No abstract

The problems with national airlines in small peripheral member states indicate that the effects of strict competition policy and state aid rules of the European Union (EU) may not be equally useful for all member states and their citizens. Measures that are considered efficient from the perspective of one EU member state may not necessarily improve the welfare at the EU level and vice versa. While common competition policy rules are often justified by referring to the core values of European integration and the Single Market, the values themselves prioritize different aspects of the ideals of free market, European solidarity, and institutional stability. Curiously, as a result, the EU practical regulations are often imposing significant costs on a local peripheral consumer while even unable of meeting the proclaimed European values. By using the case study of the Estonian national flag carrier Estonian Air the current study focuses on the question whether the EU state aid regulation is simultaneously rational and sufficiently flexible to take into account the joint values of the European single market and specific needs of peripheral member states.

During the global financial crisis in 2008-10 Estonia symbolized a pathway of fiscal consolidation and austerity. Moreover, despite opting for austerity and all the social and political consequences of achieving fiscal consolidation, the governing coalition in Estonia succeeded also in avoiding a negative political reaction from the voters and remained in power. The current article analyses the variables that made the austerity reforms in Estonia in 2008-11 electorally successful. The economic success of Estonia has otherwise been attributed to a combination of political, institutional, and economic factors: timing; a fiscal policy that was not pro-cyclical; the availability of reserves in Estonia; and the ownership structure of the banks. The present study asks more specifically about the variables that saw the economic success in the implementation of the austerity measures accompanied by a positive electoral outcome. As it will be argued, these factors include the communication strategy chosen intentionally or otherwise by the government, the design of the austerity measures, the peculiarity of the electoral cycle, lack of political alternatives, and the performance of neighbouring countries in implementing austerity measures.

AnnotatsioonArtiklis analüüsitakse Eesti avaliku sektori töötajate koolitusvajaduse hindamisega seotud metodoloogilisi sõlmküsimusi, tuginedes aastatel 2002-2013 ametnike ja poliitikute seas korraldatud Euroopa Liidu alase koolitusvajaduse uuringutele. Sarnaste uuringute kaudu koolitusvajaduse kindlaksmääramisel on keskse tähtsusega kolm aspekti. Esiteks, uuring peaks olema keskendunud just koolitusvajaduse, mitte aga igapäevatöös oluliste teemade, koolitussoovide vms väljaselgitamisele. Teiseks, uuringut ette valmistavas faasis tuleb välistada tulemuste kalibreerimine, kus vastajaid suunatakse nn ohtlikele küsimustele vastama uuringu tellija jaoks sobival viisil. Kolmandaks on soovitatav peale küsitluspõhise uurimismeetodi kasutada ka mõõdetavat teadmiste kontrolli vormi (nt testi), mis võimaldab objektiivselt tuvastada vastaja kalduvust teadmisi ja oskusi üle-või alahinnata (nn Dunningi-Krugeri efekt). Võtmesõnad: koolitus, avalik sektor, metodoloogia, Dunningi-Krugeri efekt Sissejuhatus: teema olulisus ja analüüsi eesmärgidAvaliku sektori ametnike oskustele ja teadmistele pandud ootused ning ülesanded on viimase 50-60 aasta jooksul oluliselt muutunud. Tänapäeva riigi teenistujad ei ole oma olemuselt enam pelgalt süsteemi administraatorid, vaid pigem poliitikakujundajad, kellelt eeldatakse lisaks teemavaldkonna heale tundmisele oskust hoomata oma tegevusega kaasnevaid mõjusid, vahetada infot, juhtida läbirääkimisi, mõjutada partnereid jms.

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