Management Skills and Vocational Training as Tools for Economic Development in the Hungarian Economic Chamber Movement - Acta Universitatis Sapientiae

Acta Univ. Sapientiae, Legal Studies, 12, 1 (2023) 167–182

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47745/AUSLEG.2023.12.1.10

Abstract. Our public discourse today and our image of the rule of law as a civil state is shaped by the presence of organizations based on direct citizen participation and their involvement in public affairs. Particularly important is the role played by institutions representing professional groups and economic circles, especially chambers. At the same time, however, we know very little about what exactly these institutions do, what their obligations and powers tend to be, and what their historical roots and genesis are. In order to approach the subject, it is important to point out that the historical development of these organizations was marked as early as in the 19th century by the emergence of a certain line of thought, the principle of subsidiarity, and self-government. The chambers saw themselves as an organization established by law to manage their own affairs autonomously, to represent the interests of their members, and to take over certain tasks and powers from the public administration in their own professional field. From the very beginning, chambers in our region were set up with compulsory membership and had, in addition to their interest articulation function, mainly an advisory role. In representing the general interests of commerce and industry, the chamber was entitled to submit proposals for the improvement of laws relating to trade and industry, to participate in the establishment of tariffs, to make personal proposals for the appointment of trade diplomats, and to prepare statements and reports for the government. In the later bourgeois period, the scope of activities became even more focused on advocacy work. All this brought with it the need to disseminate modern technical achievements and knowledge as widely as possible. Thus, from its beginnings, the Hungarian economic chamber movement became one of the most important proponents of Western models. This article attempts to show how the Hungarian economic chamber system (the chambers of commerce and industry and later the chambers of agriculture) supported and aided the spread of modern management ideas and how much they contributed to the cause of civic engagement, development and progress by performing educational tasks.

Keywords: Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Chambers of Agriculture, self-government, management, education, vocational training, Kingdom of Hungary