Foundation

Statement of purpose

The Foundation is a non-profit organization with the purpose of supporting applied economic researches about Hungarian and international economies which promote the complex analysis of Hungarian economy and the best practice of micro- as well as macro-level policies challenging Hungarian economic factors.

Founded in April 1991, the KOPINT-DATORG Foundation for Economic Research is operationg as public benefit foundation since November 29, 2000.

Major Activities

The Foundation’s main line of activity is provision of assistance to on-going research by economists and social researchers on foreign trade processes, investment, energy supply, funding, monetary policy and regional integration and topical issues of Hungarian economic policy etc. and the provision of internship to university students.

In addition to the above, the Foundation

• publishes Külgazdaság (Foreign Economy), the only Hungarian journal on foreign trade.
• assists the publication of numerous books on economics and of papers in trade journals.
• assists research in the framework of various international co-operation projects.
• arganises and/or assists economics seminars, conferences, discussions and training courses; in 1993 it organised an international conference with UNCTAD entitled ‘Privatisation Experiences in Eastern Europe’, in 1995 one with NIRA, the Japanese National Research Institute for Research Advancement, on ‘Reevaluating Economic Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989’. In 1998 in frame of the joint research project of CIPE and KOPINT-DATORG Foundation for Economic Research with the assistance of EACES an English-speaking workshop was organized on ‘The Impact of Taxation and Market Environment on the Business Management and Market Position of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’, and in 1999 a joint workshop entitled ‘Adaptation and Financing of Micro- and Small Enterprises in the second half of the 1990s’ was organized with the PRIMOM Foundation of Enterprise Promotion in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County.
• monitors and evaluates the development of foreign trade and foreign trade policy. In 1994, it contributed to a research project by CIPE on ‘Legal and Regulatory Reforms in Hungary’ and with Columbia University, N.Y. and the World Bank to the Central European University’s privatisation project entitled ‘Corporate Governance in Central Europe’, followed by another CIPE research project in 1997/98 on ‘The Impact of Taxation and Market Environment on the Business Management and Market Position of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’. (For more detailed information, see the CIPE page of the Home Page).
• provides internships to a few economics students every year and issues research scholarships and prizes by individual evaluation. The scholarships in question allow young economists to concentrate on research and acquire a scientific degree and improve their research conditions. In 2000, the Foundation granted scholarships amounting to HUF 1,699 thousand; scholarships of a similar amount are envisaged for 2001.
• issues calls for applications to economists and social scientists under the age of 40 to work out various topical macro-economic issues.
• contributes to the propagation and distribution of economics research findings such as the English version of the report “Market Trends and Prospects” (published three times a year) and the series of so called “Discussion papers”, which analyze market opportunities, economic prospects and challenges of Europe’s transforming region, Eastern-Central-Europe. It supports issuing of economic books, publishes Hungarian and foreign-language volumes presenting the research findings of the Foundation, e.g. ‘The Economic Policy of Opening’ (KITEI-KOPINT-DATORG Foundation, 1993), ‘Privatization in Transition Process, Recent Experiences in Eastern Europe’ (UNCTAD-KOPINT-DATORG, 1994), ‘Reevaluating Economic Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989’ (NIRA, Japan – KOPINT-DATORG Foundation, 1996), ‘The Hungarian SME Sector Development in Comparative Perspective’ (CIPE-KOPINT-DATORG Foundation, 1998), ‘Something Common Among All of Us’ volume of economic research papers (KOPINT-DATORG Foundation – HAS Center of Economic Researches, 1999).
• identifies further potential domestic and foreign sponsors and solicits their support to applied economics research so that Hungary and Hungarian economics research should integrate into the global society of economists.
• maintains the KOPINT-DATORG Post-secondary School of Economic Development since August 1998 which gives professional training accredited by the Ministry of Education.

Board of Directors

Kopint-Datorg Foundation for Economic Research is managed by a Board consisting of the following:

The Foundation’s operation and management are controlled by a Supervising Committee.

The Committee members are:

Katalin Máté and dr. Emese Szilágyi