Post-pandemic growth could boost Hungary development, says US consultancy firm McKinsey

Hungary could approach the level of development in western Europe by 2030 if GDP growth returns to an annual 4 percent after the coronavirus crisis, the Hungarian office of US consultancy firm McKinsey has said.

Office head Levente Jánoskuti told an online press conference that Hungary’s early preparation to the post-pandemic period was key to the country’s convergence to western Europe in the coming period. The most important factors in that process are investment support, cutting-edge technology, a well-trained workforce and the regulatory environment, Jánoskuti said.

András Havas, who co-authored the analysis on Hungary, said that

without substantial improvements to its competitiveness, the country’s GDP is expected to grow by 2.5 percent on the long run.

Productivity and efficiency are to be boosted in all sectors if Hungary is to catch up with its western European peers, he added.

Development should include automatisation in the farm sector and upgrades of the electricity network, he said.

Havas also called for bridging regional gaps in public education and increasing the proportion of engineering and science courses in higher education. Improved digital and foreign language skills would boost the competitiveness of the labour force, he added.

According to the website,

In the late 2010s, before the pandemic ruptured the global economy, Hungary was enjoying dynamic growth that surpassed that of most European countries. McKinsey has examined the foundations of that success, as well as the likely impact of the pandemic and ongoing trends, such as the spread of digital technologies, to suggest ways the country can emerge stronger and, within a decade, reach European economic norms.

Full report with 184 pages: Flying start: Powering up Hungary for a decade of growth (Hungarian)

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Source: MTI/McKinsey