Stanisław Umiński

The determinants of regional exports in Poland – a panel data analysis

The purpose of this article is to explain the strong diversification in the volume and structure of exports in Polish regions, using a set of potential determinants originating from different foreign trade theories used in country level studies. Two sets of panel models of exports are estimated for 16 regions of Poland in the years 1999–2008. Model I shows that regional export performance is positively dependent on labour productivity, share of foreign-owned companies in employment, education level of population, location in the countrys border region and access to the sea, and negatively on the importance of agriculture in the regions economy and labour costs. Model II indicates that exports of agricultural and food products are positively correlated with the importance of agriculture, labour productivity in agriculture and the economy of the region as a whole, availability of employees with an appropriate level of practical skills and access to the sea, and negatively with population density and location in the countrys border region. Growth of this type of export is important for improvement of living conditions in many underdeveloped regions of Poland.

A gravity panel data analysis of foreign trade by regions: the role of metropolises and history

ABSTRACT A gravity panel data analysis of foreign trade by regions: the role of metropolises and history. Regional Studies. The paper investigates the determinants of the intensity of foreign trade of the Polish NUTS-2 regions over 1999–2011 with an augmented panel gravity model. In an attempt to obtain unbiased results, it estimates a semi-mixed effect model with the Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood (PPML) method. The results clearly demonstrate the robustness of the gravity model. Furthermore, path dependence within the context of regional development, due to the historical partitions of Poland, still plays a significant and robust role. Trade persistence has been confirmed. Metropolitan regions, ceteris paribus, trade more intensely, which proves their role as nodes in global trade flows.

The Geography of Openness to Foreign Trade in Poland : the Role of Special Economic Zones and Foreign-owned Entities

Abstract The aim of this paper is to present the spatial distribution of openness to foreign trade assessed at the local level (LAU 1, poviats) in Poland, between 2005 and 2012, with particular reference to its two determinants: activity of foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs) and functioning of special economic zones (SEZs). With the use of data from different sources, including the foreign trade statistics for the Polish regions, constituting a set of indicators on openness to foreign trade, we deliberate on the determinants and the character of regional openness, as well as the quality of the proxies used in order to assess their spatial distribution. Our results indicate high regional dissimilarities in terms of export activity, correlated with the broader picture of regional inequalities. The role of FOEs has been crucial in determining the spatial distribution of exports. As regards the SEZs, their sole contribution increased significantly during the time span. In the times of the world financial crisis, the export performance diversity of poviats increased temporarily but diminished afterwards.