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20 of June, 2016Research
The use of fringe benefits among Hungarian companies

In its ongoing analysis of Hungarian companies, the Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) examined the practices relating to the use of fringe benefits among domestic enterprises. The analysis is based on the data of the April 2016 Business Climate survey of 1,771 domestic enterprises employing at least one person; they were questioned in relation to the non-wage benefits they provide. The results show that 55% of companies with a minimum of one employee provided at least one form of fringe benefits in 2016, the most popular non-wage benefits being considered were local travel allowances and the Erzsébet vouchers (food coupons, but sometimes used for non-food purchases). The use of fringe benefits is associated with a company's size, the economic sector it operates in, and its level of foreign ownership, as well as a firm’s business situation: the highest proportion of those that provide fringe benefits are typically medium and large sized companies, those that are foreign-owned, firms operating in the manufacturing sector, and those in a good business situation. For 83% of responding companies, the amount allocated to fringe benefits has not changed over the past year, while for 7% it declined compared to the previous year, and 11% reported that it increased. Those raising fringe benefits were characteristically those in a good business situation and those companies that lifted wages in 2015. Overall, domestic enterprises consider the role of fringe benefits as having a medium effect when making their company attractive to employees.

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14 of June, 2016Research
Late payments and debt queues among Hungarian companies

A recent analysis from the Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) examined the experiences of late payment and debt queues of domestic enterprises. The results are based on data from the IEER January 2016 Quarterly Business Climate Survey during which we asked 400 domestic enterprises about the topic. The results show that 81% of businesses had at least one business partner that paid late in 2015, while 45% of respondents themselves owed to their suppliers at least once in the period under review. The highest proportion of late payments was among small businesses and the construction sector. From the combined results of the last few years, though, it appears that the situation of companies in terms of late payments has improved: the number of business partners paying late has declined on average as well as the amounts outstanding. The proportion of companies that could not pay their suppliers on time at least once because of a late payment by their customers is also in decline, as well as, compared to previous years, the proportion of respondents who feel that the debt queue problem is worsening.

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6 of June, 2016Research
Results of the IEER SME Outlook Survey April 2016

The results of the latest IEER SME Outlook business climate survey reveal more favourable economic conditions compared to the previous quarter: the Business Climate Index increased from 25 to 31 points, which is the highest value since the beginning of the research (January 2005). This value is far higher than the one in April 2015 (23 points). The Uncertainty Index is at a current level of 37 points, which is almost the same as the value measured in the preceding quarter (it was 38 points in April 2015). The value of the Uncertainty Index indicates that the current trend is not uniform within the private sector, and that it will continue to be confined to one part of the economy and will not be felt by all small and medium sized companies.

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1 of June, 2016Research
Integrity and corruption risks within the Hungarian corporate sector – 2015

In the summer of 2015, EY and IEER conducted their fifth joint research on integrity and corruption at the Hungarian companies. The focus of the research was to investigate corporate measures against corrupt behavior and misuse of information or position, the penetration of corruption, and to have Hungarian corporate leaders’ opinion on corruption and their expected behavior about the subject. Our interviewers conducted personal interviews with owners and top management members of companies employing at least 50 people. The survey is based upon 305 interviews and can be considered representative concerning employment and ratio in the economic sectors. The research analyses the rule of law and the regulatory environment including the relationship with the government, the role of personal connections with state officials and the opinion of the managers on the recent governmental measures against corruption. In the second part of the paper we investigate the corporate governance and corporate rules against fraud and corruption such as ethical codes, ethics hotline, and handling of ethical misconduct. In the third part corruption risks are investigated considering corporate leaders’ perception of corruption and, with an experimental approach, their answers for hypothetical situations involving corruption are studied. Finally the research also examines the measures of risk management and the data security applied by companies.

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26 of May, 2016Research
Results of the IEER Quarterly Business Climate Survey - April 2016

The results of the latest quarterly business climate survey reveal slightly more favourable economic condition compared to the previous quarter: the IEER Quarterly Business Climate Index increased from 32 to 33 points, which is the highest value in the history of the indicator. It was only 24 points in the same period of the previous year. The Uncertainty Index is at a current level of 35 points, which is slightly lower than in the previous quarter (it was 37 points in January 2016). The value of the Uncertainty Index indicates that the current trend is not uniform within the private sector, and that it will continue to be confined to one part of the economy and will not be felt by all companies.

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15 of February, 2016Research
Results of the IEER SME Outlook Survey January 2016

The results of the latest IEER SME Outlook business climate survey reveal more favourable economic conditions compared to the previous quarter: the Business Climate Index increased from 20 to 25 points, which is the highest value since the beginning of the research (January 2005). This value is far higher than the one in January 2015 (16 points). The Uncertainty Index is at a current level of 37 points, which is almost the same as the value measured in the preceding quarter (it was 38 points in October 2015). The value of the Uncertainty Index indicates that the current trend is not uniform within the private sector, and that it will continue to be confined to one part of the economy and will not be felt by all small and medium sized companies.

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8 of February, 2016Research
Results of the IEER Quarterly Business Climate Survey, January 2016

The results of the latest quarterly business climate survey reveal considerably more favourable economic condition compared to the previous quarter: the IEER Quarterly Business Climate Index increased from 24 to 32 points, which is the highest value in the history of the indicator. It was only 19 points in the same period of the previous year. The Uncertainty Index is at a current level of 37 points, which is slightly lower than in the previous quarter (it was 38 points in October 2015). The value of the Uncertainty Index indicates that the current trend is not uniform within the private sector, and that it will continue to be confined to one part of the economy and will not be felt by all companies.

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3 of February, 2016Research
Plans for wage rises in the private sector, 2016

In the course of its latest business climate survey HCCI Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) examined potential changes in wages in the year 2016. According to our estimation enterprises plan raising gross salaries by 3.0-3.2%. This is an average wage growth, which slightly exceeds last year’s increase.

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14 of December, 2015Research
Do young humanities and arts graduates have a labor market disadvantage in Hungary?

The study examines the employment status (i) and wages (ii) of young humanities and arts graduates compared to other graduates in Hungary using the 2013 data of the Hungarian Graduate Career Tracking System. The dataset has several limitations regarding reliability and validity, which we attempted to correct to improve the quality of our estimations. The results requires further research. We find that amongst males the conditional overall employment differences for humanities and arts graduates without a degree requirement are not statistically significant. As for jobs requiring tertiary education and salaries disadvantage is present only compared to engineering, information technology and economics or business graduates. Amongst females we find that the conditional employment differences vary greatly by the definition of degree requirement, so our results are unequivocal. However salary disadvantage is statistically significant compared to engineering, information technology and economics or business graduates. Our results suggest that in Hungary young graduates with these three degrees have more advantageous labor market outcomes than others, but the situation of humanities and arts graduates does not differ greatly from the rest of the disciplines.

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9 of December, 2015Research
Internet usage of Hungarian firms

In our following brief analysis we examine for what purposes domestic enterprises generally use the internet. Our analysis is based on data from the business climate survey conducted by the Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) in October 2015.

The data show that the highest proportion of firms surveyed use the internet for administration (e.g. the Hungarian version of an electronic civil service portal called “Ugyfelkapu” or “Client Gateway”), email correspondence with customers, and to follow market trends. Just over half of the analyzed companies have their own website, which is explained by the large number of micro businesses employing fewer than 10 people. The computer systems themselves along with the security of the stored information and the modern state of the technology were all regarded to be very important by the companies.

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