A Trianon előtti magyar városok relatív fejlettségének vizsgálata strukturális egyenletek modelljével
Analyse of the relative development of Hungarian cities before Trianon with the model of structural equation

Summary/Abstract: Regional development is most often measured in terms of GDP per capita (gross domestic product – GDP) or some system of indicators. However, these methods are not statistically suitable for capturing the causes and consequences of regional development. Using official statistical data for the period 1895–1913 for counties and cities with jurisdictional rights, the study quantified the relative development of territorial units with a so-called structural equation model (SEM). The model assumes that regional development is a latent variable that depends on factors formed by observed variables. The authors used the results to rank the counties and cities with jurisdictional rights for each year, so that they could track not only the development dynamics of a specific regional unit, but also the difference in the development trajectory of a given city and its related county. The study shows that in 1920, a network of cities, centred on Budapest, fell apart, with the most developed cities – Zagreb, Bratislava, Oradea, Szeged, Arad, Debrecen, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca – forming the counterpoles. After the Treaty of Trianon, only Debrecen and Szeged remained within the borders. Five of the nine medium-developed cities (Miskolc, Rijeka, Győr, Košice, Subotica, Pécs, Novi Sad, Kecskemét, Székesfehérvár) remained within the borders, but they could not take over the role of the lost more developed cities.

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