Public Policy & Social Justice
The Criminalisation of Informal Payments in Hungarian Healthcare...
Informal payments; Hungarian healthcare; criminalisation; legal consciousness; anti-corruption law
This article examines the criminalisation of informal payments in Hungarian healthcare, with particular attention to the legal uncertainty that preceded the 2020 reform, the logic of the new anti-corruption framework, and the social attitudes surrounding its enforcement. It analyses the former judicial treatment of “hálapénz”, the legislative shift introduced by Act C of 2020, and the broader question whether criminal law can effectively eliminate a practice that has long been socially embedded. Drawing on questionnaire-based research, the article also explores public knowledge of the current regulation and attitudes towards the punishability of informal payments. It argues that criminalisation may narrow the scope of the practice, but that its long-term reduction is likely to depend on broader structural improvements in the healthcare system, including legal clarity, institutional trust, and the perceived fairness and quality of care.
JÁGER, ESZTER – CZEBE, ANDRÁS
Public Policy Failures and Fiascos: A Brief Understanding of the Causes and Consequences of the...
Public policy failure, low-income communities, social and economic impact, poverty and inequality, policy implementation
The concepts of public policy failure and fiasco are often used in political discourse to describe the ineffectiveness of a particular policy, program or measure. Public policy failures are not only the absence of expected results, but often also highlight deeper social, economic or political problems. These failures can be due to a variety of reasons, including design flaws, weaknesses in implementation, lack of resources or even a lack of political will. This text explores the different dimensions of public policy failures, demonstrating how mistakes in policy design and implementation can have significant social, economic and political consequences.
HORVÁTH, ANETT
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