To be effective, the Youth Guarantee should address the specific needs of mothers with small children

13/06/2022

In many countries, mothers with small children make up a large share of inactive young people. While they may not be immediately ready for work, tailored labour market programmes (and access to quality childcare) can improve their labour market prospects in the long term.

Can increasing local cooperation improve outreach to inactive youth?

03/06/2022

Workshops for employment counsellors and local experts may strengthen motivation and provide inspiration on how to reach out to inactive youth.

Effectiveness of youth labour market policies in Central and Eastern Europe

16/05/2022

CEE countries have used similar active labour market policies to reduce youth unemployment and face similar issues in improving the design of these policies.

Summer Internship at the Budapest Institute

03/05/2022

The Budapest Institute is looking for summer interns for at least 4-week periods. Based on our past experience, application to our internship programme is highly competitive.

BI analysis of the redistributive impact of Hungarian tax system making headlines

11/03/2022

In Hungary, the flat-rate income tax system includes no tax credit or zero rate that would reduce the tax burden of low-income households. The family tax credit does not play a significant role, as it tends to favour high income families with 3 or more children.

"Hack the City" – a hackathon for budget visualisation at the City Hall of Budapest

28/02/2022

Making the budget of the Hungarian capital more widely known can also help to increase citizens' civic engagement. But presenting in a clear way what, how and for how much money the state and local government do with our taxes is quite a challenge. 

Innovative practices of public employment services for the labour market integration of the long-term unemployed

09/02/2022

In line with the recommendation of the Council of the EU, employment services across Europe consider the (re)integration of disadvantaged jobseekers into the labour market as one of their main tasks. But how do they implement this in the different Member States?

How does the Hungarian tax system affect income inequality?

03/02/2022

Who are the winners and losers of the current Hungarian tax system? How much are we taxed compared to our Slovak and Austrian neighbours? What are the advantages and disadvantages of flat tax systems?

Why is it good for everyone if local authorities run social housing agencies?

03/12/2021

It is not only the owners of vacant apartments and prospective tenants (who cannot afford market prices) who benefit from such agencies; it is also a cost-effective addition to the toolbox of municipal housing support.

What direction are inclusive entrepreneurship policies taking in Europe in the wake of COVID-19?

02/12/2021

The economic crisis caused by the pandemic has further reduced the labour market opportunities of those already disadvantaged. It has got even more important to evaluate inclusive programmes helping them become entrepreneurs/self-employed.

What lessons can be learned from the employment development in Fejér County, Hungary?

28/11/2021

What are the strategies for employment expansion, including the integration of youth into the labour market in Fejér County? Were young people living here able to find work more quickly during the COVID-19 lockdowns, compared to those settled in other counties in Hungary?

Call for papers on impact evaluations of ALMP for youth - international research seminar in Budapest, on 12-13 May 2022

27/11/2021

The seminar aims to create a forum for analysts and policy-oriented academic researchers to have an in-depth discussion of the recent evidence on youth programmes. To apply, please fill in this form by 14 February 2022.

Overview of the situation of young people who are not in education, employment, or training in Hungary

22/11/2021

Hungary has a high proportion of inactive young people, and their chances of entering the labour market has been made even worse by the COVID-19. What measures and programmes help them specifically? Are they effective?

How can youth employment be encouraged?

08/11/2021

The evaluation of programmes targeting young jobseekers and other incentives for increasing youth employment were also discussed at the "Labour Economics Research 2021" Hungarian conference in Szirák. 

Innovative methods for employment services to improve outreach to young people

26/10/2021

Local NGOs may support public employment services in reaching young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and also by providing mentoring for youth or sensitization for employers.

BI is looking for a PhD student / young researcher to work on the topic of youth employment and labour market policy evaluation

25/10/2021

Please send your CV and motivation letter (in English, outlining your research interest) to Ms Judit Léderer (judit.lederer@budapestinstitute.eu) by 30 November 2021.

Youth employment will also be highlighted at the "Labour Economics Research 2021" Hungarian conference in Szirák

18/10/2021

What is the result of the impact evaluation of the 90-day job trial programme? How does the pandemic crisis affect disadvantaged young people’s labour market prospects? These will also be discussed at the new session of the conference.

Education systems in the region have room for improvement to successfully manage future changes

30/09/2021

How global challenges impact on the education systems of Central and Eastern European countries? What policies can help prepare for them?

What impact can the 90-day job trial program have on participants’ job perspectives?

07/09/2021

What is the impact of this short wage subsidy program on beneficiaries' further employment probability and wages? The results of the Youth Employment PartnerSHIP project were presented at the SEAM 2021 conference. 

Where does the withdrawal of disability benefits lead?

02/09/2021

Empirical research shows that the more generous the disability benefit system, the more likely it is that beneficiaries will increase the take-up of benefits and to exit the labor market. But what are the effects of an abrupt reduction in benefit or their being completely phased out upon the reemployment of those affected?

BI is seeking to hire an analyst / junior analyst

03/08/2021

Please send your CV and a short motivation letter to Ms Vera Balogh (vera.balogh@budapestinstitute.eu) as soon as possible, but by 6 September the latest.

What can we learn from impact evaluations of labour market programmes supporting young people?

25/06/2021

Judit Krekó has recently presented the lessons from the impact assessments of youth employment measures at two international conferences.

The reinforced Youth Guarantee Program necessitates new approaches and methods on behalf of the public employment services

04/06/2021

How can young people from vulnerable backgrounds be involved in the reinforced Youth Guarantee (YG) Program? Can more effective cooperation between public employment services, schools, social service providers and other grassroots NGOs improve young jobseekers’ outreach, skills and mental health?

Why might the closer co-operation of labour market service and social service providers be cost-effective?

23/02/2021

While only 5-10 percent of minimum income beneficiaries tends find a substantive job in a year, there are three cost-effective ways to increase this. 

How to convince employers to hire low-skilled Roma youth?

01/02/2021

Without encouragement and support, employers often shy away from hiring disadvantaged Roma youth. The Hopes for Low project developed an approach that combines mentoring with employer services to support low-skilled Roma youth in getting and keeping a job.

The pandemic increases the need for effective upskilling programmes

28/01/2021

The COVID-19 pandemic might accelerate the automatisation of certain tasks at the workplace. This, in turn, will transform certain jobs, or cause them to vanish, even sooner than predicted. What kind of innovative upskilling programmes can public employment services (PES) provide to prevent unemployment in this difficult situation?

How can Europe compete with the US and other countries for the best experts?

01/12/2020

In comparison to other OECD members, the EU is at a competitive disadvantage in attracting highly skilled talent, but intensifying common efforts and the more active involvement of Public Employment Services can improve this situation. 

The 2020 EC Rule of Law Report mentions the disclosure practices of Hungarian municipalities

09/10/2020

The European Commission cites the findings of a joint project carried out by BI and the Corruption Research Centre Budapest (CRCB) in the Country Chapter on Hungary in the 2020 Rule of Law Report. The chapter investigates media plurality in Hungary and warns that there are still several hindrances to accessing public information.

The Covid-19 pandemic could have a lasting effect throughout young people’s career

25/09/2020

In Hungary, the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic increased the number of registered jobseekers below 25 years of age by almost 60 percent from January until July 2020. There is also a significant risk that young persons leaving education this year will have a lower chance of securing their first jobs and successfully entering the labour market.

The pandemic puts youth in dire straits

01/07/2020

There are 43% more young jobseekers in Hungary in May 2020 than in 2019, which can have long-term consequences on their career.

BI is seeking to hire an analyst / junior analyst

03/02/2020

Please send your CV and a short motivation letter to Ms Judit Léderer (judit.lederer_at_budapestinstitute.eu) by 24 February.

“Mind the Gap!” Regional conference and workshop in Budapest

30/10/2019

On October 30, 2019, the regional conference and workshop of the Mind the Gap! project took place in Budapest. 

Economic benefits of rule of law and democracy

13/09/2019

There is a widespread view that stronger democratic institutions and civil liberties also have a positive impact on economic performance. As a result, it would also be worthwhile for companies to support and invest in organizations and actors that protect civil liberties and democracy. However, the above relation is not that simple.

Meeting and workshop of the Youth Employment PartnerSHIP project in Budapest

24/05/2019

The second meeting and workshop of the international project Youth Employment PartnerSHIP was held in Budapest on 23-24 May 2019. 

Summer Internship at the Budapest Institute

18/03/2019

The Budapest Institute is looking for summer interns for at least 4-week periods. Based on our past experience application to our internship programme is highly competitive.

Closer outpatient care reduces hospitalisation rates in Hungary

18/03/2019

Our study on the impact of opening new outpatient centres in Hungary shows a substitution effect between outpatient and inpatient care.

Rehabilitation services: a viable alternative to sheltered employment

05/12/2018

In a recently published paper, BI experts find that supported employment programmes can increase reemployment, based on the analysis of a program implemented in Hungary in 2009-2013.

High quality IT systems to improve coordination of employment and social services

06/11/2018

Employment and social services need to be better coordinated to be able to support jobseekers in fast-changing labour markets. 

The Budapest Institute expresses its solidarity with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

13/09/2018

The Budapest Institute expresses its full solidarity with our colleagues employed by the research institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and especially the Institute of Economics.

How can we use administrative data?

27/04/2018

Although the Visegrad states have a tradition of extensive data collection, these data are seldom used to support evidence based policy. BI senior researcher Ágota Scharle talked about the causes and solutions in Prague on 27 April.

Summer Internship at the Budapest Institute

05/04/2018

The Budapest Institute is looking for summer interns for at least 4-week periods. Based on our past experience application to our internship programme is highly competitive.

Drivers and barriers to integrating employment and social services

06/03/2018

Integrated service provision is a challange for most EU member states. BI researchers present the main results of a project that explored drivers and barriers to effective reform at a conference in Brussels on 8 March 2018.

On the learning curve – still room to improve the transparency of municipality-owned enterprises in Szeged

14/12/2017

Budapest Institute researcher Petra Reszkető presented our research results on the transparency of municipality owned enterprises in Szeged at the Academic Conference on Open Government on 18 November in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Where does the money come from and where does it go? – data visualization and transparency in budget spending

13/11/2017

Data visualization can facilitate monitoring budget spendings, increasing local government’s efficiency and motivating citizens to participate in public decision making processes. 

BI is seeking to hire a junior analyst

11/11/2017

Knowledge of Hungarian is a requirement in this position. Please see the Hungarian version of the ad.

We are seeking to hire a junior research assistant - Roma policy fellow

26/07/2017

BI and the Romaversitas Foundation are seeking to hire a junior research assistant for a fixed term position.

How to promote equal opportunities for women and men through desegregation of vocational secondary education?

26/04/2017

Girls hardly ever enrol technical studies in vocational secondary education, which is one of the main drivers of women’s disadvantageous position in the labour market.This was the main message of participants of the international worshop organised in Prague as the closing event of the project „Girls can do it!” 

The Budapest Institute stands with CEU

31/03/2017

Risks of keeping the European Pillar of Social Rights to the Eurozone

09/01/2017

In March 2016, the European Commission launched a public debate on formulating an agreement on establishing common standards for social rights across the EU. In their comments on the first draft for the European Pillar of Social Rights, BI experts called attention to two main issues: first, that the initiative will succeed only if the agreement estabishes sufficiently concrete expectations towards Member States, and second, if it applies to all Member States.

Does a cut in sick pay lead to more employees being “fit for work”?

20/12/2016

A decrease in sick pay is effective in reducing the number of days spent on long-term sick leave in the short run in Hungary. However less is known about whether it leads to a deterioration of affected employees’ health in the long run.  

A better education and training system would be essential for increasing employment

15/11/2016

In the 2016 edition of the Hungarian Social Report, Ágota Scharle analyzed the employment changes in Hungary since 2008. The main findings of the study are available here.

Long-term unemployed do not receive enough attention

02/06/2016

As public employment services often focus on those who just lost their jobs, the long-term unemployed face additional barriers as a consequence of limited resources.

How does poverty limit one’s opportunities? Who manages to break out?

10/05/2016

Inclusive and quality schools today imply fewer unemployed tomorrow

18/04/2016

The economic dependency ratio may soon reach an unsustainable level in Hungary. 

Bureaucracy cannot be reduced in a rush

18/03/2016

This content is only available in Hungarian.

What impacts do we expect from cultural heritage investments?

23/02/2016

We used quantitative techniques to estimate the socio-economic impacts of cultural heritage (CH) investments. We did not find any effect, however, the reason for this might be that not enough time passed since the investments for these effects to materialise.

Transparency should be part of the corporate culture

18/02/2016

The transparency of municipally owned companies is important not just as a way for citizens to learn about the use of public funds, but also because transparency can improve efficiency and the quality of services provided.

The Our Money website is up to date!

08/02/2016

The Our Money website has been updated with the 2013 figures on the budgetary expenditures of Hungary. We invite you to explore the new data.

On a mother-friendly proposal for family policy reform

04/12/2015

This content is only available in English.

Open governance in Hungary – Civil day at the Budapest Institute

25/11/2015

Civil society organisations discussed the state of play and the future of open government in Hungary at the event hosted by the Budapest Institute and the Opengovernment.hu.

Comments on the government proposal to replace family daycare with 'mini nurseries'

21/10/2015

This content is only available in Hungarian.

Decision makers need to be familiar with impact evaluation methods

25/09/2015

The Centre for Research on Impact Evaluation (CRIE) has launched a series of workshops in order to foster the creation of a community of practice for counterfactual impact evaluation of policy interventions financed under the European Social Fund. A recent workshop held in Budapest brought together decision makers from Central and Eastern Europe.

Immigrants do not take our jobs.

24/09/2015

Labour market research results seems to contradict claims that immigration would harm the labour market prospects of native workers. 

Why are public works programmes ineffective? BI experts explore the reasons in new publication

29/06/2015

Public works schemes play a key role in Hungarian employment policy. BI experts contributed to several subchapters of the latest volume of The Hungarian Labour Market series that explores the practice and effectivity of public works.  

Is there an alternative to public works?

19/06/2015

BI was invited to comment on the proposal of the András Váradi Foundation (affiliated to the Together - Party for Change of Era) to reform unemployment benefits and employment services in Hungary. While we agree with the general aims and directions of the proposal, we have raised a number of issues regarding the argumentation and some of the proposed measures as well. Our detailed comments are available in Hungarian.

New BI publication: a Czech solution to promoting social inclusion

02/06/2015

The problem of social exclusion is not unique to Hungary. Budapest Institute experts discuss the success of a remarkable Czech policy response to the problem in the ’Esély’ Journal of Social Policy. 

Open Budget – Where are the stakeholders?

22/05/2015

The involvement of key national stakeholders in the planning of a country’s central budget is a critical ingredient of truly open government.

Did EU-financed new outpatient centres make visits to physicians more frequent?

19/05/2015

A number of new outpatient centres were set up in poor micro-regions. Our study, exploiting this to figure out the effect of easier access on case numbers has just been published in Health Economics. 

Summer Internship at the Budapest Institute

08/05/2015

The Budapest Institute is looking for summer interns for at least 4-week periods. Based on our past experience application to our internship programme is highly competitive.

Involvement and action research – methodological tricks and tips

23/04/2015

In the framework of FRA LERI project, the Budapest Institute organises a two-day workshop with the participation of national experts and local stakeholders.

Do benefits reach the poor? Do field social workers help in that?

15/04/2015

According to estimates, 59% of people in deep poverty do not have access to social benefits in Slovakia (World Bank 2011).

Who should care for the elderly and children? Are immigrants a problem or the solution?

26/01/2015

Providing care for children, elderly or for any dependent member of the family is a growing concern in rapidly ageing Europe. 

CEU Summer University course: Policy Design and Evaluation (call for applications)

22/01/2015

A ten-day long course offered by senior staff of Budapest Institute - along with distinguished researchers from CEU, Austrian Institute of Economic Research, and European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research - will be held on policy design and evaluation at the CEU Summer University between 20 July - 31 July, 2015. Who should apply? Students finishing their social science studies at an MA or MSc level and planning to enter civil services, civil servants early in their careers, and those working for NGO’s. The deadline for application is 14 February, 2015.

Public expenditure and service quality in Hungary and in the EU

27/10/2014

This content is only available in Hungarian.

BI evaluation presented at an international conference

08/09/2014

Péter Elek presents a paper at the 23. European Econometrics – Health Economics Workshop in Munich. The study, co-authored with Balázs Váradi and Márton Varga is based on a programme evaluation of the Budapest Instute for the Hungarian National Development Agency.