Selectivity of Migrants from Baltic Countries Before and After Enlargement and Responses to the Crisis

Subsequently, the Baltic countries exhibited the most rapid economic growth among EU member states (see, for example, Hazans and Philips 2010, Section 7 for details). However, in the second part of 2008 both countries entered a deep recession. In 2009, both GDP and employment (full-time equivalents) were about 20 per cent below 2007 levels, while unemployment reached 14 per cent in Estonia and 17.5 per cent in Latvia (and further increased in 2010 to 17.3 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively). Despite this apparent similarity, Latvia was forced to apply for emergency financial assistance from the EU and the IMF, while Estonia, which created a stabilisation fund during the growth years, managed without external help and experienced much more modest wage cuts than Latvia (European Commission 2011: Figure I.3.1). Moreover, the crisis in Latvia is perceived by the majority of the population as a systemic, rather than just a financial crisis, which is not the case in Estonia. Table 6.1 illustrates these differences which, as we shall see, are well reflected in emigration patterns.