Discussion Papers 2002. No. 40.
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

CENTRE FOR REGIONAL STUDIES
OF HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

DISCUSSION PAPERS

No. 40
Report on the Research Results of
the Centre for Regional Studies of
the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Edited by
Gyula HORVÁTH

Series editor
Zoltán GÁL

Pécs
2002

Discussion Papers 2002. No. 40.
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Publishing of this paper is supported by the
Research and Publishing Fund of the Centre for Regional Studies, HAS,
Hungary

ISSN 0238–2008

2002 by Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Technical editor: Dorottya Frick
Typeset by Centre for Regional Studies of HAS Printed in Hungary by Sümegi
Nyomdaipari, Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Ltd., Pécs.

Discussion Papers 2002. No. 40.
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

3
Contents
Preface 5
1 Strategic
goals
7
2 Research
results
8

2.1  Accession to the EU regional policy
8

2.2  Studies on territorial economic policies
10

2.3  Studies on the urban network
13

2.4  Studies on territorial structures
14

2.5  Studies in rural development
16

2.6  The competitiveness of Hungarian regions and

settlements in the European economic space
18

2.7  Developing the regional institution system
19

2.7.1  Decentralisation and the regions
20

2.7.2  The strategy of building regions
21
2.8
Environmental
protection and regional development
23
3
The directions of the Centre’s research strategy for
the period 2002 to 2004
25
4
The contribution of the Centre for Regional Studies of the HAS
to the competitiveness of Hungarian regional development
25

Horváth, Gyula :
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.

5
Preface
The analysis on scientific workshops is such an instrument that evaluates the
efficiency and defficiencies of political and professional practice the most
objectively. Modern research deals not only with the scientific analysis of the
past but also interacts creatively with the practical world in more complex
global and partial issues and problems.
For that reason, the National Regional Development Council considered
very important to discuss the achievements of its activities at the Centre for
Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. On its meeting having
held on 11th April 2002 the Council has acknowledged the researchers’ personal
achievements and the Centre’s results in the successful co-ordination of
research and development in the field of regional processes and the education of
regional science in Hungary.
The National Regional Development Council proposed to publish the report
of the Centre for Regional Studies on research results that have been completed
between years 1998–2001. This report includes a pragmatically arranged listing
and descriptions of research works. This summary deliveres a scientific
message to those who are interested in the present problems of Hungarian
regional policy and practice.
The researches that include international comparisons as well, acknowledge
the competitiveness of Hungarian regional policy, which has been established
by the past results of Hungarian regional development. At the same time they
also warn that this competitive advantage may be lost if we are unable to take
an active part in forming the future of European regional policy and remain
unprepared for the new challenges.
A great encouragement has been given to us from some scientific papers
urging for a more decentralised, regionalised territorial development policy,
which may both serve as remedy for all of our national problems and as a
catalyst for in benefiting all the advantages that our EU membership provides
for regional policy.
From the point of our future tasks, researches have clearly proved that
region-based national planning has vital importance in the future of Hungarian
society and economy. As a member of the European Union, Hungary may
receive Community support funds for easing of regional disparities only
through the preparation of a National Development Plan and viable, realistic

Horváth, Gyula :
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Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.

7
1 Strategic goals
During the past few years, the Centre for Regional Studies has continued to
advance regional science, and has started to prepare the theoretical ground for a
paradigm shift in regional policy. Activities to this end have included research
programmes, the organisation of scientific life, publications, participation in
international research programmes, successful application for domestic and
international funds to finance research programmes, maintenance and
development of a complex system of contacts with third level institutes,
participation in the preparation of government decisions related to
regionalisation and EU accession, and participation in the preparation of
regional policy documents both for the whole of Hungary and for the different
territorial levels. These activities have turned CRS into a research centre which
links the western and eastern countries of Europe.
The Centre has further widened the circle of its strategic allies with new
partners, domestic and foreign scientific institutions, and consultancy
organisations. Co-operation with these partners in actual research programmes
has inspired new directions of research – prominent among which is the
competitive analysis of Hungarian regions and settlements. Most important of
these contacts is third level educational institutions. The Centre has signed
strategic agreements with six universities that play a crucial role in the teaching
and research of regional science. In order to disseminate the results of regional
science, preparations have been started for the establishment of the Hungarian
Regional Science Association.
The institute considers as its important task to help the country prepare for
the accession to the EU by providing research results on regional development
and regional policy; and, by the same token, to help base the decisions of the
central and local governments, and the municipal bodies, on a scientific ground
with the preparation of development documents of different levels and scopes,
and by working out the methodological grounds for the completion of such
documents. Research related to territorial structures have included the
assessment of regional development initiatives in border areas, the assessment
of trends in the changing spatial structure of Hungary, the investigation of the
international roles assumed by Budapest and its agglomeration, the survey of
the various small area organisations working in Hungary, and also the
assessment of the experiences of the European and domestic regional and rural
development policies: where the natural connecting points are, and what factors
justify just what extent of individual autonomy and divergence in the case of
these two policies.

Horváth, Gyula :
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.
8

2 Research results
2.1 Accession to the EU regional policy
Research on the Eastern and Central European transformation has aimed to
describe Central and South-Eastern Europe at the turn of the millennium, with
special attention to the process of restructuring, to the development of regional
policies, and to the circumstances and conditions of integration. Research has
shown what regional differences are inherent in the transition period and in
during the preparations for the accession, and pointed out to what extent
regional aspects have to be considered when describing these countries. The
comparative analysis of the prevailing Eastern and Central European policies
has clearly demonstrated the competitiveness of Hungarian regional policy; at
the same time, it called attention to signs showing the waning of Hungary’s
advantage.
In connection with the tools and institution system of regional development,
important research has been carried out to help establish the theoretical,
methodological and regulatory rudiments of regional policy-making. The draft
for the comprehensive reform of the regional development act has been
completed. The operation of the regulatory and institution system of regional
development has been evaluated and the relevant concepts have been clarified.
Special attention was paid to the re-thinking of the intervention areas of
regional policy; to the strategies of the decentralisation of resources and scopes
of authority; to viable models of realising the principle of partnership; and to the
more accurate definition of the theoretical and procedural issues of territorial
planning. It has been pointed out that only a regional policy more decentralised
than the existing one can serve both the solution of our national problems and
the effective utilisation of the advantages in regional policy provided by our
membership in the EU.
Analyses related to territorial planning and programming have indicated
that the programmes need to be reviewed, primarily because of the changing
priorities of the national governments; frequent changes in the national policies
may threaten long-term programming. It has also been noted that even the
programmes based on consensus lack, for their implementation, actors other
than the local resources and the actors of the public sphere. Analyses have
shown that Hungary’s territorial planning system is based on the principles of
EU regional policy, and it reflects the new concepts of modern market
economies. The concepts and, in part, the programmes, of the different

Horváth, Gyula :
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.
Research results
9
territorial levels do not build on and only occasionally comply with each other.
Underlying this is the fact that the plans are completed in different time frames,
are based on different methodologies and concepts, and that the functions of the
various territorial levels are not defined properly. Several parallelisms are
inherent in the development concepts and programmes. The ambiguities in the
functions of the various levels leave the planners and the actors of regional
development in doubt as to what tools of action and implementation they are
entitled to use. This way the plans lose their weight and they do not encourage
partnership or the effective utilisation of resources; thus, programming becomes
vague. The regional development related competencies and interrelations of the
various territorial levels should be clearly defined, and the regional attitude
should also be present in the sectoral plans. The efficiency and effectiveness of
planning and programming are to be ensured by the guaranteed provision of
decentralised development resources. One finding of these researches is that a
separate act on planning could determine the types of plans to be worked out at
the various territorial levels, the requirements for their content and the relevant
procedural details.
A recommendation has been worked out for the methodology of a National
Development Plan. An important concept of the recommendation is that the
plan should discuss the goals of the various sectors in a regional framework,
and that the national plan should primarily be built upon the regional plans.
The methodology for the evaluation of the decision-making mechanisms of
regional policy is completely unknown in Hungary (despite the fact that the
monitoring of efficiency is a growing requirement in the EU). This research is
pioneering, which, apart from its content and findings, renders extra scientific
value to its methodology. The study has shown that techniques and rules learnt
during the Phare programmes aimed at preparation for accession have had little
impact on how regional development resources are utilised in Hungary; which
is a disquieting sign of how well Hungary is prepared to receive the Structural
Funds.
The studies investigating the theoretical and practical methods of social and
economic impact analyses have demonstrated the social and economic impacts
of the plans aimed at facilitating the utilisation of resources. It has been shown
that underlying the shifts in EU structural policy between planning periods are
the different prevailing growth models and their various drifts. Surveying the
application of impact analyses in Hungary, researchers evaluated the
decentralised distribution of regional development resources; the application of
impact analyses in Hungarian planning documents; the presence of indicators in
the system of regional development tenders; and the ways these aspects could
be modelled.

Horváth, Gyula :
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Enyedi, György (ed.): Social Change and Urban Restructuring in Central Europe.
Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó. 1998.
Erdősi, Ferenc: Közlekedés és regionális fejlődés Európában [Transport and regional
development in Europe]. Budapest–Pécs, Dialóg Campus Kiadó. 1999.
Faragó, László: Szeletek a tervezés mélyrétegeiből [Sections from the deep structure of
planning]. Tér és Társadalom. 2001. 3–4. 11–24.
Horváth, Gyula: Európai regionális politika [European regional policy]. Budapest–
Pécs, Dialóg Campus Kiadó. 1998.
Horváth, Gyula: Changing Hungarian regional policy and the accession to the European
Union. European Urban and Regional Studies. 1999. 2. 166–177.
Horváth, Gyula: Regionális támogatások az Európai Unióban [Regional support in the
European Union]. Budapest, Osiris Kiadó. 2001.
Illés, Iván: Regionális átalakulás Közép- és Délkelet-Európában [Regional
restructuring in Central and South-Eastern Europe]. Budapest–Pécs, Dialóg Campus
Kiadó. 2002.
Lados, Mihály: A területi tervezés kihívásai a kilencvenes években Magyarországon: a
területfejlesztési stratégiák kialakításától a programozásig és az értékelésig
[Challenges faced by territorial planning in Hungary in the 1990s: from the
completion of regional development strategies to programming and evaluation]. Tér
és Társadalom. 2001. 2. 25–69.
Pfeil, Edit: Vázlat a területi tervezés és a közigazgatás kapcsolatáról, avagy a
regionalizálás a területi tervezés szemszögéből [An outline of the relationship
between territorial planning and public administration; regionalism from the
viewpoint of territorial planning]. Tér és Társadalom. 1999. 3. 77–99.
Rechnitzer, János: Területi stratégiák [Regional strategies]. Budapest–Pécs, Dialóg
Campus Kiadó. 1998.
Rechnitzer, János: A halogatott regionalizáció mint a területi politika sajátossága az
átmenetben [Delaying regionalisation: a characteristic of territorial policy during the
transition period]. Tér és Társadalom. 2001. 2. 3–24.
2.2 Studies on territorial economic policies
Research results on the connections between globalisation and regionalisation
have pointed out that the globalisation of the market and the parallel localisation
of economic activities is creating a new kind of shared interest between the
economy and the local communities. For this reason partnership in regional
development becomes the interest of the economy: the principle that “the
market should regulate all processes” gradually loses ground, while the local
communities assume an important role and functions in economic development.

Horváth, Gyula :
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.
Research results
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The economic development functions of the local communities are centred
around two main poles: the development level and adaptability of the human
resources and the market value of the given location (settlement or area).
Research has also called attention to the fact that the creation and spreading
of innovations presume local awareness of the need for innovation as deriving
from the challenges of globalisation, as well as the establishment of the optimal
territorial sizes. Development resources are characteristically scarce in the
model areas of local development. Competition for outside resources requires
new and original ideas and encourages competitors to raise their bids. Wherever
local development programmes are launched, they generally lose impulse and
cannot be sustained after support runs out. The reason for this is that the
targeted activities are not viable on the market. The utilisation of local resources
and the continuation of projects in these target areas are hindered by the
practical lack of all those components that are needed to start businesses. Most
prominent of these is the lack of capital, as well as the lack of technological and
marketing expertise, proper sites, buildings and equipment.
Research initiated recently on the territorial processes of the industry have
indicated that rapid changes have occurred in the spatial structure of the
industry; that there is strong correlation between the economic development
level of the provincial regions and their territorial share of industrial GDP; and
that economic modernisation has been dominated by the processing industry.
The industrial structure of Hungary has become more one-sided compared to its
one-time complexity. Machine manufacturing has come to play an important
role. The structural shift in the sector can be seen as basically positive; however,
the country has lost its territorial balance seeing large areas with a weakened or
shrunk industrial structure. Regional development has not been able to
effectively address these processes neither during the socialist nor the present
transition period.
Research on the spatial structure of new economic sectors have shown that
the variation of the county level GDP figures increased by 20 per cent between
1994 and 1999; this variation is even heavier in the dominant company sector;
and that the variation of GDP and the variation of GDP growth are not
completely matching. At the sectoral level, the per capita investment rate in the
business services sector between 1996 and 1999 was ten times as high in
Budapest as the provincial average. The expansion and differentiation of the
sphere of manufacturing services followed the processes of the structural and
organisational transformation of the Hungarian economy. Important elements of
this process were the strengthening of the business information monopoly of
Budapest, and the emerging duality of the services market. The circle of

Horváth, Gyula :
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.
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Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies, HAS
provincial-based businesses has strongly differentiated. As regards the structure
of the manufacturing services sector, as well as the circle of its users, the county
seats form a particular group. Towns at the same population level have been
further differentiated regarding business services, which is most spectacular in
the development of the service functions of the towns belonging to the
agglomeration of Budapest and those in North Transdanubia, as well as in the
growing underperformance of the settlements in the Great Plain region and in
Northern Hungary. The spatial patterns of the business services sector
dynamically emerging during the period of economic growth have mainly
served to conserve the territorial differences that had developed by the mid
1990s.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Barta, Györgyi: A nagyvállalatok szervezeti–tulajdoni–térbeli változásai [Changes in
the organisation, ownership and spatial structure of large companies]. Tér és
Társadalom. 2001. 1. 39–64.
Barta, Györgyi: Technological competitiveness in a transition economy: foreign and
domestic companies in Hungarian industry. In: Bojar, E.–Wewer, E. (eds.): Making
Connections. Technological Learning and Regional Economic Change. Aldershot,
Ashgate. 1999. 179–205.
Enyedi, György: Globalizáció és a magyar területi fejlődés [Globalisation and
Hungarian territorial development]. Tér és Társadalom. 2000. 1. 1–10.
Dőry, Tibor–Rechnitzer, János: Regionális innovációs stratégiák [Strategies for
regional innovation]. Budapest, Oktatási Minisztérium. 2000.
Erdősi, Ferenc: A kommunikáció szerepe a terület- és településfejlődésben [The role of
communication in territorial and settlement development]. Budapest, VÁTI. 2000.
Gál, Zoltán: Az innováció regionális intézményrendszere [The regional institution
system of innovation]. Európai Tükör. 2000. 3. 23–51.
Horváth, Gyula–Rechnitzer, János (eds.): Magyarország területi szerkezete és
folyamatai az ezredfordulón [The territorial structure and processes of Hungary at
the turn of the millennium]. Pécs, MTA Regionális Kutatások Központja. 2000.
Kiss, János: Az ágazati gazdaságszerkezet szerepe a regionális differenciálódásban [The
role of the structure of economic sectors in regional differentiation]. Tér és
Társadalom. 1998. 1–2. 138–162.
Rechnitzer, János (ed.): A privatizáció regionális összefüggései [Regional aspects of
privatisation]. Budapest, Kulturtrade Kiadó. 1998.

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Research results
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2.3 Studies on the urban network
Investigation of the tendencies of the transformation of urban spaces in Eastern
and Central Europe has shown that the settlement network of the area has
become strongly differentiated due to urban planning, centralised economic
policy, and the impacts of the market economy. This process has been shaped
by the activity of economic actors. Due to their different competitive
endowments, the hierarchy of towns has changed.
Studies carried out on the tendencies of the transformation of the Hungarian
urban network have pointed out that today Hungary has 252 towns, but only
about 200 of these actually have town functions. This indicates that the wave of
awarding town status to settlements has by far gone beyond the circle of
settlements with town functions, and, therefore, only rural settlements will
receive town status in the future. At the same time, attention is called to the
problematic situation of declining towns, as well as the conspicuous gap
between the capital and the regional centres; which indicates that one urban
level is missing in Hungary, and that the medium town level is also rather
distorted.
The modelling of the urban gravity zones and their links to statistical small
areas using indicators of gravity and accessibility has shown that slightly more
than half of all towns have a market large enough to become a fully functional
small area centre, capable of performing the organising functions of a territorial
centre. The present statistical design of the country includes more small areas
than justified by the existing system of links between the towns and the rural
areas.
Analyses of the development of Budapest have called attention to the fact
that due to the spectacular economic development during the 1990s, soaring real
estate prices, and the ensuing changes in the society, life-style, and the city’s
functions, the international roles of Budapest have multiplied, and the global
elements in consumption and cultural life have appeared and become quite
significant. The question is whether, and to what extent, these developments are
capable of ensuring Budapest a stabile international role: whether or not they
are enough to keep the city attractive and functional, and, beyond global
functions, enable it to provide particular and unique “services” at an
international level.
Analyses of the suburbanisation processes indicate that the development of
the Hungarian suburbs during the 1990s, considering the most important
features of the process as well as tendencies of decentralisation, follows the
trajectory of similar processes in the developed countries. The characteristics of

Horváth, Gyula :
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.
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the transition period, the privatisation of homes and land, have provided a
particular framework for this spatial process. The expansion and intensity of
suburbanisation closely correlates with the territorial concentration of domestic
and foreign investment and with the purchasing power of the population.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Csefkó, Ferenc:A települések differenciált hatásköri rendje kialakításának elvi alapjai
[The principles of the establishment of a differentiated system of scopes of authority
of settlements]. Magyar Közigazgatás. 2000. 2. 66–82.
Barta, Györgyi–Beluszky, Pál (eds.): Társadalmi-gazdasági átalakulás a budapesti
agglomerációban [Social and economic transformation in the agglomeration of
Budapest]. Budapest, Regionális Kutatási Alapítvány. 1999.
Barta, Györgyi (ed.): Budapest – nemzetközi város [Budapest: an international city].
Budapest, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia. 1998.
Beluszky, Pál: Magyarország településföldrajza [Hungary’s settlement geography].
Budapest–Pécs, Dialóg Campus Kiadó. 1999.
Beluszky, Pál: The Hungarian Urban Network at the End of the Second Millenium.
Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies. Discussion Papers, 27. 1999.
Enyedi, György (ed.): Magyarország településkörnyezete [Settlement environment in
Hungary]. Budapest, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia. 2000.
Enyedi, György: A magyar településfejlődés integrációs kihívásai az ezredfordulón
[Challenges faced by Hungarian settlement development in the light of integration at
the turn of the millennium]. In: Csontos, János–Lukovich, Tamás (eds.):
Urbanisztika 2000. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó. 2000.
Nagy, Erika: Growth and urban differentiation on the urban periphery: a case study
from Szeged, Hungary. GeoJournal. 1999. 1. 221–230.
Timár, Judit: Elméleti kérdések a szuburbanizációról [Theoretical issues in
suburbanisation]. Földrajzi Értesítő. 1999. 1–2. 7–26.
Timár, Judit–Váradi Monika: The uneven development of suburbanization during
transition in Hungary. European Urban and Regional Studies. 2001. 4. 349–360.
2.4 Studies on territorial structures
The results of studies on the Great Plain region have pointed out that the
general underdevelopment and underperformance characterising this area is
permanent on some of its internal and external peripheries of considerable size.
The versatile and sustainable rural and landscape development of this extensive
region, in compliance with its endowments, is an urgent task. This could also
provide a distinctive direction for the future development of the region’s

Horváth, Gyula :
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Pécs : Centre for Regional Studies, 2002. 26. p. Discussion Papers, No. 40.
Research results
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agriculture. The most important factors of the future territorial development of
the Great Plain are the development of the infrastructure and the establishment
of a new system of effective links among the settlements.
The findings of the programme investigating the regional development issues
of the Hungarian section of the River Danube have shown that development on
this section of the river has been, and continues to be, subject to international
processes. The designation of the river as a major European transport corridor
has remarkably increased its significance; prolonged uncertainty in the Balkans,
however, is a great obstacle to development. The section of the river on the
Hungarian–Slovakian border has not become the scene of intensive
intergovernmental or cross border co-operation. Except in Budapest, the
Danube divides, and not links, regions; this is further strengthened by the
heavily Budapest-centred development of the motorway network. The
infrastructure of the Hungarian section of the Danube is only partly capable of
performing the new type of regional development tasks.
Research on border areas has shown that the real territorial, economic and
social conflicts of these areas can only be explored through research carried out,
and using the same methods, on both sides of the border. These areas, however,
begin to play an increasingly important role not only in the strengthening of
cross-border economic links, but also in the catching up of the larger areas of
these crossing zones.
Spatial differentiation and the territorial differences in opportunities have
increased in the society, as has been shown by research indicating strong
peripherisation at small area level and the increasing geographical expansion of
such peripheries. According to the new classification of small area development
introduced in the research, only one third of all small areas show considerable
dynamism; in the meantime, due to outbound migration, peripheral areas slowly
but steadily continue to fall behind. Research has shown that the traditionally
underdeveloped areas and the structural crisis areas both suffer from permanent
unemployment. Taking also into account the internal trends of these areas, we
find that at least two thirds of the registered unemployed and the majority of the
unregistered unemployed face the threat of being permanently expelled from the
labour market. This threat is the greatest in rural areas as is reflected by the fact
that the smaller the size of the settlement, the higher and more rapidly
increasing its unemployment rate is. The areas where permanent unemployment
is the heaviest are characterised by a marked lack of local initiative and by a
communication breakdown and even hostility among the proliferating
development organisations.

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Baranyi, Béla (ed.): A határmentiség kérdőjelei az Északkelet-Alföldön [Questions
related to the border area status on the North-East Great Plain]. Pécs, MTA
Regionális Kutatások Központja 2001.
Beluszky, Pál: A Nagyalföld történeti földrajza [The historical geography of the Great
Plain]. Budapest–Pécs, Dialóg Campus Kiadó. 2001.
Csatári, Bálint: Az európai területfejlesztési perspektívák és az Alföld [European
regional development perspectives and the Great Plain]. Ezredforduló. 1998. 6. 24–228.
Csatári, Bálint: Az európai vidékiség és az Alföld [Ruralism in Europe and the Great
Plain]. In: Alföldi Tanulmányok 2000–2001. Békéscsaba, Nagyalföld Alapítvány.
2001. 44–62.
Csatári, Bálint et al: A Tisza-vidék problémái és fejlesztési lehetőségei [The problems
and development perspectives of the Tisza region]. Ezredforduló. 2001. 2. 3–20.
Csatári, Bálint (ed.): Az Alföld területfejlesztési kérdései [Regional development issues
in the Great Plain]. Budapest, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia. 2002.
Hajdú, Zoltán (ed.): A Duna-völgyi térség területfejlesztési problémái [Regional
development problems of the Danube basin]. Budapest, Magyar Tudományos
Akadémia. 2001.
Illés, Iván: Az Alföld helyzetének és fejlődésének transznacionális tényezői [The
transnational factors of the state and development of the Great Plain]. In: Alföldi
Tanulmányok 2000–2001. Békéscsaba, Nagyalföld Alapítvány. 2001. 32–42.
Nagy, Imre: Cross-border Co-operation in the Border Region of the Southern Great
Plain of Hungary. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies. Discussion Papers, 36. 2001.
Mezei, István: Az Ipolytól a Tiszáig. A magyar–szlovák határ menti kapcsolatok [From
the Ipoly to the Tisza – cross-border contacts between Hungary and Slovakia].
Palócföld. 2001. 2–3. 217–234.
2.5 Studies in rural development
Ever since the central regulation of regional policy changed, the Centre has
insisted that rural development is not identical to regional development, but an
activity focussed on a smaller area. The complex and comprehensive
development of the agriculture and of rural areas is, in compliance with the
processes of the European Union, a positive endeavour. The rural areas in
Hungary cannot be brought to the level of other areas merely on the basis of the
agriculture.
Analyses of the spatial restructuring of the agriculture have proved that this
economic sector, too, sees significant structural differences between the regions
regarding ownership conditions and the structure of farms and plants, as well as
the sector’s ability to regenerate. East of the Danube, a large-scale process of

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Research results
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fragmentation has commenced, whereby individual users of land and smaller
groups of users have indeed gained dominance; the sector’s ability to
regenerate, however, is stronger in Transdanubia, where agriculture is still
dominated by large farms; here, however, the weight of agriculture in the whole
of the economy has decreased. Small producers will be able to avoid becoming
the losers of the accession to the Union only to the extent to which the leading
sectors of the national economy will be able to employ those masses of small
producers who are forced to give up agricultural activity. The strategy of
Hungarian rural development should be build upon the economic diversification
of rural areas.
Strategies for making a living, surveyed in certain agrarian areas, have
indicated that in those areas where the peripheral conditions have conserved the
outdated model of large farm agriculture, secondary transformations are
expected to cause the sudden rise of unemployment and the outbound migration
of the youth. We see concentration not only in co-operative property but also in
land use; there is no concentration, however, in land ownership: present owners
are waiting for new legislation and expect soaring prices after accession to the
EU. New models can only emerge and strike root in those areas that have a deep
tradition of agriculture and, thanks to their intensive production methods,
survived the socialist era and became stronger during the emergence of a
“socialist bourgeoisie.” In communities where this leads to the emergence of a
strong agricultural entrepreneurial circle, the municipal government and the
local agricultural actors join forces to find solutions together.
Based on analyses of the small area development organisations in Hungary,
it has been recommended that the work of small area organisations, established
spontaneously or consciously, should be territorially harmonised, and
parallelisms and double activities should be reduced or eliminated.
Recommendations have also been made on the principles of a qualification
system that would take into account the different nature of small area
organisations, their different objectives, tasks, references and their different
financing needs from the central budget. As an effect of the regional
development act, municipal associations assumed dominance among the small
area organisations; yet, the previous organisational forms did not cease to exist,
and live on parallel with the newer forms. Regarding their functions and power
for spatial organisation, these organisations are very heterogeneous, and are not
yet capable of performing public duties.

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
G. Fekete, Éva: A siker titkai a kistérségi fejlesztésekben [The secrets of success in
small area development]. A Falu. 2000. 2. 59–66.
G. Fekete, Éva: Együtt! – De hogyan? Innovációk a kistérségi fejlesztésekben
[Together – but how? Innovation in small area development]. Pécs, MTA Regionális
Kutatások Központja. 2001.
Kovács, Katalin: A vidék kutatása az MTA Regionális Kutatások Központjában
[Research on rural areas in the Centre for Regional Studies, HAS]. A Falu. 1998. 4. 15–
30.
Kovács, Katalin: The 1997 “peasant revolt” in Hungary. Eastern European
Countryside. 1999. 5. 43–58.
Kovács, Teréz (ed.): Integrált vidékfejlesztés [Integrated rural development]. Pécs.
MTA Regionális Kutatások Központja. 2000.
Kovács, Teréz: Vidék, vidékfejlesztés, vidékpolitika [The countryside, rural
development and rural policy]. Gazdálkodás. 2000. 3. 11–24.
Kovács, Teréz: A földhasználatban megnyilvánuló főbb területi különbségek (The
major territorial differences in land use). Területi Statisztika. 2001. 5. 457–465.
Kovács, Teréz: Az Európai Unió és Magyarország mezőgazdasága és vidékfejlesztése
[Agriculture and rural development in the European Union and in Hungary]. Európa
2002. 2001.2. 62–76.
Szoboszlai, Zsolt (ed.): Szociális földprogramok Magyarországon [Social land
programmes in Hungary]. Szolnok, Esély Szociális Közalapítvány–Regionális
Szellemi Forrásközpont. 2001.
Szörényiné, Kukorelli Irén: Vidékkutatás előzményekkel és tényekkel [Rural studies
with antecedents and facts]. Tér és Társadalom. 2001. 2. 71–85.
2.6 The competitiveness of Hungarian regions and
settlements in the European economic space
Investigation of the documents of international organisations, as well as the
analysis of the international literature on the above research topic, launched in
the framework of the National Research and Development Programme in late
2001, has concluded that the synthetic indicator of regional competitiveness is
the average per capita production figure for the given region; this incorporates
both the level of productivity and the level of employment. Competitiveness
means sustainable economic growth that results from a high rate of employment
and high productivity.
Changes in the competitiveness of the regions of Europe have taken place
over a long period of time (five decades), and the ranking of regions has

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undergone significantly transformation. There is a strong shift to the East on the
competitive map of Europe.
Studies carried out as a test for methods designed to measure
competitiveness, assessed complex competitive advantages and disadvantages
in the Hungarian small areas. (Only one in three small areas in Hungary have a
competitive advantage, and only six small areas have a complex advantage.)
Having processed the data base gathered for the analysis of Hungary’s urban
hierarchy in 2000, results indicate that one fifth of all towns do not perform any
considerable urban functions. There are substantial gaps and anomalies between
the different levels of the urban hierarchy; the problematical levels are those of
the regional centres and the medium towns.
An important component of regional competitiveness is infrastructure, the
sectors of which can only involve minor advantages; infrastructural
developments can reduce existing competitive disadvantages. The connection
between competitiveness and infrastructure is different in developed and
backward countries. Analyses of the comparative models designed to measure
competitiveness have indicated that the individual regional infrastructure and
the interregional aspects of the regional infrastructure both have to be taken into
account in the evaluation.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Erdősi, Ferenc: Gondolatok a közlekedés szerepéről a régiók és a városok
versenyképességének alakulásában [Reflections on the role of the transport in
regional and urban competitiveness]. Tér és Társadalom. 2002. 2. 135–161.
Horváth Gy.: A magyar régiók és települések versenyképessége az európai gazdasági
térben [The competitiveness of Hungarian regions and settlements in the European
economic space]. Tér és Társadalom. 2001. 2. 203–231.
2.7 Developing the regional institution system
The regional development act designates the small area, the county and the
region as the components of the territorial framework of regional development.
The act and the consequent implementation orders, however, only determined
the exact geographical borders, scopes of authority and resources for the
counties; thus making the county level regional development councils the
central element of the system. However, the conflicting need to strengthen the
regional level has become a clear and widespread recognition among the
professionals of the field; also underlined, apart from Hungary’s accession to

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the EU, by the requirements of the country’s modernisation. Research was
focussed primarily on the establishment of the institution system of regional
development and on the further improvement of legislation in this field.
2.7.1 Decentralisation and the regions
There are several factors that explain why regionalism has become a primary
factor in integration: in modern states, the central governments delegate tasks to
the subnational levels; the new, bottom-up regional paradigm requires actors
capable of making decisions; the numerous regional economic actors confront
the national schemes of regional development with their own interests and
development strategies, and form political alliances to widen the scope of their
decision-making competence; as a response to the pressures of globalisation,
cultural identities tend to include an increasing number of regional factors,
economic, political and intellectual; and the network paradigm of the
organisation of the economy requires a wider territorial context to take
advantage of economies of scale. In Europe, in the second half of the 20th
century, decentralisation was the link between economic development, regional
transformation and the democratisation of power. Regionalism, as the
expression of power sharing, optimally combining an increasingly globalised
economy with the local endowments, has released fresh forces of development
on the peripheries and thus the administrative region has become the driving
force of modernisation.
The future of Hungary’s spatial structure depends mainly on what role
decentralisation will play in the utilisation of extra resources after accession to
the European Union. Regions are necessary in Hungary because, as proved by
European territorial development, territorial units with populations between 1
and 2 million, and operating on the principles of local government, are, due to
their economic and structural endowments, the optimal framework for
economy-based development policies. They are also the ideal ground for the
activities and interrelations of post-industrial spatial organising forces; serve as
the scene of the representation of interests; are the optimal territorial unit for the
establishment of the modern infrastructure of regional development policy; and
are the decisive element of the decision-making system of the European
Union’s structural and cohesion policies.
Today it is not public administrative reasons or our accession to the EU that
compel Hungary to make progress in regionalisation. There is more at stake: the
growth of the Hungarian economy, the modernisation of the country, and its
future positions in the European territorial division of labour. The Hungarian

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administration has been incapable of a paradigm shift during the 20th century;
neither the central nor the territorial organs were interested in sharing power
with other actors, and the various decentralisation schemes, in an attempt to
pretend reforms, did nothing but minor adjustments in the level of
redistribution. The emergence of a modern and competitive territorial economic
structure is only possible within a new framework. Based on strong, central
cities and assigned with political power, proper institutions and financial
autonomy, the region can be the basis of this territorial framework.
2.7.2 The strategy of building regions
The analysis of the effective Hungarian acts and regulations on the building of
regions has revealed that the intentions of the legislative power and of the
government regarding the future of the regions are not clear. Owing to
ambiguous legal regulation and the lack of clear-cut concepts, the regions are
the weakest element of regional development policy. As soon as a definite
political stance is taken regarding the regions, the significant reform of the legal
regulation of the regional level will be inevitable. First, the number of regions
and their geographical borders have to be defined within the institution system
of regional development. After this, the regions should be assigned with scope
of authority and resources, in a process of the parallel decentralisation of
government. Underlying this is the fact that the building of regions only helps
the emergence of an effective regional policy if it is done through
decentralisation and not to the expense of the tools of the county and settlement
levels. Empirical studies have shown that it is the sectoral ministries that exert
the strongest resistance towards the decentralised model of region building;
therefore, the government has to act in an very determined and disciplined
manner.
Empirical surveys carried out among the actors involved in the operation of
the regional development institution system show that, apart from the problems
ensuing from insufficient legal regulation, a number of other difficulties have to
be faced in the endeavour to build regions. Although most actors support the
efforts of regionalisation in principle, they show no interest or determination in
the problematic issues of the present geographical borders and the potential
centres of the regions; their territorial links are limited for a narrower area.
Nevertheless, it has to be accepted that on the basis of the opinions of the actors,
it is impossible to define more consensual region borders than the present ones.
In the present phase of region building, therefore, the process should be
encouraged within the present region borders; it will be reasonable, however, to

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review the issue of borders before the regions are to be institutionalised. By that
time, enough experience will be gathered and research carried out to make these
long-term decisions more substantiated. The actors of regional development
tend to find it difficult to place their interests in a regional context and to
determine the optimal development objectives for the different territorial
categories.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Csefkó, Ferenc: A központi és a regionális területfejlesztési szervek szerepe a
régióépítésben [The role of the central and regional organs of regional development
in the building of regions]. In: Horváth, Gyula–Rechnitzer, János (eds.):
Magyarország területi szerkezete és folyamatai az ezredfordulón [The territorial
structure and processes of Hungary at the turn of the millennium] . Pécs, MTA
Regionális Kutatások Központja. 2000. 93–111.
Horváth, Gyula: Regions in the European Union. European Mirror. Special Issue. 1999.
March. 58–78.
Horváth, Gyula: Decentralizáció és regionalizmus a 20. századi Európában
[Decentralisation and regionalism in 20th century Europe]. In: Glatz, F. (ed.):
Közgyűlési előadások [Lectures of the General Assembly]. 1999. Budapest, Magyar
Tudományos Akadémia. 2001. 705–731.
Horváth, Gyula: Regionalizmus, kohézió és a magyar térszerkezet modernizációja
[Regionalism, cohesion and the modernisation of the Hungarian spatial structure].
In: Földes, György–Inotai, András (eds.): A globalizáció kihívásai és Magyarország
[Hungary and the challenges of globalisation]. Budapest, Napvilág Kiadó. 2001.
249–287.
Horváth, Gyula–Pálné, Kovács Ilona(eds.): Területfejlesztés és közigazgatás-szervezés
[Regional development and the organisation of public administration]. Budapest,
Magyar Tudományos Akadémia. 2000.
Illés, Iván: Régiók és regionalizáció [Regions and regionalisation]. Tér és Társadalom.
2001. 1. 1–23.
Pálné, Kovács Ilona: Regionális politika és közigazgatás [Regional policy and public
administration]. Budapest–Pécs, Dialóg Campus Kiadó. 1999.
Pálné, Kovács Ilona: A régióépítés stratégiája [The strategy of building regions].
Comitatus. 2000. 3. 6–18.
Pálné, Kovács Ilona (ed.): Az EU-konform területfejlesztési régiók kialakítása [The
establishment of development regions conforming to the EUg. Budapest, Magyar
Közigazgatási Intézet. 2001.
Pálné, Kovács Ilona: Regional Development and the Governance in Hungary. Pécs,
Centre for Regional Studies. Discussion Papers, 35. 2001.

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2.8 Environmental protection and regional development
Research related to the topic of environmental protection and regional
development aims at exploring the regional characteristics and links of
environmental protection. The importance and actuality of this topic is
underlined by the fact that the environmental criteria of regional development
projects assume increasing emphasis during accession to the European Union.
We have investigated regional development activities and the increase in
environmental burdens between 1950 and 2000. The most important results
point out that attempts to reduce the differences between regions in
environmental contamination cannot ignore factors like the level of population
concentration, the size and rate of population living in environmentally
burdened areas, and the negative environmental effects these areas may cause to
the border areas of neighbouring countries. To be noted here are the several
serious ecological and environmental crisis situations and catastrophes that
afflicted Hungary via the river Tisza, in which cases international
environmental responsibility was completely ignored.
Researches have also pointed out that existing data on the environmental
burdens of the different regions are rather inhomogeneous and do not reflect the
actual state of the regions. We must be aware that behind the more or less valid
overall data on the environmental burdens of a given region, there can be
enormous differences between the individual settlements (and often between the
different parts of the same settlement) in the size and quality of the
environmental burdens they suffer.
The other line of environmental research focussed on the links between
environmental contamination and health problems. In comparison with other
Eastern and Central European countries, Hungary’s position could be described
as average bad. Even so, the level of threat faced by the population from the
various sources of pollution is still incredibly high. Air pollution seriously
afflicts over 30per cent of the population, while nearly 50per cent are at least
moderately affected. Health damage caused by pollution is estimated to reach 3
to 4 per cent of the GDP.

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Fodor, István: Az EU-csatlakozás településkörnyezeti aspektusai [Settlement
environmental aspects of the accession to the EU]. In: Csefkó, Ferenc (ed.): EU-
integráció. Önkormányzatok [EU integration. Local governments].. Budapest,
Önkormányzati Szövetségek Tanácsa, Nemzetközi Város- és Megyeigazgatási
Szövetség, Egyesült Államok Nemzetközi Fejlesztési Hivatala. 1998. 229–250.
Fodor, István: The effect of the socio-economic transition on the Hungarian
environment. In: Hajdú Zoltán (ed.): Regional Processes and Spatial Structures in
Hungary in the 1990’s. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies.1999. 328–354.
Fodor, István: Regional concerns of environmental policy and sustainable development.
Moravian Geographical Reports. 1999. 2. 47–51.
Fodor, István: A piacgazdaság kiépülésének hatása a környezetvédelemre [The impacts
of the emerging market economy on environmental protection]. In: Horváth Gyula–
Rechnitzer János (eds.): Magyarország területi szerkezete és folyamatai az
ezredfordulón [The territorial structure and processes of Hungary at the turn of the
millennium].. Pécs: MTA Regionális Kutatások Központja. 2000. 397–410.
Fodor, István: A regionális fejlesztések környezetvédelmi vonatkozásai [Environmental
aspects of regional development projects]. In: Fodor István et al. (eds.): Társadalom
és környezet. Tanulmányok a tudomány világkonferenciájára [Society and
environment. Studies for the World Conference of Science]. Budapest–Pécs. Dialóg
Campus Kiadó. 2000. 225–232.
Fodor, István: Környezetvédelem és regionalitás Magyarországon (Environmental
protection and regionalism in Hungary). Budapest–Pécs, Dialóg Campus Kiadó.
2001.
Halasi-Kun, George J. (ed.): Drava-Valley – A Scene for International Development
and Co-operation. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 2001. (Pollution and Water
Resources, Columbia University Seminar Proceedings, Vol. 31. 1999–2000).
Kovács, András D.: A Dél-Tisza-völgy lakosságának környezeti tudata [The environmental
awareness of the South Tisza region]. Tér és Társadalom. 2001. 3–4. 161–179.
Nagy, Imre: Environmental problems in the seven Hungarian border regions. In:
Ganster, P. (ed.): Co-operation, Environment and Sustainability in Border Regions.
San Diego, State University Press, Institute for Regional Studies of Californias.
2001. 203–222.
Nagy, Imre: Adalékok Északkelet-Magyarország határtérségének környezetállapot
felméréséhez [Additional facts to the survey on the environmental condition of the
border area of North-East Hungary]. In: Baranyi, Béla (ed.): A határmentiség
kérdőjelei az Északkelet-Alföldön [Questions related to the border area status in
North-East Great Plain]. Pécs, MTA Regionális Kutatások Központja. 2001. 148–169.
Nagy, Imre – Técsy, Zoltán – Tózsa, István: Az alföldi települések
környezetterhelésének vizsgálata [The environmental burdens on the settlements of
the Great Plain]. Földrajzi Értesítő. 2000. 3–4. 245–263.

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25
3 The directions of the Centre’s research strategy
for the period 2002 to 2004
The Centre, operating on the networking principles of the modern organisation
of science, capitalising on its wealth of research results, and joining the
mainstream of European regional science, aspires to contribute to two tasks
during Hungary’s integration into the EU.
One group of issues is to establish a theoretical basis on which the conditions
of a multi-level governance and the conditions of the modernisation of the
administration can be created; to work out the institutional framework of power-
sharing; to study the theoretical problems of decentralisation and subsidiarity;
and to explore the connections between regionalism and the productivity of the
economic spatial structure.
The other strategic direction is to make available theoretical and practical
results in order to help strengthen Hungary’s competitiveness in the European
integration. This line of research is to analyse factors that, considering also the
European Union principles of efficiency and solidarity, could give Hungary a
competitive edge in the context of the evolving new European regional policy.
On the basis of the principles of partnership applied in the definition of its
scientific directions and organisation of research, the Centre for Regional
Studies aspires to become the centre of excellence of regional studies in East
Central Europe.
4 The contribution of the Centre for Regional Studies of the HAS
to the competitiveness of Hungarian regional development
According to domestic and international evaluations, the scientific strategy of
the institute has facilitated the European acknowledgement of Hungarian
regional policy through the following:
• By establishing an organisational framework for regional science, a
significant basis was formed for basic research in territorial development,
which, by analysing the European and domestic processes, has supplied
the decision-making centres of Hungarian regional development with
results and information on a continuous basis;

Discussion Papers 2002. No. 40.
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

The Discussion Papers series of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences was launched in 1986 to publish summaries of research findings
on regional and urban development.
The series has 5 or 6 issues a year. It will be of interest to geographers, economists,
sociologists, experts of law and political sciences, historians and everybody else who is, in
one way or another, engaged in the research of spatial aspects of socio-economic
development and planning.
The series is published by the Centre for Regional Studies.
Individual copies are available on request at the Centre.

Postal address
Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
P.O. Box 199, 7601 PÉCS, HUNGARY
Phone: (36–72) 212–755, 233–704
Fax: (36–72) 233–704
www.dti.rkk.hu
www.rkk.hu

Director general
Gyula HORVÁTH
Editor
Zoltán GÁL
Galz@dti.rkk.hu

Forthcoming in the Discussion Papers series
Spatial Dimension of the Information Society in Hungary
by
Imre KANALAS – Gábor NAGY – Tibor SZARVÁK

Discussion Papers 2002. No. 40.
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Papers published in the Discussion Papers series
Discussion Papers /Specials
BENKŐNÉ LODNER, Dorottya (ed.) (1988): Environmental Control and Policy:
Proceedings of the Hungarian–Polish Seminar in the Theoretical Problems
of Environmental Control and Policy
OROSZ, Éva (ed.) (1988): Spatial Organisation and Regional Development Papers
of the 6th Polish–Hungarian geographical Seminar
DURÓ, Annamária (ed.) (1993): Spatial Research and the Social–Political Changes:
Papers of the 7th Polish–Hungarian Seminar
DURÓ, Annamária (ed.) (1999): Spatial Research in Support of the European
Integration. Proceedings of the 11th Polish–Hungarian Geographical
Seminar (Mátraháza, Hungary 17–22 September, 1998)
GÁL, Zoltán (ed.) (2001): Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union
HORVÁTH, Gyula (ed.) (2002): Regional Challenges of the Transition in
Bulgaria and Hungary
Discussion Papers
No. 1
OROSZ, Éva (1986): Critical Issues in the Development of Hungarian
Public Health with Special Regard to Spatial Differences
No. 2
ENYEDI, György – ZENTAI, Viola (1986): Environmental Policy in
Hungary
No. 3
HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1987): Administrative Division and Administrative
Geography in Hungary
No. 4
SIKOS T., Tamás (1987): Investigations of Social Infrastructure in Rural
Settlements of Borsod County
No. 5
HORVÁTH, Gyula (1987): Development of the Regional Management of
the Economy in East-Central Europe
No. 6
PÁLNÉ KOVÁCS, Ilona (1988): Chance of Local Independence in
Hungary
No. 7
FARAGÓ, László – HRUBI, László (1988): Development Possibilities of
Backward Areas in Hungary
No. 8
SZÖRÉNYINÉ KUKORELLI, Irén (1990): Role of the Accessibility in
Development and Functioning of Settlements
No. 9
ENYEDI, György (1990): New Basis for Regional and Urban Policies in
East-Central Europe

Discussion Papers 2002. No. 40.
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

No. 10  RECHNITZER, János (1990): Regional Spread of Computer Technology
in Hungary
No. 11  SIKOS T., Tamás (1992): Types of Social Infrastructure in Hungary (to be
not published)
No. 12  HORVÁTH, Gyula – HRUBI, László (1992): Restructuring and Regional
Policy in Hungary
No. 13  ERDŐSI, Ferenc (1992): Transportation Effects on Spatial Structure of
Hungary
No. 14  PÁLNÉ KOVÁCS, Ilona (1992): The Basic Political and Structural Prob-
lems in the Workings of Local Governments in Hungary
No. 15  PFEIL, Edit (1992): Local Governments and System Change. The Case of
a Regional Centre
No. 16  HORVÁTH, Gyula (1992): Culture and Urban Development (The Case
of Pécs)
No. 17  HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1993): Settlement Network Development Policy in
Hungary in the Period of State Socialism (1949–1985)
No. 18  KOVÁCS, Teréz (1993): Borderland Situation as It Is Seen by a
Sociologist
No. 19  HRUBI, L. – KRAFTNÉ SOMOGYI, Gabriella (eds.) (1994): Small and
medium-sized firms and the role of private industry in Hungary
No. 20  BENKŐNÉ Lodner, Dorottya (1995): The Legal-Administrative
Questions of Environmental Protection in the Republic of Hungary
No. 21   ENYEDI, György (1998): Transformation in Central European
Postsocialist Cities
No. 22   HAJDÚ, Zoltán (1998): Changes in the Politico-Geographical
Position of Hungary in the 20th Century
No. 23  HORVÁTH, Gyula (1998): Regional and Cohesion Policy in Hungary
No. 24  BUDAY-SÁNTHA, Attila (1998): Sustainable Agricultural
Development in the Region of the Lake Balaton
No. 25  LADOS, Mihály (1998): Future Perspective for Local Government
Finance in Hungary
No. 26  NAGY, Erika (1999): Fall and Revival of City Centre Retailing:
Planning an Urban Function in Leicester, Britain
No. 27  BELUSZKY, Pál (1999): The Hungarian Urban Network at the End
of the Second Millennium
No. 28  RÁCZ, Lajos (1999): Climate History of Hungary Since the 16th
Century: Past, Present and Future

Discussion Papers 2002. No. 40.
Report on the Research Results of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

No. 29  RAVE, Simone (1999): Regional Development in Hungary and Its
Preparation for the Structural Funds
No. 30  BARTA, Györgyi (1999): Industrial Restructuring in the Budapest
Agglomeration
No. 31  BARANYI, Béla–BALCSÓK, István–DANCS, László–MEZŐ, Barna
(1999): Borderland Situation and Peripherality in the North-Eastern
Part of the Great Hungarian Plain
No. 32  RECHNITZER, János (2000): The Features of the Transition of Hun-
gary’s Regional System
No. 33  MURÁNYI, István–PÉTER, Judit–SZARVÁK Tibor–SZOBOSZLAI,
Zsolt (2000): Civil Organisations and Regional Identity in the South
Hungarian Great Plain
No. 34  KOVÁCS, Teréz (2001): Rural Development in Hungary
No. 35  PÁLNÉ, Kovács Ilona (2001): Regional Development and
Governance in Hungary
No. 36  NAGY, Imre (2001): Cross-Border Co-operation in the Border Region
of the Southern Great Plain of Hungary
No. 37  BELUSZKY, Pál (2002): The Spatial Differences of Modernisation in
Hungary at the Beginning of the 20th Century
No. 38  BARANYI, Béla (2002): Before Schengen – Ready for Schengen.
Euroregional Organisations and New Interregional Formations at the
Eastern Borders of Hungary
No. 39  KERESZTÉLY, Krisztina (2002): The Role of the State in the Urban
Development of Budapest