The analysis examined the criteria used to award budgetary support for foreign investors’ investments in Hungary. It evaluated how the eligibility of investments for support is assessed, how the return on investment is calculated, and whether broader aspects of the national economy, social welfare and environmental protection are considered. These criteria are generally applied, but the analysis also identified shortcomings and methodological errors which, in view of the findings, justify considering the supplementation and further development of the criteria for granting support. Among other things, there is a need for a preliminary and more detailed examination of environmental, energy and national economic considerations. In addition, it is advisable to place the calculation of budgetary returns on a new basis, as it currently only examines first-round direct effects.
The main aim of the analysis is to present the processes determining the implementation of the 2021 central budget and their macroeconomic background with a five-year look back. The analysis considers the fulfilment of the public debt rule as the main criterion for assessing macroeconomic and budgetary developments, and thus focuses on the factors that have an impact on it and have a significant impact on growth and balance. In 2021, the Hungarian economy will have experienced a surge in growth, reaching or exceeding the level of the year before the coronavirus epidemic (2019) for several indicators. The analysis explores how macroeconomic developments have contributed to the increase in fiscal revenues and how fiscal policy has helped the economy to rebound rapidly. The analysis also shows how the trends in 2017-2019 were interrupted by the epidemic crisis in 2020 and how the rapid rebound in 2021 can be seen as a continuation of past trends and the impact of crisis response measures and crisis-related factors.