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  • Examination of the effect of financial transfers within the European Union
    83-102
    Views:
    270

    It is a common view that financial transfers within the European Union have a significant effect on economic growth. Model simulations, sponsored by the European Commission, seem to confirm this supposition. The econometric analyses evaluating the actual impact of the funds, however, yields a dismal picture on the additional growth and convergence effects of financial transfers. This study's goal is to find the reason why the outcomes differ so much. First, we present the main types and the underlying logic of the evaluation methods of EU regional policy. This is followed by a review of the lessons learnt from the specific evaluation methodologies including case-studies, general equilibrium models, and regression analyses. Our conclusion is that the main objectives of the European regional policy prevailed only to a limited extent, which is mainly due to crowding out effects, rent-seeking, inefficient allocation and moral hazard.

  • The possibilities and impossibilities of Hungarian public debt
    26-42
    Views:
    374

    The topic of the present study is the hypothetical, ex ante nature examination of Hungary’s gross consolidated public debt. The study defines the most important concepts and correlations, the judgments on the different degrees of public debt, the development of the Hungarian public debt, its main stages and characteristics. The study then presents a macroeconomic framework, which can predict the future output values of the public debt commensurable to GDP, depending on the parameters of the main explanatory variables. The establishment of input values of the main macroeconomic aggregates, as endogenous variables, is based on the author’s extrapolation and other empirical studies. Applying these, the values of the future public debt rates can be forecasted. The present study intends to show that the explanatory (economic) variables currently have well established values, which, if inserted into the chosen macroeconomic forecasting framework, show that the Hungarian public debt compared to GDP can be reduced to the desired 50 percent level. As the result of ten scenarios a more or less pessimistic, but in the case of one scenario, an optimistic, picture emerged concerning the future state of gross public debt.

    Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classifications: C53, H68

  • A HR gyakorlatok alakulásának összehasonlító vizsgálata a világ négy régiójában, közép-kelet-európai sajátosságokat keresve
    20-38
    Views:
    298

    A közép- és kelet-európai országok emberi erőforrás menedzselési (Human Resource Management – HRM, vagy röviden HR) gyakorlatának alakulásáról készülő tanulmányokat a régió országaiban működő szakemberek, vezetők és a kutatók egyaránt érdeklődéssel fogadják. E tanulmányban ezt az igényt újszerű módon, a regionális sajátosságok bemutatásával igyekszünk kielégíteni. Az összehasonlító HRM főbb fejlődési fázisainak szakirodalmi áttekintése után, az ezek megállapításaira építő régióképzési elvek alkalmazásával, összehasonlító elemzés segítségével mutatjuk be a világ Cranet hálózati tagországaiból
    képzett négy régiójának HR sajátosságait. Figyelmünk középpontjában a közép- és kelet-európai országok HR jellegzetességeinek feltárása áll. Ennek érdekében ezeket először HR kulcsfunkciónként, majd összegzően is összevetjük Európa volt szocialista országok nélküli régiójának, illetve a nem európai angolszász és a délkelet-ázsiai országok HR jellegzetességeivel, a 2008/10-es Cranet-felmérés adatai alapján.

    Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) kódok: M12, M50,M51, M52,M53 és M54

  • The structure and the behaviour of the capital of cooperative banks
    59-77
    Views:
    119

    Today cooperatives are unable to function according to traditional cooperative principles, as the changes in the economy have altered the basis for the operation of cooperatives as well. There are a number of regulations affecting the members of cooperatives and investors ranging from the foundation to the ditribution of dividend, from the volatility of capital to investing into a cooperative, which are carried out in comparison with other forms of investment in the market. By now in Europe debates about cooperatives have become more heated; the documents of the European Union especially the ones concerning social economy also testify to this. It is for this reason that the study has chosen the examination of cooperative banks. The authors present the structure of cooperative banks, the changes in the structure, as well as the behaviour and characteristics of cooperative capital.

  • A német transzferrendszer mint a gazdasági visszaesés okozója
    Views:
    184

    According to the theory of optimal currency areas the most important advantage of monetary integration is its positive effect on economic growth. However, examining Germany we can notice that since German reunification economic growth and the convergence between East and West Germany has slowed down. These facts show that the operation of the German currency union is not optimal and its performance has not improved over the last twenty years. The criteria of the optimal currency area theory is endogenous due to the recent development of the theory. This means that a country is more likely to satisfy the criteria for entry into a curreny union ex post than ex ante. In the case of Germany, examining the trends of economic growth we can conclude the the German currency union has not become optimal in the last two decades. These facts raise the puzzling question of what are the specific circumstances hindering the improvement if Germany's monetary union despite the endogeneity of the optimal currency area criteria. To answer this question the study examines the interactions between monetary and political integration with special attention to the issues of fiscal policy. According to the study the German transfer system and the dependency on transfers explain the discrepancy between theory and empirics.

    Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: E42, E62, E63, F01, F31, F36

  • Before and after recession: a snapshot of the infocom industry
    41-58
    Views:
    135

    Az infokommunikációs szektor növekedése igen gyors volt a kilencvenes években, majd ez a trend 2000 második felében megtört. Az iparág recessziója azóta véget ért, ugyanakkor azonban számos jelből arra következtethetünk, hogy a fejlődésében új szakasz kezdődött. Ezt a periódust a korábbinál lassúbb növekedés, az építkezés felől a használat felé való fordulás, a korábbinál realistább, józanabb vásárlói és befektető magatartás, a piac beérése és konszolidációja, a termékek és szolgáltatások tömegcikkesedése, a szállítói oldal vállalatainak racionalizálása, a földrajzi munkamegosztás átrendeződése jellemzi. Eközben kiszélesednek és elmélyülnek az új technológiához való alkalmazkodás folyamatai. Mindezek a jellemzők és trendek megfelelnek annak a leírásnak, amit a venezuelai Carlota Perez az innovációs ciklusok „összerendeződési korszakának” nevez.

  • A történelmi puzzle – Szellemi társasjáték Csaba Lászlóval
    67-82
    Views:
    110

    Nem panaszkodhat napjaink felnőtt generációja Magyarországon, tágabban nézve Közép-Európában arra, hogy unalmas sors adatott volna meg számára a huszadik század végén, a huszonegyedik század elején. A posztszocialista átmenet évei viharos történéseket hoztak. Különösen hálás lehet a sorsnak a társadalomtudományok, s így a közgazdaságtan iránt érdeklődő szakember azért, mert kérdések kifogyhatatlan sora vár megválaszolásra. De talán túl sok puzzle vár kirakásra, és túl sok, vagy talán túl kevés válasz született napjaink alapvető kérdéseire. A már szocialista rendszer idején is élt emberek az összeomlás után sok mindent tisztábban látnak a korábbi időszakról. A rendszerváltás óta eltelt másfél évtized tudományos megítélését illetően már sokkal nehezebb helyzetben vagyunk. Benne
    élünk, bennünk él a kor. Túl közel van ahhoz, hogy igazán megértsük, hogy a mindennapok mozaikköveiből összerakjuk a történelmi képet: hol vagyunk, hova megyünk? De túl közel van ahhoz is, hogy ne próbáljunk nap mint nap újabb kis darabot elhelyezni a történelmi puzzle-ben, vagy éppen az összes eddigi részecskét újra- meg újra elrendezni.

  • Political budget cycles: fiscal cycle effects in state expenditures in Poland
    47-62
    Views:
    143

    In this paper we aim to investigate what kind of role fiscal cycles played in the development of the state budget balances in Poland between 1989 and 2011. Overall, the results of the latest research have found that political budget cycles (PBC) are more typical in less developed countries with a shorter period of experience with democratic institutions, such as the post-socialist transition economies. Nevertheless, empirical studies point out that this phenomenon has been disappearing over time as voters learn how democratic institutions and political manipulation operate. However, this theory could not be proved by testing the pattern of Poland, neither in the case of budget balances nor for state expenditures. Despite the fact that some fiscal cycle effects were found in public sector wages and pensions in the election period of 1997 and 2001, these proved to be temporary, and simultaneously some other measures were identified that counterbalanced the effects of pork barrel spending. Overall, the cyclical evolution of the budget balances in Poland, particularly in the nineties, was not a result of political budget cycles.

    Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classifications: D72, E62, H3

  • New tendencies in urban development – The possibilities provided by walkable cities
    23-42
    Views:
    314

    Nowadays, the so-called disadvantages of urbanization – the noise, air pollution, overcrowding – receive more and more focus in cities. Vehicles require increasing space to themselves in cities which decrease the quality of living space people need, which is harmful from the point of view of the society and the economy, as well. Sustainable urban mobility can be a solution, which has two elements: the well-known environmentally friendly public transportation and the less known walkability. The latter comes to the front in the course of the preparation of sustainable city development strategies, nevertheless walkability measurements have been taken principally in USA’s and Western-Europe’s big cities. In our paper we search for the answer of the question, how the concept of walkability is interpretable in middle-sized European cities and what kind of city development potentials do all these have. In the course of our research
    primary surveys were conducted in Szeged and Valencia to investigate walkability and its improvement opportunities. Our survey verified that the concept of walkability could be a useful city development tool even in middle-sized cities.

    Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: R42

  • The development of regional policy in the European Union: reforms and conflicts
    88-102
    Views:
    146

    In the European Union the discussion of each budgetary period sees fierce debates about the structural expenses and their distribution. The paper presents a summary of the principles of those involved, and tries to catch them in the policy making of Brussels. In the first half of the paper the necessity of regional policy and its theoretical foundation are examined touching upon the so called convergence and divergence theories. This is followed by the discussion of the conflicting interests and motifs shaping the regional policy. The final question is whether the expenses of the Structural Funds can be justified in view of the processes and results shown.

  • Az euró és az új tagállamok: közgazdasági vagy politikai kihívás?
    69-94
    Views:
    120

    Az európai közös valutára vonatkozó első tervek megjelenése óta komoly vita dúl a vonatkozó szakirodalomban arról, hogy az euró elsősorban makroökonómiai vállalkozásként, vagy inkább az integrációt
    a föderális alapú politikai unió előszobájába juttató kezdeményezésként értelmezendő-e. Ezzel a dilemmával analóg módon, az új tagállamok2 eurózónás csatlakozását övező polémia is részben elkülöníthető
    egyrészt a jellemzően gazdasági előnyöket és hátrányokat mérlegelő, másrészt a politikai-választási szempontokat előtérbe helyező argumentációra. A vázolt problémakörhöz kapcsolódva a tanulmány elsőként áttekinti, hogy milyen tanulságok azonosíthatók a közgazdasági megfontolások alapján az euró átvételére megfogalmazott stratégiákat illetően. Részben e tényezők feltárásának köszönhetően szakmai körökben láthatóan egyetértés övezi az eurózóna keleti kibővítésének főbb kérdéseit. Ezzel szemben komoly tartalmi nézetkülönbségek fedezhetők fel a választási logikát, illetve az európai integráció stratégiai helyzetét megjelenítő érvek hátterében. Az írás második felében sorra veszem és részletesen elemzem az euró bevezetéséhez kötődő politikai szempontokat, amelyek alapos végiggondolása ugyanakkor nem kérdőjelezi meg az eurózónába való lehető leghamarabbi betagozódást sürgető konszenzusos szakmai álláspont helyességét.

  • The characteristics of the Hungarian cafeteria system examined in the context of changes in tax laws
    126-132
    Views:
    135

    The article deals with the system and function of optional fringe benefits in the Hungarian labour law as well as with the taxation rules in connection with fringe benefits. In this context, we deal firstly with the conditions of the use of the cafeteria system and present the advantages connected to them. Then, the individual regulation of different allowances which are grouped according to different criteria is analysed, with special emphasise on the changes in tax law.

    JEL classification: J32, K34

  • International Higher Education League Tables – why are the best so good?
    127-142
    Views:
    134

    The study provides a comparative analysis of international higher education rankings. The article aims to analyze the role and performance of universities in today’s knowledge economy in transforming employment conditions. This paper aims to add an overview of the methodology of the global academic rankings, showing the benefits and difficulties of the creation of league tables and makes a proposal to improve the distortions. It gives a detailed empirical analysis of the countries’ results based on a comparison of three rankings. Hypothesis: the performance of countries with an English native language is better because of the particularities arising from the methodology, since the results obtained from research databases involved in measurements are primarily English-language publications and their citations, and furthermore the majority of the most prestigious journals appear in English.

    Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: I21, P52

  • Economic stimulus effects of the Hungarian Lending for Growth Scheme
    51-70
    Views:
    237

    This paper examines the impacts of the Hungarian Lending for Growth Scheme (LFS), focusing primarily on its effects on GDP in the short and medium run. Since such a tool has not been applied before in Hungary, the Hungarian literature on its effects is narrow. Accordingly, the point of reference could only be the international experience, which considers these tools effective. The empirical analysis presented in this paper also underpins this conclusion. That is, according to the results, the LFS may significantly stimulate both aggregate demand and aggregate supply. On the other hand, the LFS implies an asymmetric intertemporal trade-off as a result of which there is a negative effect in the long run. This is, however, considerably smaller than are the positive effects in the short-run.

    Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes: E51, E52

  • Intraindustrial trade in the light of theoretical explanations and empirical investigations
    78-104
    Views:
    192

    The Heckscher-Ohlin (HO) model regarde as a modern theory of trade, dominant for more than a quarter of a century had to face more and more challenges in the second half of the 20th century. It seemed that the 2*2*2 (product-factor-country) model, which assumed perfect competition, constant return to scale and homgeneous products and whose elegance was rooted in its simplicity, could not offer appropriate answers for the explanation of empirical facts in two significant areas. The conclusion of the model, namely that countries will have a comparatvie advantage in the productions of goods for which they use factors of production relatively abundant in the country, was first questioned by the Leontief paradox and later by the empirical facts of intraindustrial trade. The study focuses on this latter phenomenon. In the first part it presents and classifies the major theoretical models of the phenomenon, and in the second it discusses, on the basis of empirical surveys in this field, the most important factors influencing intraindustrial trade.

  • Eras and watertsheds in business informatics
    5-28
    Views:
    141

    The history of business informatics csan be described as a consequence of specific periods. The separation and the analysis of these period may help in understanding the logic of industry development and to identify key future trends. The study summarizes the criteria which can be used for the identification of specific periods and describes important approaches to development analysis. The unfolding of a new period can be an important turning point in the life of industry players: general condition change, consequently the nature of competition can become radically different. The study concludes with an analysis of the present state of the industry with some expected future trends.

  • A többszintű kormányzás kifejlődése a regionális politikában - tanulságok az Észak-alföldi régióból
    161-180
    Views:
    142

    A tanulmány a magyar regionális politika terén kialakult partnerséget és kapcsolati hálót elemzi az Északalföldi régió példáján. Megvizsgálja, hogy a kapcsolatok alakulását mennyire kényszerítette ki az európai uniós rendszerekhez való alkalmazkodás nyomása. A hálózatépítés a legtöbb szervezetben bevált alkalmazkodási stratégia. Az esettanulmányként választott régióban a szervezetek kapcsolathálója nem egyenletes: egyes szereplők centrális helyzete mellett másoknak csak kevéssé sikerült beágyazódni a kapcsolatok hálózatába. A regionális politika köz-, magán- és civil szereplői kapcsolathálójának vizsgálata során a kutatás feltárta ezek párhuzamosan folyó együttműködési és versengési formáit. A szerző legfőbb következtetése, hogy az EU-integráció által kiváltott alkalmazkodási folyamatok regionális szint alatt intézményi konfliktusokat szülnek, míg országos szinten segítették a kapcsolatok fejlődését.

  • The Marketing Concept, Market Orientation and Marketing Competencies: How are they Adopted in Small and Medium-sized Firms?
    104-117
    Views:
    135

    The aim of this paper is to review the literature dealing with the marketing concept, its implementation, i.e., market orientation, marketing competencies and their effects on performance with special emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). A large number of studies have shown that, on the one hand, the lack of a conceptual marketing approach is one of the most serious problems owner-managers face in business operations and, on the other hand, marketing is recognised as one of the most important business activities essential to the survival and growth of the enterprise. According to the literature,
    the adoption of the marketing concept/market orientation in SME-s is limited, due to limited resources in finance, time and marketing competencies.

    JEL classification: L26, M14, M31

  • Fisher’s rate and ranking of investment projects
    5-22
    Views:
    197

    This paper seeks to explain the formation mechanism and economic relationships of Fisher’s rate and Fisher’s intersection. The Fisher’s rate is a discount rate at which the net present values of two investment projects are equal. This information is especially important when the ranking happens according to the net present value. However, net present value is not suitable for ranking. After removing distorting effects from the net present value method (and assuming equal required rate of return) this ranking list leads to the same ranking as the internal rate of return. Consequently, the knowledge of the Fisher’s rate in business practices is irrelevant. The Fisher’s rate and the Fisher’s intersection can only have theoretical significance. The study works out the causal relationships that are necessary for existence of the intersection. Their analyses can give a better understanding of the content background of the net present value method.

    Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: M21

  • The international competitiveness of the domestic economy: interpretations, figures and a few considerations
    20-41
    Views:
    113

    Although the (improvement of) international competitiveness of the Hungarian economy is in the foreground of both the proclaimed efforts of the economic policy and that of the discussions of the trade, the fact that competitiveness at national level is a less precise term of economics with various meanings. This paper first discusses whether competitiveness at national economy level is interpretable at all. Then it examines what this notion does not mean and what it might mean. After reviewing the possible interpretations, the paper describes some of the figure of competitiveness of the domestic economy relating to a few international comparisons. Finally, it draws up some considerations as to what might and what might not be (or only with limitations) the means for the economic policiy to improve domestic competitiveness in the short and long terms.

  • The power of path dependence? State capacity and autonomy in East Central Europe during transition
    Views:
    151

    The paper examines development of state capacities and autonomy in East Central Europe during transition, and attempts to establish a relation between state characteristics and trajectories of economic transformation, especially with regard to privatisation and FDI. The assertion is that the quality of state capacities and the degree of state autonomy, although changing over time, mutually reinforces the formulating of economic policies, and hence in structural transformation. Thus, state characteristics are important determinants of transition outcome, but are themselves affected by structural economic changes.