The optimal rate of inflation and the inflation target: international experience and the Hungarian perspective

This article discusses the main factors considered in defining the country’s inflation target which was revised this year. Three key issues are covered: the theoretical and empirical literature dealing with the optimal level of inflation, international best practice and individual, country-specific factors that may justify deviation in any direction from best practice. The article finds that the 3% inflation target set by the MNB is consistent with all the three aspects reviewed and, consequently, contributes to the MNB achieving its primary statutory objective of price stability.monetary policy, optimal rate of inflation.

Posztszocialista fejlődési pályák

A közép-kelet-európai országok rendszerváltása óta eltelt két évtized lehetővé és időszerűvé teszi a fejlődési pályák vizsgálatát a régió országaiban. A tanulmány a politikai gazdaságtan eszköztárának segítségével a rendszerváltás egy fontos tényezőjét, az állami újraelosztás változását elemzi. Fő hipotézise, hogy a szocialista múlt kihat a jelenlegi gazdasági-társadalmi intézményrendszerre, s ezért a szocialista rendszer jellegétől függően két határozottan eltérő – az állami szerepvállalás mértékében különböző – fejlődési pálya különíthető el. Egyiket kevert kapitalizmusnak, a másikat pedig tiszta kapitalizmusnak nevezi el a szerző. Néhány egyszerű mutató segítségével azt is bemutatja, hogy a modellbeli mechanizmus empirikusan is vizsgálható

A magyar felsőoktatás egy fontos intézménycsoportja : A királyi jogakadémiák forrásai és feldolgozásának lehetőségei (1777–1850)

AN IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONAL CLUSTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN HUNGARY: THE SOURCES SUPPLIED BY THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF LAW AND THE PROCESSES OF THEIR CATALOGUING, (1777–1850). he main objective of this study is to ofer an overview of the currently available sources which are extant regarding the peculiar institutions and student population of higher education of the 18th and 19th centuries in Hungary. On surveying the types of sources, it takes stock of the material which is currently accessible to assess the one-time student population of the royal academies of law in Pozsony, Győr, Kassa, Nagyvárad, as well as of the similar royal institutions of Zágráb and the royal lyceum in Kolozsvár. Surveys of this type have demonstrated that in the irst half of the 19th century almost 50,000 students enrolled in these types of institutions. his number by itself tends to indicate that these institutions may have fulilled a much larger role in educating a Hungarian intelligentsia in the Reform Age than one would assume on the basis of a lower-thanuniversity academic level of these institutions

Nem katolikus diákok a királyi jogakadémiákon 1777 és 1850 között

Not catholic Students at Royal Law Academies between 1777 and 1850. In the following study my goal is to examine an unusual question about the royal academies: the religious structure of the students. The most students were catholic in this institutions. The explanation of this fact is these academies were founded by Maria Theresia, and before that were owned by the Jesuit order. From 1777 these academies were state institutions. However, the Protestants had their own school network in this period, we could also find not catholic students at the register books. I would like to examine these students’ social background, and try to answer the question, why they chose for the royal academies. All of these data are collected by the MTAELTE Histories of Universities Research Group

Temporary protection, technology adoption and economic development: data and evidence from the age of revolution in France

This thesis examines industrial development in early 19th century France, a period of momentous sea-change often referred to as the ‘Age of Revolution’. A novel dataset makes it possible to examine key sectors of the economy as they developed from rural cottage industries into modern, factory-based production units. The Napoleonic Blockade against British trade (1803-1815) provides within country, exogenous variation in trade protection from the industrial leader, Britain. In the first chapter, “The Spatial Dynamics of Structural Transformation in France”, I present the new dataset and document some spatial patterns which seem to comove with the switch to modern technology. I find that the time period was disruptive to the existing spatial structure of the economy, at least for the modernising sectors which I observe. The second chapter, “Temporary Protection and Technology Adoption: Evidence from the Napoleonic Blockade”, uses an exogenous shock to trade protection, driven by the Napoleonic Blockade against British trade, to assess whether temporary protection from trade with industrial leaders can foster development of infant industries in follower countries. I show that in the short-run, regions (départements) in the French Empire which became better protected from trade with the British increased capacity in mechanised cotton spinning to a larger extent than regions which remained more exposed to trade. Moreover, temporary protection affected the long-term location of mechanised cotton spinning in France. The third chapter, “Inter-Industry Linkages: The Indirect Effects of the Napoleonic Blockade” explores the wider implications of the exogenous shock to trade protection. Using variation in the location of post-blockade mechanised cotton spinning caused by the trade shock, I find evidence of coagglomeration for technologically proximate spinning sectors. The effects do not seem to be driven by input-output linkages, suggesting a role for technology spillovers or labour market pooling

Temporary protection and technology adoption: evidence from the Napoleonic blockade

This paper uses a natural experiment to assess whether temporary protection from trade with industrial leaders can foster development of infant industries in follower countries. Using a new dataset compiled from primary sources, I find that in the short-run regions (départements) in the French Empire which became better protected from trade with the British for exogenous reasons during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) increased capacity in a new technology, mechanised cotton spinning, to a larger extent than regions which remained more exposed to trade. Temporary protection had long term effects. In particular, by exploiting the fact that the post-war location of the cotton industry was determined to a large extent by the historical accident of the wars, I first show that the location of cotton spinning within France was persistent, and firms located in regions with higher post-war spinning capacity were more productive 30 years later. Second, I find that after the restoration of peace, exports of cotton goods from France increased substantially, consistent with evolving comparative advantage in cottons. Third, I show that as late as 1850, France and Belgium - both part of the French Empire prior to 1815 - had larger cotton spinning industries than other Continental European countries which were not protected from British trade during the wars; this suggests that adoption of the new technology was far from inevitable

A magyar felsőoktatás egy fontos intézménycsoportja a királyi jogakadémiák forrásai és feldolgozásának lehetőségei (1777-1850)

AN IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONAL CLUSTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN HUNGARY: THE SOURCES SUPPLIED BY THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF LAW AND THE PROCESSES OF THEIR CATALOGUING, (1777–1850). he main objective of this study is to ofer an overview of the currently available sources which are extant regarding the peculiar institutions and student population of higher education of the 18th and 19th centuries in Hungary. On surveying the types of sources, it takes stock of the material which is currently accessible to assess the one-time student population of the royal academies of law in Pozsony, Győr, Kassa, Nagyvárad, as well as of the similar royal institutions of Zágráb and the royal lyceum in Kolozsvár. Surveys of this type have demonstrated that in the irst half of the 19th century almost 50,000 students enrolled in these types of institutions. his number by itself tends to indicate that these institutions may have fulilled a much larger role in educating a Hungarian intelligentsia in the Reform Age than one would assume on the basis of a lower-thanuniversity academic level of these institutions