Economy of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
Encyclopedia
The county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
in eastern Hungary
borders three countries, and it is the only county bordering Ukraine
. The railway crossing the border
towards Ukraine is well developed, with high capacity and is thus able to satisfy the requirements of transit traffic and of bilateral trade
. Following the reconstruction of the road
border crossing, the county is also able to cope with increased road transportation.
Several regions in the county have tourism
potential, so far mostly unexploited. Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg has several agricultural products of excellent quality, with capacity for higher production. There is an abundance of low-cost labour.
The county's biggest problem is the economic crisis. There is a shortage of local capital
and inward investment
, which restrains the creation of new jobs, thus the second highest unemployment
rate of Hungary has not decreased enough. The performance of industry lags behind the rest of the country and the product structure is unfavourable with not enough high quality, high value-added products. The labour force has low qualifications on average. The quality of soil
s is relatively poor, thus the scope for economical agricultural production is limited to a few products, which, at present, are suffering from the shrinking of the eastern markets.
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg is an administrative county in north-eastern Hungary, bordering Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Hajdú-Bihar and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén...
in eastern Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
borders three countries, and it is the only county bordering Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The railway crossing the border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
towards Ukraine is well developed, with high capacity and is thus able to satisfy the requirements of transit traffic and of bilateral trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
. Following the reconstruction of the road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
border crossing, the county is also able to cope with increased road transportation.
Several regions in the county have tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
potential, so far mostly unexploited. Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg has several agricultural products of excellent quality, with capacity for higher production. There is an abundance of low-cost labour.
The county's biggest problem is the economic crisis. There is a shortage of local capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
and inward investment
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
, which restrains the creation of new jobs, thus the second highest unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
rate of Hungary has not decreased enough. The performance of industry lags behind the rest of the country and the product structure is unfavourable with not enough high quality, high value-added products. The labour force has low qualifications on average. The quality of soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s is relatively poor, thus the scope for economical agricultural production is limited to a few products, which, at present, are suffering from the shrinking of the eastern markets.