Businesses’ sense of prosperity improved slightly in April
The prosperity index remained in negative territory, determined by the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the uncertainty caused by economic sanctions. Further significant improvement in economic expectations will be possible if the war ends, inflation remains in the central bank’s target range (between 2% and 4%), the interest rate environment becomes more favourable and energy […]
Advanced digital solutions can also support the water utilities sector
The research aimed, among other things, to identify the most important challenges facing the Hungarian water utility sector and the digital solutions that could best support their mitigation and elimination. The main challenges in Hungary’s water utilities sector From the 1990s to the present day, the quantity of water sold has fallen significantly (to […]
Europeans reject Brussels’ commitment to ban conventional motor vehicles
The debate on the legislation adopted by the European Parliament last February, which would ban the sale of motor vehicles with internal combustion engines powered by conventional fuels in the European Union from 2035, has reignited recently. The measure already poses significant challenges for EU automotive manufacturers, traditionally the most exportable and innovative key sector […]
The short-term forecast is for a sharp decline in the growth rate of the Hungarian economy
At its March meeting, the Monetary Council of the central bank continued to cut both the policy rate and the base rate, as it had done the previous month. As a result, the base rate (and the policy rate) in Hungary is currently at 8.25%, after a 75 basis point cut. In January, retail sales […]
Subdued economic growth expected in 2024
Looking at global developments, the decline and expected further moderation in global oil prices should ease external and internal inflationary pressures. Weakening German growth prospects may have a downward impact on Hungarian exports in the period ahead. Geopolitical tensions such as the Russia-Ukraine war or the conflict in Gaza could be a cause for […]
Public expectations are clear: Europe should not send soldiers to Ukraine
War intervention has no social support As a starting point, it should be emphasised that Hungarians attribute the outbreak and protraction of the Russia-Ukraine war to the clash of superpower interests and the inability of the United States and Russia to compromise. Accordingly, three quarters (75%) of respondents believe that the armed conflict involves a […]
The Maghreb mission –
The great European energy race
Significant hydrocarbon reserves could be hidden in the Maghreb The North African region has always been a priority for Europe, especially at a time of migration and energy crisis. Most of the countries in the area have rich hydrocarbon reserves, which offer attractive opportunities for the European continent, not to mention as yet unexplored shallow […]
Hungarians see Donald Trump as a guarantee of peace and security
The world was safer under Trump First, as the world’s leading economic, military and political power, the United States plays a key role in shaping and maintaining the stability of global politics, and thus the US President has an unequalled public responsibility. Since the departure of Jimmy Carter in 1981, Donald Trump has been the […]
Pan-European NO to Emmanuel Macron’s war plans
Macron’s war hunger could put Europe at risk The fact that Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility of “sending ground troops” in a formal context to Ukraine to stop Russia at the Paris summit he convened on 27 February has caused a major stir in international and European public discourse. Hungary made it clear […]
The growth rate of the Hungarian economy continued to slow
At its February meeting, the Monetary Council of the central bank continued to cut both the policy rate and the base rate, as it had done in the previous month. As a result, the base rate (and the policy rate) in Hungary is currently at 9.00%, after a 100 basis point cut. On an annual […]
Why do we buy Hungarian or foreign products?
For food, nearly 70% of respondents thought it was important to choose Hungarian products, compared to a significantly lower 39% for books and 28-30% for furniture, cosmetics and clothing. When it comes to buying food, the preference for domestic products is likely to be linked to the promotion of freshness, quality and support for the […]
International good practices in rural development – New Rural Development Paradigm 2
In the first part of this series, we reviewed the theoretical directions of a new rural development paradigm. But how does it work in practice? How, through which methods and interventions can the development path of a rural region be effectively defined? In the following, we illustrate possible solutions using Hungarian and international examples. Spain: […]
“We should be proud that Hungary still has free speech”—Freedom of Speech Conference
In his welcome address, Gábor Fűrész, President of the Századvég Foundation, said that no one in the general public would dispute that censorship is part of our everyday lives – recently, Brussels lawmakers have started legislation on digital content services, not on protecting the freedom of speech of European citizens. The President said that […]
Migration as an
urban phenomenon
Dynamics and Consequences
In the past 50 years, migration has mostly been defined as the movement of people from the developing world to countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCDE), particularly Western Europe and North America. The most recent Pew Research Center data (from December 2022) states that 86.7 million international migrants […]
Economic sentiment stagnated in February
The prosperity index remained in negative territory, determined by the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the uncertainty caused by economic sanctions. An even more significant improvement in the sense of prosperity will be possible if the war ends, inflation remains in the central bank’s target range (between 2% and 4%), the interest rate environment becomes […]
We must move away from the preconception that all rural places are the same –
New Rural Development Paradigm 1
Hungary’s population trends over the past decade show that natural decrease is, to varying degrees, prevalent throughout the country, while the more developed and industrialised parts of the country have experienced population growth as a result of internal migration. However, migration from less developed regions is not only due to economic or labour market […]
Creative added value –
The state of the creative economy in Hungary
Today, creativity is the key competitive advantage of strong economies. It is the added value that determines the attractiveness of a product and is the main driver of purchases. For example, the iPhone smartphone is manufactured outside the US, but analysis[1] shows that design, branding, iOS platform or iStore development account for nearly two-thirds […]
The growth rate of the Hungarian economy has
slowed down
At its January meeting, the Monetary Council of the central bank continued to cut both its policy rate and its base rate, as it had done the previous month. As a result, the Hungarian base rate (and the policy rate) currently stands at 10.00%, down 75 basis points. Both raw data and calendar-adjusted data show […]
The growth rate of the Hungarian economy
continued to approach its historical trend rate
At its November meeting, the Monetary Council of the central bank continued to cut both its policy rate and its base rate, as it had done the previous month. As a result, the Hungarian base rate (and the policy rate) currently stands at 11.5%, down 75 basis points. Raw data show that retail sales decreased […]
Household economic sentiment improved significantly in January
The prosperity index remained in negative territory, determined by the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the uncertainty caused by economic sanctions. An even more significant improvement in the sense of prosperity will be possible if the war ends, inflation continues to fall, the interest rate environment becomes more favourable and energy markets see sustained low […]
