Case studies of selected countries have traditionally played an important role in the financial programmming courses offered by the IMF Institute. The basic aim of these courses has been to familiarize participants with the issues that arise in formulating a consistent set of macroeconomic policies. Against the background of a rapidly changing situation in Eastern Europe and in the republics to better address the specific needs of countries in transition from centrally-planned to market economies.

The period covered extends through 1990. Since then, Hungary's political and economic situation has undergone marked changes, an account of which can be found in various issues of the National Bank of Hungary's Quarterly Review. The data used i9n the study have generally been taken from official sources but, in a few instances, the presentation has been modified for expositional purposes. In addition, it has not been possible to include revisions to official data that have been made since the completion of the study.