Publication: Growth, Employment and Living Standards in Pre-Accession Poland
Date
2004-03-22
ISSN
Published
2004-03-22
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
This report builds on the wealth of
existing literature on living standards and inequality in
Poland and is intended to continue the ongoing debate. The
focus is on lack of access to economic opportunities as the
most important dimension of poverty in Poland and one that
is strongly associated with social exclusion, vulnerability
and other dimensions of poverty. The report's main
objectives are to: (i) describe what happened to Polish
living standards after the "shock therapy" of the
early 1990s and in the less prosperous last five years; (ii)
highlight the main factors behind the recent increase in
poverty and inequality; (iii) identify the main risk factors
associated with social exclusion and "transient"
and "permanent" poverty in pre-accession Poland;
(iv) address the growth of a hard-core of chronic poverty;
and (v) point to policy measures that may help Poland to
move closer to the Lisbon targets for employment and social
inclusion. This report consists of two volumes. Volume 1
presents the main findings and their policy implications. It
begins with a general overview of the macroeconomic climate
and its changes over the transition period. It then moves on
to address the links between economic growth and poverty
reduction in the high growth years (when poverty declined
considerably) and in the following slow-down in growth
(during which poverty increased). A description of the
poverty profile and its changes over the last decade follows
and leads to an analysis of the strong link between skills
levels, employment opportunities and social inclusion as a
way of avoiding poverty. Particular attention is paid to
the growing divide between the chronically poor and the rest
of the population. The role of social transfers as an
important safety net for the most vulnerable (but also a
potential barrier to effective long-term poverty reduction)
is then discussed, along with the role currently played by
civil society and informal networks as non-governmental
safety nets. Finally some options are presented on policies
that may help to meet the European Union targets for
employment, social inclusion and reduction in inequalities.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2004. Growth, Employment and Living Standards in Pre-Accession Poland. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15542 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”