Abstract:

Empirical research conducted in developed countries show that local government has an important role to play in supporting local economic development[1]. Although, from the formal point of view, its main task is to meet the collective needs of the local community, in many cases the catalogue of implemented activities is much broader. Within the scope of their competencies, local authorities influence the structure, pace and directions of evolution of the economic entities located in the commune, thus contributing to economic development. It is possible due to the fact that they have a wide range of instruments stimulating the development of entrepreneurship. There are in this group: infrastructural instruments (including the development of technical infrastructure), legal and organizational instruments (including the establishment of lower local taxes rates), as well as promotional instruments (including activities for the promotion of local products.

The main goal of the study was to determine how local governments in Poland support entrepreneurship and whether the undertaken actions bring the assumed results.