Hungarian Productivity Very Weak

The productivity of the Hungarian economy is very weak and this will greatly impact catching up with western economies, says Istvan Konya, a researcher at the Hungarian Academy of Science, bbj.hu reported. Konya held a presentation at an economic conference in Eger (northeast of Hungary). Since 2006, Hungary has not been catching up at all with Germany, and the country’s economic performance was lower than the regional average during the financial crisis. Before that, households and companies were too optimistic and euro and Swiss franc denominated loans were extremely popular, and with these factors, the crisis hit Hungary harder than other countries, Konya said, according to online portal vg.hu. Currently, the biggest problem is the very low productivity. While the decrease of the unemployment figure is a positive development, those involved are less qualified, which does not support the rise of productivity. Domestic consumption recovered relatively quickly after the crisis, but investments are still low, which also does not add to productivity, Konya explained.