The article discusses the indirect extemal costs of limestone mining. Limestone is an important construction material in Estonia, with 5-6 million tons mined annually. Rubble is used extensively in road construction, for which there is no domestic alternative. Maintaining the volume of limestone production and ensuring security of supply requires the exploitation of new limestone deposits and opening of new quarries. Limestone mining is accompanied by extensive changes in the natural environment and disturbances to residents. However, local govemments are often against the opening of new mines, and litigations can last for decades. This endangers the security of limestone supply. Municipal govemments' opposition to mines is due to the decrease in residents' welfare associated with mines, which is not adequately compensated. A contingent valuations study was conducted to identify and quantify the indirect extemal costs of mined limestone, which revealed that the aggregate willingness to pay of the Estonian adult population to stop the expansion of limestone quarries is 36.6 million euros per year. This can be interpreted as an indirect extemal cost of limestone. By relating to the willingness to pay to the limestone produced, the indirect extemal cost of one ton of limestone is approximately 6 euros. Quantifying the indirect extemal cost allows it to be included in the price of production as an environmental tax.

Download This Paper Open PDF in Browser Add Paper to My Library Share: Permalink Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely Copy URL Copy DOI

The article deals with the possibilities of including non-market ecosystem services into official statistics. Current statistical standard and the GDP calculated on the basis of it do not take into account the value of ecosystem services and therefore the contribution of ecosystems. In recent years (2020–2021) has taken place the revision of System of Environmental-Economic Accounting– Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (UN SEEA EA), aimed at developing a standard for statistics on ecosystem services. Statistics Estonia also participates in this process, using as an input to the experimental statistics of ecosystem services (among other data) the results of the contingent valuation study conducted by the author on the monetary value of ecosystem services of Estonian forests, wetlands and urban areas. The total annual willingness to pay for forest ecosystem services is about 23.9 million euros, for wetland services 12.3 million euros and for urban areas 17.3 million euros. The most important services considered by the respondents were regulatory services. Also, the relative importance of individual services by respondents were examined separately. It turned out that people value ecosystem services aimed at the physical-chemical quality of the environment more than the increase in welfare resulting from personal contact with ecosystems.

The article examines the demand of people for the improvement of the condition Lake Harku. Lake Harku is located in a densely populated area on the border of the city of Tallinn and it is in a poor state as a water body according to the EU classification. Two stated preference methods, contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiment (CE), were used for assessing the monetary value people place on the improvement of the ecosystem services of the lake as non-market environmental goods. The results of the work confirmed there is significant willingness to pay for the improvement of the condition of the water body. From a methodological point of view, an important finding is that the CV method yielded lower result than the estimated payment option of the CE.

Management is one of the key factors of ensuring and developing the organizational learning ability. The paper analyses the impact of changes in management on organizational learning (hereinafter OL) in a business school of a public university. A fundamental change in the management system was carried out in one public university in Estonia, which replaced the academically democratic elections of the rector, deans and directors with a management model that is typical for business organisations, where the heads at all levels are nominated. To identify the impact of changes in management on the organizational learning, Watkins` and Marsick’s learning organization questionnaire (DLOQ) has been used in the research. This research differs methodically from the classical application of DLOQ, which measures the absolute value of organizational learning. Therefore the members of business school were asked to evaluate changes in OL using DLOQ in comparison with the period prior to the reform. For that, the respondents were asked to rate the DLOQ characteristics on a scale from ‑3 to +3, where a negative score means that the characteristic has become worse after the reform and positive scores imply that they are now better. The results show that changes in the management affects the most the part of OL that is measured by DLOQ dimensions “foster inquiry and dialogue” and “promote collaboration and team learning”. The reasons pointed out are the loss of confidence in the organization as well as sharpening of competition between the employees. The sample size was not adequate to draw reliable conclusions about the whole organization but was sufficient to analyse tendencies. On this basis it is argued that at least in short‑term perspective, replacement of academic democracy with the management model typical of a business organization has rather a negative effect on organizational learning.

In a highly uncertain and unpredictable environment for higher education, the concept of an entrepreneurial university can be seen as an organisational response to external challenges and pressures and it is necessary to assess the capabilities of universities for meeting these challenges. An online self-assessment tool, HEInnovate, is used as a guiding framework for the entrepreneurial university, which enables universities to evaluate different components of their entrepreneurial capacity and creates the basis for the development of an entrepreneurial university. This paper therefore seeks to find out how entrepreneurial a university is based on one university of technology and find out where the university development strategies have opportunities for further development. The results of the survey showed that all indicators received above average ratings indicating that the activities of the university in all areas are targeted at supporting entrepreneurship. The research contributes to highlighting the differences and similarities in the opinions of different groups of staff on the basis of position, gender and faculty in regard to the future development towards an entrepreneurial university. JEL classification codes: H75, I23, M51 Keywords: entrepreneurial university, HEInnovate tool, self-assessment, staff groups, faculties

Management plays a crucial role in the development and reinforcement of the organizational learning. The paper analyses the impact of changes in the management system on the organizational learning of a business school that is part of a public university. A fundamental change in the management system was carried out in one public university in Estonia, which replaced the academically democratic elections of the rector, deans and directors with a management model that is typical for business organisations, where the heads at all levels are nominated. To identify the impact of changes in management on the organizational learning, Watkins' and Marsick's learning organization questionnaire (DLOQ) has been used in the research. The research does not represent a classical measurement of organizational learning with DLOQ, but the measurement instrument is used to compare changes in the organizational learning in transition to a new management system. Employees of that organization are asked to compare the learning rate change in comparison with learning when the previous management system was in use. For that, the employees are asked to evaluate changes in all DLOQ characteristics compared to the previous management system on the scale from -3 to + 3. In the case of a positive rating, the measured characteristic is better with the new management system and a negative rating indicates the characteristic has deteriorated under the new system. The research results will enable to evaluate whether or not, and if yes, then in which aspects the management paradigm typical of a business organization is more effective as a leader of organizational learning than so-called academic democracy based management. Analysis of the impacts of two extremely different management systems on organizational learning also has significant practical value, enabling to identify the bottlenecks of both old and new system from the aspect of organizational learning and to become aware of them and to avoid them.

The Estonian shoreline is approximately 3800 km long and classified into five shore types (cliff, till, gravel, sandy, silty); approximately 95% of it is still in the natural condition. One fact which makes Estonian coastal management quite unique is that during the Soviet time most of the Estonian shoreline was a restricted zone for all civilians and all the activities in few settlements were performed under strict supervision of Soviet authorities. After independence coastal recreation and development has been part of the major national political debates. The aim of the study was to investigate the values of the coastal landscapes using two methodologies about the same shore types. The representative survey (N = 1519) among Estonian adult population was conducted with the purpose to identify: (1) public preferences for shore types; (2) annual willingness-to-pay (WTP) separately for all shore types in Estonia (a contingent valuation study). The contingent valuation survey identified that there is a considerable public demand for seashores in natural condition - 42 million euros annually. Comparing the preferences of shore types and the WTP for the same shore types both significant similarities and significant differences were found. The sandy shore was the most preferred and had also the highest WTP. Preferences and WTP for other shore types varied significantly by the respondents' sociometric indicators. The reasons of the differences and similarities are identified and analyzed. The paper proves that those two methodologies are appropriate for bringing out different details of valuing the whole Estonian shoreline and are important tools for decision- making.

Purpose This paper aims to measure the organizational learning in two of Estonia’s Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and identify connections between the organizational learning and various characteristics of HEI, such as ownership form and market participation rate. Design/methodology/approach Watkins and Marsick’s learning organization questionnaire, the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ), as one of the most popular organizational learning measurement instruments, was taken to measure the organizational learning of HEIs. Employees from a total of two Estonian HEIs, which differ in several characteristics, completed the Watkins and Marsick’s questionnaire. To identify the dependence of organizational learning on two observed HEIs’ characteristics, the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis method was used. The analysis was performed at the DLOQ dimensions level. Findings The average organizational learning rate of the two universities under study was over average (3.72 on six-point Likert scale) which allows arguing that both observed institutions are learning organizations. The organizational learning rate based on samples of employees from two HEI-s depends on the institution`s market participation on the 90 per cent level in the first dimension, 95 per cent in the second dimension and 90 per cent in the sixth dimension. Correlation between the HEI ownership form and any of the DLOQ dimensions is weak. Research limitations/implications The study is based on two universities. The sample size is insufficient; therefore, the results cannot be generalized to HEIs as a whole. Originality/value The relationship between higher education institutions’ organizational learning and higher education institutions’ characteristics has not been investigated before. The results of this paper allow a better focus on different aspects of organizational learning in HEIs’ development and relate to their specific development needs.

The mission and tasks of universities have changed over the years, and the emergence of a knowledge-based economy has created challenges for the higher education sector as a whole on a global scale. A modern university must be a flexible and dynamic organisation, which is able to successfully operate in a constantly changing environment. In order to fulfil this condition, a university must conform to the criteria of the learning organisation as well as be entrepreneurial. The paper studies the relationships between organisational learning and the level of organisational entrepreneurship in higher education institutions (HEI) at the example of Tallinn University of Technology. In this research, the organisational learning rate has been measured with the help of the Dimensions of the Learning Organisation Questionnaire (DLOQ) by Watkins and Marsick and the level of entrepreneurship has been studied using the HEInnovate questionnaire. DLOQ by Watkins and Marsick and HEInnovate were carried out separately among the faculties of technology and engineering and the Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration (TSEBA) at Tallinn University of Technology, which differ in their market participation rate (tuition fees/state commissioned student places), the scope of entrepreneurship training and the rate of internationalisation. The findings demonstrate that TSEBA has better results in DLOQ dimensions 1, 2 and 6, and in HEInnovate pillars 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. The findings also show that an organisation with a higher organisational learning rate has also a higher level of entrepreneurship, allowing concluding that these might be dependent variables. To investigate the dependence of the organisational learning rate on the level of entrepreneurship, regression equations were constructed, which identified the pairs of dependent dimensions/pillars: WM2/HEI5; WM3/HEI2; WM4/HEI2; WM4/HEI5; WM5/HEI2. Taking the dependences, recommendations were formulated for synchronous development of the organisational learning rate and the level of entrepreneurship of Higher Education Institutions, based on the content analysis of DLOQ dimensions and HEInnovate pillars.

Seminatural grasslands i.e. the floodplain meadows, seashore meadows, wooded meadows, dry meadows, wooded pastures are the very traditional part of Estonian landscapes, which play an important role in the appearance of the landscape in general and also serve as an important habitat for many plant and animal species. In order to preserve the seminatural grasslands continuous annual mowing and/or pasturing is needed. This activity is not economically profitable and needs subsidizing. The authors of the work raise a hypothesis that the Estonian seminatural grasslands could be viewed as a valuable non-market environmental good for which a significant public demand exists. In order to find out the non-market value of the seminatural grasslands a contingent valuation study was carried out among the Estonian working-age population (size of the sample 1061 individuals). The average individual willingness to pay was 11.3 euros. During the study, the authors constructed the total demand function and discovered that the total annual demand for seminatural grasslands was 17.9 million euros.

Environmental tax rhetoric in the Estonian policy discussion leads to a dilemma. Policy makers want to increase environmental charges for budgetary reasons and at the same time achieve environmental goals. The article examines the empirics of this issue, i.e. whether pollution charges have been successful as a fiscal or as an environmental instrument. By index analysis the authors find that pollution charges were fiscally successful in the beginning of the 2000’s and have since 2004 been successful environmental taxes. The proposition that environmental charges do not cover the damage costs of pollution is also under investigation. It is found that the damage cost estimates have incorrectly been interpreted as average costs. The implication is that the damage costs which have been used as evidence for increasing pollution charges are incorrect and that the over-estimation of damages is in the order of a magnitude of two or more.

Discussions about the quality of business education and its adaptability to the rapidly changing business environment have brought providers of business education - business schools - more sharply into focus. Business schools are specific organizations which in terms of ownership may be both privately and publicly owned. Notwithstanding the ownership form, a precondition for business schools to cope with the challenges they are facing is constant development and improvement of their organization, which presumes learning capacity from the organization. According to Peter Lorange, organizational learning should be a strategic development component of the BS. Lorange points out that organizational learning can be expected to be a key driver for any leading BS which wants to advance and to respond to the customers. The key of structural changes is in the hands of managers. It is primarily a business school leader's responsibility to ensure that the structures and systems are in place to maximise the opportunity for organizational learning (Willcoxson 2001). The authors of this paper have been dealing with both theoretical and practical problems of measuring organizational learning at business schools as organizations for years. They have developed a special learning rate measurement instrument for business schools - Business School Learning Organization Questionnaire, BSLOQ - (Voolaid, Ehrlich 2011), which has also been used for measuring the learning rate of business schools worldwide (Voolaid, Ehrlich 2012). The current study continues the authors' work in the area of organizational learning of business schools and analyses the organizational learning characteristics related to the management of business schools. The business schools worldwide survey conducted by the authors pointed out that the organisational learning rate of BSs depends on ownership (Voolaid, Ehrlich 2012). The learning rate of private capital based BSs are as a rule higher than that of public BSs. In this paper the authors find out that the learning rate difference in private and state/public BSs depends on the management of a business school. The empirical part of the paper presents a survey of business schools worldwide and the analysis of their management-related organizational learning dimensions, as well as focus group interviews with the employees of private and public business schools in Estonia to specify the learning rate dependence on the business school management, and discuss the importance of individual characteristics of BSLOQ. The authors compare which of the management features of the learning organization conduce to the learning of a business school. The study defines the management features which restrain the organizational learning capacity at public and private business schools, and identifies the management aspects which cause different learning rates in public and private universities. The study also provides suggestions on how to improve the management of business schools in order to make the learning rate increase.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of earmarking on central government environment protection expenditure. Since central government spending for the environment relies on earmarked revenues, which is not the case of the local government, it is expected that central government expenditure is to a lesser degree affected by macroeconomic developments. The analysis indicates that this is the case because correlation between GDP change and the change in central government expenditure for environment protection is smaller than that of the local government. It is also found that increasing revenues from earmarked environmental charges have contributed to growing expenditure. However, the analysis also suggests that the main driver of this growth is the expansion is EU funds. Reliance on EU expenditure was further reinforced by changes in earmarking rules in 2008-2009.

Estonia has rich and valuable coastal landscapes. Estonian natural coastline is classified into five shore types: cliffs, till, gravel, sandy and silty. Those shore types are well distinguishable and recognised by scientists and the general public. Shoreline types are not distributed equally, some shore types occur in all counties, other shore types are found only in certain parts of Estonia. The main aim of the current study is to assess whether people's preferences for shore types are related to the types occurring in their home county. A survey (N=1,519) was carried out on an Estonian working age population in all 15 counties, of which 7 counties have a coastline. The questionnaire contained information on Estonian shores, which were presented in coloured photos. Respondents were asked to rank the photos according to the question: "Which shore type do you prefer to visit in your leisure time?" Differences were found among preferences in various regions; however, sandy shores were highly preferred among all respondents. In other types, differences appeared. Respondents are less likely to prefer shore types which are dominant in their region than shore types which are absent or less common in their county.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact from the recent financial crisis on public environmental expenditure in Estonia. The data show different tendencies depending on the level of government. While the recent financial crisis has affected Local Government spending on environmental protection negatively, Central Government environmental protection expenditure increased by more than 30 percent between 2007 and 2008. Preliminary data indicate that this tendency continued in 2009. When comparing expenditures on environmental protection during times of crisis it is possible to detect differences between the developments in 1998-1999 and those in 2007-2008. Public expenditures on environmental protection were much more sensitive to declining GDP during the previous financial crisis than during the recent crisis. In the 2000s two important changes have affected environmental funding in Estonia. Accession to the EU in 2004 has made EU funding available for environmental protection. The ecological tax reform introduced in 2005 has increased the revenues of environmental charges earmarked for environmental purposes

In contrast to countries with longer experience in the field, Estonia has not actively included public opinion into the planning process of new wind farms. Wind farms in Estonia are built mainly on the coast, 90% of which is covered with natural surface. The paper investigates, using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), the willingness of Estonian inhabitants to pay for preserving the Estonian coastal zone wind turbines free. Total demand of Estonian adult population for Estonian shores in their natural condition without wind turbines is found to be considerable 23.4 million euro annually. The demand of the population for the preservation of the nature underlines the need for changes in national strategies for the wind power sector.

Globalization presents new challenges to business schools: all of them are rivals in the global market. In order to look for better opportunities to survive in growing competition it is needed to be a learning organization which helps to increase the competitive advantage of the business school. Business schools worldwide are facing unequal situations economically, since their operating environments vary largely in terms of economic welfare. The research seeks to clear up whether the prosperity of the business school's location country provides an advantage to the school, which is indirectly revealed in a higher organizational learning rate or whether a smaller GDP per capita in the location country is an obstacle to the school's development. The paper investigates the dependence of business schools' (BS) organizational learning rate (LR) on GDP per capita of the school's country of location. The authors used an instrument invented by them for measuring the BS learning rate. The structure of the instrument is based on Watkins and Marsick's learning organization questionnaire, but it takes into consideration the specific features of BS. The measuring instrument consists of three levels, which in turn are divided into 7 dimensions and 45 characteristics addressing all learning aspects of BS as organizations. They measured the organizational learning rates of 105 BSs from 44 countries. To identify the dependence between the BS LR and the school's location country they conducted a regression analysis for average LR as well as separately for individual components of learning (levels, dimensions, characteristics). The results of the analysis reveal that the dependence of BS' average LR on GDP per capita of the school's location country is not statistically significant. However, they identified a negative correlation between the rates of individual BS learning components and GDP per capita of the school's location country. Additionally they investigated dependence of the possession of international accreditations awarded to BSs that show organizational quality (EQUIS, AACSB) on GDP per capita of the school's location country. Here the analysis shows a strong positive correlation.