There is no uniform theoretical standpoint on the effects of changing interest rates and the role of money among economists. Though these disputes exercise a great influence on the economic policy measures adopted as well. For the management of the 2008 global financial crisis many central banks entered into forceful interest rate cuts to contribute to the revitalisation of the economy. The economic recession caused by the pandemic of 2020 again raises the issue how central banks can stimulate growth. In this study we deal with the liquidity trap issue attributed to Keynes. Keynes pointed out that there might exist a lower interest rate limit under which money demand becomes infinite. His conceptions put the foundations to the question, at what interest rate levels might the liquidity trap – a term coined later by Robertson – phenomenon become effective. He was followed by numerous renowned economists dealing with the conception. In this paper we are discussing the most important theoretical approaches – among others the views of Hansen, Hicks, Tobin, Patinkin, Krugman, Brunner and Meltzer and Eggertson. We provide an overview on the effects of low interest rate levels adopted by Japan, by the central banks of Japan, the USA and the ECB aimed at stimulating the economy. Based on the study it can be confirmed that central banks can contribute to economic growth keeping interest rates low and therewith fostering investment. Nevertheless, beyond keeping short-term interest rates low, it might be adequate to control interest rates of other maturities and, especially under deflationary expectations, central banks should express their prolonged commitment to low interest rates.

The proposal to switch to bills and notes might be shocking. The fact that Act CLXXXV of 2017 on the Regulations for Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes entered into effect in Hungary on 1 January 2018 in order to enforce the uniform regulations pertaining to the legislation on bills of exchange and promissory notes, yet we still cannot talk about the issuance and use of bills and notes, is just as odd. In our study, we argue that in the absence of other short-term corporate securities, bills and notes could help the liquidity management of SMEs owing to their elaborated legal background. We briefly present the importance of corporate securities in the financing of companies both on domestic and international level, as well as the evolution of financial services related to bills and notes in the mirror of the statistics of the Hungarian supervisory authority, and we also provide possible ways for developing the financial services related to bills and notes. We review the previous and current Hungarian legal-regulatory environment of bills and notes and then summarise the arguments for their use in Hungary. 1

Business angels are natural persons who provide equity financing for young enterprises and gain ownership in them. They are usually anonym investors and they operate in the background of the companies. Their important feature is that over the funding of the enterprises based on their business experiences they can contribute to the success of the companies with their special expertise and with strategic support. As a result of the asymmetric information between the angels and the companies their matching is difficult (Becsky-Nagy – Fazekas 2015), and the fact, that angel investors prefer anonymity makes it harder for entrepreneurs to obtain informal venture capital. The primary aim of the different type of business angel organizations and networks is to alleviate this matching process with intermediation between the two parties. The role of these organizations is increasing in the informal venture capital market compared to the individually operating angels. The recognition of their economic importance led many governments to support them. There were also public initiations that aimed the establishment of these intermediary organizations that led to the institutionalization of business angels. This study via the characterization of business angels focuses on the progress of these informational intermediaries and their ways of development with regards to the international trends and the current situation of Hungarian business angels and angel networks.

Az 1929-33-as világválságot követően John Maynard Keynes szakított a munkáit megelőző tanokkal, amelyek szerint a gazdaság működésére a pénz jelenléte nem gyakorol hatást. Az 1936ban megjelent általános elméletében bevezetett egy, a kamatlábtól függő likviditásfüggvényt, rámutatva a pénz és a kamatlábak gazdaságra gyakorolt hatására. Megfogalmazta azt is, hogy létezhet egy olyan kamatkorlát, amely alatt a pénz kereslete végtelenné válik.A likviditási csapda John Hicks grafikus értelmezésével vált a közgazdászok körében jól ismert gazdasági törvényszerűséggé. Hicks szerint a kamatok gazdaságra gyakorolt hatásának iránya viszonylag jól megbecsülhető, a mértéke a kockázatok miatt kevésbé megbízható. Véleménye szerint árszínvonal-emelkedés eset én a növekvő kamatlábak megfelelő korrekciós mechanizmust idézhetnek elő antiinflációs hatásuk révén, deflációs időszakban a kamat alsó korlátja gátja lehet az árszínvonal stabilizálásának.A kamatlábak alakulásának hatásairól, a pénz szerepéről az 1930-as évektől sincs egyöntetű elméleti álláspont. Mindemellett a monetáris politikai beavatkozásokkal, így különösen a kamatpolitika hatásosságával k apcsolatos elméleti viták az alkalmazott gazdaságpolitikai lépésekre is erőteljes hatást gyakorolnak. A viták alapját, Keynes és Hicks értelmezéseinek főbb pontjait foglaljuk össze tanulmányunkban.

The goal of research planning is to optimize human and material resources while maximizing efficiency. If there are databases that can be used as a substitute for own data collection, effective research can be facilitated by reallocating resources. In the case of environmental studies, the knowledge of the climatic conditions of the study period is known to be a key factor in research planning process.  In the present study, the data of our meteorological station in our research area (known as “Szamárháti Tanya”, Kesznyéten, Hungary) was compared with the measurements of meteorological stations operated by the competent water authority. Stations were taken into the study within a 10 and 20 km radius over a period of 21 months, to determine which provided more relevant data from the area. During the evaluation of results, the relationship between the local and regional weather stations were determined, and deductions were made from the obtained results to support the decision which of the targeted investigations could be of greater benefit.