How the spatial distribution of the Hungarian TOP 500 companies affects regional development: an examination of income generation at subnational scale

The research paper emphasizes the importance of export from the aspect of economic development. In the first part, the theoretical background of the regional development connected to export-led growth is introduced. As a bridge between the theoretical and empirical part, the territorial sense of export data and economic spaces is highlighted. In connection to the research, actual domestic research examining spatial differences and inequalities in Hungary is presented. The reviewed researches (Dusek–Lukács–Rácz 2014, Nemes Nagy–Tagai 2011, Obádovics 2013, Pénzes 2012) concur on the main territorial features in Hungary: territorial hegemony of the capital, increasing differences between the capital and rural areas, emergence of the ‘West–East decline’, and varied development patterns of micro-regions a nd settlements. Dusek–Lukács–Rácz (2014) describe the regional disparities in the country on NUTS-2 level, pointing out that Central Hungary is the most advanced region of Hungary, followed by Western Transdanubia and Central Transdanubia, and with significant lag, Southern Transdanubia, Southern Great Plain, Northern Great Plain and Northern Hungary trail the list. In the primary research, the aim is to explore the conditions of export-led growth in Hungary, and through an examination of the spatial distribution of the 500 companies with the best sales performance (TOP 500 list) an attempt is made to demonstrate the reasons for regional inequalities in Hungary. The other scope of the research is to demonstrate the concentration of different sectors in NUTS-3 level, as well as highlighting their export orientation. Furthermore research examines associations between different measures. The pool of data used for carrying out the research is derived from HVG (Heti Világgazdaság – a dominant economic weekly review in Hungary) about the first 500 companies with the best sales performance in 2012 (the TOP 500 companies) and from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. Our research findings emphasize the importance of export for regional development (export-led growth), and resembles the secondary research outcomes about the development of NUTS-2 and NUTS-3 regions.