Managing the contradictions of development finance in the EU’s eastern periphery: Development banks in Hungary and Poland

Dóra Piroska, Katalin Mérő

Research output: Contribution to Book/Report typesChapterpeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

Eastern members of the European Union have turned to development banks only to a limited extent so far. In this chapter, in order to understand why the “development imagination” of Eastern governments remained restricted, we look at the underlying logics of the national development finance fields. Through the case studies of Hungary and Poland, we uncover marked contradictions within the fields. Initially, development finance was torn between the contradictory logics of neoliberalism and developmentalism, followed by institution-building efforts from the EU that resulted in functioning development banks designed primarily for the EU’s Single Market. Finally, when financial nationalist and authoritarian political parties came to power, development banks came under firm political control, while new development actors appeared. Development banks in Hungary and Poland also exhibit differences in size, structure, and focus that we trace over time. In the end, we argue that today Eastern development banks’ ability to connect, contribute, and benefit from EU structures shows a marked difference from core Member States, one which calls for change in the EU development institutions and policies.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Reinvention of Development Banking in the European Union
Subtitle of host publicationIndustrial Policy in the Single Market and the Emergence of a Field
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages224-252
Number of pages29
ISBN (Electronic)9780198859703
DOIs
StatePublished - 18 Mar 2021

Keywords

  • Development banks
  • Development finance
  • Eastern-central europe
  • European integration
  • Hungary
  • Poland

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