What makes countries rich? What makes countries poor? Europe's Growth Champion: Insights from the Economic Rise of Poland seeks to answer these questions, and many more, through a study of one of the biggest, and least heard about, economic success stories. Over the last twenty-five years Poland has transitioned from a perennially backward, poor, and peripheral country to unexpectedly join the ranks of the world's high income countries. Europe's Growth Champion is about the lessons learned from Poland's remarkable experience, the conditions that keep countries poor, and the challenges that countries need to face in order to grow. It defines a new growth model that Poland and its Eastern European peers need to adopt to grow and catch up with their Western counterparts. Poland's economic rise emphasizes the importance of the fundamental sources of growth- institutions, culture, ideas, and leaders- in economic development. It demonstrates that a shift from an extractive society, where the few rule for the benefit of the few, to an inclusive society, where many rule for the benefit of many, can be the key to economic success. *IEurope's Growth Champion asserts that a newly emerged inclusive society will support further convergence of Poland and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe with the West, and help to sustain the region's Golden Age. It also acknowledges the future challenges that Poland faces, and that moving to the core of the European economy will require further reforms and changes in Poland's developmental character.

The current state of crisis and depression in Poland's economy is not a new phenomenon, although it is at present being accorded vast coverage world wide. This study by Polish authors is the first in the English language to cover Poland's economic development from 1900 to the present day. This book presents a detailed and penetrating analysis of the Polish economy. It charts the various stages of Poland's development from the rule of the Three Black Eagles; Russia, Austria and Prussia, to the terrible effects of the Great Depression; through Nazi occupation to the inflation and economic decline of the present day. For each period, besides economic and monetary factors, the contributors survey aspects of the effects of economic growth on social mobility and career perception, public health education and technology, backed up with comprehensive statistical data. The unique nature of this book will make it an invaluable resource for students of economic history and Eastern European studies. -- from dust jacket.

The monograph is our latest publication created thanks to the scientific cooperation between Polish and Japanese researchers from the Department of International Business at the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, and Takasaki City University of Economics. The results of their research provide an overview of selected trends and challenges present in the global economy. As a mosaic of diverse research subjects, this book is dedicated to readers who look for multidimensional insights into the modern trends and phenomena occurring in the global economy. This monograph is recommended to students of economics who want to acquire knowledge about the selected tendencies, and researchers who would like to broaden their knowledge in the area of current trends in the globalized world economy, as well as entrepreneurs and business practitioners seeking information about the cultural aspects of the global economic phenomena.