Miklós Sebők recently published a new article in the book entitled "Institutional Entrepreneurship and Policy Change" (Caner Bakir and Darryl S L Jarvis eds. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 2018):

Institutional Activity and Mission of the Hungarian National Bank

Abstract:

"The paper investigates a hitherto unexamined case of central bank mission creep: that of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) under the leadership of György Matolcsy between 2013 and 2015. By relying on the literature on the impact of policy entrepreneurs on policy change and applying it the political economy of contemporary central banking a case study of policy changes in Hungary is presented. This mission creep stretched the central bank’s policy portfolio beyond recognition in, inter alia, assuming development banking functions, buying commercial banks, purchasing real estate, creating research foundations and even university departments. These self-proclaimed ‘unorthodox’ measures are a direct consequence of the long-held positions of Matolcsy, a former minister for the economy. The case study offers new insights into the impact of policy entrepreneurship on the medium term evolution of institutions of economic policy."