Three works of research received the Eesti Pank research award this year, with Tallinn University of Technology receiving one award in the category of master’s-level work.
The main topics of the works submitted included the behaviour of Estonian exporters, skills mismatch decomposition in the Estonian labour market, and the link between economic activity and corruption in former Soviet republics.
Pauline Kommer who defended her master’s thesis ‘Mismatch decomposition in the Estonian labour market’ in Tallinn University of Technology analysed in her work how serious the problem of skills mismatch in the Estonian labour market is in different regions and sectors. It is a very topical issue at present whilst Estonia is recovering from the crisis, as the difficulties faced by enterprises in finding skilled employees is one of the main factors hindering economic growth. Kommer’s thesis was particularly recognised for its very strong grasp of theory and high quality of empirical analysis.
A total of 12 works of research were submitted to the competition in 2021, three of which were submitted in the category of doctoral work and nine in the category of master’s-level work. Head of the research unit at Eesti Pank Tairi Rõõm, who led the assessment of the works, said that it was very difficult to make a choice this year as the quality of the work submitted was high, demonstrating the great research potential of young Estonian researchers and the good level of economic education in Estonian universities.
The winner of the Eesti Pank research award in the category of doctoral work was Mathias Juust (University of Tartu) for the research article ‘Trade effects of a negative export shock on direct exports and wholesalers’. The second award in the category of master’s-level work also went to University of Tartu. Danyl Denysenko’s master’s thesis ‘Corruption and economic growth: new evidence from satellite data’ focused on the links between corruption and economic activity in former republics of the Soviet Union.
The research awards will be presented at a ceremony taking place at the Eesti Pank Museum on 4 November.
2021 marks the 19th year Eesti Pank has granted the research award dedicated to the memory of Urmas Sepp. Urmas Sepp (1956–2002) was the head of the Eesti Pank macroeconomics department and later the economic research department from 1993.