Laszlo J. Kulcsar

László J. Kulcsár, PhD.

Dr. László J. Kulcsár is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work. His field of expertise is social demography and regional development, with a particular emphasis on migration, urbanization and spatial inequalities. He does research on population dynamics and social change in rural areas, focusing on two major trends: aging and the impact of natural resource use. Dr. Kulcsár also studies the social and demographic transformation of post-socialist Eastern Europe from a historical perspective. He teaches courses on social and spatial inequalities, population dynamics, aging, immigration and sociological methodology.

[degrees]
[appointments]
[research]
[publications]
[presentations and invited talks]
[@ k-state]
[professional affiliations]

Kansas State University
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
202-D Waters Hall
Manhattan, KS, 66506
kulcsar[at] ksu.edu

Degrees:

PhD - Development Sociology
Cornell University, 2005
[dissertation title: "Legacy and Policy Effects on Spatial Development in Hungary and Bulgaria"]
MA - Sociology
Eötvös Lóránd University, Budapest, Hungary, 1998
[thesis title: "Territorial inequalities and their relation to settlement structure in Hungary"]
MS - Public Administration Studies
College of Public Administration, Budapest, Hungary, 1994
[thesis title: "Ius Patronatus and the state-church relations in medieval Hungary"]

Appointments:

2005 -	Faculty position at Kansas State University (tenured in 2009), Director of the Kansas Population Center (2006-2011)
2001 - 2005:	PhD studies at Cornell University (Department of Development Sociology, Population and Development Program); International research consultant for the Echo Survey Sociological Research Institute, Hungary
2000 - 2001:	Lecturer at the Department of Rural Sociology at Szent István University, Gödöllõ, Hungary
1998 - 2000:	Consultant for the President of the Hungarian Public Administration Chamber; Senior Researcher at the Monitor Institute for Social Research and Methodology, Hungary
1996 - 1998:	Head of the Media and Opinion Poll Division at Marketing Centrum Ltd.
1995 - 1996:	Researcher in Marketing Centrum Ltd.
1991 - 1995:	Freelance journalist

Research:

Research interests:

Social change and population dynamics
Migration, urbanization and settlement change
Spatial inequalities and regional development
Historical demography
The social transformation of Eastern Europe

Selected publications:

László J. Kulcsár and Katherine C. Curtis (eds.) (2011) The International Handbook of Rural Demography. Dordrecht: Springer.
László J. Kulcsár and Young-Ok Yum (2011) "One Nation, One Brand? Nation Branding and Identity Reconstruction in Post-Communist Hungary" In: Nadia Kaneva (ed.) Branding Post-Communist Nations: Marketizing National Identities in the “New” Europe New York: Routledge.
László J. Kulcsár and David L. Brown (2011) "The Political Economy of Urban Reclassification in Post-Socialist Hungary" Regional Studies 45, pp. 479-490.
László J. Kulcsár and Benjamin C. Bolender (2011) "If You Build It, Will They Come? Biofuel Plants and Demographic Trends in the Midwest" Population and Environment 32, pp. 318-331.
David L. Brown, Benjamin C. Bolender, László J. Kulcsár, Nina Glasgow and Scott Sanders (2011) "Intercounty Variability of Net Migration at Older Ages as a Path-Dependent Process" Rural Sociology 76, pp. 44-73.
Theresa Selfa, László J. Kulcsár, Carmen Bain, Richard Goe and Gerad Middendorf (2011) "Biofuels Bonanza?: Exploring community perceptions of the promises and perils of biofuels production" in Biomass and Bioenergy 35, pp. 1379-1389.
László Kulcsár, László J. Kulcsár and Lajos Marosi (eds) (2010) Regional Aspects of Social and Economic Restructuring in Eastern Europe: The Hungarian Case. Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Budapest.
László J. Kulcsár and David L. Brown (2009) "Public Perceptions of Population Changes in Hungary" Eastern European Countryside 15, pp. 23-36.
László J. Kulcsár and Theresa Selfa (2009) "Introduction to the Rural Development Special Issue" Online Journal of Rural Research and Policy Issue 2009.1
László J. Kulcsár (2008) "Rendhagyó gondolatok a várossá nyilvánításról a megkésett fejlodés kontextusában" [Unorthodox views on urban reclassification in the context of belated development] Területi Statisztika 48(6), pp. 509-515.
Cristina Bradatan and László J. Kulcsár (2008) "Choosing between marriage and cohabitation: Women first union patterns in Hungary" Journal of Comparative Family Studies 39, pp. 491-507.
László J. Kulcsár (2008) "Book review: “Regional Economic Voting: Russia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, 1990-1999”, by Joshua A. Tucker", Journal of Regional Science 48, pp. 851-853.
László J. Kulcsár, Benjamin C. Bolender and David L. Brown (2008) "The Formation and Development of Rural Retirement Destinations." Ch. 3 in D. L. Brown and N. Glasgow, Rural Retirement Migration: Past, Present and Future. Dordrecht: Springer.
David Brown, Béla Greskovits and László J. Kulcsár (2007) "Industrial Restructuring and Regional Inequality in Hungary since 1990", International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 31, pp. 522-542.
László J. Kulcsár and Cristina Bradatan (2007) "Politics without Frontiers: The Impact of Hungarian Domestic Politics on the Minority Question in Romania", Communist and Post-Communist Studies 40, pp. 301-314.
László J. Kulcsár (2007) "Something Old, Something New: The Hungarian Marriage Patterns in Historical Perspective", Journal of Family History 32, pp. 323-338.
László J. Kulcsár (2007) "Baby Boomers and Immigrants on the Range: Population Trends in Kansas", Kansas Policy Review 29, pp. 2-9.
László J. Kulcsár and Benjamin C. Bolender (2006) "Home on the Range: Aging in Place in Rural Kansas", Online Journal of Rural Research and Policy, Issue 2006.3.
László J. Kulcsár and Tamás Domokos (2005) "The Post-Socialist Growth Machine: The Case of Hungary", International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 29, pp. 550-563.
David L. Brown, László J. Kulcsár, László Kulcsár and Csilla Obadovics (2005) "Post-Socialist Restructuring and Population Redistribution in Hungary", Rural Sociology 70, pp. 336-359.
David L. Brown, John Cromartie, and László J. Kulcsár (2004) "Micropolitan Realities and the Measurement of American Urbanization", Population Research and Policy Review 23, pp. 399-418.
László J. Kulcsár (2003) "Big Brother's Descendants: Territorial Policy during the Post-Socialist Period in Hungary", Eastern European Countryside 9, pp. 145-158. [abstract]
Domokos Tamás - Kulcsár László (2001) "Olvasáskultúra a 7. és 11. évfolyamos tanulók körében Miskolcon" (The culture of reading among 7th and 11th grade students in Miskolc), Miskolci Pedagógus, 16.
Kulcsár László (2000) "Fiatalság, bolondság? Politikai skizofrénia Veszprémben" (Juventus, ventus? Political ambivalences in Veszprém). In: Gábor Kálmán (ed.) Társadalmi átalakulás és ifjúság (Social Change and Youth), Belvedere, Szeged.

Presentations and invited talks:

László J. Kulcsár (2012f) "Demographic Trends for Western Kansas" (to be presented at the 2012 Legislative Conference, Topeka, KS, February 8, 2012)
László J. Kulcsár (2012) "Population: Recent Developments and the Next 50 Years" (presented at the Kansas State University Sustainability Seminar, Manhattan, KS, January 11, 2012)
László J. Kulcsár (2011) "Population Dynamics in Eastern Europe" (presented at the CERES @ University of Toronto, November 14, 2011)
László J. Kulcsár (2011) "Legacies of the Periphery: The Reproduction of a European Underclass" (presented at the University of Toronto, October 20, 2011)
László J. Kulcsár (2011) "Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Reshaping Communities, Redrawing Boundaries" (presented at the Kansas Economic Policy Conference, Lawrence, KS, October 13, 2011)
Joseph Aistrup, László J. Kulcsár, Sarah Beach and Jacob Mauslein (2011) "Hyper-Extractive Economies and Sustainability" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Boise, ID, July 28-31, 2011)
David L. Brown and László J. Kulcsár (2011) "Is Counter-Urbanization an International Phenomenon in the Twenty First Century?" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Boise, ID, July 28-31, 2011)
Theresa Selfa, Carmen Bain and László J. Kulcsár (2011) "Environmental Impacts and Community Support of Ethanol Plants in Iowa and Kansas" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Boise, ID, July 28-31, 2011)
László J. Kulcsár (2011) "The socioeconomic perspective on biofuel production" (presented at the Kansas State University Bioenergy Symposium, Manhattan, KS, April 28, 2011)
László J. Kulcsár (2011) "The roller coaster of immigrant integration: Mexicans, Somalis and the public discourse in Emporia" (presented at the Larson Lecture Series, Manhattan, KS, March 15, 2011)
László J. Kulcsár (2011) "Farmer retirement and family farm transition in Kansas" (presented at the Meadowlark Hills Lecture Series, Manhattan, KS, February 24, 2011)
László J. Kulcsár (2011) "The Day After Tomorrow: The demographic implications of global climate change" (presented at the NSF IGERT C-CHANGE Colloquium, Lawrence, KS, February 14, 2011)
László J. Kulcsár (2010) "No Munchkins Here: The Demographic Landscape of Kansas" (presented at the Kansas Rural Electric Cooperatives meeting, Manhattan, KS, October 21, 2010)
David L. Brown, Tony Champion and László J. Kulcsár (2010) "Measuring Urbanization in Three Diverse National Contexts" (presented at the W2001 miniconference, St. Paul, MN, September 17-18, 2010)
László J. Kulcsár (2010) "Farmer retirement and family farm transition in Kansas" (presented at the W2001 miniconference, St. Paul, MN, September 17-18, 2010)
Spencer D. Wood and László J. Kulcsár (2010) "Urban Agriculture, Race, and Poverty: The Challenge of the Exclusionary Construction of White Spaces in Kansas City, KS" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Atlanta, GA, August 12-15, 2010)
Theresa Selfa and László J. Kulcsár (2010) "Governing Energy Landscapes in the American Great Plains: Global and Local Challenges" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Atlanta, GA, August 12-15, 2010)
László J. Kulcsár (2010) "The Demographic and Health Challenges of Aging Communities" (presented at the KDHE Policy workshop, Topeka, KS, May 17, 2010)
David L. Brown, Benjamin C. Bolender, László J. Kulcsár, Nina Glasgow and Scott Sanders (2010) "Inter-county variability of net migration at older ages as a path dependent process" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Dallas, TX, April 15-17, 2010)
László J. Kulcsár (2010) "Blurred horizon: Aging and family farm transition in Kansas" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Kansas Crop Improvement Association, Manhattan, KS, February 10, 2010)
László J. Kulcsár (2009) "Empty Fields: The Demographic and Health Challenges of Aging Communities" (presented at the AAHSA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, November 8, 2009)
László J. Kulcsár (2009) "Aging trends and the demographic landscape in Kansas" (presented at the K-State Extension Annual Conference, Manhattan, KS, October 21, 2009)
László J. Kulcsár and Nadia Shapkina (2009) "Re-imagining the Nation in Central Europe: The Unintended Consequences of New Identity" (presented at the Central Europe 1989: Lessons and Legacies Conference, Lawrence, KS, October 16-18, 2009)
László J. Kulcsár (2009) "Aging and community development in Eastern Europe" (at the KU CREEES Brown Bag Seminar, Lawrence, KS, October 6, 2009)
László J. Kulcsár (2009) "Home on the range - Demographic challenges of northwest Kansas" (presented at the State Extension Advisory Council meeting, Phillipsburg, KS, August 27, 2009)
David L. Brown, Benjamin C. Bolender, László J. Kulcsár, Nina Glasgow and Scott Sanders (2009) "Inter-County Variability of Net Migration at Older Ages as a Path Dependent Process" (presented at the XXII European Society for Rural Sociology congress, Vaasa, Finland, August 17-21, 2009)
László J. Kulcsár and Benjamin C. Bolender (2009) "Empty fields: Farm transition and aging in Kansas" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Madison, WI, July 30 - August 2, 2009)
Cristina Bradatan and László J. Kulcsár (2009) "When race is not the issue: education and labor market outcomes of European educated immigrants in the US" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Detroit, MI, April 30 – May 2, 2009)
Benjamin C. Bolender and László J. Kulcsár (2009) "A Peaceful Sunset or Stormy Skies Ahead: Population Aging and Community Sustainability in Kansas" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society, Des Moines, IA, April 2-5, 2009)
László J. Kulcsár (2008) "Empty fields: The demographic challenges of aging communities" (presented at the Aging on the Plains Conference at Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, September 24, 2008)
László J. Kulcsár and Benjamin C. Bolender (2008) "People in the Ethanol Equation: Biofuels Production and Population Trends" (presented at the Symposium on the Sustainability of Biofuels Production and Processing in the Central Plains, Manhattan, KS, September 16, 2008)
László J. Kulcsár and Benjamin C. Bolender (2008) "If You Build It, Will They Come? Biofuel Plants and Demographic Trends in the Midwest" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Manchester, NH, July 28-31, 2008)
Theresa Selfa, Richard Goe, László J. Kulcsár and Gerad Middendorf (2008) "Understanding the Promises and Perils of Biofuels Development for Rural Communities" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Manchester, NH, July 28-31, 2008)
Cristina Bradatan and László J. Kulcsár (2008) "Between marriage and cohabitation: women first union patterns in Hungary" (presented at the European Population Conference, Barcelona, Spain, July 9-12, 2008)
Jennifer Blakeslee, Cristina Bradatan and László J. Kulcsár (2008) "Circularity or settlement? Cultural and economic factors in Romanian migration to Southern Europe" (presented at the European Population Conference, Barcelona, Spain, July 9-12, 2008)
László J. Kulcsár and Cristina Bradatan (2008) "The Graying Periphery - Aging and Community Development in Romania and Bulgaria" (presented at the European Population Conference, Barcelona, Spain, July 9-12, 2008)
Theresa Selfa, Richard Goe, László J. Kulcsár and Gerad Middendorf (2008) "The Biofuels Revolution: Understanding the Social, Cultural, and Economic Impacts of Biofuels Development on Rural Communities" (presented at the 14th International Symposium on Society & Resource Management, Burlington, VT, June 10-13, 2008)
László J. Kulcsár (2008) "Graying of the Plains: Aging and community development in Kansas" (presented at the Nebraska-Kansas Cooperative Extension Retreat, Rock Springs, KS, April 29, 2008)
Benjamin C. Bolender and László J. Kulcsár (2008) "No business like Boomer business: industry, business, and retirement migration in the US" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, New Orleans, LA, April 17-19, 2008)
László J. Kulcsár (2007) "Cloudy skies ahead? Aging and retirement in Kansas" (presented at the Aging in Focus lecture series at Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, December 6, 2007)
László J. Kulcsár: (the following talks were presented as parts of a Big 12 Faculty Fellowship visit at Texas Tech University and at the University of Texas at Austin, October 22-26, 2007)
- "Something Old, Something New - The Hungarian Marriage Patterns in Historical Perspective"
- "Home on the range? Population trends and water resources in the Great Plains"
- "From the Soviet periphery to the EU periphery - Social change and regional inequalities in post-socialist Hungary"
Tamás Domokos and László J. Kulcsár (2007) "Deconstructing post-socialist migration patterns and indicators: The case of Hungary" (presented at the "International Conference on Migration and Development" organized by the Moscow State Lomonosov University, Moscow, Russia, September 13-15, 2007)
László J. Kulcsár (2007) "Higher education and civil society in the United States" (presented at the International Symposium of the Eastern European NGO sector, Echo Survey Institute, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, August 30, 2007)
Eric Bernard and László J. Kulcsár (2007) "Hyperextraction, path dependence and community: social transformation and land use change in Western Kansas" (presented at the 13th International Symposium on Society & Resource Management, Park City, UT, June 17-21, 2007)
Cristina Bradatan and László J. Kulcsár (2007) "Choosing between marriage and cohabitation: first union patterns in Hungary" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, New York, NY, March 29-31, 2007)
László J. Kulcsár (2006) "Baby Boomers and Immigrants on the Range: Population Trends in Kansas" (presented at the State of the State Kansas Economic Policy Conference, Lawrence, KS, October 26, 2006)
László J. Kulcsár (2006) "Regional Inequalities in the European Periphery: Population Dynamics in Post-Socialist Eastern Europe" (presented at the Population Reference Bureau, Washington DC, September 21, 2006)
László J. Kulcsár and Eric Bernard (2006) "Globalization through the backdoor: Uneven development in rural Kansas" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Louisville, KY, August 10-13, 2006)
David Brown, Béla Greskovits and László J. Kulcsár (2006) "Leading Sectors and Leading Regions: Industrial Restructuring and Regional Inequality in Hungary Since 1990" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Montreal, Canada, August 11-14, 2006)
Eric Bernard, László J. Kulcsár and Danny Rogers (2006) “Where did all the irrigators go? Trends in irrigation and demographics in Kansas” (presented at the Central Plains Irrigation Association Conference, Colby, KS, February 21-22, 2006, and at the 23rd Water and the Future of Kansas Conference, Topeka, KS, March 16, 2006)
Tamás Domokos and László J. Kulcsár (2005) "Post-adolescent adulthood? Changes in family formation and adult demographic behavior in post-socialist Hungary" (presented at the conference "Longitudinal studies and demographic challenges of the 21st century" organized by the Federation of Canadian Demographers, Montreal, Canada, November 18-19, 2005)
David Brown, Béla Greskovits and László J. Kulcsár (2005) "Industrial Restructuring and Regional Inequality in Hungary, 1990-2002" (presented at the Mellon-Sawyer Capstone Conference "Towards a Transnational and Transcultural Europe" organized at the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, June 17-18, 2005)
László J. Kulcsár and Tamás Domokos (2005) "One Generation but Two Places: Tolerance and Nationalist Attitudes among Ethnic Hungarian Students in Hungary and Slovakia" (presented at the 10th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities, Columbia University, New York, NY, April 14-16, 2005)
László J. Kulcsár (2005) "Something Old, Something New - The Hungarian Marriage Patterns in Historical Perspective" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Philadelphia, PA, March 31 - April 2, 2005)
Philip Taietz Award winning paper at Cornell University
László J. Kulcsár (2004) "The Eastern European Marriage in Historical Perspective: The Case of Hungary" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Demographic Association, Hilton Head Island, SC, October 14-16, 2004)
László J. Kulcsár (2004) "Urban Reclassification: A False Path to Rural Prosperity?" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Sacramento, CA, August 12-15, 2004)
László J. Kulcsár (2004) "Are Some Even More Unequal? Spatial Differences in Rural Life Experiences and Expectations in Post-Socialist Hungary" (presented at the XI. World Congress of Rural Sociology, Trondheim, Norway, July 25-30, 2004).
Tamás Domokos and László J. Kulcsár (2004) "Leaving for Good: How Development Makes a Difference in Migration?" (presented at the XI. World Congress of Rural Sociology, Trondheim, Norway, July 25-30, 2004)
Tamás Domokos and László J. Kulcsár (2004) "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Demography of the Transition to Adulthood during the Post-socialist Transformation" (poster presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Boston, MA, April 1-3, 2004)
László J. Kulcsár (2003) "The Impacts of Policy on Internal Population Redistribution in Hungary under Socialism and Beyond" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Demographic Association, Arlington, VA, October 23-25, 2003)
László J. Kulcsár and Tamás Domokos (2003) "Life after Big Brother: The Post-Socialist Growth Machine" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Montreal, Canada, July 27-30, 2003)
David L. Brown, László J. Kulcsár and László Kulcsár (2003) "Population Redistribution and Post-Socialist Restructuring in Hungary" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Minneapolis, MN, May 1-3, 2003)
László J. Kulcsár (2002) "Big Brother's Descendants: Territorial Policy during the Post-Socialist Period in Hungary" (presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Chicago, IL, August 14-18, 2002)

@ K-State:

Regular courses:

Social Demography [Socio 830]
Methods of Social Research [Socio 520]
Population Dynamics [Socio 535]
International Migration [Socio 738]
Social Gerontology [Socio 500/725]

Special topics courses:

Post-Communist Societies [Socio 701]
Water and Society [Socio 901]
Immigrant Experiences in America [Socio 500i/935]
Social and Spatial Inequalities [Socio 701]

Synergetic activities:

Member of the GRoWE Consortium
Member of the Gerontology Faculty
Research Chair at the Center on Aging
K-State representative in the USDA W2001 multistate project: "Population Dynamics and Change: Aging, Ethnicity and Land Use Change in Rural Communities"
Advisory Board member for the K-State Data Commons

Media:

Professional affiliations:

Some of my past research projects:

Transition to adulthood during the post-socialist transformation in Eastern Europe (2004-2005)
Coordinated by the Echo Survey Sociological Research Institute, Hungary
The spatial dimension of social problems: study of the social welfare system in Székesfehérvár, Hungary (2003-2004)
Supported by the Local Government of Székesfehérvár
Household adaptation to social and economic transformations in rural areas of Hungary, Slovakia and Poland during post-socialism (2001-2003)
Supported by the Jurzykowski Foundation
The local leaders' approach to rural development at the Tisza River Basin (2002)
Supported by the Tisza River Basin Integrated Sustainable Development Program
Structural changes and the recruitment strategy of the Hungarian Army (2001-2002)
Supported by the Ministry of Defense, Hungary
Rural development programming in the Small-Balaton and the Tata-basin micro-regions (1999-2000)
Supported by the EU SAPARD pre-accession program
The EU accession and the Hungarian public service (2000)
Supported by the OKTK program of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Community development study on local publicity and economy in Hungary (1998, 1999)
Co-supported by the USAID and the ICMA
The Hungarian youth at the millenium (1998-2001)
Comparative youth researches of the Echo Educational Research Institute, Hungary (26 independent studies)
Comparative urban development study in Szolnok and Szentes, Hungary (1998)
Supported by the Urban Institute, USA
Annual local governmental comparative researches (1995-1998)
Conducted through the Marketing Centrum Ltd., the Monitor Research Institute and the Echo Institute, Hungary (24 independent studies)
Territorial policy and the middle-level public administration in Hungary 1921-1994 (1995)
OTDK special award winner study
The structure of a regional development office (1995)
Supported by EU Phare program through the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Development, Hungary

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