ABSTRACT
Hungary is a transition economy, but originally the country followed a completely different strategy of economic development. During the 1950s, "industrialization carried out in Hungary more extensively, with greater brutality, than in any other East European country." Hungary is a transition economy, but originally the country followed a completely different strategy of economic development. During the 1950s, "industrialization was carried out in Hungary more extensively, with greater brutality, than in any other East European country." In the 1980s, Hungary's financial system moved closer to Western models. After 1982, a thriving bond market sprang up, and the 1989 Company Law provided the legal framework for limited liability and a full-fledged stock exchange. Hungarian collectives have also been innovative within agriculture. Hungary's trade with other Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) nations was sharply divided from that with the rest of the world. Within COMECON, trade was always negotiated in advance at prearranged prices.
