Introduction of soft budget constraint as an analyzing tool into public management. The case of the Hungarian public administration reform

Public management reforms are usually underpinned by arguments that they will make the public administration system more effective and efficient. In practice, however, it is very hard to determine whether a given reform will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public administration system in the long run. Here, I shall examine how the concept of the soft budget constraint (SBC) introduced by János Kornai (Kornai 1979, 1986; Kornai, Maskin & Roland 2003) can be applied to this problem. In the following, I shall describe the Hungarian public administration reforms implemented by the Orbán government from 2010 onward and analyze its reforms, focusing on which measures harden and which ones soften the budget constraint of the actors of the Hungarian public administration system. In the literature of economics, there is some evidence-based knowledge on how to harden/soften the budget constraint, which improves/reduces the effectiveness and hence the efficiency of the given system. By using the concept of SBC, I also hope to shed some light on the rationale behind the Hungarian government’s introduction of such a contradictory reform package. Previously, the concept of SBC was utilized narrowly in public management studies, mostly in the field of fiscal federalism. My goal is to apply the concept to a broader area of public management studies. My conclusion is that the concept of SBC can significantly contribute to public management studies by deepening our knowledge on the reasons behind the success and failure of public administration reforms.

Ecology of the Ráckeve-Sorokság Danube – a review

Present paper is a review on the Ráckeve-Soroksár Danube in ecological standpoint. The goal of this study is to collect and evaluate all of available publications in that conception, concerning this Danube arm. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, vertebrates, macrophytes and also water chemistry, water management, geographical description are presented. The review comprises the main studies beginning with the earliest faunistic publications up to the recent ecological, multidisciplinary investigations. Spatial and temporal patterns likewise water quality are considered as important. Additionally checklist of aquatic invertebrate and vertebrate fauna are given based on data from literature.