Preface
The report aims at evaluating Poland’s competitive performance from a comparative
perspective. Indicators, effects and determinants of Poland’s competitiveness are
analyzed in terms of their evolution during the period of 1995-2005 and on the basis of an
international comparison with other European Union countries, in particular the new member
states. The report goes beyond the simple scoreboard approach, which might fail to capture
structural factors. Developing effective policies requires an in-depth understanding of
the complex factors that drive the competitiveness of economies. Therefore, this report
adopts a systematic approach allowing comparisons of particular determinants of Poland’s
competitive position. The cross-country comparison is conducted using both quantitative
and qualitative perspectives, which allows the authors to forecast future trends and
indicate some areas of policy priorities. The report is divided into five parts
supplemented by methodological and statistical annexes.
The objective of Part One is to analyze and interpret the available evidence on the
competitiveness of the Polish economy. The assessment consists of two complementary
components: the nation’s prosperity and its position versus external partners compared
with other new EU member states. The starting point is an analysis of the nation’s
prosperity measured by overall economic performance, the level of the real income of the
Polish population and the capacity to increase it. That is followed by an assessment of
Poland’s competitive position in external relations. The question addressed here is
whether the Polish economy is able to produce high-value products and services that meet
the test of world markets. Therefore, Poland’s comparative advantage in trade is
evaluated using the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA). Moreover, the country’s
attractiveness for foreign direct investment is compared to the locational advantages of
other new EU member states.
The second part of the report is dedicated to a detailed analysis of the determinants of
Poland’s competitiveness. The framework for this assessment goes beyond a growth
accounting breakdown of economic performance. Factors that affect competitiveness are
grouped into two broad categories: assets and institutions. Thus, competitiveness depends
on the availability of resources (labor, capital, technology and innovation) and their
allocation (productivity) as well as on contextual factors (political and social
environment, conditions of doing business, current economic policy, etc.) and their
quality.
As outlined in Part Two, there are many factors that affect competitiveness, and their
importance varies over time. Therefore, the focus of the third part of the report will
change in subsequent editions. This issue of the report highlights the growing role of
innovation as a source of competitive position. Poland faces a process of structural
change that can be seen at both macroeconomic and sect oral levels.
Competition requires enterprises to constantly innovate and focus on activities with a
high knowledge input. Therefore, at the center of this edition is the growing role of
innovation as a source of the nation’s long-term economic performance and competitive
position. The capacity to transform knowledge into unique and high value products and
services is regarded as one of the most important competitive assets. The innovative
capacity of Poland’s economy is examined and compared with the capacity of other new EU
member states. The role of innovation in creating the competitiveness of the Polish
business sector is assessed. Furthermore, the report ranks individual sectors of Polish
industry according to their innovativeness.
Part Four of the report synthesizes Poland’s current competitive position and draws
implications for policy in the context of the Lisbon Strategy.
The last part of this report touches on selected theoretical issues related to
international competitiveness and its assessment. It is meant to continue an academic
discussion on this complex phenomenon.
Marzenna A. Weresa
Contents
Preface
Marzenna A. Weresa
Executive summary
PART I
POLAND’S COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
AND COMPETITIVE POSITION IN 2005
Chapter 1
Economic development and its convergence
1.1. Comparative economic performance
Ryszard Rapacki
1.2. Real convergence or divergence of the average income level
Mariusz Próchniak
1.3. Socioeconomic development and standard of living
Zbigniew Matkowski
Chapter 2
International competitive position of the Polish economy
Józef Misala
2.1. Position in international trade
2.2. Intensity and structure of Poland’s trade with EU countries
2.3. Comparative position in international capital fl ows
2.4. Poland’s position in the intra-EU division of labor in the context of the location
theory and the theory of international trade
PART II
DETERMINANTS OF POLAND’S COMPETITIVENESS
Chapter 3
Assets and their productivity
3.1. Human resources
Mateusz Mokrogulski
3.2. Physical capital
Ireneusz Bil
3.3. Science, technology and innovation
Marzenna A. Weresa
3.4. Productivity
Mariusz Próchniak
Chapter 4
Institutions and their quality
4.1. Political and social factors
Janusz Gołębiowski
4.2. Economic policy assessment
Wojciech Bieńkowski & Ziemowit Czajkowski
4.3. Quality of business environment
Aleksander Sulejewicz
PART III
INNOVATION AND ITS IMPACT ON POLAND’S COMPETITIVENESS
Chapter 5
Innovative capacity: Poland and other new EU member states compared
5.1. Recent legal and institutional changes in the Polish national innovation system
Marcin Gomułka
5.2. Poland’s innovative capacity and performance
Marzenna A. Weresa & Marcin Gomułka
Chapter 6
Innovation in Polish industry
6.1. Innovation index at industry level
Marcin Gomułka
6.2. Ranking Poland’s industries according to their innovativeness
Marzenna A. Weresa
6.3. The innovation activity of multinational companies in the Polish market
Katarzyna Zakrzewska
6.4. Innovation and competitiveness: An industry perspective
Bartosz Witkowski & Marzenna A. Weresa
PART IV
BOOSTING COMPETITIVENESS
Chapter 7
Positioning Poland in Central Europe and in the EU
7.1. Poland’s competitiveness and its drivers: An overall assessment
Marzenna A. Weresa & Ryszard Rapacki
7.2. Polish economy: Major strengths and weaknesses
Ryszard Rapacki
Chapter 8
Instruments to support structural reforms in Poland
Mariusz-Jan Radło
8.1. Policy priorities in the context of the Lisbon Strategy
8.2. National Reform Program 2005–2008: A credible reform strategy?
PART V
THE COMPETITIVENESS ISSUE:
SOME THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Chapter 9
Theory and methodology: A critical assessment of analysis methods
Jan W. Bossak
9.1. Economic system and competitiveness
9.2. The position, competitiveness and competitive ability of the economy
9.3. Methodology of comparative studies
9.4. Rankings of countries’ competitiveness
Chapter 10
Comparing national competitiveness: Basic measurement problems
Józef Misala
10.1. An overview of relationships between international competitive ability,
international competitiveness and international competitive position of a national economy
10.2. Types of international competitiveness and methods of its measurement
Methodological annex
1. Methodology of income convergence analysis
Mariusz Próchniak
2. Methodology of productivity analysis
Mariusz Próchniak
3. Hierarchical cluster classifi cation
Marcin Gomułka
4. Methodology for creating the innovation index
Marcin Gomułka
5. Methodology of the impact assessment
Bartosz Witkowski
Statistical annex
Filip Kamiński
294 stron,B 5
