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Role of agriculture and multifunctional rural development in Serbia
153-161Views:255Serbia is mostly rural country, as three fourth of its territory make rural areas, while almost half population is living in rural areas. Serbian agriculture is the sector which is very important for the total economy of the country in respect of resources, participation in GDP, employment as well as importance for rural areas and population. This is the only sector in Serbian economy that shows positive foreign trade balance in the recent several years.There are potentials for development of agrarian entrepreneurship on one hand, but on the other, there are constraints in existence of great number of small family farms whereas the huge share could not have commercial profile and could not live only from agricultural activities. The concept of multifunctional development of agriculture and rural areas is still present mostly inscientific and political sphere without clear explanation or interpretation as well as mechanisms of implementation. Serbia’s rural space is heterogenic and devastated in different extent, and therefore extremely complicated for planning of multifunctional development.
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Selection of agricultural land for multifunctional agriculture
49-52Views:234The modern concept of rural development implies the use of agricultural resources, primarily agricultural land, for other (non-agricultural) activities besides its agricultural purpose. The integral aim of this concept of rural development is the maximization of economic results, besides the sustainable development of rural areas, environmental protection and the production of strategic (staple) agricultural products. The objective of this paper is to define the general, theoretical, quantitative model for the determination of the size and quality of agricultural land which, considering the above-mentioned demands (criteria), is optimal for the utilization in agricultural production in certain regions. The remaining agricultural land would be available for the non-agricultural purposes. The economic optimal model for the selection of agricultural land in the traditional agriculture is the model of linear programming. The criteria of the land selection for traditional agriculture are the economic effectiveness (measured by net income or by gross national product) and the economic efficiency (measured by the production economy). The maximum economic effectiveness is determined by the standard method of linear programming and the maximum economy by the method of broken linear programming. The solution of compromise can be determined by multi-criteria programming, based on the minimum differences. The limitation groups in the mentioned variations of the model are: limitations of production quotas of agricultural products, minimum quantities of staple agricultural products, limitations of processing plants in a region (minimum and maximum), limitation of crop rotation, limitations of the needs in animal husbandry for bulky for age and limitations of agricultural land according to various types of utilization. By quantitative defining of the structure and size of agricultural land for traditional agriculture, “the surplus” and structure of agricultural land available for non-agricultural purposes is automatically determined.
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Networking on the utilization of local natural resources
57-60Views:207Together with its partners, Szolnok College is planning to evaluate a new project for networking on the utilization of local natural resources. This project is based on a research work (using the findings of the surveys completed by the representatives of hosts living in the eastern part of Hungary). The project itself is based on the adaptation of the theory of tourism into practice by presenting existing natural values in the supply portfolio of tourist service providers. A unique natural environment can be found alongside a 120 km-long stretch of River Tisza. These natural values interlink and complete each other with respect to Lake Tisza and River Tisza. Regions and settlements situated further from the specified settlements are also rich in natural values which guests will definitely be pleased to get acquainted with. The six landscape centres (including LHH regions) alongside river Tisza (in the two regions) symbolise the interdependent system of the sample area of the project while a single landscape centre in the Pásztó Minor Region embodies a unique character. A register will be prepared for each landscape centre containing unique natural values that can be involved in the tourist supply and handicraft/economic activities (e.g. basket weaving, floodplain economy) that are or can be built on these natural values. A pictorial English/German-Hungarian professional dictionary summarises the distinctive nature of landscape centres. The education material demonstrating the registers is going to be developed both in conventional and electronic form; its spatial IT appearance on the Internet is considered a special feature. The education material will be supplemented with other information currently missing such as those related to environmentally friendly economy, and the legal context. The methodology allows the adaptation of the method in other regions, even in the whole country. The new qualifying and benchmarking system and the trademark managed by a profession-specific cluster that strengthens network co-operation and controls the development guarantee the achievement of high quality tourism.
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The political economy of agri-environmental measures: An empirical assessment at the eu regional level
71-82Views:279The paper deals with the political and economic determinants of EU agri-environmental measures (AEMs) applied by 59 regional/country units, during the 2001-2004 period. Five different groups of determinants, spanning from positive and negative externalities, to political institutions, are highlighted and tested using an econometric model. Main results show that AEMs implementation is mostly affected by the strength of the farm lobby, and the demand for positive externalities. At the same time it emerges a prominent role played by political institutions. On the contrary, AEMs do not seem implemented by the willingness to address negative externalities.
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Impacts of the global financial and economic crisis on the agro-food industry and rural livelihoods in Serbia
113-118Views:289Sixty-five per cent of the Serbian land area is agricultural and 55% of the population is rural.Agriculture share of GDP is more than 10% and about 47% of the rural labour force deals with agriculture. The aim of this work is to analyse the impacts of the global financial and economic crisis on the Serbian agro-food sector and rural communities. Measures introduced, mainly by public institutions, for relieving the consequences of the crisis are presented and discussed. Easily accessible yet high quality data from the central Office of Statistics in Serbia and specialized literature have been used. Impacts have been assessed by analyzing and discussing the trends of many socio-economic indicators. The crisis has had general impacts on the Serbian economy (low GDP growth, unemployment increase, price volatility, purchasing power decrease, etc.). Due to the crisis growth in agricultural production has been very low (0.1% in 2009). Agro-food exports decreased dramatically in 2008. About 9000 agricultural jobs were lost in 2008 and 2009. Reduced exports and lower domestic demand impacted negatively on agricultural commodity prices and agricultural household incomes.Access to credit became more difficult especially for small producers. However, agriculture is still a very important safety net. Agricultural employment share has increased both for men and women. The importance of agriculture is even higher if we consider the “grey agricultural economy”. To mitigate the crisis effects, the Government provided subsidies to rural people and will adopt the National Strategic Plan and Programme for Rural Development. Nevertheless, public institutions - in partnership with private, civil society and international organisations - should improve rural producers’ access to market information and credits and foster investments in rural areas including non-agricultural ones and those aiming at improving physical capital.
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The role and function of sport economic studies on higher education
53-55Views:295Sport economy is a new discipline in domestic and international higher education. In this paper I would like to introduce the present situation and experiencies of sport correlation with economic sciences. I am looking for the answer, for what role and possibilities does sport economic master program in Hungary have.
JEL code: Z2
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Agrarian budget as an instrument of agrarian development policy of Serbia
Views:255Purpose of the research is to emphasize the role of agrarian budget in development of Serbian agrarian economy and to examine the problem of agricultural and rural development financingsupport.Furthermore, in this research initial reforms of economic measures have been analyzed concerning Serbian agrarian policy. The goal of this paper is to provide an insight into the role of agricultural budget in agrarian policy of Serbia.The first part of the study gives an overview of macroeconomic situation in Serbia and impact of the financial crisis on Serbia’s economy. Second part includes analysis of the topic item, i.e. agrarian budget role in Serbian agrarian sector. It includes review of relevant literature and researches already conducted on legislation and practice of Serbian agrarian policy as well as examination of statistical data regarding present agrarian budget for 2009.The research focuses at the Serbian agrarian budget for 2009 and agrarian policy of the present Serbian government administration.
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Automated valuation model for livestock appraisal in loaning practice
37-42Views:205Actualization of loan security (mortgage) value is of major importance in Hungarian loaning practice. Due to the recession in economics, the value of agricultural portfolio of banks has decreased a great deal, though not to such a great extent as other branches of the economy. Depreciation of estate stock is compensated with additional collateral security. Besides other stock, often temporarily and out of necessity, livestock is presented as additional collateral security. From the loaners’ point of view, however, the registered inventory value does not guarantee security. The authors have set up an appraisal method giving professional guidance through automated valuation as to how dairy stock can be used as mortgage for loan security. Hereby we are to present the details of both the theory and the methodology of a model that is appropriate for the valuation of dairy livestock on an MS Excel basis. Thus, the process is fast and has more prospects for all parties in the loaning or leasing business. The method involves the features of livestock technology, the expected realized profit, and breed stock value. By the implementation of this method, the loaners can calculate the value of loan recovery (loan to value) with acceptable security.
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Civic organizations and citizens-an alternative approach to understanding civic engagement
137-141Views:225The importance of nonprofit, and inside classic civic sector is usually approached on the basis of figures of the Statistical Office. Based on these, we may assume these to have a slight or intermediate role in the greater economy regarding economic capacity and human resources. Actually, we cannot have a closer look into local conditions and circumstances which would contribute to a better understanding of how civic organizations are connected to citizens. It is difficult to estimate the background, effect, personal movements behind the civic sector; international literature discusses this issue in the framework of civic engagement. In a private examination, I may also contribute to the alternative approach to the importance of the civic organization sector by studying and measuring the complex indicator termed “civic involvement”. Additionally, a small scale pilot examination has revealed a better, more precise description of the connection between citizens and civic organizations, which may also enable the better planning of local municipal interventions.
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Analysis of economic issues relating to the dairy sector, with emphasis on price transmission
61-70Views:292The dramatic decline in consumption after 1990 was an important problem during the analysis of the sector. Even today, consumption is still below the degree that was before the political change, and significantly lags behind the EU level.The importance of this topic is emphasized by the fact that surplus milk could be marketed through the increased domestic consumption; this would create a more stable and calculable situation for farmers. Therefore, I considered it important to reveal what factors and by what shares influence the consumption of milk and dairy products. The relationship, time series and cross-sectional analysis based on national and international databases demonstrate the relationship between the consumption of milk and dairy products and the other determining factors of consumption in Hungary and in the EU-25 through diagrams. I draw the conclusion that there is a medium correlation between the development of the economy, the higher income level and the consumption of milk and dairy products. Just before our EU accession, the dairy sector was one of the most critical industries of Hungarian agriculture, which is why I chose this for my analysis. I regard as a new scientific result the econometric analysis of the asymmetric market conditions in the price transmission approach within our dairy sector between 1995 and 2003. I confirmed and quantified that the market is under an oligopoly and defined the direction of price adjustment. Furthermore, I regard as a new result in the price transmission analysis (also published in the article published with Dr. József Tóth), that the three possible dimensions (elasticity, a symmetry relations,lag) are analysed simultaneously.Therefore,a more sophisticated picture is given on price transmission. The theoretical advantages and disadvantages are verified by an example of a vertical coordination based on the horizontal cooperation in the dairy sector (Alföldi Tej Ltd).
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The role of sport infrastructure: use, preferences and needs
47-52Views:505Leisure and mass sports are very significant both socially and economically. Physical activities contribute to forming a healthier society. Skills and abilities developed by sport promote people’s well-being and directly improve their physical, mental and psychological performance this way producing better quality of life. The state of health of the workforce is a more and more frequent question in developed and developing economies but mostly in the western civilizations. Researches prove that those who are more active phisicly can perform better at their work and are more efficient in their jobs. They claim less sick leave benefit and their health insurance costs are lower, this way preserving the health of the workforce can be an investment in the future. If we want the population to live in a healthier way and do more sports only education and motivation are not enough, it is very important to provide the appropriate infrastructural background as well. People can have a wide range of choice provided by the local sports establishments and companies and the possibilities resulting from sport infrastructure investments. The effects of sport infrastructure investments and developements are many folded and long-therm, but it is worth approaching their benefits from different points of view. Researching this topic can contribute to better understanding of the society from the points of view of health care, economy and sociology. The aim of our work was to examine the sporting habits and sports consumption. In order to get to know the consumers we carried out a survey with 350 particiant with the help of an online questionnaire. When analyzing it I focused on the answers given by those who were active in sports, which was the 75% of total sample. In the analysis of the answers and relations between the questions and the different factors we used the SPSS Statistics program. Providing sport establishments and facilities and initiating such investments are highly important for each region. From the answers of the quesstionned we can learn what facilities are available for the consumers and what they miss most in the living area.
JEL code: L83
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WHAT KINDS OF COMPETENCES DO WE REQUIRE AT THE EMPLOYMENT MARKET? JOB ADVERTISEMENTS REVIEW BASED ON COLLECTED DATA FROM WORKLINE.HU JOB-SEEKING SITE
Views:279The epidemic of coronavirus induced radical changes on the employment market as well, hence we may reasonably ask what (new) competences do we have to own to become successful in seeking jobs. The goal of this research is to shed light on the employment market’s new competence demands by analysing job offers found on the website workline.hu. Execution of the investigation took place during the Spring of 2022, during which 410 job vacancies were examined. By utilizing the method of content-analysis, the most important competences were defined first, and then, using KSH’s employment rate statistics, crosstab analysis have revelaed the developments of the most paramount key competences, specializations, competence expectations and connections between the regions. Ultimately, I have determined the foreign language knowledge demanded by employers, and other requirements displayed in the advertisements. Based on the results, the most important key competences include precision, independent working skills and excellent communication skills, which fulfilled a major role in sortments both by regions or national economy sectors. Furthermore, the higher skill demands of inviting applications originated from Transdanubial regions were also corroborated. Beyond said competences, however, numerous other factors (consisting but not limited to: computer science knowledge, B-category driver’s license) may also play a significant role during selection of employees. That being said, the examination did not confirm bigger successfulness rate amongst people with foreign language knowledge. Further investigation of the study includes compare and contrast or results with the competence demands found on other job advertisement portals.
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The effects of global real economic crisis on the markets for fossil and renewable fuels
51-56Views:303The 2008/2009 world economic crisis had significant impact on the oil and fuel markets. The crisis developed from the meltdown of American and European mortgage and financial markets and rapidly involved the global real economy. As each country reacted differently to the crisis, the changes in the fuel market also showed significant geographic variation. In our present research, the actions of the US, German and Hungarian fuel markets were analysed for the answer to the reasons for the differences in crisis reactions. We examined the tendency of fuel consumption, the changes of price elasticity for gasoline and diesel and the possible effects of the crisis on the regulatory system.
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A Quantitative Assessment of the Rurality and an Efficiency Analysis of Emigration in Romania
39-46Views:317In Romania, as in many other Eastern European countries, the early 1990s were marked by a significant emigration from the countryside as a consequence of the transition from a centralised economy to an open one and due to key changes in the political framework. The permanent emigration has predominantly been concentrated in rural areas where multiple socio-economic variables such as GDP per capita, unemployment, and public financial subsidies aimed at supporting people at risk of severe deprivation and poverty have all had a direct effect on rural depopulation. The rurality is a complex theoretical construct comprising many items and variables and is, therefore, difficult to define in a concise manner. The aim of this paper is to assess the evolution of emigration in Romania between 2001 and 2016 through a quantitative approach, estimating an index of rurality for the same period composed of a set of socio-economic variables having a direct or indirect nexus to it. In the first phase of research, a matrix of correlation and a multiple regression model has been used in order to estimate the direct links among all investigated variables. Following the quantitative methodology, in the second phase Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) has been used in order to assess the main cause-effect relationships among a few selected endogenous variables and a set of socio-economic items. Furthermore, using a non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) output-oriented model, this research has assessed the efficiency in terms of permanent emigration from Romania estimated as an output to minimise and not as an output to maximise, as investigated by traditional efficiency approaches. In terms of efficiency, financial subsidies allocated by national authorities and the level of per capita Gross Domestic Product have acted directly on the level of emigration. The index of rurality in 2016 has been influenced in particular by he pluriactivity in farms in terms of agritourism, the dimension of farms in terms of land capital endowment, and the level of GDP per capita.
JEL Classification: Q10; Q18
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How to improve the performance of agriculture in Mongolia by ICT
59-64Views:481Agriculture is one of the most important sectors for the Mongolian economy. Also, self-sufficient food is a significant target that has a vital role in the food safety of people in Mongolia. But due to climate change, not proper management, and lack of technology, the Mongolian agricultural sector is facing several issues. So this article aims to find some potential solutions to improve this situation, especially for the crop production sector in Mongolia. To define the current situation of Mongolian agriculture, we used statistical data and reports and recent scientific articles as well as online sources. The current situation of Mongolian agriculture is defined using SWOT analysis reported by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry of Mongolia. Based on this research, we discuss the possibility of using a drone to improve the performance of agriculture in Mongolia. As a result, a drone is effective in enhancing the performance of agriculture performed by householders. Also, two effective models that are based on ICTs to address soil erosion and harvest losses issues in Mongolia are defined in this article.
JEL Classification: Q16
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Agricultural cooperatives and their membership in cooperative unions in Serbia
25-32Views:323Goal of this paper is to analyse business of agricultural cooperatives in Serbia and their territorial distribution. Paper also comprehends analyses of premises of directors of agricultural cooperatives towards cooperative associations, based on result of survey conducted on chosen sample. Analysis is based on the hypothesis that reform processes present in the Serbian economy, and completely absent from cooperative sector, have weaken the work of cooperative unions and undermined regular relations between cooperatives and their associations. Paper also analyse premises of directors of agricultural cooperatives on relevant questions on membership and work of 12 regional, provincial and Cooperative union of Serbia, based on result of survey conducted in 148 or 7.2% of 2.055 agricultural cooperatives in Serbia. For cooperatives that are not members of any union, paper gives systematization of reasons why cooperative is not member and motives that could inspire cooperative to become a member. For cooperatives that are members of some union, we give analyses of answers if cooperative is satisfied with work and activities of union conducted for cooperative welfare; and suggestions for activities that cooperative unions should practice in the interests and needs of their members.
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Agricultural development and government expenditures in the new EU countries
21-35Views:318The main ambition of this paper is to analyse agricultural developments in selected new EU member states with particular emphasis on government expenditures in agriculture. The main objective is to identify the relationship between government expenditures development on one side, and agrarian sector performance (the value of production) in selected member states on the other. The conclusions drawn from this analysis are that the agricultural sector has changed its structure and position within the national economy of selected new EU member states significantly in the 20 years since the early 1990s. Member states included in the analysis reduced both the size of their agricultural sector (number of people working in agriculture, total arable areas, number of animals, etc.), and the value of agricultural output. Despite the significant reduction of the agricultural output, member states became more efficient – and in particular their productivity per farmer increased significantly. Selected country’s agricultural sector, its structure and production value development are closely related to government expenditures. Significant correlation is apparent between agricultural government expenditures and the change in the number of economically active persons in agriculture, development of agricultural production, agricultural area, agricultural GDP and agricultural capital stock. Regarding the elasticity of new EU member states’ agricultural sector in relation to changes in government expenditures, significant elasticity is apparent in the case of the number of economically active persons in agriculture, agricultural production (especially livestock production), area of arable land, agricultural GDP and capital stock.
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The global financial crisis: Implications for capital to agribusiness
59-62Views:254The global economy has continued to experience lingering effects of the global financial crisis that began in 2007. Although attention was initially given to the liquidity crisis and survival of some the world’s largest corporations and institutions, the financial crisis is likely to have long-lasting implications for agribusiness. As the world slowly recovers from the crisis, another round of problems are emerging as governments and international institutions attempt to unwind the positions they took in an effort to prevent the global economic bubble from bursting. Perhaps the most problematic factor for businesses is access to capital in sufficient amounts and at affordable rates. Governments and institutions, particularly in the United States (U.S.) and the European Union, have increased their financial obligations as the result of activities taken to curtail the economic crisis. These financial obligations and the associated financial risks place pressure on financial markets and tend to restrain the availability of capital and increase the cost of capital for businesses. However, the U.S. agricultural credit market has not experienced problems to the same extent as general business (commercial and industrial) and real estate credit markets have. In general, U.S. farm businesses have a strong balance sheet, adequate repayment capacity, sufficient amount of assets to offer collateral for loans, and reasonable profits. Thus, U.S. farm businesses have had an ample supply of credit at relatively low interest rates.
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An Agro-Food Waste Commercial Utilisation Behaviour Lens among Urban Agro-producer Households in a Developing Economy
Views:285Small-urban farm businesses utilise agro-food waste emanating from own production and other levels of food supply chain activities to supplement conventional inputs. Out of these, the food produce surplus from agro-producer households is offloaded to the urban market. As such, the aim of the study was to assess the determinants of agro-food waste commercial utilisation behaviour among urban agro-producer households. An electronically-designed research tool was administered to 456 agro-producer households to collect self-reported estimates of their agro-food waste utilisation behaviour. Results indicated higher budget share towards conventional inputs (0.73) compared to agro-food waste (0.27) but the observed suboptimal production intensification could be rectified with increased use of agro-food waste. Structural equation modelling results indicated that attitude, environmental awareness and concern, motivation and perceived moral obligation had positive significant influence on commercial utilisation intention. The adopted constructs for the model could explain 79.1% of the commercial utilisation behaviour variance. Furthermore, commercial utilisation intention, risk perceptions and perceived behavioural control had significant influence on the commercial utilisation behaviour. Findings are an indicator that agro-food waste commercial utilisation intentions among small-urban farm businesses would likely transition to commercial utilisation behaviour. Since behaviour can be learnt and developed, aspects that contribute to commercial utilisation intentions and behaviour would need to be stimulated. As a strategy of reducing the collectible waste, urban authorities may introduce tailor-made programs meant to stimulate commercial utilisation intention and behaviour in small-urban farm businesses. In valuation of agro-food waste, methodologies that could factor in utility would provide more precise insights in its commercial utilisation.
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Generalized coefficients of goods quality and satisfying of consumers demand
83-86Views:209In process of work the problems are set and solved. There are problems of social welfare research in conditions of nonhomogeneity of objects and subjects of management, of revealing and substantiating insuperable difficulties in rising of social welfare by approaches, worked out before. Also there developed a new direction in implementation of the most important aim of any socially-oriented economy.
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Integrated agribusiness in the dairy industry of Ukraine: main characteristics and success factors
59-68Views:261Ukraine belongs to the TOP 20 global producers of milk. Despite its position, the Ukrainian dairy industry is suffering from a permanent deficit of raw milk supplied for processing. on average, in 2007–2011 over half of the produced raw milk did not reach the processors. one of the reasons behind this lasting trend is that the structure of initial production of raw milk is dominated by households (having a share of 80%); the latter produce milk mostly for their own consumption and leftovers are sold at marketplaces where they can get more attractive prices. nevertheless, already today we observe results of largescale investments into the industrial production of milk made in the last few years. This article stresses an important place of the dairy industry in the agriculture of Ukraine, as it provides the population of vital food products, many of which are strategic in the export potential. Authors present essential characteristics of the concepts “agro-industrial integration” and “agroholding”, discloses their role and place in the agrarian sector of the economy, and justifies the necessity of the creation an integrated production in the Ukrainian dairy sub-complex. The study aims at identification and description of latest trends in Ukraine’s dairy market. Moreover, authors present a successful Ukrainian example of Milkiland N.V. as one of the TOP 5 players in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) dairy market.
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Efficiency evaluation of service marketing in a Hungarian Telecommunication Company
45-51Views:303It is unquestionable that marketing is an essential promotor of the economy and commerce. With its diverse tools, it can influence consumers and also regulate supply by measuring needs and demands (Bauer-Berács, 1998). Although the roots of marketing go back centuries, it is interesting that the raison d’être of service marketing was disputed even in the 1960s and 1970s. However, by today it has developed into a substantive specialty. In this study, the inquiry service and the implemented marketing tools of a leading Hungarian telecommunications company were studied for four years. (The data was provided by the communication manager of the company. Being bound to secrecy, I will not disclose the name of the company or the inquiry service.)
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Sports financing in Croatia
31-34Views:310Sport is a complex social activity that encompasses various areas. Some of these activities come within the category of public needs, which implies that sport is an activity of wider social interest and requires public intervention in its financing. These needs are determined by law and are an integral part of state and local budgets. It is also indisputable that the sport is an activity of exceptional significance for the society and it is equally clear that the investment into sport in Croatia is not proportional to that significance and top scores, which are achieved by the Croatian athletes. Sport can be in a partner relationship with the economy and the promoter of social changes and habits, but in order to become and remain that, general public has to be truthfully interested into sports.
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Food waste in EU countries
Views:769The biggest challenges of our time include meeting the demand growth resulting from the explosion in population growth and achieving sustainable management. In terms of food, the most significant problem is, on the one hand, that a large part of the population is hungry and, on the other hand, excessive food waste, which results not only in wasted food but also in wasted resources used for its production, transport, packaging and storage. Do to this the unconsumed food has a profoundly negative impact on the environment and the economy. There is a pressing need to prevent and reduce food waste to transition to a resource-efficient Europe. In this study, we would like to show how food waste changes in different countries, focusing on Europe. Our results show a significant discrepancy between Member States' data and where waste is generated. We find no significant correlation between GDP per capita and total food waste, but we find a moderately strong correlation between GDP per capita and restaurant waste at the point of generation.
JEL code: M21
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Relationships between competitiveness in the Northern Great Plain and the organisational culture of local authorities
13-20Views:255One of the five basic factors in the Lengyel-type pyramid model – institutions and social capital – is essential in the economic growth of the region. Economic success however, does not only depend on participants in the economy, but on social factors such as the roles played by local authorities, including their functions, operation and organisational culture, all of which are crucial factors. Based on the results obtained regarding organisational culture it can be stated that performance orientation, dominant motivation based on calculated risk, forward planning and regular feedback are expected values at local authorities in all three counties. All local authorities emphasise the importance of the need for forecasting. Respondents find it important that organisations encourage and reward individual action and contributions as expected values. The degree of human orientation expected by local authorities reflects the fact that respect for colleagues and attention to their well-being should be at the highest level. Reinforcing these organisational culture values (dimensions) is the basis for the efficient and successful operation of organisations (local authorities). The study examines the organisational culture of local authorities in the Northern Great Plain, looking for any relationships it might have with the competitiveness of the region. This study is an element of the wider research into organisational culture. We used the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness) survey, which had been successfully applied in the research programme In Competition with the World at the Corvinus University of Budapest. Koopman, Den Hartog, Konrad et al. (1999) examined the culture variables of 21 European countries in organisations. Based on Hungarian and international literature it can be stated that a similar survey of local authorities has not yet been conducted.