The role of local markets in the sustainable economic development of Hungarian rural areas

There are such ongoing economic tendencies which fundamentally change the conditions in the global market, e.g. the former sources of
development and growth have been exploited, the yields of production capital have reduced, therefore the willingness to invest has moderated
and above all, the global financial crisis has hit the markets. However, due to the growth period of the past decades, the demand has changed
and new consumption elements have emerged, which have become natural demand and needs due to the spread of welfare society views and
institutions. All these are reflected in the social actions (e.g. environmental protection movements), new age initiatives, the self-awareness
of communities, the increase in the need for autonomy, which all accompany the revival of regionalism. Under such circumstances, full of
ever-changing conditions, the experts consider the use and development of own resources as well as the efficient use of regions’ internal
potentials as a new regional development strategy. The aim of this new spatial development approach is not primarily the continuous use
of existing resources of advanced regions, but activation and use of additional – endogenous – unused potentials. Since, the basic question
of the development is how the territorial factors can be integrated efficiently into the specific economy and society to achieve their optimal
operation under given economic and social conditions. In our study we intended to introduce how important the local markets are in the
economic and social development of rural areas of Hungary, and explain the impacts of their improvement. It is proven that the increase in
the production and consumption of local products and the improvement of the efficiency of local markets are inevitable in the survival and
development of peripheral areas.