Double or quits: should money found be risked?

This article examines social attitudes towards risk-preference and risk-aversion. First, we briefly discuss the theoretical approach to the analysis of risk-preference and risk-aversion that was developed within rational choice theory. Next, we present an approach to operationalise risk-preference using survey data. Our measurement of attitudes towards risk follows the usual strategy: respondents are asked to choose between a small amount of money they get for sure, and a large but risky amount. Drawing on the theoretical models and earlier empirical research, we formulate hypotheses about the social factors that have an impact on actual decision making in the situations under study. The hypotheses are tested using survey data. The article ends with a brief discussion. The novelty of our paper is that – to the best of our knowledge – neither previous Hungarian nor international research has attempted to examine attitudes towards risk using data from large-scale surveys

The Demand for Redistribution: A Test on Hungarian Data

Rational choice theories of the size of government would predict larger demand for redistribution (and, as a consequence, a higher level of redistribution) in more unequal representative democracies operating under conditions of majority voting. To explain the actual mismatch between the distribution of incomes and preferences, the logic of pure self-interest can be refined by introducing past mobility experience and future mobility expectations. In addition, ideological attitudes and values (for example, about the role of individual responsibility in society) are in this respect also assumed to define general welfare attitudes. This article looks at the explanations of the actual intensity of the demand for redistribution in a transition country that shows high levels of support for various state activities while not showing an extremely high level of inequalities

Customer Loyalty Problems in Retail Banking

According to analyses of the most business consulting companies (KPMG, Capgemini, Deloitte, TowerGroup, etc.) customers are discontented with the retail banking experience. To achieve higher business growth, banks must increase customer loyalty by delivering a distinctive experience that combines the right mix of convenience, value and service and forges an emotional bond with consumers. Winners will be those that transform themselves into customer-centric enterprises by having a clear vision of what they want to achieve, fully aligning business processes and IT infrastructure to achieve those goals and engaging their employees in the process. The first step to do it is the identification of customer satisfaction. This paper intends to reveal its essential elements.customer loyalty, customer attitudes, retail banking

Fenntarthatóság – fenntartható fogyasztás – egyetemi hallgatók fogyasztásának vizsgálata alapján

A jelenlegi társadalmi-gazdasági folyamatok fenntarthatatlansága, potenciálisan önpusztító jellege a közvélemény és a környezeti problémakörrel foglalkozó kutatók körében napjainkra egyaránt tudatosult. Immár tudományos tény, hogy e folyamatok már a közeli jövőben beszűkíthetik a jövőbeni társadalmi-gazdasági választási lehetőségeket. E tendenciák kapcsán hangsúlyt kap a fejlett országok – köztük hazánk – állampolgárai részéről a jelenlegi fenntarthatatlan életmód megváltoztatásának szükségessége. A szerzők tanulmányukban arra a kérdésre keresik a választ, hogy a Szegedi Tudományegyetem hallgatóinak körében mi befolyásolja a környezettudatos fogyasztói magatartást. Ehhez megvizsgálják, hogy az ökológiai lábnyom alkalmas-e a környezettudatos fogyasztás mérésére, továbbá elemzik az ökológiai lábnyom méretének alakulását a SZTE hallgatóinak körében. Végül feltárják az ökolábnyomot befolyásoló tényezőket, ezek hatásának irányát és mértékét, amelyhez elméleti keretül elsősorban az érték-hit-norma elmélet (Value-Belief-Norm Theory) szolgál

Income distribution in new (and old) EU member states

The paper, based on recent EU-SILC data, investigates the patterns of income inequalities in “old” and “new” EU member states. We describe income inequality within countries as well as income differences between states and test our results using different methodological assumptions. Our results show that the group of new member states was no less heterogeneous in terms of inequality and poverty than the EU15 at the time of EU enlargement. The most important difference between the two country groups is found in their GDP levels and in some measures that are directly related to economic development. We observed that sensitivity to changes in the equivalence scales is not systematically related to membership status; thus for overall inequality comparisons of countries, a standard scale seems appropriate. The possibility of a difference between “old” and “new” EU member states in the role of incomes in generating overall welfare of households calls, however, for caution in interpretation

Travelling disguised through Slavonia in 1626 (The journey of the Dalmatian humanist Athanasio Georgiceo – new manuscript and new interpretation)

Autor predstavlja poznati putopis ili izvješće Atanazija Jurjevića (Georgicea) iz 1626. i donosi njegovo novo djelomično izdanje. Rukopisni predložak izdanju nalazi se u Povijesnom arhivu Svete kongregacije za širenje vjere, u ponovno otkrivenom kodeksu Dalmazia Miscellanea sv. 3. Splićanin Atanazije Jurjević, prevodilac i diplomat u službi cara Ferdinanda II., poznat i kao nabožni pisac i skladatelj, putovao je po carevu nalogu u Olovo u Bosni kako bi pohodio svetište Blažene Djevice u tamošnjem samostanu i pobožnom caru donio kopiju čudotvorne Gospine slike. Put je iskoristio i za potajno, vojnički upotrebljivo, istraživanje prilika u tadašnjim osmanskim zemljama Ugarskoj, Slavoniji i Bosni. Talijanski pisano izvješće koje je po povratku podnio caru sastojalo se od tri dijela: opisa Gospinog svetišta u Olovu, korografskog prikaza Bosne te putopisa od Budima do Banja Luke. Ovdje je priređeno izdanje izvornika trećeg, putopisnog dijela izvješća.In this short contribution I have analyzed and partly republished an important document concerning the history of seventeenth century Turkish Hungary, Slavonia, and Bosnia. It is the notebook entitled ‘Relatione data all’imperatore dal signor Athanasio Georgiceo del viaggio fatto in Bosna l’anno 1626’ (The report of Athanasio Georgiceo to the Emperor on a journey made in Bosnia in 1626), found in the volume “Scritture riferite nei Congressi, Dalmazia Miscellanea, Volumen 3”, of the archives of the Holy Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith in Rome. This travelogue, the report of Athanasio Georgiceo (Atanazije Jurjević), an imperial interperter and diplomat as well as a religious writer, was published already in the nineteenth century by the Croatian historian of Bosnia and the Bosnian Franciscans, Mijo Vjenceslav Batinić. However, as it was general in the nineteenth century source editions, this edition did not even try to identify the names of persons and the geographical names mentioned in this source, and in his edition most of the names were even given in a too deformed form to be identified. The report comprises three parts. The first part concerns the picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary which can be found in the Bosnian town of Olovo, retailing the history and miraculous qualities of this religious icon. The second part gives a description of the province of Bosnia and the larger towns which can be found there. The third part is a detailed description of Turkish-occupied Hungary, a diary of Georgiceo’s week long journey from Buda through southern Hungary and Slavonia to the Bosnian town of Banja Luka. This part is where the earlier edition was especially distorted, therefore I publish this third part of the relation with the forms of names and places I consider correct, and with their present-day identification. In the introduction to the edition, the contents of this text is analyzed on the basis of historical, literary and archeological sources

Income Distribution, Social Cohesion and Value Structure

My presentation deals with income distribution, social cohesion and value structure. Assuming that the future work of the Fiscal Council will also involve consultations with institutions that deal with forecasts for the macroeconomic path, I trust that during these consultations the forecasts of Kopint-Tárki (Kopint-Tárki, 2011) will also be put on the agenda. Here and now, follow-ing the presentation of past processes, I am going to discuss the significance of income distribution from the aspect of planning the next budget. The data used are based on data recorded about one year ago, and characterise the year 2009 (Tárki, 2010). To some extent they already show the effects of the crisis, but a review of the effects of the crisis and crisis management on social structure would require more recent data