The economic significance of small towns in Hungary: In light of reindustrialization

Abstract

Small towns play a significant role in the settlement network, primarily serving as economic and service centres for rural areas. After 1990, deindustrialisation severely impacted small towns in Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, challenging their competencies. However, in the 2000s, a wave of reindustrialisation began, extending to the small-town level. This study attempts to assess the economic significance of Hungarian small towns and its changes between 2011 and 2022, connecting this to the effects of reindustrialisation and exploring the regional disparities in small-town development.