Versengő regionális központok között – jövedelmi polarizáció a Partiumban

Ferenc Szilágyi

doi:10.32976/stratfuz.2026.1

Authors

Ferenc Szilágyi Partium Christian University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32976/stratfuz.2026.1

Keywords:

income, spatial disparities, partium, Accessibility, urbanisation, spatial econometrics

Abstract

Our study examines the spatial distribution of income across 381 municipalities in the five counties of Partium, north‑western Romania (Arad, Bihor, Maramureș, Sălaj, Satu Mare). The primary indicator is the per‑capita amount of personal income tax redistributed to local governments under the 2023 state budget.
We enrich the database with demographic and settlement-geographic covariates and—using OpenStreetMap-based routing—road distances and travel times to county seats, to Nagyvárad (Oradea), and the nearest regional centres (Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár, Timișoara/Temesvár, Debrecen, Szeged). The analysis employs multivariate linear regression, bootstrap resampling, one‑way ANOVA (DEGURBA groups), and a spatial‑lag model.
Results indicate a consistent, positive, and statistically significant association between population density and per‑capita income tax, while both distance and travel time from the county seat exert an adverse effect; time‑based accessibility is a slightly better predictor than kilometre‑based distance. Distance from Nagyvárad (Oradea) has weaker explanatory power than distance from county seats, suggesting that county capitals dominate income polarisation. Urbanisation level also differentiates per‑capita outcomes significantly, and spatial regression reveals strong neighbourhood (spillover) effects. The concentration of total tax payments is extreme (Gini = 0.86), whereas inequality in the per‑capita indicator is lower but still high (Gini = 0.44). Border‑gateway and suburban municipalities (especially Bors/Borș) display outstanding per‑capita performance.
Taken together, the findings imply that strengthening functional linkages to county capitals, improving accessibility, and deploying targeted cross‑border integration instruments could mitigate the relative decline of peripheral areas.

Author Biography

Ferenc Szilágyi, Partium Christian University

Associate Professor. Partium Christian University, Oradea, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences

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