Tanulmányok
Shortage economy — surplus economy. A study on market theory I
Mainstream economists recognize that the socialist system was marked by chronic shortage, but they consider that the capitalist system exhibits market equilibrium, give or take some greater or lesser fluctuations. This study, however, contrasts two market states. One is dominated by phenomena of excess demand, though instances of excess supply appear as well; this the author calls a shortage economy. The other is dominated by phenomena of excess supply, though instances of excess demand appear as well; this the author terms a surplus economy. The author has described in earlier works the factors explaining the shortage economy. Part I of the study presents the mechanisms generating a surplus economy under capitalism: imperfect competition, Schumpeterian "creative destruction", the efforts of firms to build up safety reserves, and increasing economies of scale. It also covers phenomena that curb accommodation of demand and prices. Discussed in a separate chapter are the difficulties of measuring surplus (and closely tied with this, of strictly defining the concepts).
Verseny és szabályozás
Network experiments
Analysis of the network of social relations, like experimental economics as a whole, is a discipline that has developed rapidly in recent decades and provided many new findings to explain societal and economic phenomena. Network experiments are notably instructive at the point of contact between the two disciplines, for besides helping to comprehend and explain the operation and problems of the network industries, they produce findings of decisive importance to examining consumer decision-making and regulating market competition. The study looks into network experiments, including local interaction games, structurally grounded games, the literature on exchange networks, and network-shaping games, as well as presenting the main results of applying them and the restrictions on doing so.
Műhely
The effect of economic integration on government accountability
The paper examines the effect of globalization and economic integration level on the connection between economic performance and election results. It is argued that globalization not only blurs the relations between economic policy and performance, but facilitates comparison of economies, since developed countries face increasingly similar external economic shocks. The main contention in the paper is that the re-election chances of an incumbent government depend less on the country's own economic performance than on its deviation from the average for the countries observed. This comparability yardstick allows the information asymmetry concerning the hidden types of politicians' competence to be partially mitigated. The hypotheses derived from the augmented retrospective model are tested on panel data on European elections. The findings back the main argument that the economic performance effect on election results is mediated through the observation of external economic environment.
Parameters for commercial credit among Hungary's manufacturing companies
The study examines the factors that shaped commercial credit for Hungarian manufacturing companies in the 2000–2007 period. Among the financial motives behind commercial credit is the degree to which it can substitute for bank credit. The generally restricted access that Hungarian manufacturers have to bank credit increases the demand for commercial credit, but international experience is contradicted by the fact that resort is made to it almost equally by large and small firms. The transformation of bank credits is not probable: large and medium-sized firms with favourable access to bank credits do not extend a greater amount of commercial credit to the small-firm sphere. With Hungarian manufacturing firms, the dominant force in commercial credit is close coordination of buyer and seller, as a result of the processes typical of such transactions and of concern for the requirement of financial stability.
Könyvismertetés