Relocations in the electronics sector : the case of Hungary

The international, and the European division of labour has changed considerably after 1990 in the electronics sector. Hungary has become one of the leading producer of electronics goods and components, mainly due to the relocation of capacities from other, first of all Western European countries. In this paper, the characteristics of this relocation process are presented. First, the characteristics of the electronics sector in the Central and Eastern European countries are analysed using Eurostat and OECD data and compared to EU-27 indicators. Second, the role of relocations are presented using a database complied for Hungary for the eight-year period between 2003 and 2010 for projects carried out in the electronics sector. We show and make it probable that relocations played a significant part in increasing production capacities in this sector in Hungary - and most probably in other CEE countries as well. -- relocation ; offshoring ; offshore outsourcing ; electronics ; Hungary ; the new member states of the European Union