FEATURES OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES IN HUNGARY IN THE 1990S.

Abstract

The peculiarities of the socio-economic transformation in Hungary in the 1990s were investigated in the article. The prerequisites for the country's transition to a market economy are clarified. It is proven that the process of introducing market mechanisms in Hungary began long before the «velvet revolution» and the change of power in the country in 1989, which created favorable conditions for the implementation of socio-economic transformation in Hungary already in the post-socialist period. Unlike other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Hungarian leadership was able to avoid use «shock therapy» methods, giving preference to a gradual, evolutionary transformation, which was called «gradualism». Privatization of state-owned enterprises became an important component of socio-economic transformation and transition of the country to a market economy model. The peculiarities of the privatization process in Hungary were investigated, its main stages, course and results were highlighted. A characteristic feature of the privatization process in Hungary was that it was carried out on a paid basis and did not provide for the free transfer of enterprises into private ownership. It has been proven that one of the important consequences of the privatization of industrial enterprises in Hungary was the attraction of foreign investments into the country's economy. The states that invested the most capital in the Hungarian economy during the 1990s were the countries of Western Europe, the USA, and Japan. The country that became one of the main investors for Hungary was Germany, which accounted for up to 30% of foreign investments. The specifics of the implementation of the process of liberalization in the sphere of pricing are highlighted. It has been proven that the Hungarian government's approach to price deregulation was quite balanced. In particular, the state reserved the right to set prices for household energy, fares for public transport and communal services. The peculiarities of the implementation of social policy in Hungary during the period of economic transformation in the 1990s were studied. In an effort to reduce the negative social consequences of the transition to a market economy, the country's government tried to prevent the reduction of social benefits, provided targeted assistance to the most socially vulnerable categories of the population, and resorted to regulating wages at privatized enterprises.