Abstract
Articles abound in the Hungarian press about two seemingly contradictory phenomena: serious macro-labour shortages and widespread, hidden underemployment within enterprises. The simultaneous occurrence of these two problems is the motivation behind the title of this chapter, which suggests that the threat of micro-unemployment may be needed to help solve macro-labour shortages. The issues which are explored in the chapter are the following: Who believes there has been labour shortage in Hungary? How can the labour shortage be measured? What have been the reasons for the labour shortage? To what extent have Hungarian government policies been successful in correcting the problem? Given that a substantial increase in labour productivity is the only way through which the general labour shortage could be eliminated, is the fear of unemployment a necessary catalyst in inducing greater labour productivity? Finally, is Hungarian employment policy moving in the right direction?
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Notes
O. Gadó, The Economic Mechanism in Hungary — How it Works in 1976 (Leyden: A. W. Sijthoff, 1976) p. 148. Here Gadó states that in 1976 the retirement age of cooperative farmers was 65 years for men and 60 years for women, but this was to be reduced gradually during 1976–80 to 60 years for men and 55 years for women.
The literature on the Hungarian second economy includes: I. R. Gábor and P. Galasi, Szociológia, 3 (1978) 329–60
I. R. Gabor, Közgazdasági Szemle February 1979, pp. 171–87
I. R. Gábor and P. Galasi, Közgazdasági Szemle September 1979, pp. 1030–45
I. R. Gábor, ‘The second (secondary) economy’, Acta Oeconomica, 1 22(3–4) (1979) 291–311
I. R. Gábor and P. Galasi, ‘The labour market in Hungary after 1968’, and M. Marrese, ‘The evolution of wage regulation in Hungary’, both in Hungary: A Decade of Economic Reform ed. Paul Hare and Hugo Radice (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1981); M. Marrese, ‘The role of the second economy: lessons from Hungary’ (July 1980 version) a paper presented at the Fifth US Hungarian Conference on Economics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 7–9 May 1980.
J. Bálint, ‘Productivity and labour situation in Hungary’, Acta Oeconomica, 21 (1–2) (1978) 61.
M. Frey, Közgazdasági Szemle, July-August 1980, pp. 958–9.
S. Balázsy comments extensively on the effects of narrowly separated lower and upper profit-sharing bounds, see S. Balázsy, Közgazdasági Szemle February 1979, pp. 154–73, or the English version, ‘The “unsolvable” dilemma of regulating earnings’, Acta Oeconomica 20(3) (1978) 247–67
S. Balázsy, Kozgazdasági Szemöe September 1979, pp. 1063–92; or alternatively, see M. Marrese, ‘The evolution of wage regulation in Hungary’ for a summary of Balazsy’s position.
J. Kornai, in Valóság May 1980, pp. 13–21 discusses the conflicts which unavoidably occur between a characterization of economic efficiency and certain so-called ethical principles of socialism. His article is suggestive of a more ideology-oriented interpretation of the multiplicity of wage-regulations goals — they represent a compromise between a concern for efficiency and the legacy of socialism.
See M. Marrese, ‘Cyclical centralism: Hungary’s gift to the understanding of bureaucracies’, University of British Columbia Discussion Paper No. 78–51, December 1978.
J. Lökkös, Közgazdasági Szemle, February 1978, pp. 174–7, or the English version, ‘Some problems of regulating earnings and the possibilities for further improvement’, Acta Oeconomica, 20 (3) (1978) 26982.
L. Horváth, Közgazdasági Szemle, January 1980, p. 9.
J. C. Kramer, ‘Hungary preparing a new effort to reform the economy’, US Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research no. 1233 (24 August 1979) p. 21.
G. Révész, Közgazdasági Szemle, July-August 1978, pp. 917–34, or the English version, ‘Regulation of earnings’, Acta Oeconomica, 20 (3) (1978) 283–303.
E. A. Hewett, ‘The Hungarian economy: lessons of the 1970’s and prospects for the 1980’s’, in JEC, East European Economic Assessment Part I — Country Studies 1980 (Washington, 1982)
M. Marrese, ‘The Hungarian economy: prospects for the 1980’s’, in Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Prospects for the 1980’s (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1980).
I. R. Gábor and P. Galasi, Közgazdasági Szemle, September 1979, pp. 1034–5.
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© 1982 Jan Adam
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Marrese, M. (1982). Is Unemployment the Only Answer to Labour Shortage in Hungary?. In: Adam, J. (eds) Employment Policies in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-05834-1_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-05834-1_5
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