Estonia shows that intense restructuring after the opening of product and labor markets need not lead to massive increases in unemployment. The evidence suggests that flexibility in the labor market is vital in a transition's success, especially in a country undergoing rapid reform. With the...

Estonia, which adopted relatively free labor market policies early in its transition, experienced rapid increases in returns to human capital Ntilde; rising returns to education and rising relative wages for younger educated workers, but declining returns to experience for older workers with...

Changes in women's relative wages and employment are analyzed, using social security data from Slovenia (1987-1992) and a retrospective labor force survey in Estonia (1989-1994). Estonia adopted liberal labor market policies. Slovenia took an interventionist approach. Nevertheless, relative...

Estonia adopted liberal labor market policies during the transition, and Slovenia took an interventionist approach. Even so, relative wages for women rose in both countries. Women were less mobile across jobs in both countries, so men disproportionately filled new jobs in expanding sectors....