Demographic Diversity and Convergence in Europe, 1918-1990

The study investigates how Hungarian demographic development from the end of World War I to 1990 related to the changes that took place in Western Europe, and in which areas and in what periods can divergence or convergence be observed. The issues examined included fertility, mortality and nuptiality movements. Based on the analyses three main periods in 20th century Hungarian demographic development can be distinguished: from the beginning to the middle of the century, Hungary converged to the societies of Western Europe; approximately from the middle of the century to the mid-60s, the diminution of differences between Hungary and Western Europe halted on the whole, but the gap still did not begin to widen; in the third period, which lasted from the mid-60s to 1990, Hungary took a course diverging from Western Europe.comparison, convergence, demography, family history, Hungary, twentieth century, Western Europe

Rászorultsági elv vagy általános szociális jogok?

Az elmúlt években, sőt immár az elmúlt egy-másfél évtizedben a hazai közbeszéd egyik leggyakoribb témája az állam szociális szerepe, pontosabban az, hogy az államnak milyen mértékű és milyen jellegű felelősségvállalása indokolt a polgárok szociális biztonságának megteremtésében. Igazi vitáról mindazonáltal nem beszélhetünk, mivel a diskurzus nyelve egyértelműen liberális. Az állami jóléti programok úgyszólván ellenvélemény nélkül, úgy jelennek meg a nyilvánosságban, mint amelyek a gazdasági fejlődés akadályozói, s így a társadalom érdeke az, hogy az állam lehetőleg minél kevesebbet költsön ilyen célokra. Ennek érdekében a jóléti rendszerek „reformja” szükséges, melynek tartalma tehát mindenekelőtt az állam szociális szerepvállalásának korlátozása

Fogyasztás a második világháború utáni Kelet-Közép-Európában : politikai meghatározók és transznacionális hatások

The study explores the characteristics of the consumer culture of East-Central European communist societies – Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary – during the decades following WWII. It argues that the significant role of politics in the formation of consumption patterns and consumer culture was a major feature of the region’s consumption history during this time period, but consumption policy shouldn’t be considered the sole determinant of changes. Besides consumption policy, economic and social factors should also be taken into account. The effects of consumption policy were not as significant as several previous studies suggest. The widening gap between consumer aspirations and the actual possibilities was the most important factor shaping consumption policy. In general, the level of consumption advanced in the region during the decades after 1950, but consumer satisfaction didn’t increase with it, and even started to decline towards the end of the period. The rapid rise in consumer aspirations had several reasons, but we consider the transnational factors, namely the demonstration effects of Western countries to be the most significant. Economic policy reacted to this with changes in direction, but these measures were strongly constrained by the political and economic system. This constellation can help us understand how East-Central European consumer culture was connected to political changes, and how it contributed to the destabilization of the communist regimes