Cartels as institutions for crisis management in interwar Hungary

Abstract

The present article offers a case study to cartels as institutions of crisis management analyzing the experience of the two leading Hungarian electro-technical companies in the interwar era. Interwar Hungary, struggling to overcome the challenges of both the transformation from part of a European Great Power into a small and impoverished country and that of the Great Depression, provides a historical example for it. The main findings are, first, that although international cartels might help even medium sized or small members from poor countries to overcome short term economic crises. The cartels, however, might seriously constrain their room for maneuvering in adjusting to the altered market conditions in the long run. Second, national cartels tend to help to overcome transformation crises only if economic policy incentives further branch-wide coordinated rationalization and specialization. In the conclusion suggestions are presented for a future research framework analyzing to what extent cartels may help small and poor countries in crisis management.