Vol. I · 2026 Budget Audit
An Austrian-economics audit of Hungary's 2026 budget.
42 chapter analyses. 34 demographic briefs. One master whitepaper identifying 5.4 trillion forints in wasteful expenditure — and a programme to phase it out.
Total · Mrd Ft
43 781
Year-1 Savings · Mrd Ft
5 398
Chapters Audited
42
Flagship Report
Master Whitepaper · 2026
Hungary 2026: An Austrian-Economics Budget Audit
A comprehensive audit of all 42 chapters of Hungary's 2026 central budget — identifying wasteful expenditure, modelling reform scenarios, and proposing evidence-based cuts totalling hundreds of billions of forints. Produced under an Austrian-economics frame; published openly for critique and revision.
AI-Powered. Principle-Driven. Fully Transparent.
Every Line Item, Analysed
Our multi-agent AI pipeline processes all 42 chapters of Hungary's 2026 budget — thousands of line items — applying a consistent analytical framework that no human team could sustain at this scale or speed.
Read our full methodology →Our tradition, declared
We work in the classical-liberal tradition — Austrian economics, public choice, ordoliberal rule-of-law thinking, and the institutional economics of North and Coase. We declare our lens rather than hide it, and we publish our reasoning so it can be tested, challenged, and corrected.
Read our full methodology →Open Methodology, Welcome Corrections
Our analytical approach is documented in full. Not every figure is manually verified — we acknowledge this openly and welcome corrections. Rigorous debate, including challenge to our numbers, is exactly what we hope to stimulate.
Read our full methodology →Our Mission
The Free Society Institute is an independent Hungarian think-tank working in the classical-liberal tradition — the Austrian-economics foundations of Mises and Hayek, the public-choice analysis of Buchanan and Tullock, the ordoliberal rule-of-law thinking of Röpke and Eucken, and the institutional economics of North and Coase. We bring these tools to Hungary's fiscal, regulatory, and social policy.
Knowledge grows through error correction. We publish our reasoning openly, welcome critique, and treat our own conclusions as claims to be tested rather than positions to be defended. We produce whitepapers, chapter analyses, demographic briefs, and policy proposals aimed at policymakers, academics, journalists, and engaged citizens — with every figure cited to source and every claim open to challenge.
Our aim is to make legible the long-run costs of interventionism, the institutional conditions under which Hungary can grow both freer and more prosperous, and the real transition costs any serious reform requires.
Latest Publications
Chapter I — National Assembly
The National Assembly chapter proposes eliminating 141 Mrd Ft in state media subsidies, party funding, and discretionary presidential donations.
Read publicationTaxpayers All
Demographic Brief
What Hungary's 2026 budget reform means for every taxpayer — and how much could stay in your pocket under a classical-liberal reform programme.
Read publicationHungary 2026: An Austrian-Economics Budget Audit
Master Whitepaper
A comprehensive Austrian-school audit of all 42 chapters of Hungary's 2026 central budget, with evidence-based reform recommendations.
Read publicationSzabad Társadalom Kutatóintézet
Support Independent Analysis
The Free Society Institute accepts no government funding and operates entirely on private donations. Your support directly funds rigorous, unsponsored research.