Hungary International Affairs

1. International Trade:
   a. Exports

• The top five countries that Hungary exports its goods to are Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, and France.
• Hungary exports industrial machinery, office/telecom/electrical equipment, industrial machinery, and other goods for a total of a little over $25 billion.
• Hungary exports mainly office/telecom/electrical equipment to Austria ($9 Billion), Slovakia ($7.5 Billion), Italy ($7 Billion), and France ($6 Billion).

   b. Imports

• Hungary imports mostly from Russia, China, and Germany.
• Hungary imports fuels and other goods from Russia ($8 Billion).
• Hungary imports office/telecom/electrical equipment from China along with other goods ($10 Billion).
• Hungary imports industrial machinery and other goods from Germany ($27 Billion).

2. Exchange Rate: The current rate is 223 Hungarian Forints to 1 US Dollar. In the past 10 years the rate has been about 204 Hungarian Forints to 1 US Dollar.
3. Immigration/emigration:

• Immigration: The total number of immigrants in Hungary is 368,000.
• Most immigrants came from Romania (189,000), Germany (26,000), and Austria (6,500).
• Emigration: The total number of emigrants from Hungary is 462,000.
• Most migrants move to Germany (89,500), USA (82,000), and Canada (53,000).

4. Relations with other countries:

• In 1528, Hungary signed an alliance with France.
• In World War I, Hungary was an ally to Germany and Austria. 
• In World War II Hungary was again an ally to Germany, but tried to switch sides and was overran by Germany near the end of the war.
• After WWII, Hungary was under Soviet rule for 44 years, before they gained their independence.
• Currently, Hungary is a part of NATO.

A Fez of the Heart: Travels around Turkey in Search of a Hat by Jeremy Seal

We read the prologue to A Fez of the Heart: Travels around Turkey in Search of a Hat by Jeremy Seal.

a. Choose one passage from the reading that you found particularly interesting.  Why was this interesting?

One passage that I found interesting was when the shopkeeper sold the fez to the tourist. The shopkeeper wanted to sell the customer a hat that encouraged scantily clad girls in Turkey. However, he was reluctant to sell the customer a fez, which is a hat that represents Turkey way more than the other hat did. This is controversial to what the Turkish culture is like. Women are, generally, fully clothed and reluctant to show their faces. But, in the tourist culture, shopkeepers are more willing to sell customers hats that contradict their culture than to sell a hat that is a big part of their past.

b. Use examples from this reading to illustrate the interaction between economics and culture.

This shows that economics does not necessarily agree with culture. The town near the beaches where women would walk around topless put up signs and stoned women that would walk around in their town with bikinis. They actively tried to shake that kind of behavior away from their culture. Despite their efforts tourists still associated Turkey with topless beaches and they were attracted to that. This caused the business side of the town to really associate itself with that culture to try to make more sales and revenue.

c. Beyond the specific example of this town in Turkey, what connections or conflicts do you see between tourism and economics or tourism and culture?

Tourism can skew the world of economics. An example would be the bazaar marketplace that we read about in McMillan's book in chapter four. Tourists have a big disadvantage in the marketplace because they do not understand the way the market works. Tourists would fall under the trap of either paying the maximum of their willingness to pay or they would spend too much time trying to gather information in order to buy the product at the cheapest price. Therefore the tourist is always one step behind the locals. The locals have the advantage of already knowing by word of mouth or by experience. They have grown accustomed to the market and have providers that they have repeated business with. This always them to have buying power in the market and lower the price of the product that they wish to purchase.  

Tourism in Hungary

1. Importance of tourism to Hungary. (numbers, origin of tourists

• In 2011, the number of tourists that visited Hungary was 10,250,000.
• 98% of Hungary's tourists come from Europe. Most of the tourists come from Austria, Germany, and Slovakia.

2. Major tourist attractions:

• The Buda Castle and Matthias Church in Budapest- This grand palace has 203 rooms and hosts the Historical Museum and the National Art Gallery.

• Hungary Parliament Building- Guided tours are available when the National Assembly is not in session and last about 45 minutes.

• Andrassy Avenue- This is the most famous shopping area in Budapest. Entertainment of all sorts can be found here along with restaurants and boutiques.

• Caves of the Aggtelek and Slovak Karst- There are 712 caves! This also includes the world's largest stalagmite and an ice filled abyss.

• House of Terror- It contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes in 20th-century Hungary and is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured, or killed in the building.

• St. Stephen's Basilica- The church was named after St. Stephen the I of Hungary, the first King of Hungary. It is the third largest church building in Hungary, but the most important church building.

3. National Parks:

• Hortobagy National Park - 1972
• Kiskunsag National Park - 1975
• Bukk National Park - 1976
• Aggtelek National Park - 1985
• Ferto-Hansag National Park - 1991
• Danube-Drava National Park - 1996
• Koros-Maros National Park - 1997
• Balaton Uplands National Park - 1997
• Danube-Ipoly National Park - 1997
• Orseg National Park - 2002

4. Important Museums:

• Hungarian National Museum
• Hungarian Natural History Museum
• Budapest History Museum
• Hungarian National Gallery
• House of Terror
• Museum of Applied Arts
• Museum of Ethnography

Hungary's Economy

1. GDP- $196.6 Billion
2. GDP per capita- $19,800
3. Life Expectancy- 75.46 years
4. Poverty Rate- 14%
5. Literacy Rate- 99%
6. Unemployment Rate- 10.5%
7. Inflation- 1.9%

Resources
1. Natural Resources

• bauxite, coal, and natural gas
• climate- temperate, cold, cloudy, humid winters, and warm summers
• rivers- the Danube and the Tisza Rivers divide Hungary into three regions
• agricultural lands- 47.24% of arable lands, growing season is about the same as the US.
• rainfall- about 23 inches of rainfall a year.

2. Labor- size is about 4.26 million people, total enrollment in any type of schooling is 1.877 million students
3. Capital- Hungary is 28% industry. Most industry revolves around mining, metallurgy, construction, processed foods, textiles, chemicals, and motor vehicles. Hungary has about 18,600 miles of roads and 670 miles of motorways. There are five international airports, four domestic airports, and four military airports. There are 4611 miles of railroads in Hungary. Every settlement has electricity. Piped gas is available for 91% of settlements. 95% of settlements have running water. Only 48% of settlements have internet penetration.

What's Happening in Hungary?

http://mtva.hu/images/download/hungary_matters/2014/afternoon/hm0404pm.pdf
Here is a link to the newsletter where I got my information from.

In the newsletter, one of the last items says that Hungary has received a license from China to export select foods to China. This will open up the Eastern market to Hungary, which is one of their economic goals. One of the main reasons China granted them this license is because Hungarian food is of good quality, mostly because they are free of GMO's (Genetically Modified).

This relates directly to what we discussed in class about markets in general. Markets allow us to advance as a society. Being able to trade with other countries allows us to specialize more because we do not need to focus our efforts on making certain goods or a large amount of certain goods. We can trade with our partners that may be more efficient in producing some goods, while we are more efficient at producing others. We both benefit from trade because we end up with more of both goods simply because we took advantage of our time and resources. This is the power of markets.

This newly formed relationship between Hungary and China may have formed for multiple reasons. I think a logical reason why this trade began was because China did not want to buy food with GMO's in them. Since Hungary has the quality of food that China is looking for they reached out to them to reach an agreement. Hungary said that they are looking to tap into the Eastern market. Developing a relationship with China is a start. Once they prove that they are worthwhile partner, perhaps other countries will follow in China's footsteps and open trade with Hungary as well. Something that may benefit both countries is opening up the trade to more than simply food. Perhaps there are other goods that they can trade to benefit from this relationship.

Hungarian Culture

Hungarian Culture

1. Magical Magyars is the name of their national soccer team. Water polo is big as well, they have meddled in 21 out of 26 Olympic games that they have participated in! Joe Namath, Superbowl quarterback and MVP played for the New York Jets. Johnny Weissmuller was a 5-time Olympic gold medal winner for swimming.
   
2. Verbunkos is a form of Hungarian folk music. It was played during military recruitment. Csardas and nota are two other forms of folk music that derived from verbunkos. Something really great is the MasterCard Balaton Sound. It is a one of Europe's largest open air electronic music festivals. It was started in 2007 and features DJ's from all around the world along with new artists as well. The popular music is mostly electronic and some of the same artists from the US, like Katy Perry and Calvin Harris.
   
3. Hungary is famous for its goulash. Porkolt is a ragout made from pork, beef, mutton, or chicken with onions and Hungarian paprika powder as the main spice. Stuffed cabbage is a traditional dish to make for the holidays.
   
4. Hungary does not have an official religion and guarantees religious freedom. More than half of the population is Roman Catholic. The next biggest groups are Calvinists and Lutherans.
   
5. January 1– New Year's Day
   March 15– National Holiday, commemorating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
   Easter– Easter Sunday and Easter Monday in March or April
   May 1– Labor Day
   Whit Monday– May or June
   August 20– St. Stephen's Day, commemorating the first king of Hungary
   October 23– Day of the Republic, commemorating the revolution of 1956
   November 1– All Saints' Day
   December 25-26– Christmas
   
   The wedding celebration is a big custom in Hungary. Among other things, it is customary to dance with the bride. Generally this is one of the final programs of the celebration. A plate, a wine bottle and a few glasses are placed in the room, and the dance starts. The best man shouts: ‘The bride is for sale!’ At that moment the guests throw some banknotes onto the plate, and one after the other and dance with the bride. Before handing her over, they drink a glass of wine to the next dancer’s health. This element of the wedding has not only persisted to the present, but is also customary in urban weddings. There is also the Easter sprinkling custom, where men go out all day “sprinkling” cologne on women. The women paint Easter eggs and give them to the men along with beverages.
   
6. Popular tv shows include: 9 months, I'm a Bride Too, Megastar, Mr. and Mrs., and The Voice (Hungary Version). Popular movies include Childrens of Iron Gods, Hoppa, Just the Wind, and Virtually a Virgin. Well known actors from Hungary include Peter Lorre, Eva Gabor, Billy Wilder, Lee Strasberg, and Zita Gorog.
   
7. These are a couple online newspapers. The Budapest Sun: http://www.budapestsun.hu/ and The Budapest Times: http://budapesttimes.hu/
   
8. These are a couple of expatriate forums. http://www.expatexchange.com/hungary/liveinhungary.html
   http://www.justlanded.com/english/Hungary/Forums
   
9. Hungary is a Parliamentary Republic. The current Prime Minister is Viktor Orban. The current President is Janos Ader. The following are the major political parties: Fidesz – the Hungarian Civic Union, MSZP – the Hungarian Socialist Party, Jobbik – movement for a better Hungary, and LMP – a green liberalism party.
   

Reinventing the Bazaar Chapter 1

Reinventing the Bazaar Ch. 1

Question 1: What does the author see as the defining characteristics of a market?

Question 2: McMillan writes, "Markets provoke clashing opinions. Some people revile them as the source of exploitation and poverty. Others extol them as the font of liberty and prosperity." Have you observed these kinds of opinions? What might cause some people to distrust markets? What might cause other people to distrust government control over economic decisions? Do you personally lean one way or the other?

Question 3: McMillan uses folk football as an analogy for a completely lawless market and claims that modern markets are governed by rules (as are the modern sports of soccer, rugby, and American football.) What market rules would you say are important for modern markets? Why?

Answer 1: McMillan says that the defining characteristics of a market are, "an exchange that is voluntary: each party can veto it, and (subject to the rules of the marketplace) each freely agrees to the terms." This is pretty straight forward. An exchange that is voluntary means that the seller cannot compel the consumer to the exchange and vice versa. Both the consumer and the seller may veto the exchange at any time. If the price is too high for the consumer, they may simply say that they will take their business elsewhere. If the seller has any doubt that the consumer will even pay, they reserve the right to cancel the exchange as well. Another defining characteristic is that the market must be a public space or cyberspace in which the exchange of goods may occur. A market cannot be a household, internal transactions in a firm, nor government consumption.

Answer 2: In order for a market to succeed there needs to be trust among the consumer and the seller. The consumer must know the quality of the product that they are purchasing. The seller must trust that the consumer will pay for the item. Another important aspect is trust in the exchange of information. Both the consumer and seller need to be on the same page with what information is being exchanged about the product and the money involved. A market would not flourish if there is miscommunication. $200 US is completely different than 200 pesos. There may also be distrust in the government intervening in economic decisions. Firms are more in favor of a free market because there is less regulation and they may create monopolies on goods or services. This is why government intervention may be necessary. However, we have had instances where government officials have been smuggling money into their own pockets because they control some economic decisions. I cannot say that I completely distrust the government because like McMillan says, "a market cannot reach its full potential without some regulation." However, too much government intervention leads to communism, which defeats the purpose of a market.

Answer 3: Like I said earlier, it is necessary for a third party, or a government, to step in and set some rules. A great rule to have is to eliminate the chance of a monopoly. Once a company has full control of a product they may set any price on their product and consumers will have to pay that price because they cannot go to an alternative provider. This means both vertical integration and horizontal integration. It is also important that providers may not collaborate to set a common price on a product so that they will all benefit from the exchange at the consumer's expense. Like the evolution of folk football, the evolution of the market should be driven by the consumer.

Why Did Human History Unfold Differently On Different Continents for the Last 13,000 Years?

http://edge.org/conversation/why-did-human-history-unfold-differently-on-different-continents-for-the-last-13000-years

This link is to an article that I am analyzing using the following questions:

Question 1: Identify Diamond's major themes and key points.

Question 2: What does he identify as the most important determinants to a society's success?

Question 3: How can these ideas be applied to today's global economy?

Answer 1: "Ships, political organization, and writing that brought Europeans to the New World; European germs that killed most Indians before they could reach the battlefield; and guns, steel swords, and horses that gave Europeans a big advantage on the battlefield." These were the common points that Diamond repeatedly used in his argument why history unfolded the way that it did. However, he went even further and explained that in Sub-Saharan Africa plants and animals were not domesticable. This was also the case in Australia. Something unique to Australia was that Tasmania, an island that was once attached to Australia, was not even at the same technological level as mainland Australia. Tasmania refused to use the same tools that they brought over from Australia before the land bridge was lost under water.

Answer 2: The most important determinants to a society's success depend on, "the availability of wild plant and animal species suitable for domestication, and the ease with which those species could spread without encountering unsuitable climates, contributed decisively to the varying rates of rise of agriculture and herding, which in turn contributed decisively to the rise of human population numbers, population densities, and food surpluses, which in turn contributed decisively to the development of epidemic infectious diseases, writing, technology, and political organization."

Answer 3: Today's global economy is not entirely pieced together yet. We have a large amount of countries that are very well developed and others that are not so developed. In order to bring the countries that are not as developed into the global economy they need to find a way to incorporate Diamond's key points into their culture. Now, other countries may help in that process and bring over technology that would help speed up the process. In due time, the goal would be to have a planet that is united economically so that we may work together to reach the full potential of the planet.