Displaced Workers in Estonia

We examine the pattern and costs of worker displacement in Estonia as the transition process develops. Using retrospective Labour Force Survey data covering the period 1992-1999, we show that the displacement rate in Estonia has fallen as the economy picks up and that the incidence of displacement is similar to that in the West concentrated on the less skilled and those with short job tenure. There is less evidence however of a wage penalty to job loss, unlike in the West, a fact which we attribute to the nature of the transition process