UnitedSky w tygodniku Poland Weekly - 19.05.2022 - 01.06.2022

8 business • people • culture polandweekly 19.05.2022 - 01.06.2022
Poles feel the part of EU
On May 1, 2022, Poland celebrated 18 years of
membership of the European Union.
During that time, Polish
GDP per capita has grown in
real terms by 85%. Thanks to accession,
average annual economic
growth is higher by 1.04 %, the
inflow of foreign direct investment
by 4.07%, and the value of
exports by 3.2%.
According to a report of the Polish
Economic Institute, a public
economic think tank, "The Generation
of the European Union,"
the vast majority of Poles feel
the benefits of belonging to the
EU. 80% of them appreciate the
economic benefits of EU membership,
82% see an improvement
in the labor market and
79% claim that joining the EU
has improved their standard of
living. 60% people aged 18-29
define themselves as Europeans,
and 61% said they would defend
the country in the event of war.
The way people from the iGen
generation - i.e. born between
1995 and 2012 - perceive the
world is fundamentally different
from previous generations. This
is clearly visible in the attitude
to issues such as the quality of
the environment, emphasis on
psychological well-being or the
attitude to social inequalities,
which are priorities for iGen representatives.
Two-thirds of iGen
believe that wealth and income
are unequally distributed in society.
Most believe that legislation
and direct government intervention
could significantly bridge
these gaps. At the same time,
when it comes to the subject of
European integration, young
people are slightly more Eurosceptic.
31.5% representatives of
iGen are in favor of even greater
unification of the member states,
while 37.6% are of the same opinion.
older generations, according
to Krzysztof Kutwa, an analyst
at the Polish Economic Institute
and author of the report.
Since Poland's accession
to the European Union, the
value of GDP per capita has
increased by approximately
85% in real terms and
nearly doubled in nominal
terms.
Joining the European Union
meant that the Polish economy
began to function in the unprecedented
reality of free movement
of goods, services, capital
and people. Since Poland's accession
to the European Union,
the value of GDP per capita has
increased by approximately 85%
in real terms and nearly doubled
in nominal terms. One of the
most visible effects of Poland's
accession to the European Union
was also the rapid inflow of
foreign direct investment (FDI).
The overwhelming majority of
Polish society has noticed the
positive effects of accession to
the EU. 80.1% of adult inhabitants
of Poland of working age
appreciate the economic benefits
of EU membership. 79%
claim that joining the EU has
improved their standard of living,
and 82.2% associate accession
with the improvement of the situation
on the labor market.
What do young people think
about Poland in the EU?
PIE research shows that 27.8%
• On the 1 of May Poland celebrated 18 years in the
European Union.
• According to the Eurobarometer, 82% of Poles are in
favor of the European Union.
• This is the greatest support for the EU among all EU
countries.
of young people aged 18-29
would have left Poland if it had
left the European Union. At the
same time, for 53.9% of young
people, the current level of integration
is about right. The
same opinion is shared by 46.9%
of representatives of older generations,
while 31.5% of the
iGen generation are in favor of
an even greater unification of
the member states,, while 37.6
percent share the same opinion
from older generations. In contrast,
nearly one in seven, both
the young and those over the
age of 29, believe that integration
has gone too far.
Paths of Productivity Growth in Poland
According to the World Bank report, Poland
needs to invest in company productivity to spur
economic growth.
In the last thirty years,
Poland has been one of the fastestgrowing
economies in the world.
To continue to catch up with the
advanced economies of Western
Europe, the country should support
improvements in company
productivity through relevant
public instruments, including
those targeted at small and medium-sized
enterprises, according
to a new World Bank report
“Paths of Productivity Growth in
Poland: A Company Level Perspective,”.
The report was developed
in partnership with Statistics
Poland, which prepared the
data and collaborated with the
World Bank team on econometric
calculations and analyses.
Over the last three decades, Poland’s
GDP has tripled in size,
and in 2009 the country achieved
‘high-income status,’ according to
World Bank methodology. Still,
with a per capita income at twothirds
of the per capita figure in
the ‘old European Union’ member
states, Poland has yet to catch up
with the countries of Western Europe.
The gap is visible at the individual
company level, too. For instance,
an average industrial firm in Poland
needs three times more staff
than its German counterpart to
produce the same product. In
addition, the World Bank report
reveals that the total factor productivity
(TFP) growth in the
manufacturing sector in Poland
has stagnated since 2012, and the
expansion of manufacturing industry
has come predominantly
from increasing capital intensity.
“Despite the turbulence in the
world economy caused by the
2008-2009 financial crisis and the
COVID-19 pandemic, Poland’s
dynamic yet steady development
serves as a model of economic success,”
says Marcus Heinz, Resident
Representative of the World Bank
in Poland and the Baltic States.
“The country still faces significant
challenges, such as addressing
low investment levels and the
challenge of an aging society. This
report highlights that one way to
keep the development dynamics
is to invest in firm productivity
and it presents recommendations
in this regard.”
To begin with, strengthening
managerial and workforce skills,
providing business advisory services,
and facilitating entrepreneurial
networks and clusters
“Despite the turbulence in
the world economy caused
by the 2008-2009 financial
crisis and the COVID-19
pandemic, Poland’s dynamic
yet steady development
serves as a model of
economic success,” says
Marcus Heinz, Resident
Representative of the World
Bank in Poland and the
Baltic States.
could help improve Poland’s
performance on key innovation
and digital economy indicators.
Currently, Poland is ranked 23rd
in the European Union’s Digital
Economy and Society Index and
24th on the Innovation Scoreboard.
World Bank research
shows that about 50% of firms in
Poland are yet to start using the
most basic management tools.
Secondly, given that small and
medium-sized enterprises are the
engines of productivity growth in
Poland, they should be supported
with public policies that eliminate
barriers, including regulatory and
financial barriers to market entry
and competition. Moreover, policy
interventions need to address
potential barriers to SMEs adopting
digital technology. According
to World Bank research findings,
nearly half of the firms in Poland
have said they do not need to invest
in digitization.
Thirdly, domestic economic policy
should focus on supporting
exports and linking Polish companies
to global supply chains.
This can be facilitated with such
measures as foreign trade promotion
and investments in reducing
the cost of export activity (e.g.,
streamlined certification policy),
as well as awareness building in
the business community.