Overview

What makes countries rich? What makes countries poor? Europe's Growth Champion: Insights from the Economic Rise of Poland seeks to answer these questions, and many more, through a study of one of the biggest, and least heard about, economic success stories. Over the last twenty-five years Poland has transitioned from a perennially backward, poor, and peripheral country to unexpectedly join the ranks of the world's high income countries. Europe's Growth Champion is about the lessons learned from Poland's remarkable experience, the conditions that keep countries poor, and the challenges that countries need to face in order to grow. It defines a new growth model that Poland and its Eastern European peers need to adopt to grow and catch up with their Western counterparts. Poland's economic rise emphasizes the importance of the fundamental sources of growth- institutions, culture, ideas, and leaders- in economic development. It demonstrates that a shift from an extractive society, where the few rule for the benefit of the few, to an inclusive society, where many rule for the benefit of many, can be the key to economic success. *IEurope's Growth Champion asserts that a newly emerged inclusive society will support further convergence of Poland and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe with the West, and help to sustain the region's Golden Age. It also acknowledges the future challenges that Poland faces, and that moving to the core of the European economy will require further reforms and changes in Poland's developmental character.

Full Product Details

9780191831195

Table of Contents

Reviews

Today, many take Poland's postcommunist economic success for granted, but that was never true. Piatkowski underscores how extractive Poland's old economic system was and how harmful its old elite. He shows convincingly that Poland's transformation proves that success is possible also where rent seeking is deeply entrenched. But it requires a real shock that breaks the old system and its ruling class. New institutions as well as a different culture are needed and they can be built. -- Anders slund, Atlantic Council, Washington, DC One of the main reasons why countries in Central Eastern Europe are poorer than Western European countries is because frequently they reverse important reforms. Poland is no exception in this regard, this time around despite an enviable economic and social performance since transition started in the late 1980s and despite the historically unparalleled anchoring that the European Union provides. This book not only offers an excellent analysis of the fundamental factors that brought about this unprecedented growth spurt in Poland, but it also offers a strong hope that these factors will be robust enough to reverse the current major reform reversals and keep Poland on its current rapid convergence trajectory. I can only hope that the author is right about this. A must read for academics working on development economics, and I sincerely hope it will also be read by some politicians in the region. -- Istvan Szekely, Director, European Commission DG ECFIN Piatkowski's book provides the most thorough analysis so far of the reasons behind Poland's economic successes since it embarked on the transition to the market economy. Blending advanced economic analysis together with a deep historical perspective, this book is a great example of how contemporary economic methods can deliver very fruitful insights and enlighten policy debates. -- Prof. Gerard Roland, E. Morris Cox Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley

Author Information

Marcin Piatkowski, Senior Economist, The World Bank; Associate Professor, Kozminski University, Warsaw Prof. Marcin Piatkowski a Senior Economist at the World Bank and Associate Professor of Economics at Kozminski University in Warsaw. Previously, he was Chief Economist of PKO BP, the largest bank in Poland, Economist in the European Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Advisor to the IMF's Executive Director. He also served as Advisor to Poland's Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance. He holds a Ph.D. and habilitation in Economics from Kozminski University and an M.A. in Finance and Banking summa cum laude from the Warsaw School of Economics. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard University, London Business School and the OECD Development Centre.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available