Abstract:

The subject of the paper is the analysis and assessment of Poland's GDP growth and dynamics of economic convergence within the EU. Results of economic growth were evaluated in comparison with the EU28 averages and the other Visegrad countries (Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia). The aim of the assessment in the paper is to verify a hypothesis, constructed by theorists of international economics, that regional integration is an opportunity for the caching-up countries to accelerate growth as well as diminish the economic and technological gap. Results of the empirical analysis, which encompassed both the pre-accession period and the European Union membership period of the V4 countries, confirmed that they had higher GDP growth rates compared with the EU-28 averages, however, the rates varied within the analysed group. The largest economic gap pertained to Poland and the dynamics of closing it was the highest in 2008-2019. The opportunities for Poland's economic growth in the first half of the 1990s and in 2002-2007 were not fully exploited. Nevertheless, Poland had the highest capacity for economic growth during the recession - stagnation years (2008-2013) out of all EU members and was able to maintain high growth rates in 2014-2019. Even though economic convergence measured by the GDP growth and per capita GDP can be considered Poland's impressive achievement, the assessment of the GDP growth supply and demand sources points to only slight technological changes in the economy. The major factors of Poland's economic growth in the entire period of 2002-2019 included non-ICT capital contribution and increase in consumption demand. Only in Czechia a higher contribution of ICT capital to GDP growth allowed for a decrease in the technological gap. In the remaining V4 countries non-ICT capital contribution to the GDP growth was also not conducive towards a significant technological modernisation of the economies.