Regional specialisation in a transition country - Hungary

the national average. In the second case the high absolute specialisation means high
relative specialisation too, while in the first case high relative specialisation may also
evolve along with low or medium absolute specialisation.

In 1992 counties with high absolute specialisation showed examples of the first case: Békés
(food, beverages and tobacco products), Fejér (metallurgy and metal products). In these cases the leading
branches were so dominant that they exceeded their yet considerably high weight in the country. The
second case of the high relative specialisation can be observed in Vas (textile, wearing apparel, leather
products) and Nograd (non-metallic mineral products) counties, where the high relative specialisation is
primarily due to the relatively low weight of these branches in the country. In 1998, Tolna - which
became a strongly specialised county in an absolute sense owing to the fall in the weight of electricity on
a national scale - showed a high degree of relative specialisation. It is also high in the case of Borsod-
Abauj-Zemplén county, where the value was increased by the fact that the weight of the machinery and
equipment branch in the county was far behind its national weight. In Békés, the non-metallic mineral
products branch, which is of not special importance in the county, greatly exceeds the also low national
average.

In contrast with the above mentioned areas low relative specialisation is shown by the most
populous Pest county and Budapest, which, by the means of their size, greatly influence the sectoral
pattern of the country, this way they don’t differ a lot from it. Besides them Gydr and Borsod in 1992 and
Komarom in 1998 also showed low relative specialisation.

Changes in regional industrial structures - employment

During the period between 1992 and 1998 the value of the index reduced in only three counties
from the south of the Great Plain, which means a decrease in the degree of specialisation. In all the other
counties the same period saw the index stagnating or slowly increasing in its value.

Indicators of regional specialisation of industries export

Between 1992 and 1998 the absolute specialisation spectacularly increased (the Herfindahl index
grew 1.36 times bigger). The average rate of growth in the relative regional specialisation is far behind it
(it was only 1.04 times bigger). The more and more dominant machinery and equipment branch supports
the biggest rate of increase in absolute specialisation. There was a spectacular decline in the relative
specialisation in some counties due to the reduction in the formerly bigger weight of certain branches.

C:anyuwork/ace/ersa/paper01.07.2412:14

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