Free Market Road Show 2025

This event marks the 10th year of collaboration between the Danube Institute, Budapest and the Austrian Economics Center, Vienna to present the Free Market Road Show, an annual event which visits some 30 cities globally.

What lies ahead of global trade? More and more, we see the world's largest economies – China, the USA and the EU – heading in new directions. What does this mean for the business world? The year 2025 offers a unique opportunity to engage with these critical questions. Our events bring together students, thought leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to discuss and debate the pressing issues of our time.

We are adding a unique bifurcated program this year, with a morning session in English featuring the Free Market Road Show roster of economic experts and the afternoon session in Magyar, led of Dr. Martin Zsarnoczky, Ph.D., President of the American Hungarian Chamber of Commerce of New York.

In 2025, the Free Market Road Show commemorates a milestone in the history of free-market ideas: the 50th anniversary of F. A. Hayek’s Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. With his groundbreaking speech, “The Pretense of Knowledge,” Hayek challenged the foundations of centralized planning and emphasized the importance of humility in policy-making. This year, we celebrate his legacy by reigniting the conversation about knowledge, freedom, and progress in an increasingly complex world.

This year’s theme reflect our dedication to exploring how Hayek’s timeless ideas resonate in today’s rapidly evolving global landscape. From the shifting dynamics of the digital economy to the ongoing debates over government intervention, the Free Market Road Show provides a platform to examine and reimagine the principles of a truly free society.

Detailed program

Free Market Road Show Entourage

The language of the morning session is English.

8:30 – Onsite registration

9:00 – Opening remarks - Philip Pilkington, Macroeconomist, Visiting Fellow, Danube Institute 

9:10 - 10:05 – Plenary Session I. – The Dollar & Gold

Is this the end of “Dollar Hegemony”?

Do price movements signal a return to the Gold Standard?

What alternative is there to Dollar or Gold?

• Barbara Kolm, Founder of the FMRS, Director of the Austrian Economic Center
• Dan Mitchell, Public Policy Economist

moderated by: Philip Pilkington, Macroeconomist, Visiting Fellow, Danube Institute 

10:10 - 11:10 – Plenary Session II. – Tariffs & Trade

Was “Liberation Day” too extreme?

Does it signal an end of Global Free Trade?

What will the effects be on the major three economies of China, U. S. & EU?

• Hannes Gissurarson, Professor of Politics, University of Iceland 
• Eamonn Butler, Founder and Director, Adam Smith Institute

moderated by: Philip Pilkington, Macroeconomist, Visiting Fellow, Danube Institute 

11:10 -11:30 – Presentation by H.E. María Lorena Capra, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Hungary, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Economic Measures of President Javier Milei's Administration

11:30 - 12:00 P.M. – Discussion with the audience, Q&A

12:00 P.M. – End of the morning session

Afternoon Session - featuring American Hungarian Chamber of Commerce of New York/ New York-i Amerikai Magyar Kereskedelmi Kamara  

The language of the afternoon session is Hungarian.

1:00 PM – Onsite registration 

1:30 PM – Opening remarks – Dr. Martin Zsarnoczky, President of the American Hungarian Chamber of Commerce of New York

Plenary Session – Market Entry Strategies & Opportunities in the Turbulent Effects of U. S. Tariffs

Interview with two prominent Hungarian business leaders led by Martin Dr. Zsarnoczky, Ph.D., President of the American Hungarian Chamber of Commerce of New York.

1:40 PM - 2:25 PM – 1st Panel discussion with Dr. Kürti Sándor, Co-founder and President, Kürt Zrt.

2:25 PM - 3:10 PM – 2nd Panel discussion with Gábor Orbán, Chief Executive Officer, Gedeon Richter Plc.

3:10 PM - 4:00 PM – Networking

4:00 PM – End of the event

Details
Date and time: May 13, 2025, 9am-4pm
Venue: Lónyay-Hatvany Villa, 1 Csónak Street, 1015 Budapest
(Entrance: Aranybástya Restaurant)
Language: morning session is in English, afternoon session is in Hungarian

Participation is free; however, due to limited seating, pre-registration is required.

We reserve the right to modify the program.