Stefan Tung

Supervisors: Dr Allan Sikk and Dr Elodie Douarin

Present status: PhD Candidate

Working title of thesis: Beyond Ethnic Classification: Connecting Divided Society and Support for Post-Transition Economy in Estonia and Latvia

Research:

My research examines the interaction between divided society and the post-transition market economy. After three decades of re-independence of Estonia and Latvia, and the emphasis of the authorities on the integration of Russian speaking minority into the titular/ethnic majority population, I start my research by revisiting and challenging existing literature which categorise Estonian and Latvian societies by their ethnic and linguistic discrepancies (Russian vs non-Russian speaking). I seek to examine and re-segmentise the divided society by analysing the social components in post-Soviet Estonia and Latvia, in particular their identities, social values and social capital.

The aim of the research is to apply and extend the identity economics theory developed by George A. Akerlof and Rachel E. Kranton, which formulated the fundamentals of identity and social norms in economics on individual’s decision making process. By applying their theory to divided society in Estonia and Latvia, I aim to explore the applicability and extension of this theory to the interaction between divided identities and values and post-transition economy. The impact of the economic policies of post-transition economy on different segments of society in Estonia and Latvia will also be analysed. These will contribute and provide insights to academic debates of the interaction and casual relationship between identity and economic development of transition and post-transition economy.

Research interests: Divided society, Economic policies, Economy in post-Soviet Estonia and Latvia, Empirical comparative analysis, Identity, Identity economics, Social norms, Social values, Transition and post-transition economy

Research Centre Affiliation: UCL Centre for Comparative Studies of Emerging Economies (CCSEE)