Poland's economy rebounded dramatically in 1992-93, several years after the nation embarded on a comprehensive program of economic transformation. This paper describes Polan's steps in the areas of public finance, monetary policy and financial sector reform, trade and exchange rate policy, and microeconomic liberalization, as well as the social impact of transition.

By all accounts, the case of Poland and its segue to market economy and democracy is a success story: 30 years of uninterrupted growth and development, infrastructure expansion, and modernization of the economy and society. Epochal changes have unfolded in a timespan of merely three decades. Change has taken place so fast that children born in late 1980s and onwards cannot remember what life in Poland under communism was like and cannot relate to it. Also, many elderly people, easy victims of romanticizing their own youth, tend to forget. As a result, the uniqueness of Polish transition and transformation, the boldness and efficiency of reforms, and the success that Polish society mastered together, tend to be undermined today both domestically and internationally. Poland has now been a member of the EU for more than 15 years. During that time, Poland’s image on the EU scene evolved from newcomer, through ‘model child’, champion of growth, to – in some respects – a maverick. This volume’s objective is to remind society, old and young, researchers, scholars and practitioners, that Poland’s success is an outcome of well-thought out and bold structural reforms implemented in a swift and timely manner, of society’s support for these reforms, and of third actors’ benign assistance. Looking back on the 30 years since the collapse of communism, and at the over 15 years of EU membership, this book offers an interdisciplinary, comprehensive and critical insight into factors and processes that have led to today’s Poland.

The first stock exchange in Warsaw – capital city of the Kingdom of Poland– was established in 1817. Over the past 205 years, the fortunes of the capital market have been closely linked to the "bumpy road" of Polish history. The establishment of the GPW Warsaw Stock Exchange in 1991 was a landmark for transformation from a centrally planned communist economy to a market-driven capitalist one. Since the doors of the exchange reopened, Polish GDP per capita (current USD) increased eight times, translating into an average yearly growth rate of over 7%. The capital market has played a pivotal role in the economic success of Poland over the last three decades. It is not easy to precisely quantify the impact, as it was rather a spill-over effect. Economic growth has fostered the development of a capital market, and more efficient conversion of savings to investments via the capital market. The excellence of capital market institutions can be gauged with reference to various parameters. A synthetic measure is so-called market status. According to FTSE Russell (global index provider), Polish capital attained developed market status in 2018, being the first and only post-communist state to do so. It is fair to say that transformation has been completed and developed market status indicates clearly that the institutions and regulations are world class. The current challenge is competing with other developed markets for the best issuers and offering the most demanding investors an excellent trading experience. This book offers scientific insight into the Polish capital market story. Authored by a group of renowned scholars, with contributions aspiring to the highest academic standards for theoretical considerations and empirical research. The book covers various topics, including links between monetary policy and capital markets, micro and macro market structures, and investors and issuers' behaviour and strategies. All chapters are rooted in contemporary finance theory, supported by various econometric models based on the most recently available data. The book aims to provide academics and practitioners insight into the Polish capital market, appealing especially to those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of emerging markets' successful transformation into developed ones. It can also be used as supplementary reading for doctoral and master’s students in finance, particularly relating to capital markets and economics – predominantly development economics and economic policy.

Trying to explain the sources of Poland’s economic success and decouple it from simple stylized facts on economic convergence anchored in the neoclassical growth models, the chapters show how the Polish economy rapidly moved away from the communist economic system, which had ended up in an economic collapse.

This paper discusses Poland’s Review Under the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) Arrangement. Economic growth is expected to recover gradually on the back of improving domestic demand and higher growth in core euro countries. But the economy is still subject to substantial external risks as Poland is highly integrated with Europe through trade and financial channels, as well as with global financial markets. In IMF Staff’s view, Poland continues to meet the qualification criteria for access to FCL resources specified under the Board decision on FCL arrangements, and therefore IMF Staff recommends completion of the review under this FCL arrangement.

This project analyzing the development of Polish financial markets sponsored by the USAID grant was aimed at examining selected problems of the banking system and financial markets in Poland. The main criterion for selection of these problems was their potential usefulness for policy-makers at the present stage of the economic transformation. The studies within the project address the issues that require special attention of policy-makers in their efforts to design future stages of the economic transformation and to formulate a program of effective preparations for the EU accession. The topics examined include: the advancement of risk management in the banking system, the economic and legal aspects of capital account liberalization,contagion effects of world financial crises, and sensitivity of financial markets to exchange rate policies. The studies find visible improvements in the methodology of risk management in the banking system in Poland and in the institutional framework of financial markets. It is further suggested that a larger participation of foreign, more experienced banks would improve efficiency of Poland's financial institutions. It remains debatable whether the banks ought to evolve in the directions of universal or specialized institutions. The financial system is prone to contagion effects of external financial crises as documented by the impact of the Asian and the Russian crisis episodes. Several measures aimed at developing an effective cushion against potential contagion effects of financial crisis are proposed. They include: an effective system of bank monitoring and supervision, a lower reliance on debt in relation to equity, a low (less than a multiple of three) ratio of M2 money to foreign exchange reserves, a higher degree of transparency of financial institutions, more transparent fiscal and monetary policies, and a significant increase in national savings. The advancement of capital account liberalization shall not be restrained by taxes on foreign exchange transactions or by similar measures aimed at containing capital flows. Capital controls could be devastating to still very fragile and volatile Polish financial markets.