Teresa Czyż

Evolution of Regional Disparities in Poland

Evolution of Regional Disparities in Poland The article presents the state of and changes in the pattern of regional disparities in Poland over the years 1995-2007. The differences in the level of economic development of regions are examined in a dynamic approach on the basis of per capita income, indices of local government finances, and investment outlays. The effect of development-activating factors on regional income is considered. An answer is sought to the question of whether the growth dynamics had a favourable effect on the evolution of regional disparities in Poland.

Competitiveness of the Wielkopolska region in terms of a knowledge-based economy

Competitiveness of the Wielkopolska Region in Terms of a Knowledge-Based Economy In the study of the competitiveness of the Wielkopolska region it is assumed that in modern times the foundation of a competitive advantage is a knowledge-based economy (KBE). The aim of the article is to analyse the competitiveness of the Wielkopolska region (voivodeship) in terms of KBE in comparison with the countrys regional system. Four dimensions of the regions competitiveness are distinguished, representing factors of KBE development and effects of their operation in the economic sphere. With the help of principal components analysis, indices of the regions competitiveness are obtained.

Entropy in regional analysis

Abstract Entropy has been proposed as a significant tool for an analysis of spatial differences. Using Semple and Gauthier’s (1972) transformation of the Shannon entropy statistic into an entropy measure of inequality and their algorithm, an estimation is made of changes in regional inequality in Poland over the years 2005–2012. The inequality is decomposed into total, inter- and intra-regional types, and an analysis is made of relations holding between them.

Transformation of Poland's Spatial-Economic Structure in the Years 1998-2008

Transformation of Polands Spatial-Economic Structure in the Years 1998-2008 The article consists of two parts. Part one offers a diagnostic description of the current spatial-economic structure of Poland in which regions are divided into core and peripheral ones. The division rests on a systemic measure of the level of economic development, viz. the income potential / population potential ratio. Part two is an analysis of changes in Polands spatial-economic structure over the years 1998-2008 where an attempt is made to determine how far those changes coincided with visions of the countrys spatial structure presented in planning conceptions.

Economic growth and the standard of living of Poland's population: a regional approach

Abstract This article presents an analysis of the relationship that occurs between the level of economic growth and the standard of living of Polands population, using a regional approach. As an indicator of the degree of economic development national income is adopted. The social aspect of regional development is characterized by means of an analysis of the structure of the standard of living expressed in terms of two principal components, representative of a set of 34 empirical indicators. Interest is centred on the spatial interdependence between the value of net output in a regional pattern and the structure of the standard of living expressed in terms of the first principal component. This first component includes the main elements which affect the quality of peoples lives, but it refers primarily to highly urbanized regions. In the light of the obtained results it can be stated that the influence of economic growth on the standard of living exhibits clear regional variations, with the relation assuming different forms depending on the structure of the standard of living. It seems that, although economic growth is closely connected with the quality of life, its impact is modified by regional conditions and resources, i.e. by the way a combination of socio-economic development factors is fitted into the situation of particular regions.

Contemporary Determinants of the Development of Socio-Economic Regions

Abstract This article examines the effect on the development of socio-economic regions in Poland of contemporary external determinants considered at the European and the world scale. It consists of two parts. The first gives a description of the main general processes that are external determinants of regional development today: modernisation changes, globalisation, metropolitanisation, and European integration. Part two is empirical in character and seeks to find regional manifestations and effects of those determinants in Poland, and to establish how they influence regional income and spatial differences in its value.