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• The improvement and the new manifestation of the Veblenian conspicuous consumption theory

  23-35

  Karmen Kovacs

  Views:

  418

  This paper focuses on how the Veblenian conspicuous consumption theory has been developed further by the theorists of modern economics. The connection between status, status goods and conspicuous consumption is underlined in the discussion. It is emphasized that the price has a multiple role, however, the hypothesized positive relation between price and quantity is not necessarily valid. The wide-ranging motivations and consequences of conspicuous consumption are also analyzed. Finally, the new features of conspicuous consumption are discussed, that is, instead of wasting money on goods, cultural capital and taste have become the core of conspicuous consumption, and instead of focusing on wealth, the contexts of income have become relevant.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) Codes: D11, Z13

• Presentation of two models of consumption/saving

  175-184

  Katalin Buzasi

  Views:

  202

  The Permanent Income Hypothesis (developed by Friedman) and the Life Cycle Hypothesis (developed by Modigliani) are the most popular consumption or saving theories in economics. The aim of this paper is to introduce the main features and consequences of the models mentioned above. The first part of this paper introduces the historical circumstances in which the hypotheses were developed. In the second part we mention various debates on the theories which helped tp clarify some of their more complex aspects. The aim of the third part is to introduce various ways of expanding and supplementing the basic theories and convert them into more realistic ones.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: E21

• The development of companies producing alternative protein end-products

  3-23

  János Szenderák

  Views:

  82

  Excessive consumption of animal-based protein has led to a significant negative impact on the environment and human health. Companies producing alternative protein end-products aim to produce substitute products that are similar to conventional animal-based products with less environmental impact. In this research, 955 alternative protein companies were analyzed using descriptive methods. The results revealed a significant increase in the number of companies after 2015, indicating high industry potential and an increasing global focus on sustainability. Plant-based products dominated the production structure because they were more appealing to consumers and may reach price parity sooner. Current food systems are unsustainable. Thus, although some factors still hinder the market uptake of alternative proteins, a shift towards a more sustainable food system is inevitable in the future.

• The prospects of uniformization of the internal market of electricity in the European Union

  3-22

  Eva Sztanko

  Views:

  240

  The European internal market of electricity is not yet uniform, although it has been moving toward this direction for the last two decades. The energy market position of the consumers has been strengthening, the liquidity and the cross-border trade of the European electricity markets has been increasing. The stronger competition limited the wholesale prices. Despite the backsliding or stagnating household and industrial consumption, however, the retail prices and the costs have been increasing. The EU has to carry on reforming the electricity market in order to satisfy the need for more flexible energy-systems, to increase the competition, to make the consumers react to price changes in a more flexible way, to create more cost-effective governmental/market measures to handle price volatilities, to finance investments, and to minimise cost increases. The most recent comprehensive recommendations of the European Committee intend to create a new electricity market model, however, it yet remains to see the reception of these on behalf of the member countries.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: Q48

• Több hitel, nagyobb kockázat

  185-200

  Balazs Csonto

  Dora Siklos

  Views:

  168

  The main goal of this paper is to analyse the characteristics of the rapid credit growth in Hungary in recent years. The availability of credit is crucial for households who want to smooth their consumption and for firms, while the amount of credit affects the monetary transmission mechanism and financial stability risks. We analyse the reasons for the credit expansion and demonstrate that the increase in the amount of credit can improve the efficiency of the monetary transmission mechanism, We analyse the micro risks induced by credit growth. Finally we demonstrate Krugman's model (1999) in connection with the Asian crises and then we try to prove that the growth of foregin-currency denominated credit decreases the ability of monetary policy to affect aggregate demand.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: E51.

• The equilibrium problems of the Hungarian economy and the theoretic possibility of a solution

  85-102

  Gyorgy Szakolczai

  Views:

  138

  Followinf article analyses the question, how the twin deficit - the joint deficit of the budget and the current account - changed in Hungary between 2000 and 2006. The first part deals with the basic identities of the national accounts. The second, analytical part, looks through the latest data about the import surplus, the balance of owners' income and the inland consumption surplus, then it deals with the current account deficit and the ways of financing it, the current expenses, the net accumulation and the borrowing of the government budget. The third part performs the economic analysis and draws the main conclusions. According to this, the drastic decrease in proportion of the gross accumulation, the virtually zero net accumulation of the government sector, the deficit of the current account and the debt generating way to finance it are way more serious problems than the cudget deficit, which does not mean, that such deficit is sustainable. Even this situation does not justify the radical demolition of the welfare state, the theoretic solution can only be the increase of export capacity and the employment.