Impact of Structural Funds on Economic Growth in Poland - An Attempt of Estimation

Structural funds play a major role in the economic policy pursued by the European Union, involving support for regional development and stimulation of the process of convergence of the Member States and their regions. Taking into account the objectives attributed to funds, a question can be asked about the efficiency of implementation of those objectives, especially in the context of the enlargement process currently taking place. The article makes, on the basis of empirical data for countries being EU Member States before 1 May 2004, an attempt to evaluate the impact of funds on the rate of economic growth in Poland. It also presents the results of the hitherto studies concerning efficiency of the structural policy conducted in the EU. In order to estimate the impact of the use of structural funds on the rate of economic growth in Poland the Solow model of growth, modified by Mankiw, Romer and Weil, as well as the Burnside-Dollar model have been applied. Estimation of structural parameters of the model allowed to conclude that structural funds per se adversely affect the economic growth rate level, and that the efficiency of utilisation of structural funds is conditioned by institutional quality of the country. Countries with a high quality of public structures have a chance to speed up their GDP growth rate, while countries with low quality of such structures may suffer an adverse effect

Inwestycje infrastrukturalne jako instrument pobudzenia gospodarki w warunkach kryzysu finansowego

Artykuł przedstawia przyczyny i przebieg obecnego kryzysu finansowego oraz wpływ perturbacji na światowych rynkach finansowych na polską gospodarkę, w szczególności na warunki realizowania inwestycji przez podmioty publiczne. Kryzys w Polsce miał charakter egzogeniczny, nie wymagał dotychczas bezpośrednich działań państwa w celu ratowania instytucji finansowych. Tym niemniej państwo powinno poprzez instrumenty antycykliczne wspierać pobudzenie gospodarki. Kluczową rolę w tym procesie mogą pełnić inwestycje infrastrukturalne, powodujące wzrost produkcji i przeciwdziałające bezrobociu, jak również zwiększające konkurencyjność polskiej gospodarki w długim okresie. Z jednej strony kryzys finansowy uderzył w Polskę w momencie realizowania olbrzymich programów rozwoju infrastruktury, ale z drugiej nastąpiło istotne obniżenie kosztów ich realizacji.The article presents the sources, the course of the current financial crisis, as well the influence of the turmoil in the global financial markets on the Polish economy, particularly on the conditions of performance of the investment projects by public entities. The crisis in Poland had endogenous nature and did not require so far direct intervention of the state in order to rescue financial institutions. Nevertheless the state should implement countercyclical measures to support the economic recovery. The key role in this field might play supporting infrastructure projects which both increase output and counteract unemployment but also ensure competitive advantages of the Polish economy in the long run. On one hand the financial crisis has hit the Polish economy in the middle of the process of major infrastructure investments implementation but on the other hand, the sizable decrease of the construction costs occurre