At its general meeting on 28 May, 2026, Kopint-Tárki elected István János Tóth as chairman of the board following the death of chairman Tamás Kolosi.

István János Tóth worked as a research fellow at Kopint-Datorg (the predecessor of Kopint-Tárki) from 1988 to 1997. He subsequently worked at the Institute of Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (and its legal successors). From 2002 to 2017, he headed the Institute for Economic and Business Analysis, which operates under the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Among his areas of research, the analysis of corruption in Hungary using scientific statistical methods stands out; this work was primarily conducted within the framework of the CRCB (Corruption Research Center Budapest). He has published numerous studies on this topic, in both Hungarian and English, which have been widely cited.

The manufacturing business survey conducted in April 2026, after Hungary’s parliamentary elections, showed a marked improvement in sentiment and a significant uptick in expectations within the sector, although real economic fundamentals do not yet support this optimism. The upturn may stem from the fact that companies that were previously in a difficult situation no longer expect further deterioration. However, the Hungarian manufacturing sector continues to stagnate in the first quarter of 2026. The current order backlog is at a critical level, but the production forecast gives cause for optimism, suggesting that a significant upturn in production may come in the medium term. Sustained growth would require not only a favorable financial environment, but also the assurance of fair market competition and the restoration of business confidence. For companies, long-term predictability and a reduction in the intensity of government intervention would be key to improving productivity.

Read the full report here.

We are happy to announce that KOPINT-TÁRKI has participated in the MNB-Reuters forecasting competition, where Éva Palócz and Zoltán Matheika took second place. Congratulations!

The KOPINT-TÁRKI Institute has been a member of Eurofound’s Network of Correspondents (NEC) for Hungary since 2018. Now the contract has been renewed for the third cycle. Reports, working papers and case studies for Eurofound involve many subjects, most recently the following reports were published with KOPINT-TÁRKI contributions/authorship:
Hárs, Ágnes (2025) Hungary: Developments in working life 2024
Bogó, Rozália. – Eurofound (2025) Digitalisation, skills development and digital innovation in SMEs – Country report: Hungary
Krokovay, Nóra – Eurofound. (2025) Hungary: Non-governmental efforts to prepare for gender pay transparency requirements. In: The practical implementation of the work of equal value principle: Case studies
Eurofound (2025), Minimum wages in 2025: Annual review, Minimum wages in the EU series, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

More on the work with Eurofound NEC here.

The third and last issue of Economic Trends for 2025 has been published. The complete series can be found here:
Economic Trends in Eastern Europe – Kopint-Tarki

Eurofound published three studies with contributions from KOPINT-TÁRKI researchers recently: on the labour-market situation of older workers, on European Semester and RRF-related policies, and on the complex problems of home carers. KOPINT-TÁRKI has been a member of the Eurofound correspondents’ network NEC since 2018; you can read more about this work and all publications here.