Policy Brief: Regional Development in Poland

Poland has a large window of opportunity to conduct an ambitious regional development policy. It has managed to maintain high growth levels since the mid 1990s, with the second-best performance in the OECD in 2006-07; however,
territorial disparities are persistent and rising, especially between large urban areas and rural ones.

Poland has one of the greatest territorial disparities in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the OECD, and the gap between regions has increased since the mid-1990s.

Three types of disparity are visible: a persistent gap between eastern and western Poland; a gap between Warsaw and the rest of the country; and rising disparities between large urban areas and rural ones, in particular in the regions of Warsaw (Mazowieckie), Poznan (Wielkopolskie) and Cracow (Malopolskie).

Regional development policies are currently high on the political agenda in Poland, owing to the strong support from EU funds and the increased role of the 16 regions. Poland is the largest recipient of EU structural funds in 2007-2013,
being allocated EUR 67 billion under EU cohesion policy. This external support is complemented by a significant national co-financing effort.

Like many OECD countries, Poland must seek to achieve an appropriate balance between support for poles of growth and the development of lagging regions, particularly its eastern peripheral regions.

This Policy Brief presents the various challenges and opportunities for Polish regional development policy, and provides recommendations on the best way to implement the policy mix, looking in particular at governance challenges.