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Exit strategies of family businesses in Hungary
43-63Views:225The study aims to examine the ownership transmission strategies in the context of family firm succession in Hungary. The successful transfer of ownership, management and acquired experience at a family firm represents one of its greatest challenges; however, there is still a lack of understanding of the unique future strategies and succession outcomes of Hungarian family businesses. As a significant proportion of the founders of those family businesses established after the regime change (post-1989) are now reaching retirement age, a study of how such business organisations plan to survive the generational transition is highly relevant. This study applies a mixed methodology of quantitative and a qualitative analysis (e.g.,
in the case of IPOs). The results show that the average age of the examined family firm CEOs is higher than the global average and the majority of them plans to keep ownership and management within the family. Other exit strategies (i.e. initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions) are not typical of the examined sample. -
Reflections on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sir J. R. Hicks (1904-1989)
167-175Views:92Several major articles have been published recently reviewing or reconsidering the result of Nobel prize winning economists on the occasion of an anniversary. This study has the same objective. John Richard Hicks was born on April 8th 1904 in Leamington Spa, England. We commemorate his work from a peculiar perspective on the 100th anniversry of his birth. We focus on where the roots of the history of the "theory of finance" are to be from, what influence Hicks had on the pioneering work in this field, as well as how his results - with particular attention to the interpretation of risk - have been modified by succeeding generations.
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Financial decisions and the knowledge illusion
1-9Views:256The author deals with those influential factors of behaviour that arise from the phenomenon of knowledge illusion originating from over-confidence. It rises from the constantly recurring fault of information process. In order to demonstrate knowledge illusion, the author takes examples from special literature, from another aspect the result is shown on the basis of questionnaires filled in by university students. He draws the conclusion that in the case of financial decisions, knowledge illusion usually makes an impression on the participants" market activity. According to this assumption knowledge illusion is one of the important and not negligible factors of financial decision-making and analysis.
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The Concept of Innovative Fiscal Policy: Theory and Empirical Evidence
Views:121This contribution addresses the question of what are the main constituents of an innovative fiscal policy in the context of sustainability. We apply the concept of sustaining and disruptive innovation to fiscal policy. On the one hand, innovative fiscal policy is able to be sustaining whereby public finance will incrementally improve without leaving its decisive structure. On the other hand, innovative fiscal policy should be disruptive as well in the context of long term sustainability, whereby the structure of public finances can be profoundly restructured as a reaction to future challenges. By using the Finnish recovery in the early 1990s, we can refine our argument about the use and necessity of the mixture of fiscal rules and independent institutions in favour of fiscal sustainability. We also shed light on the key sources of the expansionary consolidation that emerged in the aftermath of the fiscal adjustment in the early 1990s. We emphasise that innovative fiscal policy with a mixture of legislated fiscal rules and independent fiscal anchor is more likely to be associated with sustainability if the economy has weaker growth potential which does not provide enough social trust towards the consolidation efforts of the government.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: E61, E62, Q01
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The role of the institutional system in the globalizing finance of culture
131-148Views:87The article focuses on how the connection between the institutional system of a country and the role of the state changes in the financing of the cultural sphere. To examine the changes, the author analysis the financing model of the USA and the Russian Federation, countries which use very different methods and techniques for the financing of the cultural sphere. The author assumes in his hypothesis that in those countries which have an underdeveloped institutional system, the possibility of direct state support and control for the financing of the cultural sphere is much greater. The results of the analyses are tested on the cultural economy of the Netherlands where the cultural financing system exhibits characteristics of both the American and the Russian models at the same time.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: P14, P39, Z10, Z11
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Is the strategic thinking characteristic of SMEs in the North Hungarian Region? – experiences of a survey
88-100Views:134Regional differences can be observed in the economic importance of small and medium sized enterprises. The research covers the small and medium enterprises within the North Hungarian Region, based on a questionnaire carried out in the autumn of 2011. We examine the existence of a conscious strategic vision of the future and their innovative capability. The low economic activity, the low proportion of industrial enterprises, which is below the national average, and low professional skills are typical of the region. Those managers who have a conscious strategy reported above average profitability. We revealed a correlation between the depth of strategy knowledge and the existence of a formalized strategy, paying attention to the role of education and skills. The knowledge and the acceptance of innovational cooperation opportunities (innovational nets) are at a low-level in the region. Besides strategic thinking, one key element for strengthening the sector is continuous renewal, innovation, observing best practice, and imitating it.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classifications: D220
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Hungary's dependence on external financing
145-156Views:77This paper demonstrates that Hungary has been dependent on external financing for several decades. In the 1970s and 1980s, debt was prevelant in the external capital structure of the Hungarian economy, but since the transformation to a market economy internation equity finance has reahced a level of capital accumulation and plays a very complex role in export potential, debt srvicing capacity and the modernization of the country. This paper argues that in general the forced increase in domestic demand is not able to substitute for the inherent need to realize export surplus in a small open economy in the long run. In the subsystem of the real economy there is a self-financing circuit driven by foreign direct investments which can meet the economy's current liabilities and profit remittance requirements, while this circuit cannot compensate for the consequences of the soft budgeting constraints of the general government.
JEL classification: H6, F4
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The probable impact of policies and policy measures on globalisation
49-72Views:104This paper aims to identify the impact of the recent economic and non-economic shocks on the globalisation of trade in terms of trade policy and structural openness, and to take a side in the discussion about the reversal, the slowdown, and the continuation of trade globalisation. The report argues that geopolitical decisions based on pure political priorities and different macro- and micro-policies may
harm trade globalisation temporarily. Nevertheless, in the long run, underlying
economic factors, such as decreasing trade costs and expanding services trade remain the critical driving forces of globalisation. The speed of the process is likely
to be slower than before, and its characteristics are different. With weakening multilateralism and increasing fragmentation, the emerging global world order will be suboptimal from the point of view of economic efficiency.Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes: F01, F02, F13, F60.
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Twenty-one Economic Arguments against an Unconditional Basic Income
5-29Views:362In 2013/14 there has been an intense public debate both in the European Union and in Hungary on the feasibility of Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) support. In the Hungarian context, the publication of a 100-page proposal was an important milestone, in which a group of experts applied the UBI concept to the present circumstances. The study, the brainchild of István Bánfalvi, a distinguished social policy practitioner, proposed the following specific amounts as from January 2015: HUF 25,000 for children (≈ EUR 83), HUF 50,000 for adults and HUF 75,000 for expectant mothers. The present paper’s first objective was to challenge the entire 25-50-75 concept from both theoretical and practical-administrative perspectives. In addition, we tried to show that income poverty in Hungary is much less of a problem than generally presumed. Our final conclusion is that from a poverty alleviation point of view the geographical remobilization of the Hungarian Roma population is by far the most important issue. Roma living in small rural settlements should be assisted to move towards large cities, where the chances of finding work, education and health care are much better.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: H21, I38, J15
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The equilibrium problems of the Hungarian economy and the theoretic possibility of a solution
85-102Views:124Followinf 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.
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Strategic directions of international degree mobility – examining the motivation of foreign students studying in Hungary and the factors influencing foreign studies
3-38Views:347In the scope of our research, we examined the motivation of foreign students studying in Hungary. The objective of the applied questionnaire survey was to explore the possibilities both on the supply and demand side based on which young people who wish to study outside their home country identify Hungary as a potential destination country. In the first phase of the research, the statistical study of inward student mobility was performed. The image of Hungarian higher education is interesting also because, although the countries sending the most students are still in the neighboring countries (Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine), there is a dynamic growth in terms of the number of students from Norway and Asian (China, Iran) and African (Nigeria) (Statistical database of the Office of Education). In the second phase of the research, the questionnaire survey was conducted seeking the answer to the following: what factors played a role in the decision of foreign students to study abroad (when did they decide to study abroad, where did they obtain information, what were the factors that influenced their choice of country and institution, etc.). How satisfied are they with the chosen training, with the organization education and what are their plans following the completion of the training? What prior information was available about training and subsistence expenses, what were the sources of funding, how did the costs of subsistence develop and what were the returns on these expenses, what was the proportion of leisure time and studying, and what were the options of spending leisure time? - How satisfied are they with institutional services (technical equipment, classroom facilities, library service, and institutional programs)? In the present article, we cover the factors influencing foreign studies considering the limitations of the scope.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes: I2, J1
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Political Economy of Fiscal Reform in Central and Eastern Europe
66-75Views:85The reform of public finances has been at the centre of the post-socialist transition of Central and Eastern Europe since the early 1990s. At various stages of the transition, the reform process encompassed the entire gamut of public finances: the national budget, sub-national finances, extrabudgetary operations, and state-owned financial and non-financial enterprises. For the most part, fiscal reform was a non-linear stop-and-go process – often characterised by backtracking as well – and was uneven across countries. Moreover, unlike most reform experience in the rest of the world, fiscal reform in this region took place against the backdrop of a radical break, as sovereign countries emerged from a colonial past following the collapse of the Soviet Union. An important milestone was reached in 2004–2007, when all ten countries covered in this article became members of the European Union. The purpose of this article is to discuss fiscal reform in Central and Eastern Europe from the perspective of political economy. Following an overview of basic reform trends, the article focuses on the principal drivers and impediments to reform in the region. To conclude, the ingredients of successful reform are examined. The article does not provide an exhaustive inventory of reform measures, nor does it offer a survey of broad political economy issues prior to or during the transition period. Country references are intended to serve as stylised illustrations of main points, rather than as a comprehensive documentation of reform episodes.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classifications: H1, H3, P2, P52.
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The prospects of uniformization of the internal market of electricity in the European Union
3-22Views:223The 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
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A comparison of efforts to set up cluster initiatives in two Hungarian regions – submitted cluster proposals in North Hungary and the Northern Great Plain
133-140Views:104The Hungarian government has taken the initiative to finance the formation of new entrepreneurial co-operations using the cluster theory. It is not certain whether or not the Hungarian economy is ready for an initiative such as this. In North Hungary and the Northern Great Plain (two Hungarian NUTS 2 regions) project teams set up fresh clusters to obtain the subsidy – as in other regions. Their level of cooperation, the number of submitted projects and the ratio of successful projects tell us if theory and the western practice fit with the local needs - if Hungarian companies want to work and can be successful in clusters or not. In this article I examine the willingness of regional business actors to cooperate and start new business networks in the framework of the 2008 regional cluster calls. The two regions have similar but not identical results.
JEL classification: R58, L2
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Corporate Governance from a Post-Communist Perspective
69-82Views:102In the aftermath of Enron and WorldCom scandals of 2001-2002, corporate governance (CG) has been put once again into the center of academic interest. Last time this happened in mid-1997, when a global financial crisis that began in Asia was widely attributed to appalling CG practices in Korea and Japan. Thus, for young readers this whole subject matter may seem to be an old hut. In reality, the term "corporate governance" has merely a 25 year old historiography. Systematic content analysis of the Anglo-Saxon press showed that the term CG arose first in the wake of the Watergate scandal. In the mid- to the late 1970s, public opinion suddenly discovered that major American corporations were involved in corrupt payments both at home and abroad. Prior to Wazergate scandal, competitive markets and good governance of business enterprises had been regarded as two sides of the same coin. It was a tacit understanding that well-run companies are honestly run companies and vice versa. Suddenly this equation was broken. Sence then the fast-growing CG literature has had a moral loading.
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The Marketing Concept, Market Orientation and Marketing Competencies: How are they Adopted in Small and Medium-sized Firms?
104-117Views:121The 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