Spatial distribution of the top 500 companies on regional and county levels in Hungary – a repeated analysis
Spatial distribution of the top 500 companies on regional and county levels in Hungary – a repeated analysis

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this research is to investigate how the spatial distribution of 500 companies with best sales performance has changed since 2014 in Hungary. Thus, the analysis elaborated by Csete–Szabó (2014) is repeated. Subsequent to the analysis, the change in performance of enterprises on a regional level is linked to economic polarisation: the sharply widening inequality of income and wealth. In order to provide a broader view on the Hungarian economy, the article evaluates the effect of the allocation of development funds for the 2007–2013 programming period as the development funds have a dominant role forming the income generation patterns of the country. The primary research consists of an analysis on the change in the number and total (gross) sales value of the top 500 companies (companies with the best sales performance in a specific reference year) on NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 levels. Moreover, it demonstrates the sectoral diversity of regions and interprets the concrete enterprise ranking in the case of the first quarter, reflecting the five most dominant regions that have the largest share in the total (gross) sales value among the top 500 companies. Finally, the rela-tion of changes in gross value added (GVA)/capita and in total (gross) sales value of the top 500 companies is interpreted. The results of the research indicate that the spatial distribution of the 500 companies with best sales performance is in perfect accordance with the generally accepted regional inequalities’ pattern of the country, which is due to the location choice of the export-oriented companies. If we consider the headquarters of the enterprises, 78% from the total sales value of the top 500 companies is linked to five NUTS 3 regions, and the importance of the capital is outstanding. The result of the research indicates the importance of ag-glomeration economies, which is the result of interaction among economies of scale, transportation costs, market size, and information as Paul Krugman (1991) explains in the ‘new economic geography’ theory. The repeated analysis has indicated that both the total (gross) sales value of the top 500 companies (by 15%) and GVA/capita (by 19.5%) have increased during the period, and the ranking of NUTS 2 regions has not changed. Thus, the changes in gross domestic product (GDP)/capita and in the total sales value of the top 500 companies on NUTS 3 level have common tendencies. Considering the cumulative share of the total (gross) sales value of the top 500 on a regional level, the inequalities have marginally decreased, but large differences still exist.

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