The institutionalization of ethnic economy among Hungarians in Romania and Slovakia

Principal investigator: Zsombor Csata

Participants: Tünde Morvai, Attila Papp Z., Töhötöm Szabó A.

Grant: NKFIH 125276

Period: 2017-2024

Research questions and objectives:

The central question of the research concerned the role of ethnicity in the management of economic cooperation, the regulation of economic processes and the development of the economy in Transylvania, Romania, and Southern Slovakia.

We examined how major changes over the past decades—such as economic globalization, EU accession, the strengthening of neo-liberal economic policies, and shifts in the Hungarian government's kin-state support — have affected the relationship between the ethnic majority and the Hungarian minority. In particular, we looked at whether these changes have led to increased cooperation and integration or, conversely, to isolation and segregation within the economic realm, including everyday economic activities and the operation of economic institutions. What welfare effects did these changes have on minority Hungarians? Did they improve or weaken their economic position? How did they impact the overall economic performance and development of regions inhabited by ethnic Hungarians?

Research history:

The economy in Transylvania and Southern Slovakia differs from other social domains such as education, culture, or mass media as it is not primarily organised along ethnic lines.  Despite this, many economic and business initiatives were established during the past decades, which explicitly targeted consumers who belonged to the Hungarian minority in these regions. These institutions and enterprises built up their business narratives/discourses in a Hungarian context, employed minority Hungarian workers, and collaborated with Hungarian business partners. In addition, EU accession brought a loosening of state control over the economy in Romania and Slovakia. Increasing market deregulation facilitated the cooperation within co-ethnic networks: created better conditions for ethnic markets to arise, and contributed to the commodification of ethnic products and services. This research examines the institutionalization of an ethnic minority economy in this changing environment.

Research methods:

In studying the relationship between ethnic fragmentation and welfare, the economic cooperation between ethnic groups, and the size and quantitative features of the ethnic economy, we relied on various economic statistical data sources and secondary analysis of previous surveys. Subsequently, we conducted fieldwork at multiple locations, using typical case study methods. These included individual and focus group interviews, participant observation, analysis of documents and media content.

Research results in 2023:

We found that increasing institutionalisation of ethnic parallelism in the economy limits  the opportunities for minority Hungarians, contributing to their persistent economic disadvantage. We analyzed the change in opportunity structures using the dimensions of the 'quadratic nexus', borrowed from ethnopolitical studies (Brubaker 1996, Smith 2002), which include: 1. the unique resources of minority Hungarians (linguistic skills, ethnically bounded networks, etc.), 2. the institutional characteristics of ethnolinguistic governance in Romania/ Slovakia, 3. the kin-state support policies of the Hungarian government, 4. the new institutional conditions/opportunities created by marketization and global/transnational deregulation.

A brief report of the research is available at this link.

Previous research results:

We started our research with a secondary analysis of statistical and survey data on the increasing ethnic parallelism in the economy, both in Romania and Slovakia. Then we turned our attention to an ethnographic study of rural economic institutions in four Transylvanian and two Southern Slovakian villages. In these locations, we conducted individual and focus group interviews with local community leaders, businessmen, and leaders of organizations to manage common-pool resources (CPR). We found out that the patterns of (inter)-ethnic cooperation in these local domains show a greater variety: belonging to an ethnic community could be an organizing element of the local economy, but not solely, not primarily, and not exclusively.

Publications:

Csata, Z. (2019a). Etnikai párhuzamosságok az erdélyi gazdaságban. REGIO. Kisebbség Kultúra Politika Társadalom, 27(1), 37-80. https://doi.org/10.17355/rkkpt.v27i1.244 + Bolyai Research Fellowship (00604/17)

Csata, Z. (2019b). Az etnikai polarizáció és a jólét összefüggései Erdélyben. REGIO Kisebbség Kultúra Politika Társadalom, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.17355/rkkpt.v27i3.274  + Bolyai Research Fellowship (00604/17)

Csata, Z. (2020a). Gazdaság. In. Bárdi, N., Éger, Gy. (szerk.) Magyarok Romániában 1990-2015. Tanulmányok az erdélyi magyarságról. Kolozsvár: Kriterion. Pp. 169-201.

Csata, Z. (2020b). Etnikai törésvonalak a munkaerőpiacon–a koetnikus alkalmazás jellemzői Erdélyben. Kárpát-Haza Szemle, 1(1-2), 21-32.

Csata, Z., & Marácz, L. (2021). Social Inclusion and Multilingualism: Linguistic Justice and Language Policy. Social Inclusion, 9(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v9i1.3941, WOS:000608480000001, WoS: Q2, IF: 1,333. SJR indicator: Q2

Csata, Z., Hlatky, R., Liu, A. H. & Young A. P. (2021) The economic effects of the territoriality principle. Evidence from Transylvania, Romania. Language Problems and Language Planning 45(2), 165–187. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.00076.csa, WOS:000722161500003, WoS (2021): Q3, IF: 0,517, SJR indicator: D1

Csata, Z. (2022). Marketizáció és etnikai szegregáció a gazdaságban – magyar példák Erdélyből. In. Filep, T. G., Papp Z. A., Szerbhorváth G. (szerk.): Palimpszesztus. Írások Bárdi Nándor 60. születésnapjára. Budapest: Társadalomtudományi Kutatóközpont Kisebbségkutató Intézet-Kalligram. Pp. 246-269.

Csata, Z., Compton, B., Liu, A. H., & Papp Z. A. (2023a). Linguistic diversity in media and state language proficiencies: Evidence from Hungarian minority regions in central-Eastern Europe. Regional & Federal Studies, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2022.2153452, WOS:000906691700001, WoS (2022): Q1, IF: 1.4, SJR indicator: Q1

Csata, Z., Hlatky, R., & Liu, A. H. (2023b). Ethnic Polarization and Human Development: The Conditional Effects of Minority Language Recognition. Studies in Comparative International Development, 58, 79–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-022-09362-z, WOS:000812443800001, WoS (2022): Q1, IF: 2,7, SJR indicator: D1

Csata, Z., Péti, M., Compton, B., Liu, A. H., & Sándor, Z. (2023). The income effects of minority co-ethnic employment: the case of Hungarians in central and Eastern Europe. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2023.2290447, WOS:001125271300001, WoS (2022): Q1, IF: 3,3, SJR indicator: D1

Csata Z., Waterbury M. (2024): Economic Development as a Kin-State Strategy: The Case of Hungary and the Hungarian Minority Communities. In. Socio-Economic Participation of National Minorities, European Center for Minority Issues/Hart Publishers (forthcoming)

Csata Z, Papp Z. A. (2024): Divided Economies? Language, Ethnicity, and Market Challenges in Multicultural Transylvania, In. Socio-Economic Participation of National Minorities, European Center for Minority Issues/Hart Publishers (forthcoming)

Csata Z., Papp Z. A. (2024a, forthcoming): The Dynamics and Impacts of Co-Ethnic Employment Among Hungarians in Central and Eastern Europe: Linguistic Regimes and Economic Outcomes. Planned publication: Intersections

Press coverage:

In Hungarian:

„Kevesebbet keres ma Romániában egy erdélyi magyar, mint egy román. Miért?” - 2018. január 4., Maszol.ro 

„Kényes kérdés” Erdélyben a magyar alkalmazott” - 2018. december 30., kronika.ro

 „Mennyivel keres kevesebbet, aki nem tud románul?” - 2019. április 19., transindex.ro

„Felmérés: a székelyföldi magyarok kevesebbet keresnek, mint a románok” – 2019. július 10., Maszol.ro

„Jobban keres a magyar munkavállaló olyan cégnél, ahol román alkalmazottak vannak többségben” 2019. november 14., Maszol.ro

„Ahol kirakat a multikulti, ott a magyar nyelv piaci értéke is alacsony” - 2019. november 27. altatszo.ro 

„Etnikai „munkaburok”: jellemző, hogy magyar magyart alkalmaz a kommunikációs gátak elkerüléséért” - 2020. január 18., szekelyhon.ro 

In Romanian:

„Piața nu readuce limba maghiară în spațiul public, dimpotrivă: contribuie la enclavizare”  - 2020. január 28., contributors.ro