The Hungarian Model

Anne Applebaum: “If anyone had been placing bets back in 1989, trying to guess which Warsaw Pact state would emerge most rapidly and successfully from communism, most of the money would have been on Hungary. Thanks to a regime that began experimenting with economic liberalism in the 1980s, Hungary was known back then as ‘the happiest barrack in the socialist camp.’ In the 1990s, Hungary’s educated population, rapid privatization, great architecture and decent food meant that Hungary attracted a disproportionate amount of foreign investment, given its small size.”

“But now it’s the 2020s, and Hungary is bumping along at the bottom of many indexes instead.”