Experiences and Prospects: The Case of Hungary

Abstract

In this paper, I focus on the present state of economic reform in Hungary. Let me correct myself immediately: while for more than a third of a century we have been speaking about economic reform in Hungary, we are now abandoning this term in favor of transition from a planned economy to a market economy. The difference between these two approaches will be presented in section 2 of the paper. In section 3, the achievements in creating the framework for a market economy will be outlined. In section 4, attention is drawn to some new developments in the actual operation of the system. The most important missing elements of a market economy will be identified and ways to fill in these spaces will be considered in section 5.