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• Price transmission on the Hungarian pork meat market in the presence of structural breaks

  24-36

  Zoltan Bakucs L.

  Views:

  112

  The study of marketing margins and price transmission on various commodity markets has been a popular research topic of the past decades (see MEYER, VON CRAMON-TAUBADEL, 2004, for a present survey). However with a few exceptions these studies focused on developed economies. This paper examines the above phenomena on the Hungarian pork market. The Johansen (maximum likelihood, 1988) or Engle and Granger (two step, 1987) cointegration tests do not reject the no-cointegration null hypothesis between the Hungarian pork producer and retail price series. Therefore, we applied the Gregory and Hansen (1996) procedure with recursively estimated breakpoints and ADF statistics, and found that the prices are cointegrated with a structural break occurring in April 1996. Exogeneity tests reveal the causality running from producer to retail prices both in the long and short run. Homogeneity tests are rejected, suggesting mark-up pricing strategy. Price transmission modelling suggests that price transmission on the Hungarian pork meat market is symmetric in the long, but asymmetric in the short-run, i.e. processors, wholesalers or retailers might take temporary advantage, should price changes occur.

  Journal of Econmic Literature (JEL) classification: Q13, D12, D4

• Trade Advantage and Competitiveness of Hungarian Agri-food Exports with the European Union

  87-102

  Imre Ferto

  Views:

  111

  The complementarities of trade advantage and trade competitiveness measures for Hungarian agro-food trade with the European Union are analyzed. The stability and duration of the trade measures over time is investigated by survival analysis using the nonparametric Kaplan-Meier product limit estimator and the consistency test between the trade measures is conducted by the stratified Cox proportional hazard model. Hungary experienced a greater number of products with relative trade disadvantages and a greater significance of one-way imports. Hungary also experienced relative trade advantages for bulk raw commodities, processed intermediates, and horticulture, with the greatest significance of successful quality competition and one-way exports, and the lowest significance of unsuccessful price
  and unsuccessful quality competition. The duration of relative trade advantages is longer than the duration for the successful trade competition categories. Our results confirm that relative trade advantage is consistent with the one-way export and the successful price and successful quality competition categories in two-way trade on the one hand, and relative trade disadvantage with the one-way import and the unsuccessful price and unsuccessful quality competition on the other.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: Q12

• The shadow price of childbearing and the total fertility rate in Hungary

  31-61

  Szabolcs Pásztor

  Views:

  235

  The total fertility rate has been declining sharply in Hungary since the democratic transition. Moreover, the rate has been well below the replacement level since the second half of the 1980’s. It is therefore relevant to investigate the underlying factors behind the permanently low level and continuously declining trend in the rate. In this article, based on Walker (1995), I present the time series of the shadow price of childbearing in Hungary, with which I estimate the total cost incurred by the first-born child, using empirical data. I introduce the connection between the total fertility rate and the increasing mean age at birth. Subsequently, I first compare the tempo and parity-adjusted total fertility rate to the shadow price of childbearing, and then conduct a partial analysis. Based on the results, I recommend measures for public decision-makers that could positively incentivize childbearing
  

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) kódok: J11, J13

• 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

• 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

• 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 Determinants of Wine Prices: A Systematic Literature Review

  84-101

  Peter Gal

  Views:

  301

  Wine is a highly differentiated product sold at a wide range of different prices. This article aims to provide a systematic review of the literature written on the determinants of wine prices globally. The article runs a search on the combination of keywords “wine”, “price”, “determinant” in the Web of Science, Scopus, JSTOR, ProQuest, and Science Direct databases. Based on a final set of 46 articles written between 1998 and 2018, results suggest that terroir and quality ratings are the most significant determinants of wine prices, while objective quality and label data also determines wine prices, though to a different extent and with a different sign in some cases. The hedonic pricing method was the most common way of analyzing the relationship between wines prices and their determinants, and results are similar for most regions and varieties. We believe that our results can be useful for researchers, stakeholders, and even for decision-makers in better understanding the factors lying behind wine prices.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes: D12, D40 Q11

• Are business relationships institutions?

  Tibor Mandjak

  Views:

  126

  The question is simple; the answer could be quite complicated. Inter-organisational marketing researchers define business relationships as interactive exchanges between two organisations. Does this mean anything for institutional economists? A business relationship is created by weaving actor bonds, resource ties and activity links. Business relationships exist and change through time. The establishment, development, maintenance, as well as termination of a business relationship all require investments from the participating parties. A business relationship does not exist in an isolated manner, but other market and non-market actors can equally influence it. In reality, numerous other relationships and actors affect business relationships. As a result, these actors indirectly influence business relationships through the change in behaviour of one of the parties within the business relationship. These directly and indirectly affected relationships create a business network. For an organisation business relationships have different functions. External resources needed
  for operation and value creation are fed by them. Value creation for the customer and value sharing with the customer take place in business relationships. They are forms of an organisation’s interdependence. A business relationship is a special form of governance of the partners’ mutual efforts. A business relationship has its own value for each organisation. Each organisation has several business relationships, each with different value. In business markets,
  where buyers are always organisations, the business relationship portfolio is the market itself. Inter-organisational marketing researchers use very different theoretical foundations to study business relationships. Modern contract law based research distinguishes about a dozen norms of behaviour in business relationships. Institutional economic-rooted studies argue that we should use the plural-forms approach (price, authority and trust must be employed together) to explain these very complex phenomena. Research using communication theory concluded that multiple periods of business negotiations were required to develop even primitive norms. The paper concludes with some elements of a possible answer to the title question.

• The macroeconomic possibilities of biosimilars in developed countries

  3-18

  Peter Halmosi

  Views:

  213

  Biosimilars have been used for the treatment of chronic diseases since 2006 in the EU but only since 2015 in the U.S. Despite high market potentials and presumed positive macroeconomic effects in the health care sector, widespread usage is strongly confronted with the opposition of physicians and pharmacists. However, biosimilars are supposed to reform health care financing, alter market positions of pharmaceutical companies and amend informational triangle among physicians, patients and insurance companies in the near future. The use of biosimilars is supposed by experts to reach extra health related savings even if doctors and pharmacists are averse to offer these products to patients in a certain therapeutic area. Governments have currently found no unique way of regulating the marketing, substitution and price regulation of biosimilars. The aim of this study is to discuss the macroeconomic possibilities and barriers incarnated in the usage of biosimilars in developed countries.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes: H51, I11, I12, J18

• Possible solutions of the purchasing power parity puzzle, improvements of the theoretical model

  61-78.

  Andrea Szabó

  Views:

  150

  Purchasing power parity (PPP) is one of the most fundamental theories in international economics. However, its empirical validity is still controversial, an issue referred to in the literature as the purchasing power parity puzzle. This paper summarizes the different explanations for the empirical failures of the PPP, and proposes steps for improvements in the theory by focusing on the importance of using appropriate empirical methodology when confirming or rejecting the PPP hypothesis.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes: F31, F41

• Economic Principles of Predatory (Exclusionary) Pricing in the US and in the EU their (mis)Application in Some Recent Competition Law Cases of the European Community Commission and the Court of First Instance

  26-45

  Zoltán Bara

  Views:

  157

  Predatory pricing is one of the most debated issue among the many possibly abusive behaviors of a dominant firm. The general prohibition of the abuse of a dominant power in the competition law is meant
  to render more difficult to use that power but not to disable them to compete. The borderline between a rough but lawful competitive behavior of a dominant firm and the illegal abuse of the market power could sometimes be very narrow. One of that narrow line is associated with the so called predatory pricing or exclusionary pricing. One of the necessary preconditions for predatory pricing is that the firm is required to set the price below costs. But could it be a sufficient condition as well? Before the AKZO-case lawyers and economists seemed to agree that predatory pricing requires a second phase, after the dominant firm successfully got its prey in the first phase, the recoupment phase during which the dominant firm is able the regain all of his former losses occurred in the first phase. Since the AKZO-case, the Commission succeeded to convince Courts of the EU that it would be enough to make probable but not certain that there had to be a recoupment phase but we don’t have to wait until it really happens. Most of the economists still think that predatory pricing is meaningless without recoupment, and what is more important, it would be beneficial to the consumers during the first phase unless there is no certainty of a second phase.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classifications: K21, L12, L41

• Integration of the CEE agri-food sector into the EU: What does trade theory and empirical evidence tell us?

  62-77

  Imre Ferto

  Views:

  149

  The article provides an overview on the main results of empirical research into the Integration of the CEE agri-food sector into the EU. Contrary to early expectations, countries in the region have not become major agri-food exporters. We can observe great diversity in trade specialisations, the patterns of intra-industry trade and price and quality competitiveness among countries and major product groups. These outcomes derive mainly from the differences in relative factor endowments and the different initial conditions of the countries concerned. The recent theoretical and empirical developments in international
  trade may help us to better understand the agri-food trade integration of new member states.

  JEL classification: Q12