Reforms and centralization trends in Hungary and in Poland in a comparative perspective

Abstract

The article analyzes the reforms and centralization trends in Hungary and Poland in recent years. Its aim is to compare the scale of this phenomenon in both countries and to indicate its causes. The results of the analyses show a clearly different scale of recentralization in Poland and Hungary. The main reason for recentralization in Hungary was the inefficiency of the local government system, while in Poland the reason for centralization trends in recent years was the desire of the central authority to create better conditions for the implementation of centrally-made decisions and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public services provision.