The next Fellow Seminar of Collegium Budapest will be held on March 24, 2011 by PPCU associate professor Dóra Győrffy.

Trust and Economic Policy

Two decades ago the heritage of distrust, inefficient institutions and unrealistic expectations generated widespread skepticism about transition in Central Europe. At the time such skepticism proved to be unfounded as the process of accession to the European Union provided an anchor for policy-making. However, following EU accession distrust persists, while the anchor is largely gone. Early fears of transition might materialize two decades later and the problems associated with low level of trust need to be addressed.  
During the seminar I attempt to provide a theoretical framework for understanding how public expectations of the state influence decision-making on economic policy and subsequently the possibility for sustainable economic development. Emphasizing the link between public trust and long-term orientation in decision-making leads to the second question, which concerns the conditions under which a vicious cycle of low expectations, short-term decision-making and weak performance can be broken. Answering these questions in relation to economic policies associated with the Economic and Monetary Union can provide insights about the tasks and prospects of economic convergence in the new member states of the EU.  

Dóra Győrffy is an associate professor at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Hungary. She has a BA degree in government from Harvard University, and received her PhD in International Relations and European Studies at Central European University in 2006. Following her studies she taught courses on public policy and international finance at the University of Debrecen, Faculty of Economics as an assistant professor until 2010. Her research concerns the political economy of fiscal reforms, European monetary integration and financial globalization. Her articles appeared in Acta Oeconomica, Hungarian Economic Review, Europe-Asia Studies, Hungarian Economic Review, Post-Communist Economies, Zeitschrift für Staats- und Europawissenschaften. Her dissertation was published in 2007 as Democracy and Deficits: The New Political Economy of Fiscal Management Reforms by Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.

More info: www.colbud.hu