Structural Changes in the Hungarian Economy and Foreign Trade in 1993–1998

Abstract

In this article, the authors give a rich-in-data account of Hungary's structural transition to a market economy between 1993 and 1998. Although the availability of statistics also puts constraint on which period to study, these years may as well be later termed the first phase of post-socialist transition. The article has three main parts. In the first, structural changes of the whole economy are presented; the structural shifts in output, value added, and investments are analysed. The diffusion of private ownership and foreign capital and the process of decentralisation and concentration are also discussed. In the second part, the manufacturing industries are in focus. With an interesting analytical tool – the growth matrix – the authors present a possible approach of studying sectoral development. By distinguishing the factor needs of the manufacturing industries, the factor intensities of production are also easy to understand and yet reasonable for studying the adjustment to modernisation trends. In the third part, the structural changes of foreign trade are shown: export orientation, import dependency, the relationship between export and technology are the main concerns of analysis. The impact of FDI on the manufacturing industries' foreign trade and performance close the third part of the article.

Structural Changes in Foreign Trade as a Factor of Competitiveness of the Republic of Serbia

“…Many studies analysed countries' (Viszt & Borsi, 2001;Huang et al, 2017;Rekiso, 2020) or sectors' (Svobodová, 2014;Sirgments et al, 2019) foreign trade balances and effects of structural changes in production. Rekiso (2020) states that, by analysing Ethiopian trade balance over one century, it was found that trade deficits are not influenced by a transition of a country, rather by the unfavourable structure of exports and majorly by economic reliance on low skill and backwardstechnology.…”

Structural Changes in the Hungarian Economy and Foreign Trade in 1993–1998

“…In the following, we would like to deliver some of the findings of the research referred to in the Introduction. The investigations were carried out in the framework of an international research project (Viszt-Borsi, 1998). Although the time series corresponded to the 1993-1996 period, the findings regarding the role of FDI in foreign trade are relevant for the discussed period as well.…”

“…In the recent years, several in-depth studies of the Hungarian economy were completed and they often include the structural changes of industry. The most detailed analysis was elaborated in the framework of an international research project, in which a new and very interesting research methodology was used (Viszt-Borsi, 1998). The study focussed on the years between 1993 and 1996.…”