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Settlement network, demographic circumstances, healthcare, social service and educations in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county
105-113Views:154Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county shares its borders with three countries: Romania, Ukraine and Slovakia. The county is part of the North Great Plain Region, it is the third largest county of Hungary in terms of its population. The peripheric geographical location of the county gained importance by the EU accession, as the county represents a significant part of the eastern border of the EU.
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county is one of the counties of the Great Plain with significant population in the outlying areas, out of the six counties of the Great Plain the population of outlying areas is the lowest in the county, its ratio has been significantly reducing in the past decades. In the six counties in 1990 the population of the outlying areas represented 22.3% of the total population, whereas in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county the ratio was 13.6%. The ratio has dropped to 6.2% and 4.1% respectively.
The major aim of economic development is the improvement of the living conditions of the population, first and foremost by increasing family incomes. There are two main determining factors of family income level: employment ratio and the sectoral structure of employment.
Between 1992–2010 the number of employees in the financial sector decreased from 89 000 to 75 000, whereas the number of employees in the non-financial sector grew dynamically from 40 000 to 65 000. Structural change was significant. In the non-financial sector the proportion of the two main employment fields (education and healthcare) swapped. The number of employees in the education sector decreased from 16 000 to 14 000, while the number of employees in the health and social care sector grew from 11 000 to 22 000.
On the basis of statistics the number of kindergarten and primary school children reduced in the given period, while the number of secondary school aged children increased. In 1999 the number of secondary school children was 1/5th compared to the number of primary school children, whereas in 2010 their number almost reached 1/2. The student number in higher education doubled, which is a favorable phenomenon, though its structural changes raise some problems. The lack of technical trainings hinders exigent industrial development.
Since 1990 the education level of the population has significantly improved, the number and proportion of secondary school students and university graduates have risen much more dynamically than in other regions of the country. In the county the proportion of secondary school students increased 63% more than the national average, while in the case of university graduates the county passed the average national growth by more than 54%. Due to the effect of structural changes the proportion of university graduates in the corresponding age group improved, its backwardness compared to the national average has ameliorated from 34% to 29%, in the group of secondary school graduates the disadvantage has moderated from 26% to 21%. The computer and internet supply, as well as the number of teachers and students enrolled in secondary education institutions have developed dynamically in the county. Their growth has much excelled the national average.
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The social basis of regional development in the North Great Plain Region
57-65Views:155It is a widely accepted practice in the European Union to break down countries into regions according to their stage of development, their cultural and economic characteristics. The basis of this methodology is the EU-conform MOTS system, which distinguishes territorial units on five levels. Besides the MOTS system, Hungary uses another system, too, which is the basis of our public administration, and whose roots go back to the times of King Saint Stephen: the county system. In Hungary, developmental decisions are taken by a county’s general assembly; at the same time, from an economic point of view the characteristics and competitive advantages of a county can be defined more precisely than those of a region.
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County and Hajdu-Bihaur County may be described with completely different characteristics, albeit both of them are part of the North Great Plain Region. On a county level economically important and justified developmental areas may be mapped more precisely.
Hajdu-Bihar County is the 4th most populous county in Hungary. With 80.2% of the population living in cities, the county is significantly urbanized. 2010 statistics show that the birth rate per 1,000 people in the county is practically the same as the birth rate of the country and that of the North Great Plain Region. Following the trends in developed countries, mothers now tend to give birth in an older age. Almost half (44.5%) of the children in Hajdu-Bihar County are born after their mother’s 30th birthday.
The general health condition of the population of Hajdu-Bihar County can be described with various indicators. In terms of medical and hospital care no difference can be observed between regional and national data, the county’s health care does not straggle behind. In sum, with the health care system of the county, estimated life expectancy of men is higher than the regional average, and in case of women it is higher than both the regional and national average, according to the given year’s mortality.
Children’s ratio among the county’s population is 15.9%, which is more than 1% over the national average. The ratio is higher in case of girls and boys alike. The income of the county’s population depends not only on labour income but also on social benefits. According to the analysis, the proportion of old-age pensioners and those receiving pension-like allowances within the whole population is somewhat lower in the county than the national average. The number of children receiving child-welfare and daytime care is prominent in the county.
The number of families and children receiving child-care allowance has not changed significantly in recent years. All important elements of social benefits have increased in the last decade. The quality of life of the county’s population is largely affected by the presence (or absence) of basic infrastructure in their environment. Research conducted at the settlements of the county shows that currently the greater part of the population has access to basic public utility services which form part of everyday services. Although they affect the general quality of life, the network of roads and passenger traffic have their real significance in terms of economic development. The county’s modern, paved road-system had already been built earlier.
Roads and pavements in inner-city areas have been paved up to 70%. The technical condition of roads and pavements can seriously impede the population’s mobility and it may hinder the development of certain settlements and districts.
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The impact of employment and income circumstances on the development of regions
15-19Views:161The economic condition of an area is fundamentally determined by the extent of employement, as well as the size and composition of its active population. No sustainable economic growth is possible without the necessary amount of employees with the proper skills.
As regards the proportion of employees, i.e. economically active people is significanlty lower in Hungary than not only in Western Europe, but also countries which joined the EU recently. One of the reasons for this fact is the low amount of part-time employment and the other is the phenomenon that the number of agricultural employees – who had a significant role – greatly decreased in the county.
The employment level of the population in the county is nearly identical as that of the North Great Plain region and it is lower than the country average. The activity proportion, i.e. the joint proportion of employees and unemployed people in the population between 15–74 years of age is 3 percentages lower than the country average. The proportion of unemployed people greatly varies depending on the small regions of the county. The proportion of registered unemployed people in the population of active age is the lowest in Debrecen and the highest in the Hajdúhadház small region. The unemployment of career-starters is a further problem to deal with.
The composition of employees in the county is different than the country average. When compared in terms of different economic sectors, it can be observed that agriculture, game management, forestry and fishery are more significant than the country average. Of the provider sectors, the proportion of financial activity, real estate matters and economic services is lower, while that of accommodation services and hospitality is higher than the country average.
There are regional differences similar to unemployment in terms of the income size which is the basis of personal income tax per taxpayer.
The income level in the North Great Plain region is lower than the country average mainly in terms of income paid for work, where this difference is 23%, while it is only 5% in the case of social income. Altogether, the income and expenditure data of the North Great Plain region are not favourable. -
The effects of education, culture, research and development in Hajdú-Bihar county
87-90Views:161The most important instrument of social advancement and economic development is the education system. The educational qualification of the population of Hajdú-Bihar county is continuously improving, however the census data of the year 2001 show that the educational qualification of the population of the county did not reach the national average. The educational qualification of the county’s population is higher at the county seat and in other cities and lower in small municipalities. The county’s ratio is strongly influenced by the data of the county seat Debrecen and that of Hajdúszoboszló sub region.
The unfavorable educational level of the region is related to the migration tendencies and the brain-draining trends of the past decades, as a consequence of which the population of the less developed eastern regions has moved either to the capital, or to the county seats, or larger cities of the region. The young are increasingly affected by the process.
The number of kindergartens in the county corresponds to the national average, therefore taking into consideration the regional demographic characteristics the aim should be the equalization of regional disproportions. The number of students per 1000 resident within the Northern Great Plain Region and in the county significantly exceeds the national average. The secondary school network of the county consists of 38 secondary grammar- and 51 secondary vocational schools.
The secondary schools of Debrecen have considerable impact on the county’s secondary education. The vocational training network of Hajdú-Bihar county is a large, in its conditions highly differentiated institutional network in which all types of secondary vocational institutions are present with secondary technical-, vocational-, accredited higher vocational-, specialized or preparatory vocational-, and special skill enhancement programmes. The majority of the secondary institutions have regional, rarely national enrollment.
Students who have the intention to continue their studies in higher education within the county can study in Debrecen or Hajdúböszörmény.
The integrated University of Debrecen has the highest student number within the country and it offers the widest range of academic programmes in Hungarian higher education. The University of Debrecen with the wide range of graduate and postgraduate educational programmes, unified academic qualification system, English language programmes is a European standard scientific centre of the Trans-Tisza Region. The county’s higher education takes exceeding share beyond its weight in the education of Natural Sciences (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematics), Health- and Social Sciences, Agricultural- and Environmental Sciences and Information Technology, which positively influences its educational structure. The county’s share in the education of Humanities (Hungarian Language, Foreign Languages, History, Archeology, Philosophy) is also significant.
6.3% of the country’s scientific researchers work in the county. In 2010 7.0% of the country’s R+D expenditure was spent here. 3/4 of the region’s research capacity is in Hajdú-Bihar county employed either by the University of Debrecen or by the research teams of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.