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I have received a lot of E-mails overnight about developments in Hungary. The vast majority of these E-mails have suggested that these developments (sharp rise in government bond yields since November) coupled with the fact that the Hungary uses its own currency (the forint) and floats in on international markets provide problems for the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) understanding of the monetary system. I have been digging into the data on Hungary for some months now as I learn more about the history of the nation and its political and institutional structure. I am always cautious researching foreign-language material because outside of documents published in Dutch or French my comprehension skills are weak and I know that even in English documents there are tricks in trying to come to terms with the way data is collected, compiled and disseminated. However, unlike many non-English-speaking nations, access to very detailed data for Hungary in English is reasonable. I will have more to write about their problems in the future as I accumulate and process more information. But at present what I can say is that Hungary is a very good example of what a government with its own currency should not do and the current developments reinforce the insights available from MMT rather than present us with problems. Hungary is in deep trouble exactly because it has violated some of the basic macroeconomic principles defining sound fiscal and monetary policy....
Hungary helps to demonstrate MMT principles
by Bill Mitchell
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