Reports

Government at a Glance: How Hungary Compares presents recent comparable data on key indicators of government activities and performance in Hungary, compared with its neighbouring countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) as well as the OECD average. The main goal of this publication is to identify progress and persisting challenges in public sector reform in Hungary and to highlight some areas where public sector efficiency might be further improved in future years. It provides indicators on a wide range of government activities, including public finance management, public employment and pay, administrative burden for businesses, and the delivery of services in two key areas (health care and education).

This report contains the 2014 'Phase 2: Implementation of the Standards in Practice' Global Forum review of Hungary. The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is the multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax transparency and exchange of information is carried out by over 120 jurisdictions which participate in the work of the Global Forum on an equal footing. The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of the implementation of the standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. These standards are primarily reflected in the 2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004, which has been incorporated in the UN Model Tax Convention. The standards provide for international exchange on request of foreseeably relevant information for the administration or enforcement of the domestic tax laws of a requesting party. 'Fishing expeditions' are not authorised, but all foreseeably relevant information must be provided, including bank information and information held by fiduciaries, regardless of the existence of a domestic tax interest or the application of a dual criminality standard. All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identified by the Global Forum as relevant to its work, are being reviewed. This process is undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 reviews assess the quality of a jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information, while Phase 2 reviews look at the practical implementation of that framework. Some Global Forum members are undergoing combined – Phase 1 plus Phase 2 – reviews. The ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions to effectively implement the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.

This report presents the findings and recommendations from analysis conducted by the OECD as part of the OECD-Hungary Strategic Partnership for Public Administration Reform. Through this initiative, the OECD has supported the government of Hungary in putting in place some of the key building blocks of a 'strategic state'. The report’s recommendations can be expected to contribute to strengthening the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and integrity of the public administration and contribute to supporting sustainable and inclusive growth and development in Hungary.

Governments are major issuers of debt instruments in the global financial market. This volume provides quantitative information on central government debt instruments for the 34 OECD member countries to meet the analytical requirements of users such as policy makers, debt management experts and market analysts.  Statistics are presented according to a comprehensive standard framework to allow cross-country comparison.  Country methodological notes provide information on debt issuance in each country as well as on the institutional and regulatory framework governing debt management policy and selling techniques.

The International Energy Agency's 2011 review of Hungary's energy policies and programmes. The review finds that regional co-operation is a vital element of Hungary's energy market and energy security policy. Hungary, which shares borders with seven countries, is well placed to improve regional energy security by catalysing the development of closely integrated regional markets for electricity and natural gas. A country strongly dependent on natural gas imports, Hungary has taken several commendable steps to manage risks to its supply. It has enhanced storage capacity and diversified cross-border capacity, and is developing new supply routes. Hungary is also working hard to strengthen the regional electricity market through new interconnectors and market coupling. Electricity demand within Hungary is expected to grow, while generating capacity is rapidly ageing. Investments are needed for grid improvements and generating capacity, both for increasing capacity (especially for low-carbon electricity) and replacing ageing plants. Ensuring predictable and attractive framework conditions for investing in energy infrastructure is crucial. The government is considering additional nuclear power units. The extent to which nuclear power capacity will be expanded should be clarified without unnecessary delay, as it will have broad implications for the viability of other current and future base-load technologies. Although per-capita energy consumption in Hungary is well below the OECD average, considerable potential remains for improving energy efficiency across all sectors. Measures to reduce consumption in the large existing building stock should be the government�fs top priority for energy policy. Gradually, Hungary should also replace broad subsidies for energy use with direct support to those in need.

Trends in bank profitability and factors affecting it are major indicators of changes in the state of health of national banking systems. This publication provides nationally aggregated financial statements of banks data for OECD member countries. The coverage of banks is not the same in each country, though the objective is to include all institutions that conduct ordinary banking business, namely institutions which primarily take deposits from the public at large and provide finance for a wide range of purposes. Some information on the number of reporting banks, their branches and staff is also included, as well as structural information regarding the whole financial sector. Moreover, ratios, based on various items of the financial statements of banks in percentage of some specific aggregates, are supplied to facilitate the analysis of trends in bank profitability of OECD countries. Times series available vary according to country, but generally the last five years of available data are shown.