Other ESW Reports

242 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2209

This includes miscellaneous ESW types and pre-2003 ESW type reports that are subsequently completed and released.

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Drivers of Productivity Growth in Poland: A Firm-Level Perspective on Technology Adoption and Firm Capabilities

(Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank

This report provides detailed knowledge on firm-level technology sophistication in Poland, and, by identifying the main barriers and drivers to adoption, it delivers evidence-based policy recommendations to foster technology adoption across different firms and sectors. The analysis based on the TAS is divided into two parts. The main report first describes the new approach to measuring technology sophistication, the structure of the Technology Adoption Survey, and its implementation in Poland. Second, chapter 2 provides key insights from the results by linking technology adoption with productivity, managerial skills, and firms’ capabilities. It also investigates heterogeneity in technology sophistication across firms with different characteristics and the main drivers and barriers to adoption. The analysis is enriched by providing an in-depth comparison of technology sophistication between Poland and Korea. Chapter 3 briefly explains the heterogeneity of technology sophistication across sectors in Poland. This report concludes with a policy recommendation chapter that is based on the results of the TAS and the assessment of current policies supporting technology adoption (chapter 4). The second separate report entitled Sectoral approach to the drivers of productivity growth in Polish sectors. A firm-level perspective on technology adoption and firm capabilities complements this report and focuses on the sectoral differences in technology adoption. Each sector, agriculture, food processing, wearing apparel, automotive, pharmaceuticals, trade, financial services, and land transport, is analyzed in detail, not only through the lens of the TAS but also from the perspective of the general economic situation in the sector. Moreover, the series also includes a policy note Do usług (At your service) The promise of services-led development in Poland that describes the role that the service sector can play in spurring productivity growth.
Sectoral Approach to the Drivers of Productivity Growth in Poland: A Firm-Level Perspective on Technology Adoption and Firm Capabilities

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank

The report presents the main structural characteristics of the sectors included in the Technology Adoption Survey (TAS) implemented in Poland and provides sectoral TAS results for general and sector-specific business functions, comparing Poland to a peer country, Korea. Nine sectors analyzed within TAS include agriculture, food processing, wearing apparel, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, basic metals, wholesale and retail trade, financial services, and land transport. These form a selection of the most important economic industries in agriculture, manufacturing, and services. The same sectors were chosen in all countries where TAS was implemented because of their important contributions to the national economies as well as their diversity, which allowed us to identify the different natures of their technological needs and the barriers to technology adoption. Sectors in Poland differ in technology sophistication in both general business and sector-specific functions but, to a large extent, those differences are driven by the sectors’ structural differences, such as the number of large firms, the share of exporters, and the number foreign-owned enterprises. Firms in different sectors face different economic conditions and are exposed to a different balance of regulatory, environmental, and geopolitical risks and challenges. Understanding those sectoral differences, especially as they affect the use of sector-specific technologies, is of utmost importance, because productivity improvements historically have been driven primarily by capital-intensive investment, which often involves sector-specific technologies. In the context of sector-specific technologies, it is worth noting that the level of sophistication differs between sectors. Comparing technology trends across sectors is beyond the scope of this report, however; rather, here we closely follow the methodology described in Bridging the Technological Divide: Technology Adoption by Firms in Developing Countries.
Impact Evaluation of "Invest in Pomerania" (2011-2020)

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022) World Bank

In 2011, the Pomerania region of Poland set up Invest in Pomerania (IiP) as its regional investment promotion agency. Several local institutions together launched IiP to ensure regional coordination of FDI attraction and investment promotion opportunities. The goal was to create a single entity that would effectively attract and facilitate FDI in the region and that would also act as an interface between investors, local authorities, and other stakeholders. While starting off small, the agency has developed significantly since its inception. With a total of twenty-two employees, the agency today has a number of functions, including promoting investment, providing matchmaking services, promoting innovation, developing local suppliers, functioning as a one-stop-shop, and promoting domestic investment. This report assesses the impact of IiP on Pomerania’s economic performance in the period from 2011 to 2021. Upon reaching its ten-year anniversary, the agency seeks to better understand its contributions to attracting FDI and to the region’s economic development objectives. Currently, IiP is developing its new investment promotion strategy for 2022–2027. By looking back to assess the agency’s impact while also drawing out major IiP’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, this report evaluates past performance while also informing the agency’s future development path.
Gender and Economic Opportunities in Poland : Has Transition Left Women Behind?

(Washington, DC, 2004-03-15) World Bank

The study addresses the most significant disparities in women's and men's access to economic opportunities and discusses the roots of inequalities in their socioeconomic and political contexts. In light of recent changes to the Polish Labor Code that were introduced to promote equal rights for women and men on the labor market, the authors have attempted to answer the question of legal discrimination regarding women and men in the labor market, the social insurance and family benefits system, and in the work and retirement benefits systems. Chapter 2 describes the roots of gender stereotypes and their impacts; chapter 3 describes the employment structure in Poland, taking into account gender differences; chapter 4 concentrates on the growth dynamics of self-employment among women and men in the transition period, and the characteristics of the Polish businesswomen; chapter 5 raises the question of the limits faced by women in their professional careers; chapter 6 shows to extent to which the retirement system in Poland reflects the difference between the status of women and men in the labor market and shows the roots of the lower status of professional women. Finally, chapter 7 shows how the status of women in rural areas is determined by the role that is attributed to them in the family, in the society, and in the traditional division of labor. The report concludes by providing a number of policy recommendations that may prove to be important instruments in eliminating gender disparities and building poverty reduction strategies.
Poland : Labor Market Study--The Challenges of Job Creation

(Washington, DC, 2001-06) World Bank

The study reviews recent labor market developments in Poland, examining the factors behind the rise in unemployment, and, proposing actions that should contribute to increased job creation rates. Its main purpose is to inform - based on research findings - on the policy dialogue regarding the current labor market situation in the country. Those main findings indicate that the rise in unemployment results primarily from an acceleration of job destruction, that begun with the wave of enterprise restructuring in the aftermath of the Russia crisis, and has persisted in part, because of an imbalance in the fiscal-monetary policy mix. It also finds that the recent rise in unemployment has highlighted important barriers in the transition from old, to new jobs. These barriers include a binding minimum wage, high taxes on labor income, limitations in the labor code, and a relatively easy access to early retirement, and other social benefits. Additionally, the problems with the ongoing restructuring of the Polish labor market have been compounded by an increase in new labor market entrants, primarily recent school graduates joining the labor force, and, of particular concern are the new labor market entrants with only basic vocational education or less, namely in rural areas, given that educational attainment is a determining factor on employment status. The policy agenda needs to gradually address unemployment issues, through better fiscal-monetary policy mix, through greater flexibility in the wage structure, and, through tax reductions on labor income, and changes in the labor code. Moreover, investments in worker's education and training needs to be improved, realigning the incentives under labor market programs, and lowering the costs of starting, and running businesses.