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• The Evolution of Welfare Systems: Social Democratic and Social Autocratic Paths

  46-65

  Imre Lévai

  Views:

  121

  Students of global and regional political economy have produced a vast literature on divergent paths of capitalist evolution. The evolution of welfare systems, in general, and their different paths, in particular, have also widely been analysed in economic and social studies. The author, joining the discussions from a world system perspective, makes an attempt at presenting a global and regional political economic comparison of the seemingly similar welfare systems that have evolved in Northern and in Eastern Europe. The apparent convergence of the Sovietic type to the Nordic social democratic pattern is scrutinised, distinguishing it from the latter by the “social autocratic” label.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) kód: I31, I38, P36, P38

• Political budget cycles: fiscal cycle effects in state expenditures in Poland

  47-62

  Agnes Halasz

  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

• Deep vs. Shallow Integration. The Case of NAFTA and Mercosur

  68-82

  Diana Balkay

  Laszlo Erdey

  Views:

  169

  Integration processes began in the 1960s and have become increasingly intense, bringing with them a growing share of intra-industry trade flows in international trade. According to the Smooth Adjustment Hypothesis (SAH), trade between similar industries or products results in lower adjustment costs in the factor markets. Due to the liberalizing effect of trade integrations trade flows intensify, causing an increase in intra-industry trade flows and consequently a decrease in adjustment costs at the same time. The alteration of trade patterns can be caused by changes both in quantity and in quality. Analyzing these effects separately allows us to better understand the trade policy practices of the chosen countries and to provide the decision makers with information.
  In this paper we analyze NAFTA and Mercosur, two integrations which differ both in factor endowments and in depth of integration (deep vs. shallow). We used SITC Rev. 1 AG3 (industrial level) and HS92 AG6 (product level) bilateral trade data from the UN COMTRADE database to analyze the evolution of intra-industry trade flows.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classifications: F13, F14, F15

• HR Funtion Under Changes at Subsidiaries of Foreign Multinational Firms in Light of an Empirical Study in Hungary

  98-116

  Jozsef Poor

  Views:

  479

  Following almost two decades of multinational companies (MNCs) operating in the transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) expatriate and local managers continue to ask the following question: “How can we effectively manage the available human resources from our subsidiaries or assignees from the corporate centre?” A model of human resource (HR) practices in the subsidiary units of MNC’s in Hungary was developed from a review of the literature, extensive professional experience in the region and an interview-based survey at 42 subsidiaries of large multinational companies. This model describes the evolution of different HR variables in the light of external (macro) and internal (firm specific) factors.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: M16, M51, M52 és M54

• Outward direct investment versus technology licensing: an SME perspective

  55-70

  Andrea Szalavetz

  Views:

  165

  Based on the example of the evolution and internationalization of a Hungarian wastewater treatment company, this paper investigates various theoretical and strategic management issues. As for the
  theoretical part, Hungary’s outward direct investment performance is analyzed departing from the thesis that Hungary’s present seemingly favorable OFDI performance is just a statistical artifact. It is
  only organic development, based on local entrepreneurs’ capital export that can substantiate Hungary’s present OFDI position. The strategic management issues analyzed in the paper include the sequencing of internationalization; the pitfalls related to growth; modes of foreign market entry; and the choice between FDI-based internal exploitation of technological knowledge and external technology exploitation in the form of technology licensing.

  JEL codes: F23, L24, L26, O16, O33, Q57

• The Conditions of and Requirements for the Formation of Clusters in Biotechnology

  118-131

  Dávid Domonkos

  Views:

  124

  In this article, with the help of the value chain model, I explain the functioning of biotech clusters. The “cluster” phrase was originally defined by Porter. In my opinion, the problem with Porter’s and other classical definitions of a cluster is that they are static, whereas the main feature of clusters’ is actually their dynamic nature. This is the reason why the following should also be included in the definition:
  – clusters emerge in a turbulent way: processes cannot be foreseen due to the lack of linearity.
  – a cluster, however, is a kind of an arena, because dense and changing vertical input-output relations and connections between horizontal organizations always generate a sort of a need for change.
  – clusters cause changes in the innovation policy, as they support the evolution of a policy which is appropriate for cluster formation. That is, they act as catalysts for the formation of better conditions.
  Accordingly, Porter’s original definition needs modification.

  JEL classification: O32, L25, L65, D80

• A Journey Through the Theory of Economic Development

  Lavinia Sidonia Delcea

  Views:

  142

  The theory of development economics changed signifcantly from the first attempts of defining the concepts in the 50s until nowadays. The contributions to the development theory are at the same time closely related to the historical context of the underdeveloped and developing countries. This paper tries to facilitate the understanding of the way development economics evolved, by presenting the main contributions to the theory. The research methodology used in this study is analytical, based on the gatherinf of the information, its organisation in a logical way, the presentation and analysis of the most significant ones, and finally the drawing of relevant conclusions. The main findings of this paper are that after five decades of strong ideas and recipes of economic development we have reached a point of uncertainty regarding what is beneficial or harmful for the nations' economic development.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: O10.