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Slovenian economy in the grip of credit crisis – How to proceed?
19-25Views:153The Slovenian economy has been through steep ups and downs post-EU accession (2004), and is at the crossroads again. The period 2004–2008 was characterized by balanced monetary and fiscal policies resulting in the adoption of the Euro (2007), coupled with overheated economic growth and propelling corporate indebtedness, fuelled by rapid credit expansion from cheap and abundant foreign funding.
The global financial crisis has exposed the “home-grown” vulnerability of the Slovenian economy, bringing about the second largest GDP fall (9.4%) in the Eurozone after Greece, with a double-dip recession (2009, 2012–13). Growth rebounced in 2014 to 2.6% from its low, but the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy continued to slide in international rankings. For further recovery Slovenia, squeezed by high public debt at 82% of GDP, credit contraction despite EUR 5bn state aid injected into the 70% domestically (basically state) owned banking sector, and the continued threat of massive bankruptcy and debt overhang in the corporate sector, has 3 fundamentally different policy options.
− Profound restructuring of the banking system and the real sector, on the basis of earnest privatization and voluminous FDI inflow.
− Slow creditless recovery due to half-hearted reforms in the financial system and corporate sector.
− Substituting wide-ranging micro level restructuring with Government-stimulated credit expansion, reproducing current tensions in even higher magnitudes in the future.
In the current state of the Slovenian economy, equity-led growth, combined with far-reaching institutional reforms seems the only choice in laying the foundation for long-term sustainable economic development. This study outlines the critical further steps in re-invigorating the financial system, utilizing also the proposals elaborated by the author and his banking team for the Slovenian macro policy decision-makers.
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Opportunities and barriers of local products’ sales in rural regions
31-37Views:123Nowadays local economy systems are highlighted in the Hungarian, the European and also in the global economy system. Inhabitants and local products, services created by them are the most important elements of local economy systems. Local products are especially important in areas with special conditions, in the underprivileged rural areas. Sales of these products and services on local level and above could give answer to economic and social challenges in these regions. In the same time to become part of the economic system selecting the best marketing channels for these products is very important. In this study, based on a case study in Mezőcsát, possible marketing channels are revealed through quantitative research based on primer and secunder data and SWOT analysis. In the case of Mezőcsát for local sales the best place is the local market, while webshop is the best for sales outside Mezőcsát.
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Development alternatives of rural economy
187-191Views:100Environmental, natural, social and economic processes undergoing both in Europe and in the world predict such a 21st century that is characterised by increasing resource-crisis from both economic and ecological aspects. Therefore, it is very important for Hungary to see what happens to its natural resources, epecially to its agricultural land, water reserves as well as the biodiversity of the local unique flora and fauna. One of the most significant issues of the rural areas of Hungary is whether we can preserve the natural habitats and the various biodiversity of the related species, the favourable biological background of agriculture. In addition, whether we are able to provide high quality food for the country as well as for the broader reagion, whether we are able to produce energy from the resources available as well as to provide sufficient opportunities for the population to live and work. These can be considered as the most significant issuesof the coming decades which determine the strategy of the Hungarian rural economies in long term.
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The examination of human resources in the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region on the basis of human resource hierarchy
91-110Views:72In this paper, I deal with the examination of the situation and change of human resources through the human resource hierarchy. My research covers the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region, which includes four settlements, two towns (Hódmezővásárhely as the centre of the area and Mindszent) and two villages (Mártély and Székkutas). Based on population density the micro-region is qualified as a rural territory, which is underpinned by the micro-region’s market town and homestead like character.
I took the human resource system of Cloke and Park (1985) published in their book of Rural Resource Management as a basis of my examination and I pursued my research in consideration of Fehér’s (2005) researches related to rural economy. The system of human resources provided a hierarchical and logical framework for my examination. In the course of the research I made analyses along the three levels of human resources concerning the micro-region and its settlements.
During the examination of the human resources of the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region I pointed out some negative changes and situations which unfavourably influence the socio-economic processes of the territory and its settlements. All this reveal that the human resources are not only factors of the economy of the micro-region as a rural economy but at the same time they are areas to be developed. The living standard (welfare) of the people living in the area and their quality of life (well-being) depend on the development and level of the different dimensions of the human resources largely. For that very reason there is a need for coordinated development of the human resources and the related fields with respect to the cause-effect relations.
My research contributes to the better cognition of rural resources of the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region, without this a rational improvement and sustainable development of the micro-region and its settlements based on inner resources cannot be imagined. -
Information and Communication Technologies in tourism
49-53Views:144Technological progress and tourism have gone hand in hand for years. Information communication technology (ICT) and tourism are two of the most dynamic motivators of the emerging global economy. Tourism can be considered as one of the most profitable sectors of the Hungarian economy, and in rural areas it is often the only successful economic activity.
Development of ICTs and the expansion of the Internet have changed dramatically in the past few decades. This process is noticeable in
Hungary, as well. Platform of tourism increasingly get to the Internet nowadays, which is vitally important because tourism is an information-intense industry. Therefore, it is critical to understand changes in technologies in order to maintain the crucial role of this sector in the Hungarian economy.
The aim of my study is to support the significance of tourism in Hungary and especially in the North Plain Region with the help of statistical data. Then, I try to show how ICTs appear in this sector and emphasize the role of these tools with some concrete examples. -
The European Union and competitiveness
15-19Views:107I define first of all the competitiveness in my study „Analysing the competitiveness of the European Union”. After that I turn to the analysis of the competitiveness of the EU. The European competitiveness index and its concept were of great assistance during the analyses. The concept of the European competitiveness index has three main components: creative economy, economic performance, access to infrastructure. It is unambiguous that the European Union can only sustain and increase its position reached in the world economy, when its member states commit themselves for the completion of the knowledge based economic policy striving for competitiveness. The Europe 2020 strategy and the budget period 2007–2013 emphasize the outstanding role of competitiveness and urge to take the necessary measures.
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Energy production systems of phototroph microorganisms (classification of photobioreactors)
35-39Views:57In the field of alternative energy sources there is an argue in the comparison of its effects on the benefits and disadvantages to the economics and the environment. New studies are born which are in contradiction with each other. The demand for bioenergy feedstock is growing rapidly however there are the environmental problems caused by the extending energy crop plantations. There is such a significant need for land to grow traditional energy crops on (rape, soy, palm-oil, sugarcane, etc.) that the food purpose agricultural capacity could be in danger. Probably the extensively
growing energy crops play a role in the very high prices of food. In some countries like China for example laws prohibit the use of food based crops such as corn for energie production. In the case of corn based ethanol production the cost only for the feedstock itself is over 60% of the whole preparation costs which significantly effects the entire economy of the energy productions process.
The microalgaes however have a huge biotechnological potential and their production is notably cheaper then the traditionaly grown food crops growing expenses. They play a significant role as feedstocks in todays industrial production in such fields as comestible production, cosmetics, pharmaceutics and biotechnology especially in biofule production. In the field of economy the major aspects here are also the technological designs
and the construction. For the future industrial production the closed type systems seem to have more advantages compared to the open, pond-type systems. For high value material production the more innovative and more easily developed closed photobioreactors are the profitable regardless the vast techological designs used in the construction. -
Differences in Regional Development in the Northern Great Plain Region
170-180Views:119An important ambition of EU regional politics is the reduction of disparities. An important strategical objective of the Commission is to terminate underdevelopment and to ensure the development of the regions based on the principles of solidarity, equity and justice. The commission has dedicated forty percent of its common budget to achieve these goals. The differences in development are significantly influenced by the economic characteristics of the specific region, the quality and quantity of human resources, the accessibility of the region and factors influencing local quality of life.
The new spatial structure has been formed by the processes of the change of regime, the events of nineties and the economic renewal based onforeign capital investments parallel with crisis phenomenon. The economic, political and social consequences of the transformation have significantly transformed spatial structure and increased disparities. New disparities have formed, which strengthened due to the formation of east-west slopes and local crisis zones. The outstanding improvement of the capital resulted in great regional development differences, which can be detected when examining regional distribution of gross domestic product. The Eastern part of the country was most heavily affected by the collapse of heavy industry and agricultural mass production based on the Eastern markets.
It is of key importance for the region to strengthen regional competitiveness, which requires the application of consistent development-politics. Economic development is the most important, which can also draw the possibility of establishing welfare infrastructures. It is important to develop the processing industry, the supply networks and to ease the lack of capital it is also important to involve foreign capital. Developing agriculture plays an important role in transforming the structure of the economy. Since the conditions of the region, its traditions and long-term competitive advantages are favorable, thus can represent a greater ratio in the economy than the EU average. The modernisation of the agricultural sector can be promoted by supporting marketing, quality agricultural development and producer-retail cooperation. It is also highly important to promote development in transportation and informatics infrastructure and human resources.
In the future – based on the strength of the region – it is necessary to achieve such a consistent regional development politics, which by validating the principles of regional politics, serves the interest of utilizing regional development supports most efficiently and prevents the irreversible underdevelopment of the region and promotes fast development. -
Cohesion and competitiveness of the European Union at strategic level
29-33Views:98After the relaunchment of the Lisbon strategy, the cohesion policy of the EU concentrates even stronger on the establishment of the knowledge based economy, on R&D activities and innovations. In the first chapter I demonstrate the funds division of the convergence and regional competitiveness targets in the financial perspective between 2007–2013. The first sheet shows unambiguously that the new member states from Middle-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean countries spend their funds on convergence and cohesion issues. The situation is contrary in the highly developed Western-European countries, in the core regions, where decisive part of the funds are spent on competitiveness issues. In the second chapter of the study I present the Europe 2020 strategy of the EU, that is a crucial paradigm change in the European strategy-making. While the Lisbon strategy focused on the social cohesion of the European Union, the Europe 2020 strategy strives the fostering of the European competitiveness. In the third part of the study I make a comparison how the funds-allocation altered during the two financial perspectives.
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Regional restructuring, reindustrialization and development of the higher education
173-176Views:88The development of the new economy in Hungary involves a complexity of economic and social processes. The sectoral structures and territorial location of the industy and the higher education show significant inequalities. Capital city concentration, low level of research orientation and insufficient linkages with industries are the most important barriers of the development of higher education and reindustrialization. The regional and cohesion policies need strong relations between economic restructuring and higher education development. The paper focuses on demonstrating the regional differences in these fields in southern and eastern Hungarian regions.
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Spent mushroom compost (SMC) – retrieved added value product closing loop in agricultural production
185-202Views:911Worldwide edible mushroom production on agro-industrial residues comprises of more than 11 million tons of fresh mushrooms per year. For 1 kg of mushrooms there is 5 kg of spent mushroom compost (SMC). This enormous amount of waste results in disposal problems. However, SMC is a waste product of the mushroom industry, which contains mycelium and high levels of remnant nutrients such as organic substances (N, P, K). The spent mushroom compost is usually intended for utilization, but there are increasing numbers of experiments focusing on its reuse in agricultural and horticultural production. Recently, the increase of the global environmental consciousness and stringent legislation have focused research towards the application of sustainable and circular processes. Innovative and environmentally friendly systems of utilisation of waste streams have increased interest of the scientific community. Circular economy implies that agricultural waste will be the source for retrieving high value-added compounds. The goal of the present work was to carry out a bibliographic review of the different scenarios, regarding the exploitation of this low cost feedstock with huge potential for valorisation.
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Bioenergy production: are the objects realistic??
53-58Views:80Currently we do not have the possibility to define our energy reserves, since we do not know the magnitude of extant material resources. The known petroleum (crude) supply will be sufficient for about 100 years at the longest, and according to the latest estimates in 2008 we will reach and even exceed the maximum level of oil extraction, and after this it is going to decrease.
Hungary has good givens to go upon the way of sustainable energy economy according to experts, however a coherent government policy that lasts for not just one period is essential, and a sound economic- and agricultural policy is needed as well. According to the FVM’s under-secretary in Hungary more than 1 million hectares can be disposable for energy crop production. This would mean that 20 percent of the fields would be taken away from food production and on these fields energy crops would be grown. But we also have to take into consideration that the increase in energy plant production could happen at the expense of food production. If we would like to ensure the food for Hungary’s population from national sources we have to make calculations in determining energy need. In my research I set out the objective to determine the level of that specific turnover and marginal cost which supports the profitability of grain cultivation. With these indicators it is possible to analyze the economy and competitiveness of growing energy crops in the region of the North Plain. The alternatives of using cereals and rational land use should be also considered. A developing bio-fuel program can be a solution for the deduction of excess grain that is typical in Hungary for several years in the cereals sector. The pressure on the national market caused by excess grain can be ceased or moderated, and therefore the storage problems would decrease as well. -
Regional economic achievements and reindustrialisation in Hajdú-Bihar county
65-74Views:175The North Great Plain region is one of the backward regions of Hungary. The low level of economic development is mainly due to the lack of industrial development. The region is poor in natural resources, its main resources are land, natural gas fields, carbon dioxide, thermal water and the clay mineral stock.
The structure of GDP per capita of the county is different than the country average mainly because of the high proportion of agriculture.
The proportion of the industry and the building industry is not significant. Of the various service provider sectors, trade, transport and telecommunications have a small proportion, while financial and economic service providers have even lower share, which is due to the fact that these sectors are mostly concentrated in Budapest. The share of public and human service prodivers is higher than average due to the University of Debrecen.
The GDP which expresses the economic development of the county in a complex way increased four times its previous value in nominal value between 1995–2009. However, if the real value is considered, the increase is less than 25%, as opposed to the country average, which was less than 40%.
The most complex index of the development level of an economy is GDP expressed either in nominal or real value. If expressed in dollars, GDP is suitable for international comparison with the correction based on the purchasing power parity per person.
The county represents 4.3% of the people employed in the industrial sector in Hungary, while its share in industrial production is only 3.3% which is lower than the regional and population share of the county within Hungary. As regards industrial production per person, Hajdú-Bihar was the 10th county in Hungary; therefore, it is considered to be a less industrialised county.
The product structure of GDP is suitable for drawing useful development conclusions, but the result is more reliable if the income creation ability is also analysed on the basis of the employment structure. -
The situation and role of higher education in the North Hungary region
91-96Views:121Northern Hungary is one of the most disadvantageous regions of Hungary and the European Union; "keeping force" is extremely week. The regional spatial inequalities – despite the national and EU convergence program – have been increasing year by year. The social and economic situation of the region shows negative trends. Negative features of the migration processes are manifested in the candidates' choice for tertiary education has increased in the region in the past three years parallel with the proportion of those who are not on site, but primarily in the Central Hungarian region to continue their studies. An intensification of the negative trends is experienced in the economic processes both in jobs and the structure and performance of the local economy in respect of per capita income.
The transition from the nineties has decisively influenced the social and economic processes and the status of tertiary education institutions and their constantly changing role in the region. The role of education has become a key point of their activities as financing of the sector encouraged the institutions to increase the number of students and training offer, while R&D as form of cooperation in the economic sphere overshaded. Nowadays and over the past decade the increasing demand to transform their educational profile has increased in accordance with the social and economic situation of the region, adjusted to the catch-up and development opportunities of the region.
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Agriculture production and rural development
129-133Views:88In a national economy, the considerable part of its available territory consists of the so called rural area which is mainly used by the agricultural sector. In our days, the rural areas are characterized by the loss of their economic, administrative etc. functions. The agricultural sector is able to utilize the rural areas, though other economic activities play important role as well. To evaluate the agricultural sector in terms of the agribusiness, it is clear that the situation of the agricultural sector is not only decisive for the rural areas, but also for the whole national economy, and therefore, it is part of its balanced development.
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Development directions of microregional spatial environments
61-64Views:129The question how economic, technological and infrastructural developments, as well as products and technologies contribute to the unity and constant strengthening of the society is still unanswered both in Europe and the whole world.
The current erosion of the society and the weakening social cohesion is a regrettable process. These phenomena are a barrier to real development processes and weaken the extension of the economic space; therefore, this negative process has to be stopped and turned into a positive direction.
For this reason, it is increasingly urgent to work out new, feasible solutions, since it has become obvious that solutions whose sole aim is to increase profit typically weaken the indispensable unity of the society, market positions, innovation processes, as well as natural and environmental harmony.
In this situation, we analysed and interpreted the disadvantaged and multiply disadvantaged microregional spatial environments, with special regard to the strategic developments that serve both the strengthening of the microsocieties of microregional spaces and the development of the economy and the extension of economic space.
The identification of disadvantaged microregional spaces is basically done by means of economic indexes, but it is also important to emphasise that these indexes can only be interpreted with social indexes, as they define the situation of the microregional space and the possible development directions together.
The constant strengthening of social unity (cohesion) and the related economic development is basically a new focal point and objective.
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Deproteinized plant juice as part of circular economy: A short review and brief experimental data
23-26Views:1483As the population of the Earth is constantly growing it generates an unmet demand for protein, which is an urgent problem. The protein extraction process is a potential solution, which offers high-quality plant protein suitable for animal and human nutrition at a favorable price. The process used within our project produces green juice from the green alfalfa biomass through pressing. After the coagulation of protein from this green juice, the by-product is called DPJ (Deproteinized Plant Juices) or brown juice. Our preliminary results match the international literature, namely that brown juice take up as much as 50% of the fresh biomass in weight. To utilize this by-product is a crucial part of the process to make it environmental-friendly and financially viable as well. The examined brown juice samples came from a small-scale experiment of alfalfa varieties carried out in the experimental farm at the University of Debrecen. According to our preliminary results, brown juice has high macro- and micronutrient values, furthermore, it has a potentially high amount of antioxidant compounds. The study highlights that brown juice is suitable as an ingredient in microbiological media, in plant nutrition as a supplementary solution, for feedstock and for preparing human food supplements or functional foods. The potential utilization of all biorefinery products makes it a very appropriate technology for today’s challenges.
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Herbaria and foods in the development of microregional spaces
87-89Views:174This study aims to define the concept and significance of herbarium in space and time. It compares the basic ideas of traditional and modern paradigms paying special attention to medicine and nutrition. It examines the notion and role of functional foods in the light of paradigm changes, health preservation, and healing. Concerning the improvement of microregional areas, it evaluates the possible role of herbaria in creating social cohesion, community building, education, and economy improvement.
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In and out of the crisis − Greece
33-36Views:169Facing an unprecedented crisis, both Greece and the international actors have been struggling to facilitate a solution that assures sustainable growth through restructuring the economy and the national accounts. However, enduring solutions cannot be born but through a very thorough understanding of the root causes and the nature of the problem. A country far from fully exhausting her resources is also experiencing increasing tension in the society. Highlighting some key characteristics of the most relevant parties, the factors undermining the society and the real growth potential of the country will be addressed and challenged with key economic principles. This cross-sectional study aims to pave way to a more comprehensive approach to prevent any disagreements or delays that was experienced in late 2013. The findings refer to the assets of the country and identify some basic requirements to boosting the Greek economy. The lessons learned and the growth potential of the country is being discussed in the concluding remarks, pointing to some factors to be considered in the future.
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Explosion in the species number of Phytophthora genus and its influences on ecology and economy
11-11Views:171This short abstract and the presentation summarize the latest changes in taxonomy and ecology of Phytophthora species. Occurrence of new P. species in the region have economy impacts as well.
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Harmonic development and biodiesel
91-95Views:76An increased expansion of renewable resources and biodiesel is observed and prognosed, since fossile energy resources are about to run out. Hungary achieved outstanding sunflower years in the recent years in worldwide comparison. In the future, the feedstock of biodiesel production can also be rape besides sunflower.
According to the concept of harmonious development, the balance between nature, society, economy and human environments is represented by their mutual presumptive character. Research and development need to be aligned into this system. Our aim was to examine the advantages and
disadvantages of biodiesel production in different environments, using a model to do so. In order to maintain the harmony, the existing resources have to be managed properly, taking the correlations of the system into consideration. Targeted technological developments are necessary, similarly to the improvement of energy safety and efficiency. -
The role of economic information technology in the use of functional foods and herbaria and the development of microregional spaces
83-86Views:120This study aims to define the concept and significance of herbarium in space and time. It compares the basic ideas of traditional and modern paradigms paying special attention to medicine and nutrition. It examines the notion and role of functional foods in the light of paradigm changes, health preservation, and healing. Concerning the improvement of microregional areas, it evaluates the possible role of herbaria in creating social cohesion, community building, education, and economy improvement.
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Hungary’s employment policy from the point of view joining the European Union
189-197Views:62What is a place of work? Is it a commitment to work, or continuous pressure under work, or hunting for income? This article is a brief review about the main milestones of the employment history of the European Union and Hungary. In 1989, the Social Charta about the social principles of employee was issued. In 1997 the employment policy became the part of the acquis communautaire. Finally, in 1998, the European
Employment Strategy was developed, which contains the community employment guidelines. In the year of millennium, the new long term concept of the EU, the Lisbon Strategy was approved. In this document the EU was targeted as the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the World till 2010. The Tens joint to the EU in 2004, and a bit later it became clear, that the EU is light-armed against some of the world economy challenges. As a consequence, many objectives of the Strategy could not be reached. Recently member states of the EU have to develop the national action plan for employment year by year. The hungarian plans were developed as well, but the wrong labour market’s parameters haven’t been changed since 2004. -
Spatial environment analisys of the bioenergy production and utilization
235-240Views:93The backwardness of the rural areas compared to the cities poses a problem all over Europe. Rural development and the reduction of differences between the development levels of the regions have expressed roles among the programs of the European Union. Member States are even entitled to subsidisation, they just need to manage subsidies economically. In Hungary, a relatively small amount of the population lives in the capital, more than 80% of Hungarians live in rural cities or villages. The opposition between the countryside and the cities is rather intensified and the symbiotic correlation would need to be restored. Many people migrate from the countryside, especially youngsters, as they have no opportunities to find any job. This phenomenon poses big risks because getting a job is usually difficult everywhere and because fitting into a new environment always involves a lot of difficulties. Also from the aspect of the national economy, migration from the rural areas to the cities is a problem. The state budget will face significant excess costs if someone moves from a village to the city. It could cause unpredictable consequences if people leave the villages, as the maintenance and development of the village living space will face a hopeless situation.
Non-renewable energies are restricted and they will not be accessible after reaching a certain limit. People’s everyday activities and the functioning of the economy presupposes the availabilty of the necessary amount of energy. In the future, solution that provide the longterm stability of energy for the world will become increasingly necessary. There is a huge potential in bioenergy, more specifically in biomass. The building of biomass plants and putting them into operation creates jobs in the rural spatial environments. A locally available resource that can help in creating the energy safety of the country and the reduction of the dependence on import. The production of energy crops or the crops whose purpose of use is energy could help in strengthening the multifunctional character of agriculture and it can represent a source of income for those living off of agriculture under the current uncertain conditions. -
Agriculture and Public Information in Post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina
58-63Views:60Since the Dayton Agreement on Bosnia of 1995 there is peace between Croats, Bosnians and Serbs. Whether this is a lasting situation remains to be seen (de Rossanet, 1997). Pessimists refer to Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” and argue that because Bosnia is situated on the fault line of the Western and Orthodox civilizations and on top of that has a large muslim minority a new war can not be avoided (Huntington, 1997). Others don’t accept this and are of the opinion that rational governance will overcome the problems of the multicultural society. In this view the restoration of the country’s economy is a major priority. However, on the long run, a peaceful outcome is not to be taken for granted.
At present, the international community represented by the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) controls the political situation and the three ethnic groupes are forced to cooperate. To sustain a lasting peace in the future without the guidance of the OHR the reconstruction of the Bosnian economy starting with the agricultural sector is a precondition. This paper reports on a quick scan carried out in the period 15-19 April, 2002, in order to evaluate the possibilities of the agricultural sector as an economic booster in the post war situation. The quick scan was necessary to evaluate and give advise with respect to the plans of the OHR to engage in a public information campaign in order to stimulate the transformation of subsistence farming into commercial agriculture, and to encourage young urban Displaced Persons (DP’s) to consider life as a farmer as an option for their future. The campaign will include a number of sub-regional radio and television series, and a booklet and videos for distribution among the target groups.