a borítólapra  Súgó epa Copyright 
Közgazdasági Szemle55. évf. 10. sz. (2008. október)

Tartalom

Tanulmányok

  • Darvas Zsolt ,
    Szapáry György :

    Euro-area enlargement and euro adoption strategies

    This paper commissioned by DG ECFIN from the EU Commission as part of the EMU@10 project and published in Hungarian by the permission of the EU Commission. The origi-nal English version is available at http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/ publication_summary12103_en.htm. The paper discusses the risks and challenges faced by new members on the road to the euro and the strategies and timing of euro adoption. It investigates the real/nominal convergence nexus from the perspective of euro-area entry, arguing that the initial level of economic development, as measured by per capita income, and the speed of real convergence have a bearing on the strategies to follow and the timing of entry into the euro area, for the lower per capita income is, the larger is the price-level gap to close and the greater the danger of credit booms and overheating. It is argued argue that inflation targeting with floating rates is better suited than hard pegs to managing the price-level catch-up process. A suggestion is made for modifying the Maastricht inflation criterion, which as currently defined has lost its economic logic.

Verseny és szabályozás

  • Török Ádám :

    The field and reflections of it. Comments on the usefulness and limitations of league tables in Hungarian higher education

    There is increasingly obvious competition in Hungarian higher education for resources and students. Recognizing that no reliable picture had emerged of the competitive posi-tions of individual institutions, a league-table "industry" appeared in Hungary in the mid-2000s, patterned on the higher-education league tables commonly found abroad. However, the methodology differs markedly from the ones used abroad and the results obtained are not always convincing. A survey of the methods used also raises interesting questions about the scope for analysing competition. The study looks at the main line of development in the transformation of higher education and the integral connection be-tween accreditation and how the league tables are prepared.

  • Valentiny Pál :

    Measuring the efficiency of branch regulatory bodies

    This attempt to measure the efficiency of regulatory bodies is made mainly by identifying the presence or absence of the conditions required for them to operate. There is no consideration of the rectitude of regulators' decisions, the welfare effects of regulation, or cost-benefit analysis of it. The article summarizes attempts made to measure the effi-ciency of regulatory bodies in international organizations, scientific research and state regulatory systems. Attention is paid here primarily to branch regulation of network services. However, the analytical methods mentioned in the article are also used to exam-ine competition-regulatory bodies.

Műhely

  • Havran Dániel :

    The effect of financial management habits on operating capital. The example of the Hungarian Post Office

    The cash in circulation within network industries such as post-office services can repre-sent a sizeable quantity of operating capital. The Hungarian Post Office, besides han-dling mail, handles a significant amount of cash turnover, forwarding pensions, welfare benefits, and cash orders. Fluctuation in the daily volume of these is a strong factor in determining the company's liquidity requirements. The management of cash in post of-fices is governed by rules of thumb that operate well; the regulations leave decision-making scope for the diverse individual actors in the network. Attention has to be paid to individual cash holding when determining the corporate operating capital. The study suggests a new methodology for modelling the individual cash-holding habits, and goes on to group the behaviour patterns by analysing the connection between cash holding, level of corporate operating capital, and corporate liquidity position.