Hungary: Towards a Market Economy Towards a Market Economy Hungary

Hungary: Towards a Market Economy, first published in 1998, offers a comprehensive assessment of the Hungarian economy, and follows its evolution in the immediate aftermath of the revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Part I describes the macroeconomy, the evolution of monetary policy, the link between the exchange rate and inflation, the inability of fiscal policy to come to terms with public debt and deficits and the evolution of the underground economy. Part II focuses on the microeconomy; the consolidation of the banking sector, the evolution of corporate governance and an analysis of the profitability of export-orientated firms. The final part assesses the labour market and the system of welfare. Hungary: Towards a Market Economy is part of the successful sequence of volumes on major topics in international economics published under the auspices of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, of interest to both policy-makers and specialists.

List of figures; List of tables; Foreword; Acknowledgements; List of conference participants; 1. The hidden Hungarian miracle László Halpern and Charles Wyplosz; Part I. Macroeconomic Policy: 2. Fiscal difficulties in the transition: the case of Hungary between 1991 and 1995 Pál Gáspár; Discussion David Begg; 3. The interest rate transmission mechanism in Hungary, 1991–5 Balázs Világi and János Vincze; 4. The nature of Hungarian inflation Isvtán Hamecz, János Vincze and Isvtán Zsoldos; Discussion Ratna Sahay; 5. The hidden economies of Visegrád countries in internal comparison: a household electricity approach Mária Lackó; Discussion Michael A. Landesmann; Part II. Industrial Structure: 6. Corporate governance in the transition - the case of Hungary: do new structures help create efficient ownership control Ádám Török; 7. Corporate performance in the transition: econometric analysis of Hungarian exporting firms, 1985–94 László Halpern and Gábor Körösi; Discussion Jan Svejnar; 8. Hungary's Ponzi game László Szakadát; Discussion Jérôme Sgard; Part III. Labour Markets: 9. The minimum wage in Hungary: subsistence minimum and/or bargaining tool Jenö Koltay; Discussion George Kopits; 10. Welfare institutions and the transition: in search of efficiency and equity Iván Csaba and András Semjén; Discussion Christine H. Allison; 11. Regional unemployment rate differentials in Hungary, 1991–5: the changing role of race and human capital Árpád Ábrahám and Gábor Kertesi; Discussion Michael Burda; Index.

This 1998 volume in the Cambridge/CEPR sequence offers a comprehensive assessment of the Hungarian economy, combining intimate local knowledge with fresh modes of economic analysis. It will be of interest to all those following the process of economic transition, whether academic researchers, students, policy-makers or analysts.