Acta Oeconomica 14. (1975)

1975 / 4. szám - BOOK REVIEWS - Győrffy I.: Szabó, K.: A nagyvállalati kihívás, új hullám a tőkekoncentrációban (The Challenge of Big Corporations. New Wave in Capital Concentration)

420 BOOK REVIEWS educational planning of the socialist countries than that of the capitalist countries. When analyzing the educational policy of the developing countries the author first presents the quantitative factors. He provides a rich documentation of the development of school enrolment and the number of teachers. He points out that the main problem of the educational system of the third world lies in the great masses of those never getting to school which, because of financial limitations, can be diminished only gradually in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The qualitative deficiencies of the educa­tional system of developing countries are shown by the very high dropping out and failure rates. The fundamental reason for this is, in the opinion of the author, that these countries suffer from a shortage of teachers and their financial possibilities are limited. The sub-chapters dealing with the amounts and problems of teaching aid, its political importance and with the brain-drain are illu­minating readings. Finally, Péter Mándi outlines the con­ception of educational policy suggested for the developing countries. He considers the assertion of the interests of society as a basic criterion. He points out that educational policy has to strive for that “the rates of education should be adapted to the absorptive capacity of the society and there should be no significant time lag between the acquisition and the practical use of qualification” (i.e. this implies integrated educational and man­power planning) and at the same time, the coordination of objectives with means should be ensured. Further important elements of the conception are the following: the place of practical knowledge in education and how to formulate the quantitative and qualitative requirements of development. The author does not forget about school and adult education, training in higher education and about vo­cational training, either. Z. Kollár Szabó, К. : A nagyvállalati kihívás, új hullám a tőkekoncentrációban (The challenge of big corporations. New wave in capital concen­tration.) Budapest, 1974. Kossuth Könyvkiadó. 283 p. The study gives a picture of the concentra­tion process taking place in the capitalist world at present and of its expected consequences. In the first chapter the author explains that the third important concentration period in the history of capitalism began in the 1960’s and is going on even at present. The present concentration process starting from a higher level than ever before looks to be stronger than any previous one. In the following the author gives a clear and acceptable definition of the notion of conglomerates, the first one in Hungarian economic literature, which she calls organic concerns and presents as follows: . . the various enterprises are bound together not simply by the common capital, still less by sterile monetary relations, but they are closely correlated in the real sphere, too, and what is more, this is an aspect of their interpenetration that cannot be neglected. The affiliated firms to be found in the different branches are run on the basis of a uniform strategy and certain central services (transport, data processing, marketing, etc.) having an ever increasing role in the enterprise life. They integrate the seem­ingly scattered activities of deviating charac­ter into a coherent and complex production process.” Katalin Szabó devotes a whole chapter to the explanation and analysis of conglomerates displaying far-reaching activities. In the course of this she states that such formations although they had existed previously, were mostly ex­ceptions, while their present development — from the 1960’s on — has become an imperative need. There is a special chapter on the small plants, their difficult situation and stability. She mentions as the most characteristic type of small enterprise the so-called “satellite enterprise” fitting smoothly into the produc­tion structure of its customer. Satellite enter­prises are ruined always by a big firm. This may happen in different forms. The most frequent one is the brain-drain of big firms. This includes, on the one hand, the pumping over of the best labour — workers, technical staff — from the satellite enterprise to the super-concern, and, on the other hand, the unscrupulous utilization of the technological procedures developed at the small firms and of their achievements. When reading the book the changing picture of monopolistic development becomes more and more distinct. It will be more and more obvious that the capitalist world is look­ing forward to a period of domination by a Ada Oeconomica 14, 1975

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