What Poland needs to do to catch up economically with the West and Scandinavia?

Central Eastern Europe – including Poland – has been quite successful in catching up with the old EU-countries when it comes to per capita income and living standards. Yet, a big difference still remains, especially when we look at the figures for the more advanced Western economies like the Scandinavian ones, Germany or the Netherlands. Why is it so and what should be done to accelerate the conversion process? The main reason lies in the industry-based growth model that the Central European economies have been pursuing in the last 30 years. It was successful, but also has its limits when it comes to productivity and value added. This growth model will come under substantial stress in the years to come: Technological change, de-carbonisation, demographic factors and growing competition from economies like China will amount to a considerable challenge. What are the Central Eastern European countries supposed to do under these conditions to maintain growth and increase living standards?

Richard Grievson, deputy director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies gives his answer in the new podcast based on the FES-Study “A New Growth Model for EU-CEE”