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Hungarian A tanulmányban az egyetemek átalakulását elemezzük a tudásalapú gazdaság korában. Áttekintjük az egyetemek átalakulásával járó, a XXI. század első negyedét jellemző új korszakot, a tudás globalizálódását. A napjainkban kibontakozó új egyetemi struktúrában a jogállami normákra történő nevelés és az ezzel harmóniában lévő oktatás kerül a középpontba. Az egyetemi átalakulás felveti a tudomány szerveződésének kérdését is. Bemutatjuk, hogy a tudás húzóerővé válásának egyik intézményi keretét az egyetemek kötődésének erősítése adja az adott térséghez, régióhoz. Az elemzés második részében a hazai felsőoktatás képzési szerkezetének regionális jellemzőit vizsgáljuk. Ennek egyik sajátossága, hogy a hallgatók többségét, 52%-át a Budapesten tanulók teszik ki. A képzési szerkezet emellett további regionális különbségeket is mutat, amíg a központ régióban a gazdasági és a műszaki képzések meghatározó aránya a jellemző, addig a vidéki oktatást inkább a műszaki-, a pedagógus-, az egészségtudományi- és az agrárképzések jellemzik. A képzési sajátosságok mellett elemeztük az egyetemek és vállalatok közötti kooperációs kapcsolatot, a duális képzéseket, valamint az egyetemek szerepét a regionális K+F termelési érték előállításában. Az elemzéssel arra jutottunk, hogy az egyetemek K+F tevékenysége jellemző módon az egészségügyhöz és nem a közúti járműgyártáshoz kapcsolódik, ami mutatja a kitörési pontot a hazai felsőoktatás innovációs stratégiája tekintetében. Második következtetésünk, hogy az üzleti modellek, az üzleti innovációk jobban befolyásolják a K+F költéseket, mint a műszaki ráfordítások. A tanulmány harmadik részében azt vizsgáljuk, hogy a budapesti és a vármegyei felsőoktatási intézmények mennyire hatékonyak a jelentkezők vonzásában és a diplomások megtartásában. Vonzóerő tekintetében is jelentős egyenlőtlenség van Budapest javára, ugyanakkor nehéz számszerűsíteni, hogy a diplomások megtartása tekintetében mennyire sikeres Budapest a fiatalok külföldi munkavállalásának bizonytalan számbavétele miatt. Két egyetem rendelkezik jelentős megtartó erővel, a Nyíregyházi Egyetem és a Miskolci Egyetem, mind a két esetben azt feltételezzük, hogy az egyetemeknek sikerült jól beépülniük a megyei, regionális üzleti környezetbe. A képzési területek szempontjából a legerősebb megtartó képességgel a gazdaságtudományi és az informatikai képzések rendelkeznek. English This paper examines the transformation of universities within the context of the knowledge-based economy. We review the evolution of universities in the current era of globalisation, which defines the early 21st century. The emerging university structure emphasises education for the rule of law and its harmonious integration. This transformation also raises questions about the organization of science. We demonstrate that one key institutional framework that enables knowledge to become a driving force is the strengthening of universities' ties with their respective regions. In the second part of the analysis, we explore the regional characteristics of higher education in Hungary. A notable feature is that a majority of students (52%) originate from Budapest. The training structure exhibits further regional distinctions: while the capital is dominated by economic and technical education, rural areas focus more on technical, pedagogical, health, and agricultural training. Beyond training specifics, we analyse the collaboration between universities and enterprises, dual training programs, and the role of universities in regional R&D output. Our findings indicate that university R&D activities are predominantly related to healthcare rather than road vehicle manufacturing, suggesting a potential pivot point for the innovation strategy in domestic higher education. Additionally, we conclude that business models and business innovation exert a greater influence on R&D expenditure than technical investments. The third part of the paper investigates the efficacy of higher education institutions in Budapest and other counties in attracting applicants and retaining graduates. There is a marked disparity in attractiveness favouring Budapest. However, quantifying Budapest's success in retaining graduates is challenging due to the uncertain tracking of young professionals working abroad. Notably, the University of Nyíregyháza and the University of Miskolc exhibit significant retention rates, likely due to their integration into the regional business environments. In terms of study fields, economics and IT demonstrate the strongest retention.

In the following paper, with the assistance of the international regime theory and hegemonic stability theory, a better understanding of the formation and creation of NATO is provided. The topic is linked to the ongoing debate about its future and to the high tensions currently taking place in Eastern Ukraine. The paper forms the hypothesis that NATO has been created to advocate the interest of the US. Based on qualitative research methodology, the main conclusion is that the current hegemon status of the US is under threat, which is resulting in higher maintenance costs.

China-ASEAN relations have experienced remarkable growth and transformation over the past few decades, driven by China's emergence as a global economic powerhouse and ASEAN's dynamic regional integration efforts. However, the South China Sea issue has cast a persistent shadow over their economic partnership. This paper examines the economic relations between China and ASEAN and the impact of the issue on these relations. Employing a multi-faceted approach, the paper finds that the South China issue had a negative impact on China-ASEAN economic relations, leading to tensions and disputes, a potential economic loss, a hindered economic integration, and a more cautious approach from ASEAN countries in their economic relations with China.

The openness of space is one of the fundamental ideas behind the existence of the European Union. The benefits arising from this should outweigh the disadvantages associated with it. An advantage of openness is the possibility of integrating border regions of different countries into a consistent functional whole where cross-border cooperation takes place. Resulting mechanisms can lead to endogenously driven development of the territories that are typically on the periphery of their countries. However, reality is much more diverse. This is valid also in case of Central and Eastern European countries, where general socioeconomic processes take different forms in different regions and places. The same holds true also for territorial units, such as Euroregions that represent one of the most remarkable geographical embodiments of European integration. At the same time, they constitute one of the institutionalised forms of cross-border cooperation. Euroregions bear a twofold importance in postcommunist countries that for a long time suffered from pretty limited cross-border interactions and cooperation. Our article delves into the municipalities of Euroregion Beskydy at the Polish-Czech border. The main objective of the paper is to analyse and assess strengths and weaknesses of the development as perceived by Polish and Czech municipalities in the framework of Euroregion Beskydy. The article concentrates primarily on a qualitative dimension of the whole issue. This is partly supplemented by a quantitative perspective. The investigation mirrors the state of municipalities on Czech and Polish sides of Euroregion Beskydy from the perspective of municipal managements. From the methodical perspective, the questionnaire was utilised. This allowed respondents to identify the principal strengths and weaknesses of their municipalities based on their own knowledge and perceptions. The questions had a nominal character, and by aggregating similar responses, broader, consistent categories of strengths and weaknesses were established and analyzed. Respondents could name principal strengths and weaknesses of their municipalities on the basis of their own perception. The purpose was to identify substantial developmental domains or problem characteristics in individual municipalities of the researched Euroregion. At the same, it has been found out to what extent optimistic or pessimistic moods are prevailing in individual municipalities of the Euroregion. The research question posed in the framework of this paper is as follows: what are the most frequently mentioned strengths of municipal development at Polish and Czech side of Euroregion Beskydy? The results brought an interesting difference in the perception of the municipal development within Euroregion Beskydy. Respondents on the Polish side of the Euroregion can be characterised by higher rate of scepticism when compared with their Czech counterparts. On the Czech side of the Euroregion, slightly optimistic view on municipal lives is prevailing.

Hungarian Az írás összefoglalja az iparpolitikával kapcsolatos legfontosabb nézeteket, rámutatva annak előnyeire és hátrányaira egyaránt. Felhívja a figyelmet arra, hogy a hagyományos iparpolitika korunkban, amelyet kiszámíthatatlan technológiai, társadalmi és geopolitikai sokkok jellemeznek, már nem elegendő ahhoz, hogy egy ország gazdaságát alkalmassá tegyék a sikeres alkalmazkodásra. A hagyományos iparpolitika helyett átfogó strukturális politikára van szükség, amelynek célja az innováció, termelékenység és hatékonyság javuláson alapuló versenyképesség javítás mellett az ellenállóképesség erősítése. Az írás második része néhány mutató segítségével elemzi a magyar gazdaság ágazati szerkezetét, rámutatva arra, hogy a domináló ágazatok nem elég innovatívak és termelékenyek, és ezért nem elég magas a hozzáadott érték termelésük. Külön figyelmet érdemel továbbá a tőkebefektetések alacsony, a feldolgozóipar esetén csökkenő hozama. Az egyensúlytalanságok kiküszöbölésére az írás az összehangolt és széles körben egyeztetett strukturális politika kidolgozásának fontosságát hangsúlyozza. English This paper summarizes the most recent views related to industrial policy, highlighting its benefits and weaknesses as well. It also calls attention to the fact that in our age, which can be characterized by unexpected technological, social and geopolitical shocks, traditional industrial policies are not capable of facilitating the successful adaptation of economies to the rapid environmental changes. Instead, general structural policies are required, which can cover all the aspects of improving innovation capacity, productivity and efficiency, in order to increase not only competitiveness, but also resilience. In the second part, the paper analyses the structure of the Hungarian economy based on a few key indicators. It argues that the dominant sectors in manufacturing are neither sufficiently innovative, nor productive, therefore they produce low added value. The paper also calls attention to the low and worsening capital stock-based productivity in the manufacturing sector, which means diminishing return.

Hungarian Az „ipar 4.0” és a „4. ipari forradalom” közismert, gyakran használt kifejezések, de vannak, akik kritizálják őket. Az a legkevésbé fontos kritika, hogy a „sorszámozott ipari forradalmak” különböző változatainak tartalmában vannak különbségek. Fontosabb, hogy az emberi jólét és hatalomérvényesítő képesség indikátorainak görbéi az „első” ipari forradalom idején íveltek föl, a „második” és „harmadik” csak ugyanazt a trajektóriát folytatta. Az „első” ipari forradalommal jött létre a kapitalizmus, de egyik „további” sem hozott hasonló változást. Vannak alternatív elméletek különböző számú innovációs hullámokról. A Boston Consulting Group szerinti aktuális hullám, a mélytechnológia jellemzően fizikai termékekbe építi be az informatikát. Ha az emberiség történelmének egészére tágítjuk látókörünket, akkor mezőgazdasági, ipari és informatikai forradalmat különböztethetünk meg. Talán egy mesterségesintelligencia-forradalom is elkülöníthető lehet az informatikai forradalomtól. Ha túl könnyen osztogatjuk az „ipari forradalom” címkét, akkor devalváljuk azt, és nem vesszük elég komolyan az aktuális, várhatóan valóban sorsfordító hullámot. English “Industry 4.0” and “4th industrial revolution” are well-known, frequently mentioned expressions, but are subjects of criticism. The least important criticism is that there are differences between the contents of various versions of the “numbered industrial revolutions”. More important is the one that says that the curves of human well-being and empowerment indicators bent only during the “1st” industrial revolution, the “2nd” and “3rd” just continued that trajectory. The “1st” industrial revolution created capitalism, but none of the “others” brought any comparable change. There are alternative theories with different numbers of innovation waves. The Boston Consulting Group’s actual wave roots in the idea that deep technology typically brings information technology into physical products. If we broaden our scope to the whole history of mankind, we can distinguish an agricultural, an industrial and an information technology revolution. Perhaps an artificial intelligence revolution could be separated from the information technology revolution. This paper explores and compares these different approaches. The paper suggests that if we give the label ‘industrial revolution’ too lightly, we will devalue it and not take seriously enough the real, expected, truly life-changing wave.

Hungarian A tanulmány először röviden áttekinti a hazai felsőoktatás felvételi jellemzőinek alakulását az elmúlt húsz év alatt. Majd elemzi a kétszintű képzésre történő jelentkezések tendenciáját, továbbá a kétszintű képzés részvételi jellemzőit, és a két szint közötti átlépés arányait. Továbbá vizsgálja a képzések vertikális és horizontális arányait hazai adatok alapján és nemzetközi összehasonlításban. Ezt követően a kétszintű képzés végzettjeinek néhány munkaerőpiaci jellemzőjét veszi az írás górcső alá. A hazai diplomás pályakövetési rendszer legutóbbi adatai alapján vizsgálja az alap és mesterképzés végzettjeinek kereseti helyzetét, munkanélküliségi jellemzőit és szubjektív kongruenciáját. Ezt követően az alap- és mesterképzés végzettjeinek relatív keresetarányait is górcső alá veszi hazai és nemzetközi adatok alapján, rámutatva az európai és a tengerentúli tendenciák különbségére. English The paper first briefly reviews the evolution of the characteristics of admissions to higher education in Hungary over the past twenty years. It then analyses the trend in enrolments in two-level education, as well as the participation characteristics of two-level education and the transition rates between the two levels. The paper also examines the vertical and horizontal ratios of training based on domestic data and international comparisons. The paper then looks at some labour market characteristics of graduates from two-cycle training. Using recent data from the national graduate career tracking system, it examines the earnings situation, unemployment characteristics and subjective congruence of bachelor and master graduates. The paper then presents an international picture of the relative earnings of bachelor and master graduates, highlighting differences between European and overseas trends.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is an initiative aimed at establishing an economic block across the African continent, drawing parallels with the antecedent of the European Community, which pioneered economic activities and integration in Europe prior to its full assimilation into the broader framework of the European Union in 2009. The intention of this paper is to uncover potential opportunities while also illuminating possible obstacles that, if not adeptly managed, could impede the trajectory of economic integration in the promising African continent. The choice of an allegorical title is deliberate, aligning with the nuanced points this paper seeks to underscore, derived from a series of observations, although infused with substantial optimism. This study examines the potential influence of structural, contextual, and operational dynamics, predominantly observed within many African countries, on the outcomes of major integration initiatives and its associated goals. Drawing insights from the experiences of other nations and continental economic alliances, the analysis assesses how these shared dynamics may condition and shape the consequences of this landmark integration decision. Notably, the emphasis shifts from the investigation itself to the prospective impacts of integration, as informed by empirical evidences and contextual considerations. Key dimensions such as capital accumulation, labor growth, and increase in productivity emerge as critical factors in reinforcement of the quest for sustainable economic growth.

Hungarian A tanulmány célja, hogy ismertesse az elsüllyedt költség döntésekre gyakorolt hatását a viselkedési közgazdaságtan szemléletének alkalmazásával. A cikk nemzetközi szakirodalmi áttekintés alapján rámutat arra, hogy nemcsak a pénzügyi, hanem a viselkedési (idő, erőfeszítés) elsüllyedt költségek is hatnak a döntésekre, hogy milyen okok idézhetik elő és mely tényezők befolyásolhatják az elsüllyedt költség hatást, valamint hogy az milyen elméletek és összefüggések alapján magyarázható. Az írás kitér továbbá az elsüllyedt költségek fogyasztói és vállalati döntésekre gyakorolt hatására, valamint ez utóbbiak piaci szinten megnyilvánuló következményeire. English This paper aims to demonstrate the effect of sunk costs on decisions from a behavioural economic perspective. It demonstrates, based on a literature review, that not only financial, but also behavioural (time, effort) sunk costs influence decisions. It also examines what reasons can lead to and what factors can influence sunk cost effect, and what theories and relationships can explain it. The paper also discusses how sunk costs influence consumer and corporate decisions and what consequences the latter have at the market level.

Hungarian A tanulmány célja, hogy a hazai oktatás minőségügyét oktatásgazdasági megközelítésben elemezze. Először áttekinti a hazai oktatás minőségügyének jogi szabályozását, rámutatva, hogy az elmúlt 30 egy sajátos fejődési ívet mutat. A minőségügy a kezdeti jelentéktelenségből a 2000-es évek első évtizedének közepére igen jelentős fejlődésen megy keresztül, később lényegében a háttérbe szorul. Ezt követően az írás az oktatás minőségének érdekeltjeit veszi számba, bemutatva, hogy oktatásgazdasági megközelítésben a minőség részint az egyén hasznaként, részint a társadalom és gazdaság közvetlen és közvetett (externális) nyereségeként értelmezhető. Rávilágít, hogy a rossz minőségű oktatás tehát egyéni és társadalmi veszteséget okoz. A munka befejezésül a rossz minőségű oktatás (társadalmi) árával/kárával foglalkozik. Egy rövid, erősen egyszerűsített elemzéssel igazolni igyekszik, hogy a magyar diákok két évtizede gyenge PISA kompetenciaeredményei súlyos gazdasági következményekkel járnak. A gazdasági növekedés üteme a silány oktatási minőség nyomán jelentősen elmarad a fejlettebb, jobb minőségű oktatással rendelkező országok mögött. English The aim of this study is to analyse the quality of education in Hungary from an educational economics perspective. First, it reviews the legal regulation of quality of education in Hungary, showing that the last 30 years have presented a particular developmental trajectory. Quality goes from being insignificant at the beginning to a very significant development in the mid-2000s, and then we witness its decline into the background. The paper then takes stock of the stakeholders in the quality of education, highlighting that, in an economic approach to education, quality can be understood as both a benefit to the individual and a direct and indirect (external) gain to society and the economy. It shows that poor quality education therefore causes individual and social losses. The paper concludes with a discussion of the costs/damages of poor quality education. It attempts to demonstrate, through a short, highly simplified analysis, that the poor PISA competency results of Hungarian students over two decades have serious economic consequences. Economic growth rates lag significantly behind those of more advanced countries with better quality education, as a result of poor educational quality.

Hungarian Jelen tanulmány a klímaváltozásból eredő kockázatokkal foglalkozik, amelyek a vállalkozások teljesítményére és működésére már jelenleg is, de a jövőben még inkább hatással lesznek. A tanulmány célja egyrészt annak bemutatása, hogy a klímakockázat hogyan hat az egyes ágazatokban szereplő vállalatok tevékenységére, másrészt pedig annak ismertetése, hogy miért szükséges a vállalatoknak foglalkozniuk a klímakockázatokkal. Az egyes ágazatokra eltérő módon és mértékben hat a klímaváltozás, valamint területenként is eltérések mutatkoznak az ágazati érintettségben. A tanulmány ismerteti az Európai Központi Bank 2022. évi klímakockázati stressztesztjének eredményeit, ezt követően a hazai ágazatok érintettségét vizsgálja a kibocsátott üvegházhatású gáz alapján. A szabályozások a magas kibocsátású ágazatokat fogják a legnagyobb mértékben érinteni, tehát ezen ágazatok esetében beszélhetünk a legmagasabb átállási kockázatról. Hazánkban az átállási kockázatnak leginkább kitett ágazat a feldolgozóipar, amelyet a villamosenergia-, gáz-, gőzellátás- és légkondicionálás ágazat követ, de a szállítási, raktározási ágazat, a mezőgazdaság, az építőipar, valamint a kereskedelem és a gépjárműjavítás ágazat is jelentős mértékben kitett. A fizikai kockázatok főleg azon ágazatokat érintik, amelyek tevékenysége közvetlenül kitett az időjárásnak, például a mezőgazdaság, az építőipar és az élelmiszeripar, valamint a turizmus. A tanulmányban ismertetésre kerülő Holmen vállalati példa rámutatott arra, hogy a vállalatoknak hosszú távú folyamatokat kell figyelembe venni az üzleti tervezésnél, törekedniük kell a megújuló energia felé való elmozdulásra. Az iparági szereplőknek számításokat szükséges végezniük a saját ágazatukra jellemző klímakockázatok potenciális pénzügyi hatásait illetően, valamint szükséges szorosan nyomon követniük a jogszabályi környezet változásait is. Szükséges a beszállító partnerek szűrése, monitorozása, fontos együttműködni az érdekelt felek széles körével szervezeten belül és kívül. English The risks associated with climate change are addressed in the paper, since they are already affecting business performance and operations and will have an even greater impact in the future. The paper aims to demonstrate how climate risk affects business operations across a variety of industries, and to outline the reasons why firms must manage climate risk. Different industries are impacted by climate change in varying ways and to different extents, and there are variations in sectoral impacts by region too. The study presents the results of the European Central Bank’s 2022 climate risk stress test, followed by an analysis of the effects of domestic sectors based on greenhouse gas emissions. The laws will have the greatest impact on high-emitting industries, making them the most vulnerable to the risk of carbon leakage. In Hungary, the sector most exposed to the risk of carbon leakage is manufacturing, followed by electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning, but also transport and storage, agriculture, construction, trade and motor vehicle repair. Physical risks mostly impact industries like agriculture, construction, food production and tourism, whose operations are directly impacted by the weather. A Holmen company example used in the study made clear the necessity for firms to consider long-term processes in business planning and to strive to switch to renewable energy sources. The financial effects of climate risks must be calculated to each industry, and industry players must actively monitor changes in the regulatory environment. Screening and monitoring of supplier partners is necessary, and it is important to engage with a wide range of stakeholders inside and outside the organization.

Hungarian A jelen írás az ipar szerepének újraértékelésével, a fenntarthatósággal való kapcsolatával és általában az ipar szerkezeti változásának szükségességével foglalkozik. Érvel amellett, hogy a korszerű ipar olyan fontos gazdasági ágazat, amely képes arra, hogy nagy hozzáadott értéket állítson elő, és jó minőségű munkahelyeket teremtsen. Jövője azonban attól függ, hogy mennyire tud átalakulni, bekapcsolódni az energia- és anyagtakarékos körforgásos gazdaságba. Ezt a folyamatot az állami iparpolitikáknak, iparstratégiáknak támogatniuk kell. Az írás a magyar ipar, illetve annak legnagyobb szegmense, a feldolgozóipar szerkezeti problémáit is megvilágítja bizonyítva, hogy ahhoz, hogy a magyar gazdaság ne kerüljön fejlődési csapdába, jelentős szerkezeti átalakulásra van szükség az iparban, amely nem képzelhető el jövőorientált, a változásokat támogató iparpolitika és iparstratégia nélkül. English The paper deals with the reassessment of the role of industry, its relationship with sustainability and the need for its structural change. It argues that modern industry is an important economic sector capable of producing high added value and creating high-quality jobs. However, its future depends on the ability to transform itself into an energy and material-efficient circular economy. Public industrial policies and strategies must support this process. The paper also sheds light on the structural problems of Hungarian industry and its largest segment, the manufacturing industry, demonstrating that in order to prevent the Hungarian economy from falling into a development trap, a significant structural transformation of industry is needed, which cannot be imagined without a future-oriented industrial policy and strategy.

The aim of the paper is to prove the usefulness of practice-oriented teaching methods in entrepreneurship skills and programs at Bachelor and Master level in the newly joined EU countries. The paper put this question in historical context, since entrepreneurship as a special form of firms is quite a new form in the Central-Eastern European countries. The historical legacy of these countries pushed the talented and agile workforce into the informal, irregular economy, which is the reason why the teachers and the lecturers were challenged after the change of the regime. This backwardness started to eliminate the obstacles and the barriers in front of the practice-oriented teaching methods.

Hungarian A tanulmány a mainstream közgazdaságtanban elterjedtté vált közepes jövedelmi csapda fogalmának újraértelmezésére vállalkozik politikai gazdaságtani szemszögből. A világrendszer-elemzés és a mosolygörbe elméletének segítségével kidolgozza a részvétel és önerő modelljét és ebben az új keretben értelmezi a közepes fejlettségű országok csapdáját. A részvétel stratégiájának célja a globális munkamegosztásban való részvétellel járó felzárkózást segítő termelési, fogyasztási és intézményi tényezők elérése, míg az önerő stratégia a részvétellel járó felzárkózást gátló tényezők neutralizálására irányuló erőfeszítéseket takarja. A tanulmány ezek alapján kétféle közepes fejlettségi csapdát különít el. Egyrészt a kizáródási csapdát, amely az önerőre való egyoldalú fókuszálásból következik. Másrészt a kiszolgáltatottsági csapdát, amely a részvételre való egyoldalú fókusz eredménye. A modell amellett érvel, hogy a felzárkózás csakis a részvétel és önerő harmóniája esetén érhető el. Emellett a tanulmány történeti értelemben dinamizálja a koncepciót, összekötve azt a globalizáció szakaszaival. Rámutat, hogy a második világháború után a globalizáció beágyazott liberális szakaszában a kizáródási csapda, míg a globalizáció neoliberális szakaszában a kiszolgáltatottsági csapda veszélye erősödött meg. A tanulmány továbbá a részvétel és önerő megközelítését alkalmazza a kelet-közép-európai országok közepes fejlettségi csapdájának elemzésére. A szocialista tervgazdaságokat a kizáródási csapdával, míg a rendszerváltások után kibontakozó, függő piacgazdasági modellt a kiszolgáltatottsági csapdával azonosítja. English This paper attempts a reinterpretation of the mainstream concept of the middle-income trap from a political economy perspective. It uses the insights of the world-systems analysis and the smile curve, and develops the theoretical model of participation and self-enforcement, interpreting the middle-income trap in this new framework. The participation strategy aims at achieving the production, consumption and institutional factors that facilitate catching-up through participation in the global division of labour, while self-enforcement strategy covers efforts to neutralise the factors that hinder catching-up. On this basis, the paper distinguishes two types of middle-income traps. On one hand the exclusion trap, which results from a unilateral focus on the strategy of self-enforcement. On the other the vulnerability trap, which results from a unilateral focus on the strategy of participation. The model argues that catching up can only be achieved through a harmony between participation and self-enforcement. In addition, the paper examines development traps historically by linking them to the phases of globalization. It points out that in the embedded liberal phase of globalisation the threat of exclusion trap, while in the neoliberal phase of globalisation the threat of the vulnerability trap intensified. Moreover, the paper also applies the theoretical model to East-Central European countries. It identifies the socialist planned economies with the exclusion trap, while it argues that the dependent market economy, that emerged after the regime change, is a special case of the vulnerability trap.

„Pontosan a növekedéselmélet az, amelyről beszélni akarok: önmagáért, az eredményeiért, a lyukakért, amelyeket még be kell tömni … .” – mondta Robert M. Solow 1987-ben, Nobel-díjas előadása elején, és ez a motivációja ennek a tanulmánynak is. A modern növekedéselmélet úttörőinek tekinthető Bob Solow és Trevor Swan alapvető tanulmányai 66 évvel ezelőtt, 1956-ban jelentek meg. A növekedési irodalom azóta elképesztően bővült. Ez az inkább tájékoztató, mint tudományos jellegű írás rövid áttekintést ad a főbb kutatási területekről, az empirikus eredményekre összpontosítva. “Growth theory is exactly what I want to talk about: for itself, for its achievements, for the gaps that remain to be filled […]” – said Robert M. Solow in 1987, at the beginning of his Nobel Prize Lecture, and this is also the motivation of this paper. The seminal papers of Bob Solow and Trevor Swan, who can be considered the pioneers of modern growth theory, were published 66 years ago, in 1956. The growth literature has been expanding astonishingly since then. This more informative than scientific paper gives a brief survey of the main research areas, focusing on empirical results

A fejlődési, fejlettségi egyenlőtlenségek bemutatásának egyik eszköze az ún. elefánt-görbe, illetve a Nessie-görbe, amely azt szemlélteti, hogy a vizsgált régiók legfelső percentiliseinek fejlődése magasan megelőzi a többiét. A tanulmányban a hazai iskolázottság, illetve az emberi erőforrások egyenlőtlenségeit vizsgáljuk, némi nemzetközi kitekintéssel Először egy rövid nemzetközi kitekintés keretében 95 UNESCO tagország humán tőkéjének a HDI percentisek szerinti eloszlását elemzi az írás, ami egyértelműen egy Nessie-görbét mutat, azaz a legmagasabb HDI percentilisbe tartozó országok emberi tőkéje kiugróan magasabb, mint a többi percentisbe tartozóé. Ezt követően a tanulmány a hazai iskolázottság egyenlőtlenségeit vizsgálja. Bemutatja, hogy a diplomások száma (percentilisenként kumulált összege) és a járások fejlettségi mutató szerinti percentilisei között jól felismerhető a Nessiegörbe ugyanúgy, mint a járások fejlettségi mutató szerinti percentilisei és azok emberi tőkéjének percentilisek szerinti kumulált összege között. Ezután az írás az iskolázottság 2011 és 2016 közötti változását elemzi megyei összehasonlításban, s azt, hogy a megyék iskolázottságának változása az egy főre jutó GDP függvényében ugyancsak a fentiekhez hasonló egyenlőtlenségre utaló eloszlást mutat. Végül a munka elemzi a felsőoktatásba felvett fiatalok területi (2015-ös kistérségi illetve 2018-as járási) eloszlását. Bemutatja, hogy a kistérségekből 2015-ben, illetve a járásokból 2018-ban nappali alapképzésre felvettek száma (percentilisek kumulált összege) és a kistérségi, illetve járási fejlettségi mutató szerinti percentilisek között elefánt-görbe szerinti eloszlás ismerhető fel, ami az egyenlőtlenségekre utal. Összegzésként az írás megállapítja, hogy az adatok tanúsága szerint igen jelentős egyenlőtlenségek tapasztalhatók a hazai iskolázottsági - és az abból számítható emberi tőke - adatok tekintetében, amely egyenlőtlenség azt mutatja, hogy a fejlettebb kis régiók és megyék jelentős előnnyel bírnak afejletlenekhez képest. Ez elsősorban a főváros és néhány további fejlett régió kiugró előnyét jelenti. Az elemzésből az is látszik, hogy ez az előny a vizsgálható közelmúlti időszakban növekedett, ami arra utal, hogy az elmúlt 2010-es években a vidékpolitikának nem sikerült az iskolázottsági és emberi erőforrásbeli egyenlőtlenségeken enyhíteni. The so-called elephant curve and the Nessie curve are two tools used to illustrate development and development disparities, which show that the development of the top percentile of the regions under study is highly ahead of the rest. The study examines inequalities in domestic educational attainment and human resources, with some international perspective. First, in a brief international perspective, the paper analyses the distribution of human capital by HDI percentiles of 95 UNESCO member countries, which clearly shows a Nessie curve, i.e. the countries in the highest HDI percentile have a higher human capital than the other percentiles. The paper then looks at inequalities in domestic educational attainment. It shows that the Nessie curve between the number of graduates (cumulative sum by percentile) and the percentiles of districts by HDI is well discernible, as is the Nessie curve between the percentiles of districts by HDI and the cumulative sum of their human capital by percentile. Finally, the work analyses the district distribution of young people admitted to higher education in 2015 and 2018. It shows that an elephant curve distribution can be detected between the number of people admitted to full-time basic education in 2015 and 2018 (cumulative sum of percentiles) and the percentiles of the districts according to the district development index, indicating inequalities. In summary, the paper concludes that the data show very significant inequalities in national schooling - and the human capital that can be calculated from it - which indicate that the more developed small regions and counties have a significant advantage over the less developed ones. The analysis also shows that this advantage has increased in the recent period under review, suggesting that rural policy has failed to address the disparities in educational attainment and human capital in the last 2010s.

This paper identifies the opportunities for development and take-off points by taking into account the operation, processes and basic principles of the global economy. The current economic situation of the region mentioned will be detailed using macroeconomic indicators such as GDP, foreign direct investment, the HDI index and infrastructural networks. It becomes evident that the focus of this paper is a semi-periphery region of a semi-periphery country, which, in addition to the stagnation of the current situation, is inching towards the periphery. It is essential to explore the main routes through which the future development of the region might be reoriented towards a modern and competitive economy in the current global environment. It is therefore not specific solutions, but development paths that this paper outlines. The obvious handicaps are, however, coupled with unique opportunities, such as natural resources, biodiversity, traditions and a strategic geographic location. The free flow of labour, goods and capital has become a cross-border and intertwined reality, and significantly influence the economies of all countries and regions. The migration of capital and the division of labour it results in assign roles to states and global regions. In this capacity, they connect to networks whose micro-interactions outline the entirety of the global economic landscape. The Szeklerland is not an administratively recognised region; it is surrounded by psychological borders, and represents a cultural, ethnic, historical entity based on tradition. Although the push for its recognition is still ongoing, as evidenced by the efforts of representative bodies such as the Minority SafePack initiative for the protection of minorities, global processes and laws still apply to it, influencing both its present and expected future path. Despite the unfavourable historical background that has left its mark on its economic state to a significant extent, thus also shaping the ways in which it attained its current level of development, the region examined possesses significant potential, and with the appropriate measures, the possible future evolution of its economy may give cause for optimism. This, however, may only be accomplished if there is an appropriate infrastructural networkunderpinning the region, with the aim of ensuring the rapid movement of products, services, high volumes of data, information, the workforce and money. Digitisation plays an important part in this process, yet at the same time, technology transfer and innovation are both indispensable for increasing efficiency.

This review article reflects on thirty years of FDI-dependent development in Central and Eastern European regions (with a special emphasis on the Visegrad countries). The modernisation potential of FDI-led European integration is examined from a critical and comparative perspective. The authors argue that the FDI-led “Dependent Market Economy” (DME) model has fallen short of its anticipated modernisation potential, while other, potentially lucrative development alternatives have been neglected. While early-stage benefits were considerable, the development model now faces signs of exhaustion and an increasing number of contradictions. The paper builds on previous original research by the authors, as well as a review of international academic literature to describe the limitations and trade-offs of the DME development model, followed by an overview of three alternate growth paths for the future. In the macro-level perspective, it is argued that long-term catching-up rates across Central and Eastern Europe over 30 years have been limited, and signs of slowdown are increasingly apparent. Likewise, FDI does not seem to contribute significantly to domestic capital accumulation. On the micro-economic and regional levels, limited income effects are coupled with intangible risks and trade-offs. Strengthened socio-economic and territorial disparities ultimately pose problems for both metropolitan core regions and peripheries, while low capital embeddedness and limited spillovers denote weak territorial integration. It I advanced that the DME model may exacerbate future structural crises and exogenous shocks, and finally, that a development model dependent on exogenous capital structures shows curtailed capability to explore, learn, and benefit from beneficial growth opportunities. The paper makes the case that, while the DME model cannot be realistically dismantled in the foreseeable future without considerable risk to the CEE economies, a comprehensive diversification agenda should seek to gradually reduce its risks and foster alternate sources of growth. Embedding foreign capital into local economic networks represents one possible compromise, coupled with growing supplier networks and anchoring value creation in business services as well as innovation and R&D activities. However, alternate sources of development are also to be explored. The new revival of industrial policies in Europe and across the world opens opportunities before previously ‘inconceivable’ state-led development initiatives, including support for the emergence of new national champions. Last but not least, a strengthening domestic SME sector with competitive medium-sized enterprises and locally embedded production networks should serve to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems in domestic capital accumulation and value creation. Together, these and similar steps have the capability to shift the balance from the DME model towards a more competitive and resilient “successor model” where the interests of FDI and domestic development can be fruitfully reconciled.

A tanulmány célja, hogy bemutassa a hazai középfokú agrárszakképzés alapvető tendenciáit, és bemutassa, hogy az agrárszakképzésben a vállalkozóvá válást milyen módon támogatja a középszintű szakképzés. A tanulmány kiinduló hipotézise, hogy az agrárium fejlődésében az automatizáció és a digitalizáció mellett ugyanolyan fontosságú az ökológiai gondolkodás, ami csak akkor lehet sikeres, ha össze tud kapcsolódni egy új típusú gazdálkodási kultúrával, a piaci és a vállalkozási képességek, beleértve a marketing és a szervezetfejlesztés ismeretkörét is erőteljesebben jelennek meg a mezőgazdasági tevékenységben. The aim of the paper is to show the main tendencies in the vocational and educational training in the agriculture at the grammar schools and beside it to analyze the education of the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge. The main tenet of the paper is the development path of the agriculture is not just the automation and digitalization but the ecological viewpoint. This last point needs a more comprehensive perspective from the farmers especially referring to the entrepreneurial skills including the marketing and organization behavior.

Az iszlám terjedésével egyre nagyobb hangsúlyt kapnak az iszlám bankrendszer sajátosságai az európai pénzügyi szektor számára is. Népszerű tévhit az iszlám bankrendszerrel kapcsolatban, hogy a konvencionális bankrendszerben használt derivatív ügyletek nem jutnak szerephez benne. Ennek a cáfolására mutatjuk be, miként jelennek meg a derivatív ügyletek az iszlám bankrendszerben. Tanulmányunkban elsősorban az opciókra és a swap ügyletekre koncentrálunk. A tanulmány során arra is kitérünk, hogy az iszlám bankrendszerben ezek a megoldások milyen gyakorlati formában jelennek meg a pénzügyi közvetítő rendszerben. The importance of Islamic banking structure in the European financial sector is growing year by year with the spread of Islam. About the Islamic banking system there are several popular biases, the most significant is that this system forbid all kind of derivative structures and this block gave the higher stability of the system. The aim of this paper to show how the derivatives appear in this banking system. The main derivative structures what we will describe are the options and swaps. The paper will show how these instruments appear in practice in the financial intermediary system as well.

A tanulmány célja, hogy a tudásalapú gazdasághoz illeszkedő iparpolitika és felsőoktatás-politika kereteit bemutassa. Az elemzés kiindulópontja, hogy szerkezetváltás megy végbe a globalizáció technológiai folyamataiban. Új ágazatok emelkednek ki és új intézményi szerkezetben történik a technológia irányítása. Az ágazati váltás legfontosabb eleme az infrastruktúra megújulása, ami köré szerveződnek az ágazatok. A tanulmány második részében a felsőoktatás változását mutatjuk be, ami mindig is szorosan kapcsolódott az iparpolitikához. Az új elem a tudásalapú gazdaság időszakában, hogy az oktatás átfogóbb szerepre tesz szert, a gazdasági fejlődés alapvető intézményi kerete lesz. A tanulmány harmadik részében emiatt elemezzük empirikus eszközökkel a hazai felsőoktatás lemorzsolódási mutatóit, és mutatjuk ki, hogy a felsőoktatási intézmények részéről az erőfeszítés a hallgatók megőrzésére hosszú távon kifizetődő lehet. The aim of the paper is to provide a policy framework for the industrial policy and higher education policy in the knowledge-based economy. The knowledge-based economy and society is the main feature of new era of globalization which means that new industries have launched, and new institutional structure has started to build in a global scale. The main characteristic of the new technology is the infrastructure (including space technology, 5G) and the infrastructure gives a new impetus to other industries. In the second part of paper, we show several stages of the development of higher education. Our main tenet is the strong connection between industrial policy and the development of higher education. We argue that the higher education will have got a stronger role in the new era. In the third part, we analyze the dropout rate in the Hungarian higher education and give some policy recommendation to mitigate it.

The paper investigates the rapid, FDI-driven expansion of the electronics industry in the V4 countries from the second half of the nineties through their inclusion into the global value chains of East-Asian lead firms with their home base in countries, such as in Korea, Taiwan or Singapore and China. The paper analyses opportunities for upgrading of East-Asian manufacturing subsidiaries and their local suppliers in the V4 region towards higher value-added activities, and the level of the subsidiaries’ embeddedness after 30 years of their appearance as well as their impact on trade relations between East – Asia and the V4. KEYWORDS: East-Asian lead firms, V4 countries electronics industry, global value chains, global production networks, Samsung Electronics

With the ongoing Covid19 pandemic, the adoption of policies and measures restricting mobility can be observed all over the world. This paper notes that the relationship between migration and development is circular and complex, embracing both negative and positive impacts. It explores the enactment of migration management policies that favour development at home (Africa) to prevent migration, with the trade-offs of security concerns. The paper finds these policies and measures to have failed and proposes what can be done to ensure a better Africa-European Union (EU) migration management. KEYWORDS: Migration, migration management, European Union, Africa, Covid19 pandemic JEL: F22, F50, K38

In the present paper, I investigate the use of sympathy and the Impartial Spectator in Adam Smith’s moral philosophy. My aim is not only a critical reading of Smith’s text but also to draw a historical perspective in which the two concepts evolved right into the 21st century. First, I distinguish three modes of constructing the relationship between the individual subject and the others of the community the subject belongs to. The first option is to define the individual in terms of the community, the second is to postulate a relatively autonomous individual who makes a contract with the community. The third is to conceive of both as mutually determining within a dynamic system. Smith tries to steer between the first two, while the third is developed in contemporary evolutionary and ecological approaches. Next, I will try to show that Adam Smith’s effort to ground moral judgment and behaviour on his idea of sympathy as a kind of imagination of what others feel and think, by means of an intermediary, the Impartial Spectator, runs into a paradox or vicious circle. Next, I offer a kind of solution to the regress of the irreducible distinction between morality and ethics. Then I extrapolate the idea of the Impartial Spectator to the problem of the radical Other, or alien, as it is developed in contemporary French phenomenology. Finally, I briefly apply the idea of the alien to fields other than philosophy such as anthropology, social networking, and ecology.

Hungarian A közgazdaságtan a gazdasági szereplők döntéseinek következményeit vizsgálja, amennyiben ezek a következmények a termékek előállítását, elosztását, cseréjét és az egyének és a társadalom jólétét befolyásolják. A döntések alapja sokféle lehet, de közös jellemzőjük, hogy a döntéshozók jövőképei – elvárások, elképzelések, prognózisok – jelentősen befolyásolják a folyamatokat. Ezt a mozzanatot a XIX. század végétől a várakozások segítségével próbálják megragadni. Jelen tanulmány a fejlemények legelső fázisára fókuszál: Hogyan is lett a kezdeti, szinte mellékesen kezelt jelenségből fontos közgazdasági változó? Az elemzés során kimutatjuk, hogy a közgazdaságtan – mint már annyiszor – ebben a kérdésben is más tudományok eredményeire támaszkodhatott és támaszkodott, mégpedig az angol filozófia, a Darwin-féle evolúcióelmélet és a statisztika akkori eredményeit használták fel. Az események helyszíne is beazonosítható: Anglia, ahol a XIX. század második felére olyan egyedüli kapcsolatrendszer alakult ki, amely kedvező feltételeket biztosított a tudományos alapokon megfogalmazott várakozások megjelenéséhez. English Economics is the study of the consequences of decisions made by economic agents that affect the production, distribution and exchange of goods, and the welfare of individuals and society. These decisions arise from a variety of factors, but a common element is that the visions of decision-makers - including expectations, ideas and forecasts - exert a significant influence on these processes. Since the late 19th century, efforts have been made to understand this phenomenon through expectations. This paper examines the early stages of these developments: How did a phenomenon initially regarded as peripheral evolve into a significant economic variable? The analysis shows that, as was often the case throughout history, economics drew on insights from other disciplines, including English philosophy, Darwinian evolutionary theory and statistics. The background to these events is clear: England, where, in the second half of the nineteenth century, a unique network of contacts fostered conditions conducive to the emergence of scientifically grounded expectations.

Hungarian A hazai és a nemzetközi tudományos közéletben is megkerülhetetlen Adam Smith munkássága. Leszámítva néhány szakértőt az írástudó közönség is csak egyet, jobb esetben kettőt ismer: A nemzetek gazdagságát és Az erkölcsi érzelmek elméletét. Smith munkássága ennél azonban sokkal szélesebb volt, közöttük is fontos szerepet töltött be a levelezés. Jelen tanulmány egy sorozat első része, amiben Smith érdekes leveleit, egyéb írásait mutatjuk be. English Adam Smith's contributions are indispensable to both the domestic and international scholarly communities. However, beyond a limited number of specialists, the educated public is generally familiar with only one or, at most, two of his works: The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Nevertheless, Smith's oeuvre extends significantly beyond these seminal texts, with his correspondence occupying a particularly important role. This paper marks the beginning of a series dedicated to the examination of Smith's intriguing letters and other lesser-known writings.

Hungarian Az uralkodó paradigma szerint a piacgazdaság lényegi rendszerjellemzője az aggregált termékpiaci egyensúly. Ezzel szemben Kornai a piacgazdaság lényegi jellemzőjét a túlkínálati rendszer mivoltában látja, vagyis a piacgazdaságban nincs aggregált termékpiaci egyensúly. Ebben a munkában e két összebékíthetetlen rendszerjellemzőt eredményező logikai struktúrát vizsgálom meg. Rámutatok, hogy az uralkodó elméletben a valós elemzés (real analyis) – oikonomia – egyensúly lehetősége logikai láncolatként következik. Ezzel szemben a Keynes-t és Marx-ot ötvöző heterodox elméletben a pénz elemzési (monetary analysis) keret –khrematistiké – aggregált termékpiaci túlkínálat logikai lánc áll fent. Homo oiconomicus versus homo khrematisticus. Makro-oikonomia kontra makro-khrematistiké. A kettő összebékíthetetlen. Ha elfogadjuk Max Weber és Marx állítását, miszerint a piacgazdaság lényegi jellemzője a khrematistiké, akkor ennek súlyos következménye van a makroökonómiai modellezés és elméletépítés terén: a makro-oikonomia nem viszi előre a piacgazdaság elméleti megértését. English According to the dominant paradigm, the essential systemic feature of a market economy is the aggregate product market equilibrium. Kornai, on the other hand, sees the essential characteristic of the market economy as being a surplus economy, i.e. there is no aggregate product market equilibrium in the market economy. In this paper, I examine the logical structure that gives rise to these two irreconcilable systemic features. I point out that in the dominant theory of real analysis - oikonomia – the possibility of equilibrium follows a logical chain. In contrast, in the heterodox logical structure combining Keynes and Marx, the logical chain is monetary analysis - chrematistics – aggregate product market excess supply. Homo oiconomicus versus homo khrematisticus. Macro-oiconomics versus macro-khrematistics. The two are irreconcilable. If we accept Max Weber's and Marx's claim that the essential characteristic of the market economy is khrematistics, this has serious consequences for macroeconomic modelling and theory building: macro-oikonomics does not advance the theoretical understanding of the market economy.

Ongoing research on Adam Smith is constantly opening up new chapters. The anniversary of his 300th birthday is a good opportunity to uncover certain unknown and misunderstood details of his oeuvre. The present paper aims to reveal missing data and contexts, to overwrite existing stereotypes concerning his thoughts and, last but not least, to implement new methods and results of interdisciplinary research.

This paper analyses industrial upgrading possibilities for the Hungarian economy in light of recent changes in global Foreign Direct Investment activities. The changing economic landscape provides a reason to investigate the impact of the recent developments in Hungary, a country with an open, dependent economy. The study investigates how the front-running sector, the manufacturing industry, performs during the current, turbulent times. Does it upgrade from the earlier assembly-focused positions in global value chains, or are there any signs of deterioration by backshoring certain activities to the headquarters of multinational companies? By using both primary and secondary research and conducting a regional comparison, the study finds that the Hungarian economy still shows the characteristics of a “factory economy”, but progress has been made towards the aspired “knowledge economy” status.

The paper studies the agglomeration area of Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia. The territorial scope of the metropolitan agglomeration encompasses 7 (LAU 1) municipalities including Sofia, Bozhurishte, Elin Pelin, Gorna Malina, Kostinbrod, Slivnitsa and Svoge, and comprises 146 (LAU 2) individual settlements. The total area of Sofia agglomeration covers almost 3,550 km² (3.2% of national territory), while it had 1,359,270 inhabitants (almost 21% of national population) according to the last population census (7 September 2021). During the whole period between 2001 and 2021, Sofia agglomeration has grown in population by more than 95,000 people (7.6%). Bozhurishte, Kostinbrod and Elin Pelin, along with Sofia municipality itself, are the municipalities with the best demographic indicators within the agglomeration area. According to the typology of Webb, type 6 agglomeration settlements (migratory and natural decrease, natural > migratory) are predominant during the first subperiod (2001-2011), while type 8 (migratory increase compensates for natural decrease) has become the leading type in the second subperiod (2011-2021). Despite the increasing number of type 8 settlements, however, the population decline of Sofia city alone (19,361 people) exceeds more than twice the combined population growth of all type 8 settlements (8,929 people), and as a result – the total population number of the agglomeration declined during the second subperiod. In 2021, the GDP in Sofia agglomeration represented 43% of the national economy, while the GDP per capita in Sofia (BGN 38,891) was more than double of the national average. A significant number of the industrial sites are located in the neighbouring municipalities that fall within the agglomeration, with leading economic activities in manufacturing, transport and logistics. The distribution of FDI, however, is uneven: some 97% of them concentrated in Sofia municipality alone. Sofia agglomeration is distinguished by a relatively stable and balanced labour market, characterized by high economic activity and low unemployment rate compared to other agglomerations in the country. Together with the demographic processes, the increasing soil sealing is another evidence of the spatial expansion of suburbanization. The largest share of new soil sealing was observed in Sofia municipality itself (approximately 370 ha), followed by Elin Pelin (105 ha), Bozhurishte (46 ha) and Kostinbrod (32 ha). Based on the intensity of new constructions and population change, the so-called zone of active inbuence of the agglomeration core has been outlined. The zone is made up of settlements meeting two conditions: they have a high intensity of new constructions and they are type 8 or type 7 according to the typology of Webb in the period between 2011 and 2021. During the considered period, the northern, eastern, southern and western peripheries of the agglomeration area developed each in its own speciac way, with dieerent new construction intensity, morphological structure and inter-settlement spaces. Suburbanization processes observed in Sofia are generally comparable to those of other post-socialist European capitals in terms of historical legacies, demographic transformation, spatial dynamics, and land use shifts.

The Wealth of Religions by Barro and McCleary is an epoch-making work of the inter-discipline of religious studies and development economics, an eight-chapter summary of sixteen years of research and seminar work. The topic is very up-to-date, eye-catching, and provocative to some extent, considering the fact that politics, economics, and religion remain divisive topics in most societies today. In an era of renewal of religious terrorism, religious wars, and religious discrimination, writing this book shows a brave commitment to freedom, justice, and universal prosperity. Barro and McCleary, coming from an economic and a moral philosopher background, respectively, have published plenty of academic papers, while simultaneously running the class Political Economy of Religions at Harvard on topics they write about in this book, published by the Princeton University Press.

Hungarian A dolgozatomban egy kutatás eredményét mutatom be, mely 40 éves vagy annál fiatalabb, a kutatás idején működő vállalkozással rendelkező fiatalok kérdőíves megkérdezésén alapul. Habár a populáció sajátosságai miatt teljesen véletlenszerű mintavételre nem volt mód, de a többcsatornás kommunikáció során a populáció kb. 10%-át sikerült elérni. Az elért fiatal vállalkozók 1%-a töltötte ki önkéntesen a kérdőívet. A 243 válaszoló területileg, életkor, nem és iskolai végzettség szerint magas heterogenitással rendelkezik. A kutatás sok tekintetben a korábbi, teljes fiatalság körében végzett kutatásokkal hasonló eredményt hozott például a függetlenség és az anyagi előnyök széleskörben fontos motiváló erejét tekintve, ugyanakkor a családi háttér már erős szórást mutatott. Érthető módon ez utóbbi a vállalkozói családból származók esetében volt fontos, ugyanakkor a minta jellemzőiből az derült ki, hogy nem vállalkozói családból is sok fiatal indít vállalkozást. Az ifjúsági vállalkozásfejlesztés területén vélhetően érdemes ezt a csoportot külön kezelni, hiszen esetükben magasabb tudásbeli és érzelmi küszöböt jelenthet a saját vállalkozás indítása. English In this paper, I present the results of a research based on a questionnaire survey of young people aged 40 and under, with a business at the time of the research. Although a completely random sampling was not possible due to the characteristics of the population, it was possible to reach about 10% of the population through multichannel communication. 1% of the young entrepreneurs reached completed the questionnaire voluntarily. The 243 respondents were highly heterogeneous by area, age, gender and education. In many respects, the survey yielded similar results to previous surveys among young people as a whole, for example in terms of the broadly important motivational force of independence and financial advantages, but family background showed a strong variance. Understandably, the latter was important for those from entrepreneurial families, but the sample characteristics showed that many young people from non-entrepreneurial families also start a business. In the field of youth entrepreneurship development, it is probably worthwhile to treat this group separately, as they may have a higher knowledge and emotional threshold to start their own business.

In universities, there has been a strong tradition of knowledge development in recent decades, where the emphasis in education has been on knowledge transfer rather than skill development. In the labour market, by contrast, the focus is increasingly on skills enhancement. Where is the balance, taking in mind that the educator is part of the educational environment and different stakeholders of the system expect different roles from them? What is an excellent teacher like, in our modern world, who is ready to face these challenges, invests energy, shows interest in students and excels in shaping the learning environment around them in a positive way? What are the approaches that are most needed in entrepreneurship education? Our paper seeks to continue the dialogue around these burning questions and comes to the conclusion that educators are important stakeholders in entrepreneurship education. Clarification and development of their roles, their job-fitness, needs more attention and further research.

By taking the main aspirations of the minilateralism as a theoretical framework, this research aims to investigate the origins and prospects of the Slavkov Triangle, which was initiated as a new regional platform between Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia in 2015. The main motivation of the grouping has been to enhance the cooperation of these States in various areas, ranging from energy security, transport infrastructure, youth employment and cross-border relations to the social dimension of European integration. The regional platform was regarded as problematic as an alternative to the Visegrad cooperation, since it would imply the isolation of Hungary and Poland. Forming a response to these inquiries, this article aims to find out whether the Slavkov Triangle presents a new, sustainable and alternative central European format. In this respect, the focal point of the research is to answer the question whether the Slavkov Triangle fits theoretically to the traditional ‘minilateral’ grouping definition within the European Union (EU). To reveal whether the members of the Triangle have adopted a concrete joint position in EU decision-making, this paper examines the voting patterns of the members of the Triangle by conducting a quantitative analysis of the voting record of the members of the Triangle in the Council of the EU. The empirical analysis will show the degree to which these countries vote together as a minilateral group. The time frame is designated in two-time spans. The first time span focuses on the time between 2010 and 2015, while the second time span covers voting records from 2015 (the beginning of the initiative) until 2022 November (the most recent date of the voting data that is publicly available). This would help grasp the comparative case basis of voting records of these member states before and after the Triangle. In this way, the current study empirically contributes to the burgeoning scholarly literature on regional groupings within the EU.

Hungarian A cikk az idősebb munkavállalók körében végzett kérdőíves felmérésünk eredményét mutatja be abból az aspektusból, hogy hogyan tervezi az idősebb korosztály későbbi életévei során munkaerőpiaci részvételét. A kérdőív közel 160-160 válaszadójának nagy része felmérésünk mindkét helyszínén – Székesfehérváron és vonzáskörzetében, valamint Budapesten – úgy nyilatkozott, hogy jelenlegi elképzelései szerint a jövőben is szeretne valamilyen formában dolgozni. Sokan nyugdíj mellett dolgoznának, de olyanok is szép számmal akadtak, akik a nyugdíjkorhatár betöltésekor nem kívánnak majd nyugdíjba vonulni. Felmérésünk jelezte, hogy a különböző áthidaló munkák, valamint az idősebbek igényeihez alkalmazkodó munkahelyek jól elősegíthetik az életkorban kitolódó munkavállalást, ami az idősödő magyar társadalomban egyre inkább elkerülhetetlen. English The paper presents the results of our questionnaire survey on older workers, in terms of how they plan to participate in the labour market in their later life. Most of the nearly 160-160 respondents stated in both locations of our survey – in Székesfehérvár and its agglomeration, as well as in Budapest – that according to their current considerations, they would like to work in some form in the future. Many would work in retirement, but there were also a large number who would not want to retire when they reached retirement age. Our survey indicated that various bridging jobs, as well as jobs adapted to the needs of older people, can very well promote employment of the older people. This sounds good, because practice shows that in the ageing Hungarian society, the employment of older people will be inevitable.

Whereas innovation ecosystems became widely popular lately, our knowledge is quite limited on the practical implementation of the relevant ecosystem models, specifically in Hungary. Hence, the aim of this paper is to analyse an innovation ecosystem as a case study related to one of the biggest Hungarian multinational company, called Tungsram. The research is considered to be a qualitative research, as the methodology incorporates document analysis and 26 semi-structured interviews with the ecosystem’s participants. The results show that the main benefits of participating in ecosystems are: new value creation by resource and knowledge sharing, networking and minimizing the cost of innovation. Meanwhile, the pitfalls of cooperation are closely related to the credibility of the ecosystem leader, to the formulation of the ecosystem’s strategy and to the quality of the absorptive capacity of the partners.

Hungarian Az elmúlt időszak eseményeinek következtében megnövekedett az érdeklődés az ellátási láncok működése, a kockázatok kezelése iránt. Jelen tanulmányban az élelmiszeripari ellátási láncokkal és az ezekre ható kockázatok természetével foglalkozunk, valamint hozzákapcsoljuk a dinamikus képességek elméletét is. Vizsgálatunk fókuszában hazai élelmiszeripari ellátási lánc downstream szereplői állnak, és interjúk, illetve egyéb belső vállalati dokumentumok felhasználásával kvalitatív kutatásmódszertant követünk. A tanulmány célja, hogy azonosítsa a vállalatok azon dinamikus adottságait, amelyek az ellenálló képesség támogatásával növelik az ellátási láncok ezen képességét. Feltételezésünk szerint az érzékelési képesség és a rugalmasság, valamint a kommunikációs és menedzsment koordinációs készségek kulcsfontosságúak a különböző típusú és erősségű kockázatok, veszélyek kezelésében. A kutatás eredményeképpen megállapíthatjuk, hogy a vizsgált hazai ellátási láncok esetében az érzékelés, az abszorpció és az integratív dinamikus képesség dimenziók egyes képességei várakozáson felül vannak jelen. Viszont az olyan kapcsolati dinamikus képesség dimenzióba tartozó képességek, mint pl. a megszerzett tudás integrálása egy hálózatba, a kockázatmegosztás, a szövetségek megerősítése vagy a reputációs előnyök használata, további fejlődési lehetőséget jelent az ellátási láncok ellenálló képességének növelésére. English Recent events led to increased interest in supply chain operations and risk management. In this paper, we focus on food supply chains, the nature of the risks that affect them, and link this to the theory of dynamic capabilities. The focus of our investigation is on domestic food supply chain downstream actors, and we follow a qualitative research methodology using interviews and other internal company documents. The aim of the study is to identify the dynamic capabilities of firms that support resilience, and thereby enhance supply chain resilience. We hypothesise that sensing capability and resilience, as well as communication and management coordination skills, are key to managing risks and threats of different types and severity. As a result of this research, we conclude that some capabilities of the dimensions of perception, absorption and integrative dynamic capability are present in the supply chains studied, above expectations. However, capabilities belonging to the relational dynamic capability dimension, such as integrating acquired knowledge into a network, risk sharing, strengthening alliances or using reputational advantages, offer further potential for improvement in the resilience of supply.

The problem of the spatial patterns of information transmitted by media is insufficiently debated within the literature so far. In relation to territorial marketing, in most countries the role of TV coverage is a pivotal one as it has the most intense impact on the wider public. Moreover, the TV news-reporting agenda to a large degree also epitomises the press and radio coverage agenda. This paper aims at assessing whether the selected attributes of real economic life in NUTS III regions in Czechia find their adequate portrayal in the regionally related contributions of an economic character that appear in national TV news reporting. Our attention was devoted primarily to the territorial perspective; more specifically, to the 14 self-governing regions in Czechia. In order to reduce the urban character of Prague, two NUTS III regions with the same centre, Prague and Central Bohemia, were aggregated into one territory. This is compliant with their natural geographical characteristics. Thus, the final number of analysed territories reached thirteen. Naturally, the share of news about the given topics in individual regions should roughly correspond to the presence of the themes in terms of territorial statistics. We will attempt to examine the intensity of the above-mentioned congruence. In this article, we shall concentrate on selected economic pillars. These pillars include economic life, economic policy, economic criminality, as well as research, development, and education. These pillars facilitate the evaluation of centralities and peripheralities in Czechia with regard to both material (i.e., real) and intangible (i.e., TV coverage-based) components. The process of gatekeeping plays a critical role in the selection of information that is transformed into media. Moreover, one cannot ignore the media bias – i.e., the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers – within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and the way they are covered. The research question posed in the frame of this article is as follows: can the significant differences between the virtual portrayals and genuine economic characteristics be found in all investigated territories in Czechia? Quantitative content analysis has been utilised for the classification and structuration of individual contributions in TV news reporting. In sum, disproportions between the real and virtual economic characters of regions are identified. Deviations from potential balance could be found in all of four defined economic pillars. Even more, single events may be so intensive that they affect and even distort the whole media portrayal of concrete regions. Subsequently, the relationship between centralities and peripheralities may become more intense and at the same time flexible within the virtual dimension. In this way, the intangible dimensions of centralities and peripheralities can act as either supportive or mitigating powers in relation to their material counterparts.

A number of foreign, partly East Asian producers have made investments into Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county (Northern Hungary) since the millennium. They have contributed to the renewal of the industrial structure and enlargement of manufacturing capacity. In the past decade, the meaning and significance of Chinese investment in the Miskolc agglomeration has increased. Chinese interests have been concentrated in the dominant, export-oriented branches of the regional economy. The companies (namely, Wanhua-BorsodChem, TenPao, SEG-A, JOYSON, and Chervon Auto) comprise a key and real group of members engaged in Hungarian-Chinese bilateral relations. They represent China’s industrial development and expansion around the world and in Europe, as well as strengthen the high-value-added and technology-intensive market segments in the regional economy. The study includes two main parts. In the early sections, the evolution of Chinese economic development with a special focus on industry and industrialization are introduced, while later the related political measures and initiatives are described. Presenting an understanding of the Hungarian government’s reaction (the so-called New Foreign Economic Strategy) is part of the first half of the paper. The Flying Geese Paradigm is the conceptual frame of the synthesis. The key research question concerns the nature of Chinese economic development: Does the development differ from previous East-Asian models of export-oriented industrialization? The author discusses opinions which consider the Chinese developments to be distinct from other Asianones according to their political and market characteristics. In the second half of the article, the Chinese companies settled in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county are evaluated and their regional-level impacts and national-level lessons are identified and assessed. The listed Chinese investments, which differ in financial and legal forms, have emerged as some of the major employers and producers of the region. These considerable investments have accelerated the process of industrial renewal in key branches, although ultimately increasing the exposure and vulnerability of the entire manufacturing structure to external global factors. The Chinese investors are bridging Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén with diverse regions in China, East Asia. They are generating new results and raising new questions about Hungarian-Chinese bilateral cooperation that represent original experiences and knowledge gain for both sides. This work is an attempt to detail the creation of the cluster of Chinese companies and to draw conclusions about the entrepreneurial background, the main activities, and the stories of the respective Asian parent companies. This research will be continued to support the development and embedding of the enterprises. It is crucial effort, as the latter are not only now present but essential for Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Hungary as well.

Examining the urban sprawl around middle-size cities in Hungary and Central Europe the rural change and suburbanization can be characterized by residential out-migration from cities and at the same time by immigration from the rural areas. These processes have intensibed in the former socialist countries after the 2000s and a number of problems have not been addressed, which have become apparent during the eighties and nineties in Western countries. A fast urban sprawl took place with a low level of special control and planning but under the pressure of economic and financial development. The rate of spatial growth often exceeds the rate of population growth, it even occurs in the absence of population growth. In Central European countries, the main destination for migration is the capital cities and their suburbs, therefore suburbanisation studies focus on these areas. However, our aim is to focus on regional centres and their agglomerations, comparing them to capital cities and rural areas. The most dynamic and new urbanisation processes are taking place in urban agglomerations. The phenomena observed in these countries, especially in regional cities, have no historical precedent, but are a novelty from both a social and an economic point of view. The paper concentrates on the urbanisation tendencies of three post-socialist countries – Slovakia, Hungary and Romania –, on the basis of the expansion of the impervious surfaces and the change in the number of the population. In each country the capital cities, the areas of the regional centres, and more remote rural areas are analysed separately. The goal is to examine how much these countries fit into world tendencies, and to see the differences in the density of inhabitants in areas touched differently by urbanisation, among the countries and compared to world tendencies. It is examined in all three countries that have gone through similar economic and political transitions what differences are caused by the diverse historical, geographical and settlement hierarchy endowments at the time of the development and migration boom following the world economic crisis of 2008. It is hard to detect what role the economic crisis played in this, but it is certain that the crisis led to a significant fall, which was followed by a development with quite different directions in the cities, urban fringes and rural areas in the surveyed countries. The flow into cities seems to have accelerated, concerning in the first place capital city regions and the edges of regional centres. Besides population movements, the expansion of built-up areas is much faster than that, especially in less densely populated areas where the dynamism of these was outstandingly high between 2012 and 2018. This may have several negative consequences. In areas in the vicinity of cities zones of such high population density may emerge which may lead to societal problems later.

This paper discusses ways in which Hungarian border studies have reflected processes of post-1989 transformation by moving towards a contextual perspective on diaerent border-making (bordering) processes. Traditionally, Hungarian border studies, and with them geographical conceptualizations of Hungarian state spaces, have reflected changing historical and political contexts as well as dominant scientific paradigms that have shifted with time. In the past, this has also manifested itself in varying degrees of environmental determinism and ethno-nationalism. In the contemporary context, Hungarian border studies have developed a plural, multilevel as well as critical focus that interlinks diaerent areas where borders are politically and socially relevant. As will be elaborated in the following, several conceptualisations of Hungary’s border situation have emerged that reflect: 1) new cross-border economic, political and social spaces, 2) the influence of European integration on Hungary’s politics of borders and 3) the symbolic significance of contemporary and historical borders. These concepts, which will be dealt with below, express both historical continuity as well as conceptual innovation deriving from more recent experience. Above all, the development of Hungarian border studies, particularly since 1989, is of particular significance as it manifests a shift from an ‘introverted’ perspective to a conceptualization of Hungary both as a nation-state and as a borderlands society within contemporary Europe. This contribution makes no attempt at comprehensiveness and it is, admittedly, a highly selective overview of a very rich and multidisciplinary research field. In the interest of brevity, attention will focus on only a few representative strands of investigation that, in my view, have been formative in the more recent development of Hungarian border studies.

Many European countries have implemented development policies for regions and territories in order to contribute to their growth and reduce inequalities. The EU has developed policies for cohesion and smart development which aim to promote the growth of all territories and reduce the gaps between them. The implementation of those policies raises questions about the place of and role of peripheral areas in terms of development. Will they remain under-developed regions, lagging behind? Or are they able to participate in overall development processes? The topic of our paper is an exploration of smart development for peripheral areas, and more especially, rural areas, in Europe. The question arises as to whether these areas are, despite their handicaps, capable of meeting the challenges of development, and most of all of satisfying the conditions for a smart development process. In order to address the question of the development potential of peripheral areas, we start by presenting the European policies of cohesion and smart development, before highlighting the limits of their acceptance by local people. We then show that there are other types of territorial innovations than those identified in the most well-known policies, and finally we propose development strategies for a particular type of peripheral area: rural territories. We found that even while the development policies devoted to these territories have multiplied over the last thirty years, the inhabitants of peripheral areas very often feel dissatisfied with their situation and express their opposition through extreme votes or public demonstration. One of the major reasons for this growing gap between the proliferation of EU policies and the dissatisfaction of the population is that innovations and novelties coming from these areas are rarely considered and encouraged by the current policies. The latter attach too great an importance to technological dimensions and are mainly directed towards industrialized and densely populated areas, whereas innovations stemming from peripheral territories, which are very real, are concentrated primarily in the social, institutional, and organizational fields. In the end, many policies are disconnected from the needs, the will, and the skills of local populations in peripheral areas. In order to avoid these problems and to reduce the obstacles on the development paths of peripheral areas we advocate policies that are better adapted to these territories and which seriously consider their innovative character. The case of rural areas in Europe provides interesting insights because it shows that a mix of ‘traditional’ and more social and institutional policies is possible, and that various mixes can be adapted to the peculiarities of these regions; from peri-urban areas to remote agricultural or forested lands. In any case, it is important to stress that the measures that are applied must be adapted to the respective characteristics of the different categories of territory and not be based on a catalogue adaptable to any type of peripheral areas. It is at this price that we may avoid the disjunction between the different territories of the EU and the appearance of zones of separatism, or even the dislocation of the European community.

A globális népesség éves növekedési üteme az elmúlt ötven évben nagyjából a felére csökkent. A csökkenés egyik fő oka a gazdasági fejlettséggel párhuzamosan mérséklődő teljes termékenységi arányszám mind a fejlődő, mind a fejlett országokban. A csökkenő gyermekvállalási arány a társadalom fokozódó elöregedéséhez, illetve sok esetben a népesség kontrakciójához is vezet, mely folyamat egy adott ország gazdasági és társadalmi helyzetét nagymértékben meghatározza. A tanulmányban a globális folyamatok szemszögéből mutatjuk be a Magyarországon 2015-től fokozatosan bevezetett állami családtámogatási programokat – elsősorban a Családi Otthonteremtési Kedvezmény, illetve a Babaváró Hitel struktúráját –, és elemzzük a programok eddigi hatásait a teljes termékenységi arányszám alakulására. Egyszerű számítással próbáljuk meg többféleképpen megbecsülni, hogy a magyar teljes termékenységi arányszám miként alakult volna a támogatások bevezetése nélkül és ezáltal rövid távon a programok miatt mennyivel több gyermek születhetett meg, illetve szcenárióelemzéssel vizsgáljuk, hogy különböző jövőbeli termékenységi arányszámok milyen magyar népességstruktúrát indukálhatnak. Részeredményeink alapján a programok növelték a nők gyermekvállalási szándékát, azonban a kellő mértékű népesedési fordulat egyelőre elmaradt Magyarországon, a gyermekvállalási arány még mindig jelentősen alatta marad a reprodukcióhoz szükséges szintnek. A fennálló trendek folytatódásával azonban stabilizálódhat Magyarország népessége, azonban ebben nagy szerepet játszik a jövőben várhatóan tovább javuló mortalitási mutatók is. The annual growth rate of the global population has roughly halved in the last fifty years. One of the main reasons for the decline is the fall in total fertility rates in both developing and developed countries, as economic development has increased. Declining fertility rates also lead to an ageing society and, in many cases, to population contraction, a process that has a major impact on the economic and social situation of a country. In this paper, we present the family support programmes gradually introduced in Hungary from 2010 onwards - mainly the Home Purchase Subsidy Scheme for Families and the Prenatal baby support loan - from the perspective of global processes, and analyse the impact of the programmes on the total fertility rate. With a simple calculation, we try to estimate in several ways how the total fertility rate would have changed without the introduction of subsidies in Hungary and thus how many more children could have been born in the short term due to the programmes, and we use a scenario analysis to examine the Hungarian population structure induced by different future fertility rates. Based on my partial results, the programmes have increased women's intention to have children, but the necessary population turnaround has not yet taken place in Hungary, with the fertility rate still well below the level needed for reproduction. However, with the continuation of the existing trends, the population of Hungary may stabilize, however, the mortality indicators, which are expected to improve further in the future, will also play a major role in this. Keywords: fertility, family support program, population turnaround, scenario analysis

A fejlodesgazdasagtan.hu hasábjain az elmúlt hetekben pezsgő vita bontakozott ki a munka fogalmával és a szabadsággal kapcsolatban. A vitában részt vevő kollégák közös kiindulópontja, hogy a munka a szabadság ellentétpárjaként jelenik meg mind a közgazdaságtudományban, mind a köznapi szóhasználatban. Jelen írásunkban a szakmai párbeszéd tanulságait szeretnénk összefoglalni. A szerzők amellett foglalnak állást, hogy a szabadság nem a munkanélküliség állapota, a munka kommodifikált, kizsákmányoló fogalmán túl a munka a szabadság gyakorlásának, a személyes fejlődésnek és a társadalmi részvételnek egyik fontos formája lehet. In the website of “Fejlodesgazdasagtan”, a lively debate has been unfolding in recent weeks about the concept of work and freedom. The common starting point was that work appears as the opposite of freedom in economic literature and in everyday language. In this paper, we aim to summarise the lessons learned from this discussion. We argue that freedom and work are not mutually exclusive concepts. In our view, a workless society cannot be an ideal. We point out that beyond the commodified, exploitative concept of work, it can also be interpreted as a form of personal development, practising freedom and participation in society.

The aim of the paper is to analyse the implementation of Hungarian EU funding in the most recent budgetary period which ended in 2020. The research examines the intervention fields aimed by the operational programmes and the statistics of grant applications as well. In addition, the study gives a detailed analysis about the economic development programme compared to the one in the previous financial cycle. Overall, the aim is to seek the funding practice in Hungary regarding to the sectoral priorities and the characteristic of regional allocation.

In today's society, mankind is at a turning point in the context of the fourth industrial revolution and changes in new technologies and production models, which is raising a higher requirement for future labour. In this article, we look at the economic facets of basic education in China, since the mindset of young people is vital to developing a prosperous and better future civilization for mankind. The main topic of our paper is to analyze the economic literary level of the average high school students to assume how they can react and make a contribution to the coming fourth industrial revolution and the future civilization. The research relies on the materials of Chinese high school students’ actual textbooks related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Economics, and the book The Future of Humanity: Global Civilization and China's Rejuvenation by Professor Jin Zhouying. During the process of research, we found that, on the one hand, basic economics knowledge during the middle school period is helpful to students' daily life. On the other hand, some of the economics knowledge learned by middle school students cannot catch up with the trends and the texts are scattered in different subject textbooks. Therefore, due to innovative knowledge of youth, the relevant high school economics textbooks should be more keeping up with the times and provide more systematic and professional economic knowledge.

Az iskolázottság növekedése az előrejelzések szerint nem lassul. Ugyanakkor az iskolázottság növekedésével az iskolázottsági egyenlőtlenségek alakulása sajátos képet mutat. Az iskolázottság növekedésével az iskolázottsági egyenlőtlenségek a Kuznets-görbének nagyjából megfelelő lefutást mutatnak a magasabb iskolázottság időszakában, de az országcsoportok nagy részében ez kiegészül egy ellentétes görbületű résszel az alacsonyabb iskolázottság időszakában, s így egy hullámszerű alakulás jellemzi az iskolázottsági egyenlőtlenségeket az iskolázottsággal együtt vizsgálva. Az írás azt is megvizsgálja, hogy az iskolázottsági egyenlőtlenségek milyen kapcsolatot mutatnak a keresetegyenlőtlenségekkel.Educational attainment is growing and is not projected to slow down in the future. However, as educational attainment rises, the evolution of educational inequalities shows a particular pattern. As schooling increases, the inequalities in schooling follow a roughly Kuznets curve slope for the period with a higher number of years of schooling completed. But in most groups of countries, this is complemented by an opposite curvature in the period of lower education, and thus a wave-like trend characterizes educational inequalities when examined in conjunction with education. In addition to analysing educational inequalities, the paper also examines the relationship between educational inequalities and earnings inequalities.

Asymmetrical power relations between centre and periphery have been analysed for decades by scholars, who pointed out the cumulative advantages of centres and the social, political and economic disadvantages of the dependent peripheries. The common element of centre periphery theories with a multidisciplinary approach is that the centre tends to keep the periphery dependent by draining its resources. At the same time, the positive mission of the centre is to provide services and job opportunities for the periphery, to accelerate its modernization and catching up and to act as a mediator towards the dynamizing networks. Developmental disadvantages of peripheries have sparked academic interest by asking whether and how disadvantages in power and space can be compensated for. In order to answer this question, this paper analyses the role of the state, the central government in shaping the centre-periphery relationship. In systems that are based on centralized redistribution and subsidies, the fate of both the periphery and the centre depends on their ‘designated’ place, which is determined by a public planning process at best, and by personal, informal power assertion situations at worst. We have much less knowledge about whether the peripheries’ own local activity can change this pre-assigned position and the disadvantages caused by peripherality, and if so, what governance conditions and public policy interventions are necessary to achieve this. The issue is particularly topical in light of the fact that in Hungary the relationship between the central government and local governments has become particularly controversial over the past decade. Local governments are steadily losing their position and resources. It is clear that peripheral municipalities have the narrowest room for manoeuvre, as they are unable to mobilise their own resources and are far from development and power centres. While the government has announced an ambitious rural development strategy, resource-strapped municipalities are unable to act as real partners. The theoretical part of the study draws on analyses employed by the EU-funded RELOCAL project while the empirical study relies on the first findings of an ongoing research programme funded by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office. The theoretical chapters review the main findings of different disciplines that analyse the peripheral situation and centre periphery relations from the perspective of the power-institutional context. The empirical chapters present preliminary empirical research results of an ongoing research project. So far findings have only partially highlighted correlations between power position and development trajectories. This has drawn our attention to aspects that were previously ignored, and which will influence the direction of further research. In light of data on local government elections in the county understudy, it seems that voter behaviour is not necessarily determined by the ‘losing’ or ‘winning’ position of a settlement or region. There is no significant divergence from national trends: opposition-led municipalities are a few (besides the county capital), and in particular in small municipalities, multiple re-election of leaders is common. Contrary to our preliminary assumptions, the majority of respondents belonging to the local elite consider local visibility and personal qualities more important than connections with higher levels of government in spite of their perception that the majority of development funding comes from national and EU sources. These results of course require further interpretation. It seems that people's political sensitivity is less dependent on the territorial location and the &success! of the municipality. It is also possible that the role of information transfer, communication, political socialisation and local networks is more important than local, personal and existential circumstances.