IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i2p736-d480005.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring the Socioeconomic Development of Selected Balkan Countries and Hungary: A Comparative Analysis for Sustainable Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Krisztina Soreg

    (Department of Economy and Business Administration, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain)

  • Guillermo Bermudez-Gonzalez

    (Department of Economy and Business Administration, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain)

Abstract

The present research aimed to provide an extensive comparative analysis regarding the socioeconomic development paths of three selected Balkan countries—Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania—as well as Hungary, which was originally classified as a member of the Visegrad Four group in Central and Eastern Europe. In our paper, the Balkan states were analyzed along with Hungary, as it might be observed that since the 2008–2009 economic crisis, the latter’s economy has been increasingly diverging from that of the Visegrad club in several aspects. After having undergone a protracted transition crisis escalated by the collapse of the Soviet Union, the micro-region has exhibited a truly contradictious development trajectory including periods of relatively faster economic-growth-based catching up and significant fallback stages driven by numerous endogenous or exogenous shocks. The study assumed that the region’s most crucial vulnerability is the relatively high dependence on Foreign Direct Investment that contributes to the fluctuating nature of economic growth, and also, it might be viewed as an obstacle to long-term sustainable development. In the frames of the research, the authors present an alternative comparative method for specifying the actual level of economic development of the defined country group from economic, political and social perspectives, relying on the most recent data published by international organizations, NGOs and thinktanks. As a result, an aggregate ranking was established for the four countries based on 21 individual indices, taking into consideration their dependent market economy attributes and, also, unique patterns of economic growth. Furthermore, the study also provides a dynamic evaluation of the trends concerning the narrow approach of using ten indices for a protracted period, investigating whether Hungary has been converging, diverging or stagnating with respect to the three Visegrad and Balkan economies. To what extent are Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Romania still affected by the historical burden of the former regime, and what perspectives might they have for realizing convergence in the near future to the more developed economies?

Suggested Citation

  • Krisztina Soreg & Guillermo Bermudez-Gonzalez, 2021. "Measuring the Socioeconomic Development of Selected Balkan Countries and Hungary: A Comparative Analysis for Sustainable Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:736-:d:480005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/736/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/736/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Graciela L. Kaminsky, 2017. "The Center and the Periphery: Two Hundred Years of International Borrowing Cycles," NBER Working Papers 23975, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Annamaria Artner, 2017. "Inequalities of Accumulation: The Case of Central and Eastern Europe," Studies in Economic Transition, in: Balázs Szent-Iványi (ed.), Foreign Direct Investment in Central and Eastern Europe, chapter 7, pages 151-169, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Xu, Feng & Wang, Zhanqi & Chi, Guangqing & Zhang, Zhexi, 2020. "The impacts of population and agglomeration development on land use intensity: New evidence behind urbanization in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Will Bartlett & Ivana Prica, 2017. "Interdependence between core and peripheries of the European economy: secular stagnation and growth in the Western Balkans," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 14(1), pages 123-139, June.
    5. Bogdan-Cristian Chiripuci & Marius Constantin & Maria-Floriana Popescu & Albert Scrieciu, 2020. "The Socio-Economic Impact of Migration on the Labor Market in the Romanian Danube Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-26, October.
    6. Egla Mansi & Eglantina Hysa & Mirela Panait & Marian Catalin Voica, 2020. "Poverty—A Challenge for Economic Development? Evidences from Western Balkan Countries and the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-24, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Batóg Jacek & Batóg Barbara, 2023. "Economic Performance Paths of CEE Countries and the EU-27 in 2000–2022," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 23(2), pages 45-66, December.
    2. Péter Faragó & Krisztina Gálos & Dávid Fekete, 2022. "Elements of Divergence in Urbanization between Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Core of the Continent," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrew Allan & Ali Soltani & Mohammad Hamed Abdi & Melika Zarei, 2022. "Driving Forces behind Land Use and Land Cover Change: A Systematic and Bibliometric Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Alina MECA & Valentin-Marian ANTOHI & Romeo-Victor IONESCU & Dragos Sebastian CRISTEA & Laurentiu-Nicolae PRICOPE & Monica Laura ZLATI, 2023. "The Development of the Social Economy in Europe in the Context of the Global Economic Crisis," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 2, pages 47-53.
    3. Nerajda Feruni & Eglantina Hysa & Mirela Panait & Irina Gabriela Rădulescu & Alina Brezoi, 2020. "The Impact of Corruption, Economic Freedom and Urbanization on Economic Development: Western Balkans versus EU-27," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    4. Yanli Gao & Hongbo Li & Yan Song, 2021. "Interaction Relationship between Urbanization and Land Use Multifunctionality: Evidence from Han River Basin, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.
    5. Tiberiu Iancu & Ionuț Laurențiu Petre & Valentina Constanta Tudor & Marius Mihai Micu & Ana Ursu & Florina-Ruxandra Teodorescu & Eduard Alexandru Dumitru, 2022. "A Difficult Pattern to Change in Romania, the Perspective of Socio-Economic Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-29, February.
    6. Yongxin Liu & Yiting Wang & Yiwen Lin & Xiaoqing Ma & Shifa Guo & Qianru Ouyang & Caige Sun, 2023. "Habitat Quality Assessment and Driving Factors Analysis of Guangdong Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Abdelmohsen A. Nassani & Crenguta Sinisi & Loredana Paunescu & Zahid Yousaf & Mohamed Haffar & Ahmad Kabbani, 2022. "Nexus of Innovation Network, Digital Innovation and Frugal Innovation towards Innovation Performance: Investigation of Energy Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-11, April.
    8. Hanwen Zhang & Yanqing Lang, 2022. "Quantifying and Analyzing the Responses of Habitat Quality to Land Use Change in Guangdong Province, China over the Past 40 Years," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-23, May.
    9. Bin Yang & Zhanqi Wang & Bo Zhang & Di Zhang, 2020. "Allocation Efficiency, Influencing Factors and Optimization Path of Rural Land Resources: A Case Study in Fang County of Hubei Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-16, August.
    10. Ricardo Sabbadini, 2018. "Loss Aversion and Search for Yield in Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2018_16, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    11. Lin Li & Kaixu Zhao & Xinyu Wang & Sidong Zhao & Xingguang Liu & Weiwei Li, 2022. "Spatio-Temporal Evolution and Driving Mechanism of Urbanization in Small Cities: Case Study from Guangxi," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-34, March.
    12. Marek Piotrowski & Anna Organiściak-Krzykowska, 2021. "Seasonal Employment of Foreigners in a Country Implementing a Restrictive Immigration Policy: The Case of Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 3), pages 439-453.
    13. Sofia GOUVEIA & Leonida CORREIA & Patrícia MARTINS, 2020. "European integration and its effects on population in border and peripheral regions," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 11, pages 8-27, November.
    14. Iwona Bak & Joanna Perzynska, 2021. "Poverty and Social Exclusion in the Context of the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 3), pages 68-83.
    15. Chuansong Zhao & Ran Geng & Jianxu Liu & Liuying Peng & Woraphon Yamaka, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Land Development: Evidence from Shandong Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-21, October.
    16. Claudius Graebner & Jakob Hafele, 2020. "The emergence of core-periphery structures in the European Union: a complexity perspective," ICAE Working Papers 113, Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy.
    17. Shiyi Wang, 2019. "Capital Flow Volatility: The Effects of Financial Development and Global Financial Conditions," 2019 Papers pwa945, Job Market Papers.
    18. Xiaomin Sun & Jing Qing & Syed Ahsan Ali Shah & Yasir Ahmed Solangi, 2023. "Exploring the Complex Nexus between Sustainable Development and Green Tourism through Advanced GMM Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-20, July.
    19. Xu, Feng & Chi, Guangqing & Zhang, Zhexi & Yang, Jianxin, 2023. "How does quality regional growth affect land resources dependence in China? Evidence based on spatial Durbin panel models," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Claudiu-Ionuţ Popîrlan & Irina-Valentina Tudor & Constantin-Cristian Dinu & Gabriel Stoian & Cristina Popîrlan & Daniela Dănciulescu, 2021. "Hybrid Model for Unemployment Impact on Social Life," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(18), pages 1-19, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:736-:d:480005. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.