Ernő Molnár

Újraiparosodás és útfüggőség: gondolatok a magyarországi ipar területi dinamikája kapcsán

In our study we wish to demonstrate the mechanisms of path-dependence influencing the spatial development of industry. The study relies on case studies carried out in small and big town environments in a county of the Hungarian Great Plain which is considered to be relatively more successful in terms of industrial renewal.The concept of path-dependence emphasizes the negative lock-in effect in an industrial district. But according to other researchers (particularly Martin 2009; Martin, Sunley 2010) this theory can also be used to explain the positive development of an industrial economy. We used mainly this approach.However, it is also necessary to mention that the Hungarian Great Plain has never been an industrial district. As a consequence, we could neglect this element of the premises of the theory of path-dependence in this study.The first case study focuses on the conversion of Hungarian-owned, medium-sized firms: Their market relations, product structure, technology and features of production organisation gradually changed with the adaptation to a new environment. Indirect effects enforced by supplier relationships (connected to transnational companies) contributed to this adaptation in addition to the circumstances inherited. The presence of relatively small foreign capital still increased the chances of a more radical restructuring, but since the role of these equity investments remained modest in Mezőtur, the recent industrial development of the town is determined by the actors (and their constraints) rooted in the industry of the socialist period.The second case study concentrates on the phenomenon of layering caused by foreign direct investments. There are no direct organisational and locational links between the greenfield investments in the industrial park established by the local government of Szolnok and the industrial heritage of the socialist period. However, the milieu which was built around the industries of the region played a detectable role in the location of firms – partly reproducing the inherited structure of industry. In this example, the influencing effects of the decisions made in the past on the present are represented by a qualified labour force (and the concomitant educational institutions), the locally produced raw materials and the physical infrastructure which served the former industrial base as it serves today’s local economic actors.The significance of the actors in the local economy of both towns investigated suggests that the concept of path dependence is worth more attention in research studies concerning domestic industrial geography. Our examples clearly show that the phenomenon cannot be interpreted only in terms of a dual economic structure, but has to be seen also in the light of foreign equity investments calling for more radical industrial restructuring. If we accept pathdependence as shaping the spatial structure of the Hungarian industry to a certain degree after the change of the political system, we can more easily see the questions related to the general adaptability of economic development strategies within the framework of re-industrialisation.Therefore we intend to continue our research with an attempt to comprehend the opportunities and constraints of development and to interpret the transformation processes after the change of the political system within the context of labour-intensive, capital-intensive and technology-driven industries, as well as that of small and big town environments (including first and foremost: Debrecen) – focusing on the region of the Hungarian Great Plain.

Kelet-Közép-Európa az autóipar nemzetközi munkamegosztásában

The study is based on international trade data and focuses on the role of Eastern Europe in the global automotive industry. After summarising the results of a literature research about the actual changes in territorial structure and international division of labour within the automotive industry, the study analyses how this region is integrated in the trade of this sector and which geographical structure and product range the regional automotive export shows. The research deals with the processes in the decade after the turn of the Millenium and concentrates on the Visegrad countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary) as well as Romania and Slovenia, which play important roles in European investments regarding this industry. The analysis shows that Eastern Europe became an increasingly important and export-oriented production site of this sector dominated by transnational companies. The automotive industry of the region functions as a part of the European production and consumption system and has intensive connections first of all with Germany. The growing importance of car components in the export structure signifies a deepening of the intra-firm industrial division of labour, which is most typical for the German car industry and for the automotive trade within the region. Eastern Europe – the „backyard” of Germany – moved closer to being an automotive region during the last decade.

Spatial development of sports facilities in Hungarian cities of county rank

Abstract Nowadays more and more attention is devoted to the spatial development of the location of sports facilities within cities. The main aim of our paper is to observe the most important spatial characteristics of their development in Hungarian cities of county rank. In these cities three main periods of development of sports facilities can be observed. Larger sports facilities were constructed especially on the edge of cities or in the suburbs, while in the case of smaller facilities a bigger role was played by locations within the city boundaries. As regards the factors influencing the location of sports facilities, the most important role was played by the location of available land areas, besides accessibility and from the mid-1960s links to existing facilities can be mentioned as well.

Egy zsugorodó iparág újrapozicionálásának kérdőjelei: Magyarország cipőgyártása a rendszerváltás után

The footwear industry is a highly internationalised, design and labour intensive sector which functions within the framework of so-called buyer-driven commodity chains. The costsensitive mass production shows a significant spatial mobility because of the optimisation strategies of global players: It settles in regions of cheap labour (mostly Asia and – within Europe – Southern and Eastern Europe). Companies in developed countries participate in the international division of labour as leaders of footwear value chains as well as producers of premium and special products.The Hungarian footwear industry with its remarkable tradition had been integrated into the new global market after the change of the political system. It tried to compensate for the loss of its former foreign and domestic markets by toll manufacturing as well as by producing for special market segments. The sector experienced two major drops: The first one happened because of the overcapacity of the industry inherited from the socialist era. The second decline was caused by the unsustainability of the dominating toll-manufacturing in a changing foreign and domestic economic environment. The sector increasingly lost economic importance while its geographical centre of gravity drifted to the poorer Eastern part of the country.The entreprises examined in this study are important players of the Hungarian footwear industry as well as of the economy of their microregions. They began with toll manufacturing, but various aspects of upgrading (increasing productivity, changing production structure, new functions within the value-adding chains) show that they are now more than classic toll manufacturers. But they are still located in peripheral microregions where labour is cheaper.Nevertheless, these companies are forced to change their strategy because of low and decreasing profitability of toll manufacturing and because they have to diversify in present-day markets. Beside toll manufacturing, it became more important for them to develop and sell own products – first on the Hungarian market and later internationally. Present outsourcing of some of the most labour-intensive parts of production shows that it will be a big challenge to retain the whole production process of middle-priced products within Hungary (Hungarian producers are still benefiting now from their geographical position within the EU and the superior quality of their products in comparison to those of cheaper Asian and Eastern European competitors).Alternatives may materialise in outsourcing where Hungarian companies may take the role of mediators or – in case of successful own products – the role of leaders within the value chains. Footwear industry integrating all production activities is possible to sustain only in special market segments which are less endangered by cheaper competitors.The footwear industry is a good example of the permanent need for adaptation caused by the changing global and local economic environment influenced by economic transition as well as globalisation after the change of the political system. The strategies of the players had to be rethought again and again in order to find survival and developmental strategies. The strategies of foreign enterprises as well as the possible roles of local firms within the transnational value chains will play a decisive role in the future of this sector in Hungary.

Geographical aspects of the diffusion of passive houses

Abstract In our days, energy issues belong to the most important problems facing the Earth and the solution may be expected partly from decreasing the amount of the energy used and partly from the increased utilisation of renewable energy resources. A substantial part of energy consumption is related to buildings and includes, inter alia, the use for cooling/heating, lighting and cooking purposes. In the view of the above, special attention has been paid to minimising the energy consumption of buildings since the late 1980s. Within the framework of that, the passive house was created, a building in which the thermal comfort can be achieved solely by postheating or postcooling of the fresh air mass without a need for recirculated air. The aim of the paper is to study the changes in the construction of passive houses over time. In addition, the differences between the geographical locations and the observable peculiarities with regard to the individual building types are also presented.

THE HUNGARIAN FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY IN GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS: THE CASE STUDY OF BERKEMANN HUNGARY

The highly internationalized, labour-intensive footwear industry showed two spectacular declines and significant restructuring in Hungary after the change of regime. In accordance with the approach the authors investigate, this phenomenon is associated with the integration ways and circumstances of the industry into global production networks. Sector-level assessment of the processes – including the changing geographical patterns of footwear industry which also indicate features of path-dependence – was performed in several previous works of the authors. On the basis of significant empirical fieldwork, recent study focuses on the current situation of an extraordinary foreign owned large company representing the challenges and development perspectives Hungarian footwear industry has to face with.

Local Labour System After the Turn of the Millennium in Hungary

The current research puts the issue of functional urban regions (or districts) into the focus delimited by the commuting network of employees. The local labour system (LLS) provided a specific dimension of this complex approach however it is one of the most adequate possibilities to delineate these areas of commuting. The delimitation process consisted of two steps with the separation of employment centres and with the assignment of settlements to these cores. The alteration of the LLS pattern was also analysed as the investigation was carried out by the census data from 2001 and 2011. The results provided a comprehensive overview about the process of territorial concentration and the instability of peripheral areas. Significant regional disparities of commuting came to light as the consequence of the body of settlement network. The territorial division of the country provided by LLS pattern is fitting to the new and integrated European approach of cities and their hinterlands but it is not alternative against other administrative or statistical divisions of Hungary. However this territorial point of view is in closer relation to the issues of analysing the local labour market processes or the developments targeting the increase in employment.