Hungary: Towards a Market Economy

A comprehensive assessment of the Hungarian economy, first published in 1998.

László Halpern (Edited by), Charles Wyplosz (Edited by)

9780521142700, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 3 February 2011

412 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.6 kg

Review of the hardback: 'The work of Halpern and Wyplosz is a useful contribution to the literature on transitional economics. It provides carefully researched and detailed evidence of economic change. It also contains very interesting commentaries on each chapter by other economists. These, together with the introductory chapter, will be particularly helpful for the lay reader in understanding what they call the hidden Hungarian miracle.' The Times Higher

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.

Subject Areas: Economic systems & structures [KCS]