Regional Processes and Spatial Structures in Hungary...

In Central and Eastern Europe, the 1990s are the years of the great socio-economic and political transitions and rearrangements. Both the relationships within the region and the external connections of the region as a whole have fundamentally changed. Within the region, Hungary is a rare example for an "organically transforming" country. During the time of the systemic change, no violent, revolutionary events took place. However, the ten years that have passed since the systemic change are not free from conflicts. The aim of the book is to give an overview of the versatile regional processes of the Hungarian economic, social and political transition. We could not examine he rearrangement processes of each sector, but we think that the regional problems of the most essential activities were given a proper attention.

The introduction of the neighborhood environment (East Central Europe) is also part of the book, in order to demonstrate the versatility of the former small socialist states (as opposed to the popular belief of many, which did not differentiate among the countries of the socialist block), as well as the induced effects of at versatility that have emerged in the transition period.

The regional consequences of the systemic change to a large extent derive from the differences of the previous structures. The political geographical situation of Hungary basically changed in the transion period. In addition to the new world political and European environment, a significant part of the Hungarian state borders are borders to new neighbour countries now, after the disintegration of the former socialist federations. The new political geographical environment received a basically new content after the NATO accession of Hungary.

The inner political and administrative rearrangements partly served the break down of the old structures and partly the construction of new ones. During the transformation of the institutional system of regional development, the preparation for the accession was already a major objective. The individual sectors (agriculture, transportation, communication, tourism, banking system and financial services, tertiary sector) found themselves in new rational conditions during the construction of the market economy. The territorial processes of the individual sectors showed specific features characteristic of given sector, also, the preparation for the accession to the Union has already started in these sectors, including the building out of new structures, part-financed EU funds. It is this period when the Hungarian economy actually returns to the circulation of the world economy. Foreign capital has acquired significant shares from the Hungarian economy, both by privatisation and by green field investments. In certain sectors of the Hungarian economy, a dominance of foreign capital has occurred.

The spatial structure of the Hungarian economy has significantly changed during the transition period. The recent ten years enable us to designate the territorial winners and relative losers in the transition. The regional tensions have not decreased in Hungary, on the contrary, they have become rather sharp at the level of the individual regions. The transition period, in the field of environmental protection, has only led so far to the assessment of the problematic heritage and the awareness of the dangers, instead of offering solutions for the problems accumulated during the decades. One of the most problematic elements in the Hungarian EU accession is the environmental situation of the country, and the demand for the improvement of the historically created situation. The book does not reveal all the territorial relevances of the transition, it is not an absolute inventory or a pre-accession structural register. However, it helps both the understanding of the territorial processes of the recent ten years and the integration of Hungary into the European Union.

CONTENTS

PREFACE / 7

REGIONAL EFFECTS OF THE TRANSITION IN EAST CENTRAL EUROPE
GYULA HORVÁTH / 9

HUNGARY: FROM "EAST" TO "WEST" (THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE GEOPOLITICAL POSITION OF HUNGARY IN THE PERIOD OF 1988-1998)
ZOLTÁN HAJDÚ / 34

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN HUNGARY
ILONA PÁL KOVÁCS / 53

CO-OPERATION AMONG LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AS THE FOUNDATION FOR REGGIONAL SUBDIVISION
EDIT PFEIL / 77

REGIONAL DISPARITiES IN THE PRIVATISATION OF LAND
TERÉZ KOVÁCS / 99

REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATION DURING THE SYSTEMIC CHANGE
FERENC ERDŐSI / 123

THE ROLE OF TOURISM IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
GABRIELLA KRAFT-SOMOGYl / 156

THE HUNGARIAN BANKING SECTOR AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT' IN TRANSITION
ZOLTÁN GÁL / 180

THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS SERVICES AND THEIR ROLE IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN HUNGARY
ZOLTÁN RAFFAY / 222

FEATURES OF BUSINESSES WITH FOREIGN PARTICIPATION IN HUNGARY
ZOLTÁN PITTI / 263

TRANSITIONS OF THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY IN HUNGARY
LÁSZLÓ HRUBI / 288

REGIONAL ' WINNERS' AND 'LOSERS'
LÁSZLÓ FARAGÓ / 316

THE EFFECT OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC TRANSITION ON THE HUNGARIAN ENVIRONMENT
ISTVÁN FODOR / 328