Have special economic zones contributed to regional disparities in Poland?

Abstract

The main objective of the paper is to present the performance of special economic zones (SEZs) by province over 25 years of their operation and their role in reducing regional economic disparities. SEZs were created with the aim to mitigate the unemployment problem revealed by the transformation of the Polish economy. It was hoped that, thanks to investment incentives, capital would flow primarily to the regions most affected by the transformation. However, these intentions failed to receive statutory protection. As a result, SEZ investments could be found in southern, central and western Poland, i.e., they were scattered across almost the entire country. Only the eastern, poorest voivodeships enjoyed significantly less interest. This was a consequence of the ownership structure of capital because the zones were clearly dominated by foreign investors. The Polish Investment Zone, the successor to the SEZs, brought some changes in this respect. Simple statistical analyses suggest that, contrary to assumptions, the SEZs have not contributed to the reduction in regional disparities measured by GDP per capita, and may even have increased them. Resolving this question would require more in-depth research.