Karl Marx és Karl Menger néhány gondolata a pénz eredetéről = The thoughts of Karl Marx and Karl Menger about the origin of money

Kisebb bizonytalankodás után a legtöbb közgazdászhallgató a pénz funkcióinak felsorolásába kezd, ha megkérdezik, hogyan határozná meg a pénz fogalmát. A gyakorlatiasabb, vagy a számvitel iránt elkötelezettebb diákok esetleg felidézik a banki mérleget és – részben helyesen – a pénzt kötelezettségként helyezik el benne. Mintha azonban még mindig egy kicsit pironkodnánk, hogy nem találjuk a megfelelő definíciót. És ez már így megy évszázadok óta. Jelen tanulmányban két XIX. századi közgazdász – Karl Marx és Karl Menger – néhány pénzelméleti következtetését igyekszem összehasonlítani, figyelembe véve az általuk képviselt közgazdasági elmélet alapvető eltéréseit. A mára általánosan elfogadottá váló szubjektív értékelmélet és a kissé elfeledett munkaérték-elmélet látszólag teljesen eltérő feltevéseire alapozva a két gondolkodó egészen hasonló eredményre jutott. Számukra a pénz nem egy egyszerű eszköz, sem követelés és kötelezettség, ahogyan most elkönyvelnénk, hanem áru. Eredetét nem állami törvényekből vezetik le, hanem társadalmi konszenzus során létrejött jelenségnek tekintik a pénzt, ami fölötte áll a törvényeknek, eredendően nem jelképet testesít meg, hanem különleges jószágként válik alkalmassá értékjel kifejezésére. / === / If being asked how to define money most students of economics would start listing the functions of money, or those students with more practical insight would place money as liability in the balance sheet of banks. It seems, however, as if we were still embarrassed by not finding the right definition. In the present study I am endeavouring to give a brief overview of various theoretical findings on the essence of money in the economy preceding the 19th century and then compare some money theoretical conclusions of two economists – Karl Marx and Karl Menger – considering the major differences of the economic theories represented by them. On the basis of the premises of the widely accepted subjective value theory and the somewhat forgotten labour theory of value the two 19th century thinkers came to rather similar results. For them money is not a simple means of payment, nor liability or claim, the way we would account for them now, but a special commodity. They do not attach its creation to the appearance of state laws on money as a legal tender but regard it as a social phenomenon which became capable of expressing a value token due to its peculiar characteristics.

A kockázat megjelenése a származtatott pénzügyi termékekben (The risk appearing in financial derivatives)

A pénzügyi kockázatok szerepe, modellezése, kezelése az utóbbi évtizedekben vált egyre hangsúlyosabbá az elméletben és a gyakorlatban egyaránt. A 2007-ben kezdődő pénzügyi válság egyik kiváltó oka a kockázatok nem megfelelő felmérése volt. A válság egyik tanulsága, hogy bár a matematika és a fizika hozzájárulása rendkívül mély módszertani apparátust biztosított a kockázatok számszerűsítésére, ezen eredmények pénzügyi alkalmazása csak akkor sikeres, ha pontosan értjük a modellek feltételeit és korlátait. Jelen cikk a pénzügyi derivatívák értékelésének alapelveit, valamint a származtatott ügyletekben megjelenő kockázatokat tekinti át, illetve bemutatja azokat a bizonytalansági tényezőket, amelyek megkérdőjelezik az értékelés objektivitását. / === / The modeling and management of financial risks became one of the most important topics of the last decade both in theory and fi nancial practice. The mismanagement of fi nancial risks can be mentioned among the reasons contributing to the eruption of the recent crisis. In order to use successfully the methodology of mathematics and physics in pricing of derivatives, we have to consider the assumptions and limits of the models. This paper introduces the main concepts – no arbitrage pricing and risk neutral valuation – in derivatives’ pricing, then presents and quantifies the risk of some derivative products. I am arguing that the assumptions of the Black–Scholes and Merton model are injured at several points, so the pricing can not be perfectly cleared from all the risk preferences. All those risks, deriving from the difference of the reality and the model are priced in the volatility parameter in the practice.

Alternative Monetary Strategies before EMU Membership in Central Europe

As more and more transition coutries join the eurozone it is becoming reasonable to investigate what monetary policy might be most successful for countries prior to the introduction of the euro. One possible alternative is inflation targeting, which has found application in numerous economies in the last two decades, including the Visegrád Countries. In this paper I am introducing some important aspects and an empirical examination of the monetary policy of the Visegrád Countries. I am providing an overview of previous empirical findings and trying to make some comparisons of new EU and recommendations for pre-accession countries, such as Croatia.

Similarities and Differences in Polish and Hungarian History

In my lecture I would like to give a general introduction to a comparative approach of Polish and Hungarian history. I am convinced it could be not only an interesting, but a relevant issue as well. This approach could be touching emotionally for average Hungarian and Polish people because both nations strongly felt last centuries that they had common historical fate in East Central Europe. There is evidence which prove that Polish-Hungarian friendship is not only a modern phenomenon, but it is originated from the historical past. Historical memory calls the attention that Polish-Hungarian friendship was rooted already in the early modern history, and it was not constructed by historians, but a special relationship between the two nations was a widespread and accepted concept for the wider public in Hungary. I can cite the well-known proverb which represents it: „Pole and Hungarian – two good friends, joint fight and drinking are their ends.” In this lecture I don’t want to give a complete list of differences and similarities, but to call the attention to some interesting aspects of two nations’ common historical fate.

Breaking promises. The Hungarian experience

My main aim is to present the phenomena related to fulfilment and breach of promises and the economic, political and ethical problems arising from these. I discuss questions that we all meet with in daily life and see mentioned in the press, other forums of public discourse, gatherings of friends, or sessions of Parliament. There are some who complain that a building contractor has not done a renovation job properly according to contract. Economists argue over the outcome of late repayments on loans advanced for purchasing real estate. Opposition meetings chide the governing party over unfulfilled campaign promises. I am seeking what is common among these seemingly different cases. Can we see identical or similar behavior patterns and social mechanisms in them? Do they lead to similar decision-making dilemmas and reactions?