Scientific Taxonomy of Hungarian Public Finances After 2010

Abstract

For four decades after World War II (between 1947 and the end of the 1980s), a Soviet-type planned economy introduced under external pressure prevailed in Hungary. When this line weakened, the then “trendy” neoliberal market economy system gained ground. Although the Hungarian planned economy was characterized by a practice saturated with market elements, intended to increase the financial interests of domestic residents, still control by external fundamentals, deregulation and chopping government functions became the general market practice. However, neither the planned economy modelled on the Soviet system, nor the neoliberal market economy model built on the principles of the Washington Consensus suit the Hungarian conditions. The Crisis of the neoliberal model had become obvious by the end of the 2000s. In contrast to this, however, after 2010, a proactive economy influencing state model came to the forefront during the practice of recovery from the crisis. Recalling the historical events preceding the changes, following the new international trends after 2007–2008, and the successes achieved using unconventional instruments after the 2010 government change, all give a reason for the existence of Hungarian public finance reforms. With institutional thinking coming to the limelight and by demonstration of the new type of instruments, the author scientifically justifies the unconventional methods used in Hungarian public finances. In the author’s opinion, after the 2007–2008 crisis, all over the world evidences suggest an increasing shift in thinking towards the institutional framework and the need of state influence, control and regulation of the economy. There is a strong demand for addressing informational asymmetries, increasing government control and improving the conditions of competition by means available for governments. This analysis provides a scientific outline of this taxonomy.