In the midst of a world embroiled in economic turmoil, a few nations have managed to do surprisingly well—among them, Estonia. After near economic collapse during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, the country has managed to successfully bounce back with substantial GDP growth, a vibrant trade environment, and a notable budget surplus. During the first quarter of this year, Estonia had the highest rate of growth in the EU and the biggest drop in unemployment. In July, its credit rating was raised by Fitch to A+, a reflection of substantial economic …
While members of Congress, former cabinet members, long-time aides and assorted VIPs were celebrating Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday at the Reagan Presidential Library in sun-baked Simi Valley, California, I was nearly 6,000 miles away in snow-bound Tallinn, Estonia, a small Baltic country bordering on the former Soviet Union. As a Reagan biographer, I was invited by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Amb. Michael Polt of the U.S. Embassy to keynote a conference on President Reagan’s legacy and U.S.-Estonian relations, which couldn’t be much better in large part because …
TBILISI — Discussions at the fifth annual European Resource Bank today turned to the question of how to implement radical reforms, and what we can learn from previous success stories such as Estonia. A panel titled, “Reforms need more than sound economics,” expressed the view that legislators of new democracies need to put forward a moral vision when undertaking serious reforms, and further to that, they need to bankrupt the previously dominating communist ideology. Communism and socialism have dominated the social, political, cultural and philosophical space in large parts of …
For years, he worked tirelessly to tell the stories of the courage shown — and horrors endured — by the tens of millions who lived and died under tyrannical regimes. He honored those who resisted, those who were silenced and those whose names never would be known to the wider world. Now, though, Heritage Foundation scholar Lee Edwards is the one being saluted. And it’s gratifying to see the plaudits aren’t only from friends and allies in the conservative movement, but the peoples of former communist nations. In recognition of …
Two-time former Estonia Prime Minister Mart Laar visited The Heritage Foundation today, extolling the benefits the flat tax brought to his country. First passed in Estonia in 1994, Laar cited two immediate benefits he witnessed when the flat tax was implemented: First, government revenues went up as the simplicity of the new system “killed” tax avoidance; and second, growth skyrocketed. Indeed healthy economic growth has been a staple of the Eastern European countries that adopted the flat tax since the fall of the Berlin Wall, including Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and …
