Estonia Human Development Trends and Policy Making

The theme of this year's Report is the formation of policy regarding human development. The Report addresses such questions as: How well is the resource used in Estonia today? What are the existing mechanisms for good governance and responsibility? To what extent do various social groups have the opportunity to influence the respective policies? The last ten years in Estonia have been characterized by the creation of democratic institutions and a market economy. Now it is time to move on to a new development phase, where the aim is to achieve effectiveness in policy-making, based on responsibility, social justice and other fundamental concepts of human development. Thus the Report analyzes the extent to which such principles as decentralization, transparency and participation are followed in Estonia. The Report also devotes a separate chapter to issues associated with family, and a separate analysis to the issue of women and gender. The Report as a whole emphasizes the association between various sectors of society, and the need to take this into account more often in the policy-making.