Article by Andrea Éltető on the Institute of World Economics’ blog

It was recently reported that the Hungarian government is also trying to pave the way for battery recycling plants by amending the law, and the Minister of Economy has been persuading several battery recycling companies in South Korea and China to invest in Hungary. According to a statement from the Ministry of Economy, since the EU’s 2023 regulation makes battery producers responsible for collecting and recycling all battery waste, but the country still has hardly any recycling plants, so this sector needs to be developed „to provide safe and environmentally friendly solutions for the large-scale recycling of used batteries.”

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A The environmental price of battery-recycling plans of the Hungarian government bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Author: Andrea Éltető

In: HUN-REN CERS, Institute of World Economics, Working Paper Nr. 276 (2024) August 2024

Abstract

Based on official documents, the paper addresses in detail, why battery production in Hungary cannot be discussed as if it were in another European country. The costs and risks of Hungarian battery production are high because of its specific characteristics, and if current practices remain unchanged, the environmental, health and social damage it causes will directly outweigh the benefits for the population. Experience has shown that large companies will obtain environmental permits, no matter how unclear certain issues remain. Regulations have not been adjusted to this huge battery industry. And even in cases where rules are appropriate, the centrally-mandated authorities are not only lenient, but even break the rules themselves in the interests of the companies. New government regulations are helping the companies instead of local people or workers. There is also a weakening of transparency and inertia on the part of the authorities in many areas. Overall, the environment and nature protection aspects are not being taken into account in this area.

A Éltető, A.: Why Is It Different? Specific Characteristics of the Hungarian Battery Industry: Legal Background and Environmental Impacts bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Article by Andrea Éltető on the  Institute of World Economics’ blog

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A Not always visible, but plenty – hazardous waste in Hungarian battery factories bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Szerző: Éltető Andrea

In: Bíró-Nagy, A., Medve-Bálint, G. (szerk.), 20 év az Európai Unióban – Magyarország uniós tagságának közpolitikai mérlege. Osiris Kiadó – HUN-REN Társadalomtudományi Kutatóközpont, 2024. pp. 129-151.

A Éltető, A.: Magyar iparpolitika eu-s keretekben bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Szerző: Éltető Andrea

In: Külgazdaság, 68(1-2), 54-55.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47630/KULG.2024.68.1-2.51

Absztrakt

Magyarország húsz évvel ezelőtt büszkén csatlakozott a nyugat-európai integrációhoz. Sok mindent jelentett ez akkor (szabadságot, biztonságot, demokráciát), annak ellenére, hogy ma az uniós tagság legfőbb előnyének a magyar lakosság a pénzügyi támogatást tartja (Bíró-Nagy et al., 2023). Erre ráerősít a jelenlegi kormányfői retorika is (nekünk a pénz jár, „tartani kell a zsákot és kész”,2 ha már nettó befizetők leszünk, el kell gondolkodni a tagság értelmén3). A magyar gazdaságot, beruházásokat, növekedést az elmúlt bő másfél évtizedben egyértelműen az uniós támogatások húzták. A 2007 és 2020 közötti időszakban az Európai Strukturális és Beruházási Alapokból Magyarország átlagosan az éves GDP-jének 4 százalékát kapta.4 Ha ebből az „illiberális” időszakot nézzük, akkor 2010 és 2022 között az Európai Unió évente átlagosan 4,3 milliárd euró, összesen 56 milliárd euró nettó transzferrel támogatta Magyarországot, ami a Marshall-segélyhez mérhető forrásjuttatás (Gulácsi & Kerényi, 2023). Az uniós támogatások fejlesztési hatása még akkor is érvényesült, ha az Orbánkormány alatt intézményesült korrupció miatt egy részük járadékká, kormányközeli cégek, személyek vagyonává alakult. Az apatikus magyar társadalom 57 százaléka tolerálja a korrupciót, miközben az uniós átlag e téren 33 százalék (Transparency International, 2023).

A Éltető, A.: Kockázatos lavírozás nyugat és kelet között bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Gergő Medve-Bálint, Andrea Éltető

In: Journal of European Public Policy, 2024

DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2024.2305834

Abstract

Although economic nationalist governments in East Central Europe (ECE) have strongly challenged FDI-dependence, FDI-led growth has remained stable across the region. The political economy literature explains this puzzle with enduring business-state elite interactions and the disciplining role of the EU. Instead, we show that the EU’s regional investment aid rules, which provide central governments in relatively backward member states with considerable policy space, serve as the main policy tool for reinforcing FDI-dependence. Using a unique dataset on regional investment aid granted between 2004 and 2022 in the Visegrád countries (V4), we show that each government, regardless of its ideological background, granted the vast majority of this type of aid to foreign firms. In addition, contrary to their political rhetoric, economic nationalist governments in Hungary and Poland outperformed their non-nationalist counterparts in granting aid to foreign firms. This suggests an instrumental use of this transnationally rooted policy opportunity: as their European political isolation grew, economic nationalists increasingly resorted to the promotion of foreign firms because the continued inflow of foreign capital has a legitimising effect both at home and abroad.

A Medve-Bálint, G., Éltető, A.: Economic nationalists, regional investment aid, and the stability of FDI-led growth in East Central Europe bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Andrea Éltető, Tamás Szemlér

In: Comparative Southeast European Studies, 71(3), 272-299.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2022-0051

Abstract

Hungary had been one of the frontrunners in the political and economic transition process in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s, and in 2004 it joined the European Union. Since 2010, Hungary has gradually become an autocratic regime, a process that has been facilitated by the political benefits of EU integration and money transfers. While the support of the Hungarian people for EU membership has remained high, tensions have increased between the Hungarian government and EU institutions. This article evaluates how the external shock of Russia’s war against Ukraine has shaken Hungary’s so far developed authoritarian equilibrium within the EU. The authors show how embedded the Hungarian autocracy has become and argue that although there have been some effects to the pillars of the authoritarian equilibrium, it has remained stable, and most probably will continue to do so, as long as the illiberal regime stays in power.

A Éltető. A., Szemlér, T.: Hungary in the European Union – Cooperation, Peacock Dance and Autocracy bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Andrea Éltető, Jana Vlčková, Eva Křenková, Gábor Túry

In: Journal of East European Management Studies, 28(3), 557-578.

DOI: doi.org/10.5771/0949-6181-2023-3

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on the disruptions of automotive GSCs and their resilience building in Central Europe where the economic role of the automotive sector and its connected industries is highly significant. We apply a qualitative approach based on interviews to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to discover the measures and strategies the automotive firms adopted to counter the pandemic effects in Hungary and Czechia. Based on the literature, we define the framework of the given CE companies’ resilience building techniques. We mapped the measures companies used against the pandemic and analysed the various resilience-building techniques they applied. These measures are similar to those employed in previous local shocks, but we found an increased role of communication and collaboration. We also found some variations according to the firms’ position in international networks.

A Éltető, A., Vlčková, J., Křenková, E., Túry G.: Disruptions and resilience building in Central European automotive supply chains bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.