations for the gender wage gap in Estonia could be obtained by using different methods and data than those used in previous studies. The dissertation consists of three studies: Study I addressed the question of whether and to what extent the large unexplained gender wage gap is due to insufficiently detailed data. For example, if the category of professionals includes surgeons as well as librarians, a question arises whether wages of comparable workers are being compared. It was found that while using more precise data on occupation and industry reduces the unexplained wage gap somewhat, it nevertheless remains rather high (16.5%). Study II addressed more technical questions regarding wage gap decomposition methods. It was shown that certain methods (exact matching based decomposition) the essentially arbitrary choice of reference group (that is, whether men’s advantage or women’s disadvantage is estimated) can lead to opposite conclusions. A modification of the method was proposed, which estimates separately advantage and disadvantage in comparison with overall average wage. Study III tested whether there are gender differences in downward rigitity of wages. Using Tax Board data, it was found that women are more likely to accept wage reductions. A possible explanation for this result is that it reflects differences in risk aversion: men may be more likely to refuse pay reduction, accepting higher risk of layoff instead. This interpretation, however, is hypothetical and needs further research

Using k-anonymization for registry data: pitfalls and alternatives

We describe an applied study of ICT students' employment in Estonia based on data from two national registries. The study offered an opportunity to compare results from both k-anonymised data as well as those from the novel Sharemind platform for privacy-preserving statistical computing, which offers a way to use confidential data for research without loss of information. Comparison of results using k-anonymized and lossless data indicate substantial differences in estimates of students' employment rates. The results illustrate, on the basis of a real-world study, how the effects of k-anonymization can lead to considerable bias in estimates. While privacy-preserving computing does entail inconveniences because original microdata is not revealed to the statistician, this can be offset by greater confidence in the results

The Cost of School Failure in Estonia

Õpingute katkestamise kulude all mõistetakse saamata jäänud tulusid, mis avalduvad kahe erineva olukorra võrdlusest – üks nendest on reaalne olukord, kus inimese õpingud katkesid enne keskhariduse omandamist ning teine hüpoteetiline olukord, kus õpingud ei oleks katkenud. Kui täiendava hariduse omandamisega kaasnevad selle mitteomandamisega võrreldes suuremad tulud (nt kõrgem palk, parem tervis või väiksem surve riigieelarvele läbi madalama sotisaaltoetuste tarbimise), siis loetakse nende tulude saamata jäämist õpingute ebaõnnestumise kuluks

Oskuste kasulikkus tööturul - PIAAC uuringu temaatiline aruanne nr 1

PIAAC uuringuga kogutud andmed võimaldavad saada ülevaate inimeste infotöötlusoskuste tasemest Eestis ja teistes riikides ning analüüsida, millised on seosed oskuste ja erinevates eluvaldkondades toimetuleku vahel. Üheks olulisemaks selliseks eluvaldkonnaks on tööturg. Sellel osalemine on valdavale enamikule inimestest peamise sissetuleku allikas ja seal toimetulek üks olulisemaid elustandardit mõjutavaid tegureid. Käesolevas aruandes vaadatakse, kas ja kuidas on infotöötlusoskused seotud tööturul osalevate inimeste suutlikkusega püsida hõives, tööga hõivatud inimeste palga ja tööelukvaliteediga ning töötuks jäädes töötuse kestusega. Samuti käsitletakse oskuste seoseid ettevõtjaks olemisega. Kui varem on Statistikaameti kogutavate andmete baasil olnud võimalik analüüsida nende tööturuväljundite seoseid inimeste haridustaseme, soo, vanuse ja muude tunnustega, siis PIAACi andmetega avaneb esmakordselt võimalus uurida, milline on infotöötlus-oskuste roll teiste tunnuste taustal ning kas nende arvessevõtmine analüüsis aitab paremini mõista, mis mõjutab inimeste toimetulekut tööturul. Käesolev uuringuaruanne esitabki ülevaate nende seoste analüüsi tulemustest

Põhi- ja keskhariduseta täiskasvanute tasemeharidusse tagasitoomise toetamine

Käesoleva uuringu eesmärk oli koguda informatsiooni põhi- või keskhariduseta täiskasvanute tasemeõppes osalemise takistuste ja eelduste kohta Eestis ja vastavalt analüüsida haridussüsteemi, toetusmeetmeid ning õppekorraldust täiskasvanute gümnaasiumites ja kutsekoolides. Andmete kogumiseks viidi läbi küsitlus täiskasvanute seas, kellel ei ole põhi- või keskharidust. Toetusmeetmete olemasolu kaardistamiseks viidi läbi elektrooniline kohalike omavalitsuste küsitlus. Haridus- ja õppekorralduslike probleemide välja selgitamiseks tehti fookusgrupid täiskasvanute gümnaasiumite ja kutsekoolide personali seas erinevates Eesti piirkondades

The Space Section of the Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen klong-sde): a category of philosophical and meditative teachings in Tibetan Buddhism

In this thesis, I examine the concept of the Space Section (Klong-sde) in the Tibetan Buddhist contemplative tradition of the Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen), the most important philosophical and contemplative teaching of the Ancient (rNying-ma) school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Space Section is traditionally considered to be one of the three main trends, or sections, of Great Perfection (rdzogs-chen sde gsum), the other two being Mind (sems-sde) and Instruction Sections (man-ngag sde). In comparison with the Mind and Instruction Sections, the Space Section appears difficult to define, since traditional as well as modern scholars have described its essentials in divergent and sometimes conflicting ways. I have therefore examined the different texts that have been classified as belonging to the Space Section. These include the Great Perfection Tantras that utilize a scheme of the Nine Spaces (klong dgu), and also instruction texts on contemplative techniques from the tradition known as the Adamantine Bridge (rDo-rje zam-pa). I translate extracts from the various texts that claim to set forth the essential doctrine of the Space Section. I show that the Tantras categorized as the Space Section resemble in important ways the texts of the Mind Section, while differing in orientation from the instruction texts of the rDo-rje zam-pa. Examining the the Tantras that have in different periods been considered to belong to the doxographical category of the Space Section, I show that as a class of Tantras, Space Section has been very variable, has evolved significantly over time, and includes texts of substantially different character. In addition, I discuss the portrayal of the Space Section from the perspective of the Instruction Section, translating its exposition by Klong-chen rab- byams. Having discussed the evolution and different applications of the concept of Klong-sde, I turn to the tradition of rDo-rje zam-pa, which is the only historically identifiable movement that described itself as having the Space Section as its central spiritual practice. I translate the basic text of the rDo-rje zam-pa, attributed to the 8th century Tibetan translator Vairocana, interpreting it with the help of 12th century commentaries by Kun-bzang rdo-rje. I discuss the central contemplative and yogic practices prescribed by the text, comparing and contrasting them with related Tantric practices of other Tibetan Buddhist schools. I also outline the major parallels between the rDo-rje zam-pa and the Instruction Section (man-ngag sde) of the Great Perfection

Gender wage gap in Estonia: a non-parametric decomposition

Estonia has the highest gender wage gap in the European Union and the highest degree of gender segregation by occupation and industry. Previous studies have found that most of the gap remains unexplained by personal and job characteristics. However, key job characteristics, occupation and industry, are usually imprecisely measured, leading to the question of whether all relevant characteristics have been properly taken into account in the decompositions. In this paper, we perform the decomposition of the wage gap to see how much of the wage gap remains unexplained after using more detailed data than has been common in previous studies (the Estonian Structure of Earnings Study data set), and discuss the related methodological challenges. Using a non-parametric method that takes into account differences in supports of distributions of male and female workers' characteristics, we find that using more detailed data does not eliminate the unexplained wage gap: about half of the wage gap remains unexplained even using the full set of available variables