This book presents the most comprehensive and detailed overview of the physical environment of Hungary. The book makes a specific effort to connect regional geography with natural forcing and influencing factors. The first section discusses general characteristics relating to the physical geography of Hungary on a more theoretical basis including relief evolution, climate, hydrography, soils and vegetation. The second part focuses on regional content and analyzes conflicts, environmental values, threats and impacts of the different geographical units. This book appeals to researchers as well as students of physical geography and related disciplines and serves as a useful source for regional information on Hungary. This book can also be used as a field guide of the physical properties of this European country.

During the first decade after the turn towards democracy and market economy, Hungary's society experienced profound changes that affected its regions, towns, villages and individual places in different ways. This is documented by thirteen essays that analyse related political, legal, institutional, and socio-economic structures and processes in time and space in order to contribute to a further understanding of Hungary's ongoing transformation processes and its current situation as one of the leading candidates for EU membership. The topics include constitutive elements of a modern market economy such as banking, foreign direct investment, entrepreneurship, knowledge resources, the labour market, and the housing market. Further essays explore education and income structures, the poverty situation, post-communist voting behaviour, regional and urban development as well as Hungary's cross-border co-operations. With regard to European integration processes, the role of Budapest within the European city system and Hungary's economic situation within Europe are discussed. Drawing together comprehensive empirical data and a great variety of viewpoints, this collection of essays offers innovative examples of the application of different theoretical approaches to studies of economy and society in general, and transformation studies in particular.

In context with the Eastern enlargement of the European Union, this research deals with the effects of pre- and post-enlargement integration policies on industry concentration and regional development in Hungary. Economic processes are analysed empirically and by means of regression analyses with a spatial perspective and in the framework of the new economic geography over a time span of almost two decades. The results for the manufacturing industries and for regional specialization show which economic centres played a role for the economic development of the country over time. The roles which agglomerations and regional specialization can play are discussed with a view to the problems of cohesion in Hungary, the enlarged EU and future EU accession countries. The conclusions also take into account the current political and academic debate regarding European regional policy.

The Economy of Medieval Hungary is the first concise, English-language volume about the economic life of medieval Hungary. It is a product of the cooperation of specialists representing various disciplines of medieval studies, including archaeologists, archaeozoologists, specialists in medieval demography, historical hydrologists, climate and environmental historians, as well as archivists and church historians. The twenty-five chapters of the book focus on structures of medieval economy, different means and ways of human-nature interactions in production, and offer an overview of the different spheres of economic life, with a particular emphasis on taxation, income and commercial activity. Thanks to its interdisciplinary character, this volume is a basic handbook for the history of economy, production and material culture. Contributors are Krisztina Arany, László Bartosiewicz, Zoltán Batizi, Anna Zsófia Biller, Péter Csippán, László Daróczi-Szabó, Márta Daróczi-Szabó, István Draskóczy, István Feld, László Ferenczi, Erika Gál, Márton Gyöngyössy, István Kenyeres, István Kováts, András Kubinyi, Kyra Lyublyanovics, Árpád Nógrády, Éva Ágnes Nyerges, István Petrovics, Zsolt Pinke, Beatrix F. Romhányi, Katalin Szende, László Szende, Magdolna Szilágyi, Csaba Tóth, and Boglárka Weisz.