Social Security and Local State in a Böhönye, Hungary

This research is part of the larger research project 'Local State and Social Security in Rural Hungary, Romania and Serbia'.
This study centres on the intersection between social security and local state in Böhönye, a village in Hungary.
Böhönye (with 2482 inhabitants) is situated in the hilly Somogy County and belongs to the micro-region of Marcali (south-western part of Hungary). The micro region is constituted of small settlements (with less then 1000 inhabitants). Although Lake Balaton is quite close to Marcali, the whole micro region is regarded as a disadvantaged area and inner periphery on the basis of its social and economic indices (decrease in population number, ageing population, unfavourable traffic position, low income, high unemployment rate, unfavourable economic structure). The centre of the micro-region is Marcali, a small town with approximately 12.000 inhabitants. The second most populated settlement of the micro-region is Böhönye, at a distance of 23 kilometres from Marcali. The village fulfils the function of sub-centre for the surrounding nine settlements, as it is a service centre (commerce, tourism, finance) and a traffic junction as well.
During the 1980s Böhönye faced a considerable decrease in population, but since then the pace of decrease has considerably slowed down. The population decrease was mainly due to aging and mortality. Thus the age structure of the local population shows a larger proportion of elderly inhabitants compared to Szatmárcseke, the other Hungarian research site. However, according to our former research experience in the region, Böhönye recently has become a more and more preferred destination for settlers as it is a sub-centre within the micro-region. Those who settle down here are not poor families but, rather, people who belong to the upper layer of the society of small settlements. This may alter the age structure in the years to come.

Agriculture / access to natural resources

Agricultural production plays a major role in the village economy. Around Böhönye 5750.3 hectares are under agricultural cultivation, 89.3 percent of the agricultural land is cultivated as plough land, 3.2 % as orchard. In 2000 518 farms were registered, out of which 511 were individual farms. After the privatisation of the former agricultural cooperative and state farm three larger agricultural plants came into being and operate nowadays. One of these is a piggery; the other two companies use 70-80 percent of the agricultural lands. The agrarian economy of the settlement is dominated by large-scale cultivation. The home gardening of fruits (primarily berry fruits) and vegetables as a form of income supplement is ceasing in the settlement as it is not profitable enough any longer. In Böhönye forests cover 2114 hectares, out of which approximately 30 hectares are state owned. Villagers know about six or eight local brigades specialised in logging. Still in 2001, the ratio of villagers employed in agriculture in Böhönye is significantly higher than the national average (5.5%). The reason for this aberration form the national average is that the micro-region is sparsely industrialised and a predominantly agricultural area of the country, where the large-scale agricultural production is still typical. The table below shows the respective percentage of inhabitants employed in the various sectors in the years 1990 and 2001

Strategies for livelihood

In Böhonye the average income is comparatively low (70 percent of the national average) and the unemployment rate (11% of the active population) is relatively high (data from Census of 2001 and Central Statistical Office, 2006). Owing to low income and high unemployment rate, social transfer plays an important role in the villagers’ income. Besides, occasional, auxiliary jobs in the agriculture and forestry provide some sort of income gaining opportunities, although the majority of these jobs are not legally admitted. However, according to our former research findings the role of agriculture is less significant in Böhönye then the last census shows. This is partly, because there is an industrial enterprise employing approximately 180 people in the village (and from its surroundings), and from here it is easier to find employment in other firms in Marcali or to factories of other towns. Due to its sub-centre function, in Böhönye there are more commercial-service enterprises. In Böhönye the local council rejected to take part in the festival tourism which otherwise is so typical in the area, and they wish to focus on the development of infrastructure and services. Their tourism-related plans usually concentrate on the natural values of the area (watery habitats, nature reserves) and may be assigned to the development of 'mild' or 'green' tourism.

Institutions / social assistance

It is the local government that decides on social benefits for the indigent citizens and it is the mayor’s office that disburses the sum. The village is a public administrative sub-centre, two small settlements belong to it, and as an authority it accomplishes tasks of public administration. Böhönye is also an educational centre: pupils of five other small settlements attend the local primary school and the local kindergarten is attended by children from two other settlements. Services of the Centre of social care and children care (family care, child care, elderly care) are provided for eight other settlements as well. The centre is in regular contact with the indigent citizens in need of social care. Böhönye is also centre of a police district.

Research Questions and Methodology

Fieldwork will concentrate on the intersection of local state officials and other local networks. First, an analysis of the attitudes of the local state to social provisions, with regards to the legal background will be carried out. It is important to find out how re-centralization works or has worked, what provisions have been taken over from village and to what levels. As a result of taking away of certain provisions the personal relationship between social workers and the people who need help might becomes more formalized, and the level of social services/provision might increase.

The official and unofficial actors in the field of social provisions have to be mapped, as well as who owns and operates the natural resources (land, forest, water). Their embedding in local/regional/central networks and relations also needs to be examined in the context of their tasks and voluntary activities. It has to be considered whether there are personal relations between the two (provisions, resources). Are there people in the village who are doubly dependent and defenceless? We must also examine whether and to what extent the local embeddedness of the person taking part in the distribution of social provisions helps her/his work, and if there is a point beyond which it impedes it, or makes it less effective. Complementary to the focus on local state actors other local networks should be examined: what were the traditional forms of social security and care, what kind of norms and values were characteristic of the local community, do people remember earlier norms of the community? Is there a community, or is the local society fragmented? Are the values of the local society very much influenced by the central norms and values mediated by local state actors, or is the local society able to shape the social provisions based on central directives according to its own value system? Which type of alignment is more effective regarding social and economic welfare and wellbeing? It is important to get to know the relational map of the community, and how the relationships operating in the community affect the production of social security.

In order to answer these question different research methods will be employed:

• Questionnaire
• In-depth interviews and biographical interviews
• Participant observation
• Local (written) source