Household economic behavior in post-socialist rural Hungary

This paper investigates the organization of household economic behavior in post-socialist rural Hungary. Data from 751 randomly selected households in three rural regions of the country showed weak labor force attachment and heavy reliance on social welfare programs among these households. Self-provisioning and interhousehold exchange were also prevalent. The data showed that interhousehold exchange is motivated by both economic and social logics. Interhousehold exchange appears to be more likely among better-off households with more economic and social resources.