8:48 Could you please reupload this video with fixed map or do something else to repair your mistake? Sorry, but it's just awful to look how wrong outline of China is (And Sudan and Kosovo actually).
@economicsexplained You might want to remove the link to the Hubspot ChatGPT guide. It’s really terribly written and full of misleading info. Whoever signed off on publishing that did not understand the platform or capabilities. The author relied too heavily on generative AI, and they got hallucinations in response.
Despite Polish politics being bit shizo (it take some time Western investors realize that they should ignore political drama). Poland actually did have decent economists and academics. It is why Poland actually is a meritocracy, where legislature is voted after preparation according to legislative office (experts). Furthermore we need remember that Poland WAS a successful free market economy prior to WW2. And as such many people who actually know hoe capitalism work, were here. Just not officially for obvious reasons. It is why Poland has shockingly docent banking system. Which is why it was not affected by economic crisis of 2008.
@@TheRezro I'm not sure that Polish politics is any more 'shitzo' than any other part of Europe! I'd be interested to learn how many Polish people have actually returned there. Here in UK my Polish friends are, well, still here!
Poand has never been "soviet republic" because it has never been a part of a country called USSR unlike Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus or Georgia. Poland was soviet satelite state just like East Germany or Chechoslovakia. Forced to live under Moscow's commands but still a separate country with its own land, borders, flags, anthem, political leaders.
From economic perspective it make no difference. Nothing on shells and corruption, if you want something better/new you had to know people to get (not stricte give them money, but they would give limited stock to people they know, so they would get similar treatment)
Economic perspective is not the only one. I write it as a Pole. Calling us "sovet republic" is pure ignorance and an insult. It does matter to us. @@m_sedziwoj
Год назад+70
@@m_sedziwojthe economic difference is important as well. The USSR was richer, had a different currency, different economic model, particularly in agriculture, but also in industry, where USSR had much more centralized and monopolized heavy industry, so it was more difficult to kick start capitalistic competition. Poland was effectively the USSR's colony. Or one could argue USSR's republics were a more integrated layer of colonies of Russia proper, while other Eastern Block countries were the outer ring of colonies.
We meaning whom, and how exactly? and no we Poles ain't interested in becoming Germany nor did we ever were or tried. Germany had totally diffrent economic model, focusing heavy on car industry, cheap Russian gas and it is vastly pumped above it's weight with that EU domination that secured them monopol on exports and preferential treatments from EU bodies for years.
@@zawiszaczarny7876 I think Germany is rich because it exports a lot, while currency appreciation is kept in check by other less export-heavy EU economies that also use the Euro. Exporting a lot means they get rich, and they definitely benefit a lot from being part of the EU. But I think the EU benefits as well.
@@zawiszaczarny7876 this was a historical joke based on the number of times Germany and pre-unification-german states have invaded and controlled Poland, especially the Second World War.
It was said that Poland hasn't adopted Euro yet, like these former soviet states (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), but not that Poland was a soviet state.
Who put it in "eastern block"? Poland was occupied by russian gangrene thanks to Roosvelt and Churchill. Poles hate commies gangrene... Well, most of them because there are a lot of leftist lovers (the ones who tells you "there's no democracy and freedom" in Poland)
I respect Polish people. They don't want terrorism, drugs and knife crime in their country. They are trying to stop their cities from turning into third world sht oles
Everyone can be racist, but racism should be in moderation, not going after you just because you want to see their f country and see historical sites,i didn't fly for 10 hrs to beg for your money, I came to spend money in your shitty economy.
I have split feelings, i work with a lot of poles and they are all some of my absolute favorite people with their no bullshit attitude and dry humor but I have also been there a few times and the number of flat-out rude and unfriendly people I have encountered was also a bit shocking.
@@travisfubu9053Poland wants a nation with polish people. You are very ignorant and stupid if you call them racists, just study the history of Poland. They have every right to be careful about immigrants and foreigners they don’t know. And if you watch what happens in Germany, France and UK you will see Poland did everything right.
My best friend in primary school was Polish- hence why for Poland there is a special place in my heart. I wish Poland the best of luck for the future and hope they'll be able to prosper. Love from Pakistan ❤
Dziękuję w imieniu wszystkich Polakow za pozdrowienia, Polska ma teraz ciezkie czasy, Polonia z wlaszcza Niemiecka glosowala w wyborach na Tuska i mlode dziewczyny ktore nie znają polityki, Tysk moze rządzić, to bedzie tragedia dla Polski, a unia wymusza na wszystkich mniejszych panstwach, lamie wszelkie prawa unijne, zesmy wpadli w nie samowite bagno, obejrzyj jaka jest faktycznie unia, to diabel wcielony,,, FIRMA KTÓREJ PRACOWNICY BLAGAJA O POMOC,,?
Thank brothers ❤We’re rooting For you too! Actually i just watched a Polish video on YT talking about Romania 🇷🇴 and how it’s on its on the positive path to outgrow Poland.
It's clear that Poland has established itself as a robust player in the European economy. I wonder if there are opportunities for American investors and businesses to benefit from this growth.
Well, I recently came across Loren Lena Walker, a financial advisor who specializes in international investments and market opportunities. She might be the right person to guide Americans in exploring Poland's economic potential.
I didn’t take this video as positive view on Polands success, rather how fragile it is and that it won’t last. Almost as if the author didn’t believe in this success and maybe is slightly irritated by it? 🤔
the question is if it will last longer than we think - if you will take under consideration rapidly growing salaries in the IT services and the fact the vast majority of the clients are not national, but outside you can get into the conclusion it can be replaced sooner or later by similarly educated professionals in Bulgaria or Romania. A lot of major international companies outsourced the work to Poland but money always wins so some roles will be exported to cheaper locations for sure.
Poland is home to Andrzej Sapkowski and CD Projekt Red, the legendary creative team responsible for the video game *The Witcher*, and the book series that inspired it.
@@EconomicsExplained You can always watch older Polish tv show. When it was released I thought it was poor thing, but comparing to Netflix s..t it`s still pretty cool.
If any country deserves a break, its Russia. Good on them for constantly not giving into being taken over by either Nationalist french, Nazi Germans, or Imperialist americans. Considering it exists at all, manages to have an economy, is in the top third of the world by gdp per capita, has a national identity, language, culture, history, and heck, HAS A BORDER LOL its doing pretty well.
Poland is quickly becoming very attractive for tech. If they keep this up, you could see Poland outshine traditional powerhouses in 30 years (or sooner).
@@EconomicsExplained It has already become a hub of innovation and R&D for many world-leading companies like Samsung, Schneider, Nielsen, P&G, Accenture, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, T-Mobile, EY and many more
I think the biggest improvement after joining EU was infrastructure investemnt. Back in the 90s both railways and regular roads were in dire state, unable to acommodate the increasing economic activity. No highways, almost no express roads, local roads with holes bigger than the budget hole left by minister Bauc. EU invested massive amount of money over the first decade of membership into these areas which made Poland being attractive for any serious business.
Indeed. I remember when they first opened the metro in Warsaw around 1995 I believe. It was a huge deal! No more taking buses down streets with massive potholes lol. Haven't been back since 2000 so it was nice to see the progress in this video.
"I think the biggest improvement after joining EU was infrastructure investemnt." So, that was still the effect of joining the EU. Most likely, the majority of those infrastructure investments wouldn't happen without the EU. And the EU didn't pay 100% of the price, but the money was a huge driving force that those projects happened in the first place (because from the perspective of Poland, many expensive projects became much cheaper, while still offering a great net return).
It seems improving infrastructure for new members has been one of the success stories of the EU. Spain is the obvious case study, which now has some of the best roads and railways in Europe. Ireland is similar, and I'm sure there must be others.
Estonia and Slovenia have done by far the best out of all post-socialist states. They definitely deserve praise, especially estonia since it was part of the soviet union and is farther away from western europe
The population of Estonia is comparable to the population of Warsaw alone. The size of Estonia is smaller than the Masovian Voivodeship in Poland. I think that comparisons do not make sense, because the differences are too great, the challenges are different, the scale of activities is different. The Polish economy is not only much, much larger, but also much more complex and diverse. Regardless, it is definitely worth watching a film about Estonia or Slovenia.
Go go Poland go, cooperates with Brazil, Argentina and some East Asia and Southeast Asia country, would do works for them. Wish well for them from Indonesia 🇮🇩🤝🇵🇱
@@Lando-kx6soPeople like to act as if most developed nations aren't experiencing a population decline and only focus their attention on countries that don't accept illegal immigration like Poland and Japan.
Poland has no interest in becoming the second Germany because there is only one Poland. We want our citizens to live in peace and prosperity in safe Europe. Also, Poland is not a miracle but a result of sacrifice and hard work of its citizens. Poland has 40 millions of people today.
yes it has, we are trying our best to catch up with EU greatest economies in Germany and France, then keep up and potentially someday overcome to be the new leader. Sky is the limit, capitalism is a blessing and Poles are highly educated and hard working people, now speaking fluently foreign languages.
Poland is a result of Russia putting this country on the map and German sponsored EU funds. American lapdog poland bites the hand that's feeding it as usual.
2:08 Poland has been invaded so many times, you know something's changed when someone is confident saying that the chances of Poland being invaded are "extremely slim"
yeah I was like huh? Didn't Putin said the war will only stop if the Soviet Flag flies over the Reichstag in Berlin again? Poland is kind of in the way between Moscow and Berlin last time I checked
@@gareonconley1956 well Poland is part of strongest military alliance world ever saw and Polish military now is 3rd strongest in europe just after russia and France. but Polish military is top modern.
Estonia is a good example for Eastern Europe, Poland is absolutely average when compared to other ex-Soviet satellite states. Heck, even countries that were a part of Soviet Union - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia all have higher GDP per capita than Poland The only Eastern European countries that are significantly behind Poland are Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, as all are victims of current Kremlin politics.
Yeah this video is literally clickbait. Poland had been the "toilet cleaners" of west europe and any economic growth they had was thanks to EU grants, which every other eastern european country received, and usually invested better (Baltic countries, Romania in the past few years, Checzia). The main reason Poland is "famous" is because she is constantly squabbling with Germany, so their populist conservative party can stay in power.
Poland's borders were changed post WW2. The eastern portion of Poland were stolen and it was given a slice of eastern Germany by the USSR. Poland is historically known as Eastern European. It is a slavic state.
The fact Poland never adopted Euro as official currency and still keeps Zloty is a 10000IQ move. While it comes with some drawbacks, not having a currency that's value is tied to like 40 other countries is an extreme economical advantage.
@@RandomGuy-lu1enso is having a left leaning one because typically both sides of the political spectrum are economically illiterate Note: economically literate people support freer markets
I like this video, Poland has many things in common with Czech Republic (country were I live). It would be interesting to compare these two. I looked to historic chart of GDP in both countries and I see a more "sustainable" growth rate in Poland than in Czech Republic although we are a bit richer then they are on average. It seems like Polish have a brighter future than we (Czech) can expect despite the borders with Ukraine.
I go to Czechia often and from street level, Czech towns and villages are almost Western Europe level. Poland is 5-10 years behind Czechia (also in GDP per capita), but the gap is closing.
Byłem wiele razy w Czechach i wyglafaja one znacznie biedniej niz Polska, zwlaszcza wioski, domy i infrastruktura jest o wiele gorsza niz w Polsce. Niestety małe Czechy zawsze mialy kompleksy i traktowaly Polske jak Rosję lub gorzej... Nie ma co porownywać Polske z Czechami. Potencjał gospodarczy Polski jest kilka razy wyższy niż Czech. Poza tym Czesi ze swym kompleksem malego, nieznaczącego państwa są zabawni... 10 lat temu Czechy nie rożniły się od Polski w ogóle..
Its strange that ukraine is and was ridiculously far behind poland or any other slavic states in per capita gdp, including russia. Very smart move of Poland to just have people compete against state enterprises. I'm thoroughly impressed.
A great part of their economic success is due to the European Union pouring millions of Euros to put Poland's infrastructure up to speed, but of course Poles like to say it's all their own credit. Having said that, they managed to get rid of corruption, something that is still haunting other ex-soviet countries
I'm curious what the current state is of that Romanian town: Glod, that unfortunately became part of the 2006 Borat movie. How have things changed in Glod in 17 years? Did it bring an influx of tourists? (similar to how Borat increased tourism in Kazakhstan). Has 17 years allowed the town to improve some if its infrastructure?
@@2drealms196 I wouldn't say it improved much, although the GDP doubled in the last 16 years. Romania developed quite fast (similar to Poland), but unfortunately the growth has been concentrated in a couple of regions (e.g. Bucharest, Cluj, Timis).
Thanks for a great episode. I am actually a Pole and I have an idea for another interesting episode. Within Poland we have quite a big (heated) debate whether we should adopt Euro or not. It would be nice to gain an outside perspective on that matter from a renowned economics channel, since ultimately, whether we will adopt it or not most likely depend on who Poles will vote for in the near future :).
Speaking as an American, currency abandonment should not be a whimsical decision. Nations like Lebanon have had to abandon the Lira due to intense inflation and unofficially adopt the dollar. To change domestic currency would suggest there is a serious perceived instability, like we saw in Greece. Keeping both currencies is also much healthier for the consumer as it allows more forms of exchange, like gold and silver, but still in fiat currency. For a real life example, Poland avoided much of the financial crisis in 2008, whereas the EU saw losses. This ties back to Greece where it was unable to independently devalue its drachma due to Eurozone ties. Maintaining fiscal independence outside of Brussels is a benefit for Poland.
Not controlling own currency is suicide. Euro should be never adopted because as a result country will lose economy leveraging power and part of independence. Greece is great example what means not controlling its own currency...
This debate has been pretty much resolved. There is hardly any economic advantage for Poland joining the Eurozone. Politically it's also very dubious as it means assuming responsibility for countries of Southern Europe, which are likely to fall into huge economic problems. I think that all political parties announced that adopting the Euro was not on their agenda, right?
7:55 - 8:05 Poland never belonged to the Soviet Union. Indeed, during the Cold War, the government in Warsaw was fully dependent on Moscow, but Poland was not part of Soviet state.
For me as someone from Czechia (Poland's southwestern neighbour in Central Europe) it is interesting to follow the development of Poland. And even from what ordinary Poles tell me, the country is really successfully rising. Just a decade ago a trip to Poland was like a return to my childhood, grey crumbling houses, crappy infrastructure, you could really feel the poverty in many places. But the country has moved on a lot in the last decade and you can see it in the streets of the towns and villages. Let's see how it develops further. 👍
tak naprawdę Wojciechu nie ma między nami różnicy. W każdym kraju ( nawet twoim :) są obszary biedniejsze i bogatsze. Dekadę temu nie było już ani brzydkiej infrastruktury ani biedy. Jak czytam komentarze z Cech zawsze nie mogę nadziwić się waszej wyższości, a byłam w Czechach nie raz i powiem Ci szczerze, nie wiem skąd ta wyższość.
@@katarzynafiakowska2054 droga Katarzyno, mieszkałem w Czechach 2.5 roku i jest duża gospodarcza i społeczna różnica między tymi krajami. Widać to w statystykach, w płacach i widać to w wyglądzie miast i wiosek. Widać w jakości usług publicznych (służba zdrowia nie do porównania, pociągi...). Czechy stoją na wyższym poziomie. Może nie jest to odległość kosmiczna, ale jest wyraźna. Zdravím z Varšavy
Great video! Please do Romania as well, I was astonished to learn it was the 19th most complex economy in the world, above many developed countries. Should be interesting to look at. It also has an abundance of strategic resources.
It's been a rough year with losses from failed banks and government, real estate crashes, a struggling economy, and downturns in stocks and dividends. It feels like everything has been going wrong. What a terrible year it is…
The financial markets are full with opportunities, but l've learned a lot over the past few years to doubt that. The key is knowing where to focus. Well appreciated,Samuel Peter Descovich
That is why I work with Samuel Peter Descovich, who introduced me to a better Financial community, a verified agency where I learned how money works and how to create it, as well as free books, courses, and daily lectures. You also get to meet new people, which was the best decision I ever made.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Your coach was simple to discover online. I did my research on him before I wrote to him. He appears knowledgeable based on his online resume.
Samuel Peter Descovich is the go-to financial advisor during market turmoil. With his expertise, I made over $220K, revealing hidden market opportunities. Having an investment counselor is crucial, especially for those nearing retirement.
@rustix3 why? Before tax is the measure of value for work. Tax gets used to fund public services and is highly variable across nations so it does not compare well when looking at just the economy.
@@freetimefoster I was thinking from the point of view of the random citizen. The author of the video was talking about Polish people moving to work in Germany because of high salaries. And he showed us the average salaries in both countries(I don't know how true those numbers are). But if let's assume the tax is 50% and in Poland it's 10% then the salaries are roughly the same, so after couple of month the Polish people should return to Poland. I exaggerated the numbers, but I think you got my point. I don't see the strong reasoning of Polish people moving to Germany by the numbers provided.
@rustix3 but using hypotheticals if the high tax country offers free public transport, better schools, free university, free top quality health care, better environmental protection etc etc then the tax becomes somewhat irrelevant.
@@freetimefoster In my opinion the people who work, benefit the least from the taxes. Because benefits are aimed at non-working people: retirees, pupils, students, ill people etc. That's why I would think that a young or middle aged person wouldn't count those taxes as benefits, but rather the necessary evil. Anyway its so nice to have such a calm discussion in the internet. I am somehow surprised. Thank you @freetimefoster
People dosen't understand that GDP has nothing to do with living standarts. Usa is a rich country but somehow no one from europe wants to go there as it was 30 years ago, whem everyone dreamed to go there.
A countries greatest strength is its national character. This cannot be mandated, but is the result of centuries of history. This means some countries will succeed and others fill fail, no matter how much money is pumped into them.
Because of all the economic growth there's more people coming into Poland today . The culture also leads to even more wealthier people coming to Poland for tourism or to live
Regarding growth: Poland is not only the fastest growing country in Europe but rather in the WORLD (compared to the 25 largest countries by GDP between 1990 and 2020 based on IMF statistics). 1st place goes to China and India achieved bronze medal. Congrats to all :)
China had fastest growing GDP from 1990 to 2020 (3593%). Poland was second best, but far behind China (857%). In 2023 Poland had fastest growing GDP in the world (3.9%). Now Chinese economy is collapsing so Poland may remain the GDP growth leader for a few more years. Poland is quickly becoming influential European country because Germany and France are in bad shape. German neo-Marxists hope that tomorrow (Sunday, 2023-10-15) Polish neo-Marxists will win Polish elections. The Polish neo-Marxists take money and orders from the German neo-Marxists. All neo-Marxists want to replace Europeans with foreign savages because the savages always vote for the neo-Marxists.
When you start from the level of Pakistan or Zimbabwe (see the beginning of the video), *any* growth will be significant, because it's relative. Ask yourself why Poland is so far behind Czechia and Slovenia in HDI.
@@LMB222 Czechia was not ruined by the WW2. On the contrary, large percentage of Czech population worked in German weapon factories located in Czechia and they enjoyed relative prosperity during the war. Many ethnic Czechs could not speak Czech language, so they spoke German.
Was looking forward to this Econ of Poland video after you mentioned its coming up in another one. Thanks for making it!! Actually learned a few things about my country's transition from capitalism
About military build-up: If done well it could be one of the bridges to cross that middle income gap. Military industry is and always been about bleeding edge of technology over various industries. And Poland is putting a lot of emphasis on building most of the equipment here and technology transfer as opposed to simply buying systems abroad. That could be a breeding ground for more domestic high-tech capabilities
The more I learn about Poland the more I feel like they have more things in common with us. From their bumpy history, cities that looks like here back in the early 2000s (I am mentioning this with all the love for my fond childhood memories I had as a 00s kid), and also a writing system that Western Europeans and Americans find it less familiar. (Challenge: not pronouncing Łódź as Lodge but instead Woochi, difficulty impossible) They have a lot of things going for them as my country did 20 years ago, and on top of that they have good milk. Their milk is the newest member of our "best cheapest delicious food hall of fame" since Chilean grapes, Australian beef, and Norwegian mackerels.
@@knpark2025we Poles just speak how its wrote, every letter have it own sound and its not changed on demand like english. For ex. "Cool" there is "c" and there is "o" but when its dubble "o" you speak as "u", and you change "c" on "k" when you say it, weird and confusing
Would really love to see all the baltic countries have their own video, they are named the baltic tigers for a reason - Would be a insightful deep dive from the economic perspective!
You completely skipped polish IT sector. Around 500k high paid and skilled employees, 60k tech companies from around the globe. Poland is one of the leaders of IT outsourcing 😉
Hi everyone! What an amazing video. I'm looking for someone reputable and trustworthy that can provide me with investment advice and good ways to save while making high returns.
Moved from London to krakow were my company ve opened the branche there. Very happy safe homogenous soviety. In london i rent a small flat for 1.5 k £ here for 700 i live in new estate and all my neighbours are guys who work in corporate environment not in Turkish take away. Very vibrant modern city with huge architectural beauty great nightlife. One thing to add - when in poland currency is PLN zł making stats in $ dont show real truth. Earing in poland 2 k $ - 10 k PLN per month u live like on very high standard when in london or geneva or Berlin u have for rent. In poland AV salary now is 7,8 k pln. Easy . Best idea is to try it youtself YT wont tell u the truth just stats from wiki or ocd
12:51 you show average polish salary of 2511 USD, I'd love to see a source of it as based on the latest GUS report average income is 7000 PLN which is around 1600 USD
My impression of Poland since the Iron Curtain came down is that they are a quality nation, good people, low corruption, hard working, and a general desire to do good. Congratulations to Poland for finally showing the world their true potential!
This is a natural part of becoming a more advanced economy, but this brings with it certain traps like the middle-income trap I talked about in the video, where the cost of living could rise so much that they lose their competitive advantage for low cost manufacturing.
Oh man, please Poland wasn't a soviet union republic Sorry but you do a big mistake 8'00" Poland was a member of Warsaw Pact,never soviet republic, Fix the ERROR please
I suggest you looking into Romania. Apparently we are headed on the same route Poland was in the early 2000s, since we reached the psychological threshold of 1,000 km of motorways in the country. Great video, keep up the good work and consider my suggestion!
$45K per capita PPP may be in Warsaw, but average PPP is close to $30K, although due to higher inflation (about 10%) prices are raising, so PPP may fall. IMO the best year was 2020.
@@PI0TYCH Yes, but they are basically saying that Poland is a poor country with their comment, and it clearly isn't. Several countries were considered developed but had GDP's per capita PPP lower than that.
We In Poland have a saying "Jeśli nie wiadomo o co chodzi to chodzi o pieniądze" Which roughly says: when you don't know what it's about then it's about the money
Exactly for work and income. Despite the rosy view of this video - millions of Poles are elsewhere in the EU for work not retirement or better weather or any other thing that other wealthy Europeans go for.
The huge problem you addressed in a video before but you didn't address in this one is, the inequality. Which Poland speedruns with high efficiency. Trying to keep the low wage workforce going on for as long as it's possible. With housing prices skyrocketing to german prices, but the wages stalling behind. Renting a home can cost more than a whole wage. If one isn't born in a city, getting there on your own is mathematically impossible. Just to keep labour cost lower, the wages don't grown proportionally to expanses for basic need. putting a huge pressure on the people. Sure the wages grow by 10%, but if the price of a house jumps by 40% and the food jumps by 20%. You will still afford less afterwards. Adult people live in their parents house without a job, or a job that doesn't pay enough to ever leave, but drains their energy too much to escape such situation. This causes severe inequality and ultimately, economic instability.
That is easier to count GDP than the usual people prosperity. Actually, you have addressed the core problem of the Polish economy. If you rise salaries/wages the owner of the business (huge part of the beneficiaries are not of Polish residence) is not interested in doing business in Poland anymore, because the lower labor cost is the biggest advantage. On the other hand if you keep wages low - people will start to look for other countries because they simply can not feed their families. The bubble in real estate is so pumped that it is very dangerous to bust it, but keep it longer is even more danger. if another 90s are ahead of us it will be very optimistic scenario.
In my opinion as an avarage citizen of this country, the lack of higher class is a great asset for us, because we've been able to create more egalitarian society where everyone can feel equal with the same possibilities. There's no excluded citizens, if you can work hard, you have the same opportunities like others. Love from Poland
@@agnieszkaszklarz3833 Yes... I would know because I am also Polish. Not having a nobility class is a very good thing. I generally don't mind billionaires if they provide a good service, but if they don't have to pay taxes like Royalty in certain other countries, that's not a good thing.
Hi, I am Polish and I would really like to feel that my country's economy is so good. In 90ys many people opened companies and made some money but it is not so simple anymore. We have the biggest dept in our history, we have a lot problems between European Union and our government, we still didn't privatised industries like shipbuilding and mining and it cost us a lot. As someone already noticed our average salary is much lower than it was said and most of the your people ( specially without a partner ) has to live with their parents till theirs 30s/40s because they are not able to rent anything. Moreover our inflation is also one of the biggest one and after two years , I barerly see the difference between prices in Poland and Germany ( but Polish salaries are far more smaller ). In my opinion , of you are a young single person in Poland, who didn't get the apartment from family or don't work in IT, you are in the trap where you are working only to be able to survive.
Thats pretty much the same everywheres these days man(most of the western world). In the states most people are just one pay check away from being on the street and many people are already in the streets. I didnt see wide spread homelessness as i do here. My wife is from Warsaw, she lives with me in the states for now but we hoping to save up enough to move there one day. Cost of living has got out of hand over here and Poland has a high standard of living. You have beautiful country and beautiful people, loved my trips there. Also love the food, schabowy and zurek soup is my favorite! Always get my wife to make this.
One hidden problem that you haven't talked about and will be a major barrier to Poland "catching up" with France and Germany is the fact that Poland will never have any immigration due to the Polish language being literally the most difficult one in the world, apparently. Polish people will rightfully expect guests to learn Polish, same as anywhere else, only that is an impossible request. Poles already being more conservative than French or even German people, when they see their immigrants not speaking Polish *at all* , they will naturally grow even more resistant to the idea of immigration. This will make the Polish economy plateau much sooner.
Situation on ua refugees is quite the contrary. Poland cut wellfare pretty quickly and once situation in Ukraine become more stable a lot of people, have returned. Now Ukrainians in Poland are paying more taxes, then was used to support refugees. There are some people unhappy about a lot of Ukrainians moving in - mostly due to rising rent and property prices, but overall cultural difference is small and Ukraininas working hard and learning the language to blend in.
Your statement is not completely accurate, the estimated income from the Ukrainian refugees/migrants income tax was around $3 billion USD at its peak. You can add the benefits of them paying VAT and partially spending this into the local economy minus the major component of remittances etc however the total ultra conservative direct support costs of economic aid and military aid significantly exceeded $33 billion USD. This doesn't include a huge amount of indirect support costs. The government hasn't cut welfare at all, it's planning to 'scale it down' according to the government spokesperson with no timescale. I can provide sources for the numbers and statements if you'd like. Alternatively I'd advise you research this yourself independently. Therefore, I disagree with what you've written
@@masketkiller101 I'm one of the refugees. As far as I know, the only welfare remaining for Ukrainians is the one for families with children. The only one offered to me as a single adult with no kids was 200 PLN upon arrival (didn't take it, I don't need it). There was another program in which the state paid the Poles to provide housing and food to Ukrainians (30 PLN a day, iirc), but a few months later they only kept it for families and pregnant women. Another one that's still around is 500+, on same conditions as it is for the Poles: 500 PLN per kid a month. I'm most grateful that Poland simplified our employment to the extreme so I don't have to drain more resources from my neighbours.
i'm not an economist, or even a particularly smart person, but i sincerely fail to see, how running a 12 hours a day six days a week sweatshops with next-to-free labour from ukrainian and belarusian migrants can not give one ridiculous profits.
Hate on ukrainians comes from history and hate spreading by polish right wingers and populists. And some issues with their society. But most of ukrainians are normal working people, that learn and communicate after some time, just work to get better life. Sad truth is, Ukraine is corrupted backward country with oligarchy and divisions in society. Ukraine, even after war ends, will have huge problem to get most of that people back. I work with a lot of ukrainians and most of them who work, study or have kids in polish schools don't want to come back anymore. Of course Im sure it's not like that for everyone but I speak for hundreds of people's and families. Of course not everything is as beautiful. Amount of alcohol abuse even among young, driving under influence, showing up drunk to work, it's way more common compared to polish standards. Corruption also is rooted to the point that some complain that it's impossible to bribe a doctor to get faster appointment ect. Also their right wingers are problem who hate basically everyone, including polish people (even when they live here), racism, homophobia, hate for russian speaking Ukrainians is really common and I guess it's way closer to Russian mindset than polish. As people they are as normal as every other European, as society they need to work on responsibility, team game and crashing that divisions they create. I wish them all good otherwise.
I know and like some Poish people from the time I stayed in the UK. They are for the most part friendly, nice, reliable people. Please do not become like the Germans!
"population that just consumes and not produces" is a very simplistic point of view in these circumstances, as they consume but someone must produce for them
Hope to see you do a video on the chaos in the global bond market over the past couple weeks and if this chaos signals the start of a larger economic crisis across America, Europe and Asia.
seeing the economic developments you just explained, I guess I should look into buying a vacation/retirement home over there sooner rather than later before its getting unaffordable, provided that was my long-term goal? 🤔
Buying a home in Poland is very good choice, cause the salaries will grow higher and higher every year i next few decades faster than other EU countires. Maybe beyond Estonia
@@fatoeki yes, that's a very fair point, you're pretty much out of luck with just English in a lot of places in Poland (Warsaw probably being somewhat of an exception). however, to me moving somewhere for the long run includes learning the language as well, I just wouldn't want to be that guy who stands out for not integrating much or at all ...
@@Yorinobu1447 Not really sure about that, might be a good idea, if you want to buy it in a city or one of the really sweet spots of the country, may be less bright if you want a house in the countryside or a small town that still has a hosbital and also depends on when you want to retire. Poland still is declining in population so some areas grow while most shrink. in the parts of the country were the population falls houseprices will mostly stagnate.
While I consider the title 'Next Germany' a clickbait, I think perhaps in 20 years Poland could have a chance of being economically on par with Italy. Why? Despite being conservative, people in Poland have the drive to improve things, learn languages, work hard for it and get the job done well. They like to try new things. There is some will in Poland's governments to address issues, even if it's just for show before elections, things slowly become solved or improved. The problem is - there is not enough money for a significant R&D in Poland that could give it some highly lucrative niches to quickly catch up economically with powerhouses like Germany. BUT For comparison, Mediterranean countries appear stagnant. Rampant unemployment. Governments incapable of resolving chronic issues. Poor language education = poor start in the interconnected world. High costs of living vs relatively low salaries. High national debt, money being spent on social welfare. Italy at least excels in (and can successfully sell) its design, food and engineering. The rest just seems content with what they have. 'It has to be this way because this is the way it has always been' is a Mediterranean mantra and it doesn't really encourage making any progress. If you're not progressing, you are left behind - hence, perhaps, a chance for Poland.
It would be really interesting if you can explore and explain the economies from the Western Balkan countries, having in mind that they are all negotiating with the EU and it seems like they are most likely to be the next big enlargement of the union.
Get The Ultimate Guide for Using ChatGPT at Work: clickhubspot.com/run
8:48 Could you please reupload this video with fixed map or do something else to repair your mistake? Sorry, but it's just awful to look how wrong outline of China is (And Sudan and Kosovo actually).
@economicsexplained You might want to remove the link to the Hubspot ChatGPT guide. It’s really terribly written and full of misleading info. Whoever signed off on publishing that did not understand the platform or capabilities. The author relied too heavily on generative AI, and they got hallucinations in response.
Despite Polish politics being bit shizo (it take some time Western investors realize that they should ignore political drama). Poland actually did have decent economists and academics. It is why Poland actually is a meritocracy, where legislature is voted after preparation according to legislative office (experts). Furthermore we need remember that Poland WAS a successful free market economy prior to WW2. And as such many people who actually know hoe capitalism work, were here. Just not officially for obvious reasons. It is why Poland has shockingly docent banking system. Which is why it was not affected by economic crisis of 2008.
Would love to see an analysis of Portugal on this channel.
@@TheRezro I'm not sure that Polish politics is any more 'shitzo' than any other part of Europe!
I'd be interested to learn how many Polish people have actually returned there. Here in UK my Polish friends are, well, still here!
Poand has never been "soviet republic" because it has never been a part of a country called USSR unlike Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus or Georgia. Poland was soviet satelite state just like East Germany or Chechoslovakia. Forced to live under Moscow's commands but still a separate country with its own land, borders, flags, anthem, political leaders.
From economic perspective it make no difference. Nothing on shells and corruption, if you want something better/new you had to know people to get (not stricte give them money, but they would give limited stock to people they know, so they would get similar treatment)
Economic perspective is not the only one. I write it as a Pole. Calling us "sovet republic" is pure ignorance and an insult. It does matter to us. @@m_sedziwoj
@@m_sedziwojthe economic difference is important as well. The USSR was richer, had a different currency, different economic model, particularly in agriculture, but also in industry, where USSR had much more centralized and monopolized heavy industry, so it was more difficult to kick start capitalistic competition. Poland was effectively the USSR's colony. Or one could argue USSR's republics were a more integrated layer of colonies of Russia proper, while other Eastern Block countries were the outer ring of colonies.
This is the kind of proof reading and checking they should be doing at the research stage. Quick search = Poland was not a Soviet Republic.
I thought they stated that at the start. Did they contradict themselves later on?
We’ve tried to make Poland Germany a few different times and it never ends that well 🤷♂️
We meaning whom, and how exactly? and no we Poles ain't interested in becoming Germany nor did we ever were or tried.
Germany had totally diffrent economic model, focusing heavy on car industry, cheap Russian gas and it is vastly pumped above it's weight with that EU domination that secured them monopol on exports and preferential treatments from EU bodies for years.
XD
@@zawiszaczarny7876its a joke…
@@zawiszaczarny7876 I think Germany is rich because it exports a lot, while currency appreciation is kept in check by other less export-heavy EU economies that also use the Euro. Exporting a lot means they get rich, and they definitely benefit a lot from being part of the EU. But I think the EU benefits as well.
@@zawiszaczarny7876 this was a historical joke based on the number of times Germany and pre-unification-german states have invaded and controlled Poland, especially the Second World War.
One mistake: Poland is not a former soviet state, it was in the eastern block, but not the part of the soviet union like the Baltics, Ukraine etc.
It was said that Poland hasn't adopted Euro yet, like these former soviet states (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), but not that Poland was a soviet state.
Who put it in "eastern block"?
Poland was occupied by russian gangrene thanks to Roosvelt and Churchill. Poles hate commies gangrene... Well, most of them because there are a lot of leftist lovers (the ones who tells you "there's no democracy and freedom" in Poland)
@@krisfekete4940: 7:58
Bloc, not block. The French spelling is because of … history , I guess.
also 0:35
Poland is an amazing country! Just discovered this in my first visit this year. I love Poland and it's people! 🇵🇱
I respect Polish people. They don't want terrorism, drugs and knife crime in their country. They are trying to stop their cities from turning into third world sht oles
Everyone can be racist, but racism should be in moderation, not going after you just because you want to see their f country and see historical sites,i didn't fly for 10 hrs to beg for your money, I came to spend money in your shitty economy.
I have split feelings, i work with a lot of poles and they are all some of my absolute favorite people with their no bullshit attitude and dry humor but I have also been there a few times and the number of flat-out rude and unfriendly people I have encountered was also a bit shocking.
@@travisfubu9053Poland wants a nation with polish people. You are very ignorant and stupid if you call them racists, just study the history of Poland. They have every right to be careful about immigrants and foreigners they don’t know. And if you watch what happens in Germany, France and UK you will see Poland did everything right.
You must love racists
My best friend in primary school was Polish- hence why for Poland there is a special place in my heart. I wish Poland the best of luck for the future and hope they'll be able to prosper. Love from Pakistan ❤
Ok but stay in your country and improve it rather than flooding Europe and making women uneasy.
@@manfreds.6384 I didn't live in Poland nor am I someone who violates laws.
@@sarahhaaniaxoxoHaha - your best friend may have been decent but that first response is more typical of Poles.
@@vmoses1979 If you say so
@@vmoses1979 I highly doubt that guy is Polish lol
Probably German or British
I am rooting for Poland to succeed, love polish people. Greetings from Romania !
Dziękuję w imieniu wszystkich Polakow za pozdrowienia, Polska ma teraz ciezkie czasy, Polonia z wlaszcza Niemiecka glosowala w wyborach na Tuska i mlode dziewczyny ktore nie znają polityki, Tysk moze rządzić, to bedzie tragedia dla Polski, a unia wymusza na wszystkich mniejszych panstwach, lamie wszelkie prawa unijne, zesmy wpadli w nie samowite bagno, obejrzyj jaka jest faktycznie unia, to diabel wcielony,,, FIRMA KTÓREJ PRACOWNICY BLAGAJA O POMOC,,?
:)
We are rooting for Romania to succeed too. Respect from Poland
@@ThomasJ.StonewallJackson Backstabbing your Hungarian brothers ? xD
Thank brothers ❤We’re rooting For you too! Actually i just watched a Polish video on YT talking about Romania 🇷🇴 and how it’s on its on the positive path to outgrow Poland.
I've been reading about the growing economy of Poland, and it's fascinating how they've been flourishing in recent years.
Indeed, Poland has shown remarkable resilience and growth, especially when you compare it to the challenges faced by Russia's economy.
It's clear that Poland has established itself as a robust player in the European economy. I wonder if there are opportunities for American investors and businesses to benefit from this growth.
Well, I recently came across Loren Lena Walker, a financial advisor who specializes in international investments and market opportunities. She might be the right person to guide Americans in exploring Poland's economic potential.
That's great to know. Poland's economy seems like a promising avenue for diversification.
Absolutely. Diversifying investments and looking for opportunities in emerging markets like Poland can be a prudent move.
The only thing I missed in terms of econmy is Poland's rising power in the IT industry and more broadly, services.
I don't know. The share of Services in the GDP is rather stable in Poland. Also the aging population hasn't been mentioned
I didn’t take this video as positive view on Polands success, rather how fragile it is and that it won’t last. Almost as if the author didn’t believe in this success and maybe is slightly irritated by it? 🤔
@@AnonimoslawAnonimowy It is stable but it is a far more important than produce which was broadly talked about
the question is if it will last longer than we think - if you will take under consideration rapidly growing salaries in the IT services and the fact the vast majority of the clients are not national, but outside you can get into the conclusion it can be replaced sooner or later by similarly educated professionals in Bulgaria or Romania. A lot of major international companies outsourced the work to Poland but money always wins so some roles will be exported to cheaper locations for sure.
I will never understand why Economics Explained keeps using the same map that includes Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as part of China 8:47
Sometimes I think big channels like this include small errors so it encourages people to comment and boost engagement.
He knows something, we dont. Probably economists actually can predict the future.
@@EliteInsider Lol and I played right into then
@@J-IFWBREconomists can't predict anything, they're guessing at best.
Because he made this video in 2034.
Poland is home to Andrzej Sapkowski and CD Projekt Red, the legendary creative team responsible for the video game *The Witcher*, and the book series that inspired it.
Amazing books. It's a shame the TV show wasn't true to the source material. Don't even get me started on Blood Origin...
@@EconomicsExplained you should play the games also. They are amazing. Only thing that disappoint is Netflix series.
Cyberpunk 2077 - Phantom Liberty.
I must say: one of the Best PC games ever (story, characters, music!!, graphics, animations...). After Update 2.0.
@@EconomicsExplained You can always watch older Polish tv show. When it was released I thought it was poor thing, but comparing to Netflix s..t it`s still pretty cool.
@@bullet1544 Playing the game again with Phantom Liberty and I have to say, the game is breathtaking now
If any country deserves a break, it's Poland. Good on them for doing so well.
If any country deserves a break, its Russia. Good on them for constantly not giving into being taken over by either Nationalist french, Nazi Germans, or Imperialist americans.
Considering it exists at all, manages to have an economy, is in the top third of the world by gdp per capita, has a national identity, language, culture, history, and heck, HAS A BORDER LOL its doing pretty well.
No, that's Cuba. And Palestine.
After this week election we will know how it will be :)
@@ArawnOfAnnwn Definitely not Palestine
🇵🇱🏆
Poland is quickly becoming very attractive for tech. If they keep this up, you could see Poland outshine traditional powerhouses in 30 years (or sooner).
30 years is a long time. I think we will see big changes a long time before that!
@@EconomicsExplained It has already become a hub of innovation and R&D for many world-leading companies like Samsung, Schneider, Nielsen, P&G, Accenture, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, T-Mobile, EY and many more
@@EconomicsExplained 别夹带私货
@@EconomicsExplained just imagine poland a million years from now ...
@@jianjunwang6385 Why not? Crime rates in Poland are extremely low.
I think the biggest improvement after joining EU was infrastructure investemnt. Back in the 90s both railways and regular roads were in dire state, unable to acommodate the increasing economic activity. No highways, almost no express roads, local roads with holes bigger than the budget hole left by minister Bauc.
EU invested massive amount of money over the first decade of membership into these areas which made Poland being attractive for any serious business.
Indeed. I remember when they first opened the metro in Warsaw around 1995 I believe. It was a huge deal! No more taking buses down streets with massive potholes lol. Haven't been back since 2000 so it was nice to see the progress in this video.
@@thatguychris5654 Oh, it changed a LOT! I sometimes don't rozognione it.
"I think the biggest improvement after joining EU was infrastructure investemnt."
So, that was still the effect of joining the EU. Most likely, the majority of those infrastructure investments wouldn't happen without the EU. And the EU didn't pay 100% of the price, but the money was a huge driving force that those projects happened in the first place (because from the perspective of Poland, many expensive projects became much cheaper, while still offering a great net return).
@@thatguychris5654There are two metro lines now. Second one goes from Bemowo to Targówek.
It seems improving infrastructure for new members has been one of the success stories of the EU. Spain is the obvious case study, which now has some of the best roads and railways in Europe. Ireland is similar, and I'm sure there must be others.
8:45 No! Bad China! You can't have Kyrgystan and Tajikstan!
China doesn't claim sovereignty over those countries/regions do they?
Probably a visual typo.
@@siraaron4462 not yet :P
你在发什么疯
You should do a video on Estonia. Very similar history to Poland, but punching above its weight and (arguably) a leader in certain fields.
Yes, I really want to see Estonia included!
Estonia and Slovenia have done by far the best out of all post-socialist states. They definitely deserve praise, especially estonia since it was part of the soviet union and is farther away from western europe
这不是做梦吗
Estonia is a province not a country 😂
The population of Estonia is comparable to the population of Warsaw alone. The size of Estonia is smaller than the Masovian Voivodeship in Poland. I think that comparisons do not make sense, because the differences are too great, the challenges are different, the scale of activities is different. The Polish economy is not only much, much larger, but also much more complex and diverse. Regardless, it is definitely worth watching a film about Estonia or Slovenia.
Go go Poland go, cooperates with Brazil, Argentina and some East Asia and Southeast Asia country, would do works for them. Wish well for them from Indonesia 🇮🇩🤝🇵🇱
If 20 years ago someone told me that Poland will be a higher ranked economy thatn UK, Finland or Canada, Id call the police.
And it isn't
It will be
It still won't for a number of reasons, one of which is it's population decline
@@Lando-kx6sopopulation decline is problem in whole Europe now
@@Lando-kx6soPeople like to act as if most developed nations aren't experiencing a population decline and only focus their attention on countries that don't accept illegal immigration like Poland and Japan.
Poland has no interest in becoming the second Germany because there is only one Poland. We want our citizens to live in peace and prosperity in safe Europe. Also, Poland is not a miracle but a result of sacrifice and hard work of its citizens. Poland has 40 millions of people today.
Exactly
yes it has, we are trying our best to catch up with EU greatest economies in Germany and France, then keep up and potentially someday overcome to be the new leader. Sky is the limit, capitalism is a blessing and Poles are highly educated and hard working people, now speaking fluently foreign languages.
Poland is a result of Russia putting this country on the map and German sponsored EU funds. American lapdog poland bites the hand that's feeding it as usual.
2:08 Poland has been invaded so many times, you know something's changed when someone is confident saying that the chances of Poland being invaded are "extremely slim"
Actually we did do a video on this recently! I hope you find it interesting: ruclips.net/video/WU4cPNC_JFE/видео.htmlsi=Txabua1kHtKNyq-r
yeah I was like huh? Didn't Putin said the war will only stop if the Soviet Flag flies over the Reichstag in Berlin again? Poland is kind of in the way between Moscow and Berlin last time I checked
@@gareonconley1956 well Poland is part of strongest military alliance world ever saw and Polish military now is 3rd strongest in europe just after russia and France. but Polish military is top modern.
8:00 Not a Soviet republic but a post-communist/ex-eastern bloc country
Poland is a good example for all of Eastern Europe. Hope they continue on the same path. Please do a video on Romania as well.
Estonia is a good example for Eastern Europe, Poland is absolutely average when compared to other ex-Soviet satellite states. Heck, even countries that were a part of Soviet Union - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia all have higher GDP per capita than Poland
The only Eastern European countries that are significantly behind Poland are Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, as all are victims of current Kremlin politics.
Yeah this video is literally clickbait. Poland had been the "toilet cleaners" of west europe and any economic growth they had was thanks to EU grants, which every other eastern european country received, and usually invested better (Baltic countries, Romania in the past few years, Checzia). The main reason Poland is "famous" is because she is constantly squabbling with Germany, so their populist conservative party can stay in power.
@@SirNyanPanda That's becouse Poland has more people than them comparing GPD per capita is hard becouse of the population each country has
It isn't. Poland is in Central Europe. Same and Czechia and Slovakia.
Poland's borders were changed post WW2. The eastern portion of Poland were stolen and it was given a slice of eastern Germany by the USSR. Poland is historically known as Eastern European. It is a slavic state.
finally a Poland episode ⬜🟥
The fact Poland never adopted Euro as official currency and still keeps Zloty is a 10000IQ move. While it comes with some drawbacks, not having a currency that's value is tied to like 40 other countries is an extreme economical advantage.
Especially when the eurozone countries have huge debts (91% of GDP on average).
@@RandomGuy-lu1enso is having a left leaning one because typically both sides of the political spectrum are economically illiterate
Note: economically literate people support freer markets
@@RandomGuy-lu1enwhat makes their government "far right"
Greece joining euro was minus 10000 IQ move.
@@RandomGuy-lu1entell that to Singapore, the world's most developed country.
Love Poland from Romania! ❤
Hi Romania🇵🇱❤️🇷🇴 from Warsaw
Back at You from Warszawa my friends! :)))we both will get there sooner or later. :))))
I like this video, Poland has many things in common with Czech Republic (country were I live). It would be interesting to compare these two. I looked to historic chart of GDP in both countries and I see a more "sustainable" growth rate in Poland than in Czech Republic although we are a bit richer then they are on average. It seems like Polish have a brighter future than we (Czech) can expect despite the borders with Ukraine.
没有实体经济和重工业，靠做梦就能变成希特勒吗
Poland + Czech R. + Slovakia = 12th biggest Economy in the world . We should have created union , even before World war II shouldve done it .
@@patrykkazmierczak8384have you heard about the European union?
I go to Czechia often and from street level, Czech towns and villages are almost Western Europe level. Poland is 5-10 years behind Czechia (also in GDP per capita), but the gap is closing.
Byłem wiele razy w Czechach i wyglafaja one znacznie biedniej niz Polska, zwlaszcza wioski, domy i infrastruktura jest o wiele gorsza niz w Polsce. Niestety małe Czechy zawsze mialy kompleksy i traktowaly Polske jak Rosję lub gorzej... Nie ma co porownywać Polske z Czechami. Potencjał gospodarczy Polski jest kilka razy wyższy niż Czech. Poza tym Czesi ze swym kompleksem malego, nieznaczącego państwa są zabawni... 10 lat temu Czechy nie rożniły się od Polski w ogóle..
8:45, I see that china decided to annex tajikistan and kyrgyzstan, very bold of them
Its strange that ukraine is and was ridiculously far behind poland or any other slavic states in per capita gdp, including russia.
Very smart move of Poland to just have people compete against state enterprises. I'm thoroughly impressed.
A smart move indeed. Frankly the services offered by the state enterprises in the 90s and early 2000s were so bad that people craved for alternatives.
Ukrain was also the state with the most....pocked-transactions....per unit of buerocrat. For real, it was even worse than russia and albania.
A great part of their economic success is due to the European Union pouring millions of Euros to put Poland's infrastructure up to speed, but of course Poles like to say it's all their own credit. Having said that, they managed to get rid of corruption, something that is still haunting other ex-soviet countries
@@rhs5683 and source on that?
@@jolly-rancher his backside probably
Do Romania next! That would be very interesting.
I'm curious what the current state is of that Romanian town: Glod, that unfortunately became part of the 2006 Borat movie. How have things changed in Glod in 17 years?
Did it bring an influx of tourists? (similar to how Borat increased tourism in Kazakhstan). Has 17 years allowed the town to improve some if its infrastructure?
Include Hungary & Bulgaria which were former Soviet client states along with Romania.
@@2drealms196 I wouldn't say it improved much, although the GDP doubled in the last 16 years. Romania developed quite fast (similar to Poland), but unfortunately the growth has been concentrated in a couple of regions (e.g. Bucharest, Cluj, Timis).
Top G living there puts it at the top of the rankings
@@richardchambers1124 I see you are familiar with the theories developed by economists at Hustlers University
Thanks for a great episode. I am actually a Pole and I have an idea for another interesting episode. Within Poland we have quite a big (heated) debate whether we should adopt Euro or not. It would be nice to gain an outside perspective on that matter from a renowned economics channel, since ultimately, whether we will adopt it or not most likely depend on who Poles will vote for in the near future :).
Speaking as an American, currency abandonment should not be a whimsical decision.
Nations like Lebanon have had to abandon the Lira due to intense inflation and unofficially adopt the dollar.
To change domestic currency would suggest there is a serious perceived instability, like we saw in Greece.
Keeping both currencies is also much healthier for the consumer as it allows more forms of exchange, like gold and silver, but still in fiat currency.
For a real life example, Poland avoided much of the financial crisis in 2008, whereas the EU saw losses. This ties back to Greece where it was unable to independently devalue its drachma due to Eurozone ties.
Maintaining fiscal independence outside of Brussels is a benefit for Poland.
Not controlling own currency is suicide. Euro should be never adopted because as a result country will lose economy leveraging power and part of independence. Greece is great example what means not controlling its own currency...
This debate has been pretty much resolved. There is hardly any economic advantage for Poland joining the Eurozone. Politically it's also very dubious as it means assuming responsibility for countries of Southern Europe, which are likely to fall into huge economic problems. I think that all political parties announced that adopting the Euro was not on their agenda, right?
I'm polish, no we can't become the next germany, thank you for your time
Could i ask why?
Because we are german-american vasal state colony
because there is only one germany. Thank you for your time
why so negative?
Because German is not our national language. Jenkuyeh
7:55 - 8:05 Poland never belonged to the Soviet Union. Indeed, during the Cold War, the government in Warsaw was fully dependent on Moscow, but Poland was not part of Soviet state.
As a Romanian, I'm so proud of Poland and we look up to Poland as our example in Eastern Europe!
For me as someone from Czechia (Poland's southwestern neighbour in Central Europe) it is interesting to follow the development of Poland. And even from what ordinary Poles tell me, the country is really successfully rising. Just a decade ago a trip to Poland was like a return to my childhood, grey crumbling houses, crappy infrastructure, you could really feel the poverty in many places. But the country has moved on a lot in the last decade and you can see it in the streets of the towns and villages. Let's see how it develops further. 👍
tak naprawdę Wojciechu nie ma między nami różnicy. W każdym kraju ( nawet twoim :) są obszary biedniejsze i bogatsze. Dekadę temu nie było już ani brzydkiej infrastruktury ani biedy. Jak czytam komentarze z Cech zawsze nie mogę nadziwić się waszej wyższości, a byłam w Czechach nie raz i powiem Ci szczerze, nie wiem skąd ta wyższość.
@@katarzynafiakowska2054 droga Katarzyno, mieszkałem w Czechach 2.5 roku i jest duża gospodarcza i społeczna różnica między tymi krajami. Widać to w statystykach, w płacach i widać to w wyglądzie miast i wiosek. Widać w jakości usług publicznych (służba zdrowia nie do porównania, pociągi...). Czechy stoją na wyższym poziomie. Może nie jest to odległość kosmiczna, ale jest wyraźna. Zdravím z Varšavy
*eastern Europe
@@neznamtija8081 Mapy też chyba nie znasz. Central Europe.
@@katarzynafiakowska2054 Where did you get that "superiority" from Vojtěch's comment? I don't get it at all. Please explain ...
Great video! Please do Romania as well, I was astonished to learn it was the 19th most complex economy in the world, above many developed countries. Should be interesting to look at. It also has an abundance of strategic resources.
It's been a rough year with losses from failed banks and government, real estate crashes, a struggling economy, and downturns in stocks and dividends. It feels like everything has been going wrong.
What a terrible year it is…
The financial markets are full with opportunities, but l've learned a lot over the past few years to doubt that. The key is knowing where to focus. Well appreciated,Samuel Peter Descovich
That is why I work with Samuel Peter Descovich, who introduced me to a better Financial community, a verified agency where I learned how money works and how to create it, as well as free books, courses, and daily lectures.
You also get to meet new people, which was the best decision I ever made.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Your coach was simple to discover online. I did my research on him before I wrote to him. He appears knowledgeable based on his online resume.
Samuel Peter Descovich is the go-to financial advisor during market turmoil. With his expertise, I made over $220K, revealing hidden market opportunities. Having an investment counselor is crucial, especially for those nearing retirement.
I found his extraordinary resume when I searched for his name on Google. I count it a gift that I went over this remark
12:50 When speaking about salaries being advantageous, it makes sense to mention taxes. It's better to compare take-home salaries.
It is useles to compare anything when EE uses wrong data. Polish average salary is 1/3 lower than he claims. BTW his political map is wrong too.
@rustix3 why? Before tax is the measure of value for work. Tax gets used to fund public services and is highly variable across nations so it does not compare well when looking at just the economy.
@@freetimefoster I was thinking from the point of view of the random citizen. The author of the video was talking about Polish people moving to work in Germany because of high salaries. And he showed us the average salaries in both countries(I don't know how true those numbers are). But if let's assume the tax is 50% and in Poland it's 10% then the salaries are roughly the same, so after couple of month the Polish people should return to Poland. I exaggerated the numbers, but I think you got my point. I don't see the strong reasoning of Polish people moving to Germany by the numbers provided.
@rustix3 but using hypotheticals if the high tax country offers free public transport, better schools, free university, free top quality health care, better environmental protection etc etc then the tax becomes somewhat irrelevant.
@@freetimefoster In my opinion the people who work, benefit the least from the taxes. Because benefits are aimed at non-working people: retirees, pupils, students, ill people etc. That's why I would think that a young or middle aged person wouldn't count those taxes as benefits, but rather the necessary evil. Anyway its so nice to have such a calm discussion in the internet. I am somehow surprised. Thank you @freetimefoster
Poland is amazing 🎉and it’s not a miracle, Polish people work hard and smart.
they are not progres :), that's why they can progress :) hahahah
Hard-yes. Smart-no.
that's how you explain it to yourself 😁@@lemaro85
@@lemaro85Fajnie ze się nam przedstawiasz ale nie bądź dla siebie taki surowy🤡
@@Bakambol Same fakty.
Kinda cool to see my country grow and prosper when it's neighbors know how to respect borders. Hope to see more progress before the next world war.
lots to do after the Germans and Russians spent centuries destroying and genociding Poland and still, Germans own billions in business inside Poland
别做梦了
Except of one neighbour
German/Austrian/EU propaganda is ruining Poland internally and internationally @@AnonimoslawAnonimowy
@@2MinuteHockeyhow?
If a country can give birth to the genius composer Frédéric Chopin, I don't see why it can't produce more hard working geniuses.
People dosen't understand that GDP has nothing to do with living standarts. Usa is a rich country but somehow no one from europe wants to go there as it was 30 years ago, whem everyone dreamed to go there.
A countries greatest strength is its national character. This cannot be mandated, but is the result of centuries of history. This means some countries will succeed and others fill fail, no matter how much money is pumped into them.
Because of all the economic growth there's more people coming into Poland today . The culture also leads to even more wealthier people coming to Poland for tourism or to live
Regarding growth: Poland is not only the fastest growing country in Europe but rather in the WORLD (compared to the 25 largest countries by GDP between 1990 and 2020 based on IMF statistics). 1st place goes to China and India achieved bronze medal. Congrats to all :)
Bredzisz
China had fastest growing GDP from 1990 to 2020 (3593%). Poland was second best, but far behind China (857%). In 2023 Poland had fastest growing GDP in the world (3.9%). Now Chinese economy is collapsing so Poland may remain the GDP growth leader for a few more years. Poland is quickly becoming influential European country because Germany and France are in bad shape. German neo-Marxists hope that tomorrow (Sunday, 2023-10-15) Polish neo-Marxists will win Polish elections. The Polish neo-Marxists take money and orders from the German neo-Marxists. All neo-Marxists want to replace Europeans with foreign savages because the savages always vote for the neo-Marxists.
@@polka23dot70看到共产主义的暴行，为什么还有马克思主义分子诞生，这群人跟恐怖分子没区别，没有任何人愿意和他人共享财富，除了寄生虫
When you start from the level of Pakistan or Zimbabwe (see the beginning of the video), *any* growth will be significant, because it's relative.
Ask yourself why Poland is so far behind Czechia and Slovenia in HDI.
@@LMB222 Czechia was not ruined by the WW2. On the contrary, large percentage of Czech population worked in German weapon factories located in Czechia and they enjoyed relative prosperity during the war. Many ethnic Czechs could not speak Czech language, so they spoke German.
God bless my Polish Brothers and Sisters in Christ 🙏 Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪❤️🇵🇱
A wiec są jeszcze w Niemczech katolicy😳Niech cię pan Bóg błogosławi przyjacielu🙏
Was looking forward to this Econ of Poland video after you mentioned its coming up in another one. Thanks for making it!!
Actually learned a few things about my country's transition from capitalism
About military build-up: If done well it could be one of the bridges to cross that middle income gap.
Military industry is and always been about bleeding edge of technology over various industries. And Poland is putting a lot of emphasis on building most of the equipment here and technology transfer as opposed to simply buying systems abroad. That could be a breeding ground for more domestic high-tech capabilities
The more I learn about Poland the more I feel like they have more things in common with us. From their bumpy history, cities that looks like here back in the early 2000s (I am mentioning this with all the love for my fond childhood memories I had as a 00s kid), and also a writing system that Western Europeans and Americans find it less familiar. (Challenge: not pronouncing Łódź as Lodge but instead Woochi, difficulty impossible) They have a lot of things going for them as my country did 20 years ago, and on top of that they have good milk. Their milk is the newest member of our "best cheapest delicious food hall of fame" since Chilean grapes, Australian beef, and Norwegian mackerels.
It’s closer to Wudj (like ‘fudge’), not Woochi. :)
@@TheRestedOne yea, turns out writing something to spell with unmistakable pronounciation in English is not as easy as I thought...
@@knpark2025we Poles just speak how its wrote, every letter have it own sound and its not changed on demand like english. For ex. "Cool" there is "c" and there is "o" but when its dubble "o" you speak as "u", and you change "c" on "k" when you say it, weird and confusing
说了半天，也不知道你来自哪个国家
after years of waiting it has happend a Polska video
yes
Would really love to see all the baltic countries have their own video, they are named the baltic tigers for a reason - Would be a insightful deep dive from the economic perspective!
"Baltic Tigers" ceased to be mentioned after 2008
You completely skipped polish IT sector. Around 500k high paid and skilled employees, 60k tech companies from around the globe. Poland is one of the leaders of IT outsourcing 😉
If someone thinks that poland can become next germany in quite near future, please live here for few months first
So what's your thought about it?
@@sicilybywalk that it won't?
@@browl218 ok, but why? Can you motivate your sentence?
@@sicilybywalk cause I live here and see what these so called experts in economics do to the economy
they wont if germany keeps going forward but that doesnt seems to be the case.
Hi everyone! What an amazing video. I'm looking for someone reputable and trustworthy that can provide me with investment advice and good ways to save while making high returns.
I'm amazed by the deep and accurate understanding of the polish economy :)
Most of Poland's exports to Oceania is saurkraut. It's the best saurkraut in my supermarket, I always buy it.
8:48 Just a note: Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are painted as China on the map.
Moved from London to krakow were my company ve opened the branche there. Very happy safe homogenous soviety. In london i rent a small flat for 1.5 k £ here for 700 i live in new estate and all my neighbours are guys who work in corporate environment not in Turkish take away. Very vibrant modern city with huge architectural beauty great nightlife. One thing to add - when in poland currency is PLN zł making stats in $ dont show real truth. Earing in poland 2 k $ - 10 k PLN per month u live like on very high standard when in london or geneva or Berlin u have for rent. In poland AV salary now is 7,8 k pln. Easy . Best idea is to try it youtself YT wont tell u the truth just stats from wiki or ocd
Finally! Been waiting for this video for a while
12:51 you show average polish salary of 2511 USD, I'd love to see a source of it as based on the latest GUS report average income is 7000 PLN which is around 1600 USD
I wonder the same.
He probably uses ChatGPT for writing his scripts or what 🤦
is $1600 gross or net salary?
@@minunat9 Gross salary.
@@minunat97 485 PLN gross. 5350 PLN net. So with today's exchange rate 1728USD and 1235 USD respectively
A video on the economy of London and New York would be good
My impression of Poland since the Iron Curtain came down is that they are a quality nation, good people, low corruption, hard working, and a general desire to do good. Congratulations to Poland for finally showing the world their true potential!
To be honest im glad Poland is doing well but at the same time its getting more expensive
This is a natural part of becoming a more advanced economy, but this brings with it certain traps like the middle-income trap I talked about in the video, where the cost of living could rise so much that they lose their competitive advantage for low cost manufacturing.
Yo ,we need bulid a ocasions now ,when things grow u may grown on it 😀
Hello! There's a war going on in Europe!
Wishing succes to Polak friends from Hungary! ❤
It would be interesting if Poland or Austria can start to match other nations industry like Spain, Portugal, Italy
I don't think Austria needs to catch up. Traveling to Europe I saw a higher quality of life there than anywhere else
If any country deserves a break it is Poland. So much hardship endured and such hard working people. I hope they believe in their success.
Poland is much more advanced than one might think. If it weren't for the architecture, you wouldn't know it's post-soviet.
I've been waiting for this video for a while.
Me too, but kinda dissapointed, whole video is kinda meh average vibes like he couldmt find anything interesting :/
Oh man, please Poland wasn't a soviet union republic
Sorry but you do a big mistake 8'00"
Poland was a member of Warsaw Pact,never soviet republic,
Fix the ERROR please
I suggest you looking into Romania. Apparently we are headed on the same route Poland was in the early 2000s, since we reached the psychological threshold of 1,000 km of motorways in the country. Great video, keep up the good work and consider my suggestion!
That threshold is stupid
@@merzto wut
Do a Czech republic video next?
Not gonna lie, waited for this one for a looong time
But the gdp per capita of 18K is not real because prices are much lower. The GDP PPP is already above 45K.
$45K per capita PPP may be in Warsaw, but average PPP is close to $30K, although due to higher inflation (about 10%) prices are raising, so PPP may fall. IMO the best year was 2020.
@@PI0TYCH Yes, but they are basically saying that Poland is a poor country with their comment, and it clearly isn't. Several countries were considered developed but had GDP's per capita PPP lower than that.
Many Poles work in Denmark, which is pretty close. Would be nice to hear something about why they go there to work - maybe a video about Denmark?
I also heard a lot of Poles go to work to Norway and in the past UK.
We In Poland have a saying "Jeśli nie wiadomo o co chodzi to chodzi o pieniądze" Which roughly says: when you don't know what it's about then it's about the money
Are one of those Danes that keep chimping out when a migrant does not have a perfect grasp on your language I keep hearing about?
Exactly for work and income. Despite the rosy view of this video - millions of Poles are elsewhere in the EU for work not retirement or better weather or any other thing that other wealthy Europeans go for.
We do not need a video about obvious stuff.
The huge problem you addressed in a video before but you didn't address in this one is, the inequality.
Which Poland speedruns with high efficiency. Trying to keep the low wage workforce going on for as long as it's possible.
With housing prices skyrocketing to german prices, but the wages stalling behind. Renting a home can cost more than a whole wage. If one isn't born in a city, getting there on your own is mathematically impossible. Just to keep labour cost lower, the wages don't grown proportionally to expanses for basic need. putting a huge pressure on the people.
Sure the wages grow by 10%, but if the price of a house jumps by 40% and the food jumps by 20%.
You will still afford less afterwards.
Adult people live in their parents house without a job, or a job that doesn't pay enough to ever leave, but drains their energy too much to escape such situation.
This causes severe inequality and ultimately, economic instability.
That is easier to count GDP than the usual people prosperity. Actually, you have addressed the core problem of the Polish economy. If you rise salaries/wages the owner of the business (huge part of the beneficiaries are not of Polish residence) is not interested in doing business in Poland anymore, because the lower labor cost is the biggest advantage. On the other hand if you keep wages low - people will start to look for other countries because they simply can not feed their families. The bubble in real estate is so pumped that it is very dangerous to bust it, but keep it longer is even more danger. if another 90s are ahead of us it will be very optimistic scenario.
Poland never was a Soviet Republic! What research did you do?
It's worth noting that Poland doesn't have a nobility class like a lot of other countries, so that GDP per capita is a lot more evenly spread out.
In my opinion as an avarage citizen of this country, the lack of higher class is a great asset for us, because we've been able to create more egalitarian society where everyone can feel equal with the same possibilities. There's no excluded citizens, if you can work hard, you have the same opportunities like others. Love from Poland
@@agnieszkaszklarz3833 Yes... I would know because I am also Polish. Not having a nobility class is a very good thing. I generally don't mind billionaires if they provide a good service, but if they don't have to pay taxes like Royalty in certain other countries, that's not a good thing.
I’d love to see a video on the Philippines, comparable in the reliance on remittances and export of labor
Hi, I am Polish and I would really like to feel that my country's economy is so good. In 90ys many people opened companies and made some money but it is not so simple anymore. We have the biggest dept in our history, we have a lot problems between European Union and our government, we still didn't privatised industries like shipbuilding and mining and it cost us a lot. As someone already noticed our average salary is much lower than it was said and most of the your people ( specially without a partner ) has to live with their parents till theirs 30s/40s because they are not able to rent anything. Moreover our inflation is also one of the biggest one and after two years , I barerly see the difference between prices in Poland and Germany ( but Polish salaries are far more smaller ). In my opinion , of you are a young single person in Poland, who didn't get the apartment from family or don't work in IT, you are in the trap where you are working only to be able to survive.
I could write the same paragraph but for Hungary :(
Thats pretty much the same everywheres these days man(most of the western world). In the states most people are just one pay check away from being on the street and many people are already in the streets. I didnt see wide spread homelessness as i do here. My wife is from Warsaw, she lives with me in the states for now but we hoping to save up enough to move there one day. Cost of living has got out of hand over here and Poland has a high standard of living. You have beautiful country and beautiful people, loved my trips there. Also love the food, schabowy and zurek soup is my favorite! Always get my wife to make this.
@@menpee Hail the authoritarian governments!
I recently moved to Poland, and I would say it isn’t as bad as what you say. Comparing Poland to Spain for example, it is better in Poland.
@@creepinasicrawl schabowy is the best one !
Very nice! Could you make something similar about Romania?❤
Thank you for the video about Poland 🥇
Have more children polem
@@blazer9547 what is "polem"?
8:47 i know this was not the focus of the video but oh god what happened to glorious Tajikistan
I don't want Poland to become the next Germany.
Let Poland be Poland!
The computer game industry is actually one of the strongest in the world.
Yep, CD project going strong
@@Cookiekopter hahaha
I'm impressed with the choice of footage. Even Bytom made it ;)
One hidden problem that you haven't talked about and will be a major barrier to Poland "catching up" with France and Germany is the fact that Poland will never have any immigration due to the Polish language being literally the most difficult one in the world, apparently. Polish people will rightfully expect guests to learn Polish, same as anywhere else, only that is an impossible request. Poles already being more conservative than French or even German people, when they see their immigrants not speaking Polish *at all* , they will naturally grow even more resistant to the idea of immigration. This will make the Polish economy plateau much sooner.
Situation on ua refugees is quite the contrary. Poland cut wellfare pretty quickly and once situation in Ukraine become more stable a lot of people, have returned. Now Ukrainians in Poland are paying more taxes, then was used to support refugees. There are some people unhappy about a lot of Ukrainians moving in - mostly due to rising rent and property prices, but overall cultural difference is small and Ukraininas working hard and learning the language to blend in.
Your statement is not completely accurate, the estimated income from the Ukrainian refugees/migrants income tax was around $3 billion USD at its peak. You can add the benefits of them paying VAT and partially spending this into the local economy minus the major component of remittances etc however the total ultra conservative direct support costs of economic aid and military aid significantly exceeded $33 billion USD. This doesn't include a huge amount of indirect support costs. The government hasn't cut welfare at all, it's planning to 'scale it down' according to the government spokesperson with no timescale. I can provide sources for the numbers and statements if you'd like. Alternatively I'd advise you research this yourself independently. Therefore, I disagree with what you've written
Wrong. Welfare for refugees are being provided to this day.
@@masketkiller101 I'm one of the refugees. As far as I know, the only welfare remaining for Ukrainians is the one for families with children. The only one offered to me as a single adult with no kids was 200 PLN upon arrival (didn't take it, I don't need it). There was another program in which the state paid the Poles to provide housing and food to Ukrainians (30 PLN a day, iirc), but a few months later they only kept it for families and pregnant women. Another one that's still around is 500+, on same conditions as it is for the Poles: 500 PLN per kid a month.
I'm most grateful that Poland simplified our employment to the extreme so I don't have to drain more resources from my neighbours.
i'm not an economist, or even a particularly smart person, but i sincerely fail to see, how running a 12 hours a day six days a week sweatshops with next-to-free labour from ukrainian and belarusian migrants can not give one ridiculous profits.
Hate on ukrainians comes from history and hate spreading by polish right wingers and populists. And some issues with their society. But most of ukrainians are normal working people, that learn and communicate after some time, just work to get better life. Sad truth is, Ukraine is corrupted backward country with oligarchy and divisions in society. Ukraine, even after war ends, will have huge problem to get most of that people back. I work with a lot of ukrainians and most of them who work, study or have kids in polish schools don't want to come back anymore. Of course Im sure it's not like that for everyone but I speak for hundreds of people's and families. Of course not everything is as beautiful. Amount of alcohol abuse even among young, driving under influence, showing up drunk to work, it's way more common compared to polish standards. Corruption also is rooted to the point that some complain that it's impossible to bribe a doctor to get faster appointment ect. Also their right wingers are problem who hate basically everyone, including polish people (even when they live here), racism, homophobia, hate for russian speaking Ukrainians is really common and I guess it's way closer to Russian mindset than polish. As people they are as normal as every other European, as society they need to work on responsibility, team game and crashing that divisions they create. I wish them all good otherwise.
8:05, poland was never a Sowjet Republic
Please do the Czech Republic to compare it to Poland!
As a polish ive seen videos about praising poland or putting it in bad light but title "fragile miracle" sounds the best
I wish I could watch your videos but the way you end sentences grind my gears
Could you put a rank number against entries on the leaderboard? Would help to gauge the relative positions. Thanks mate.
I know and like some Poish people from the time I stayed in the UK. They are for the most part friendly, nice, reliable people. Please do not become like the Germans!
you name look spolish. and yes, stay away from german. you most of all.
8:47 I am outraged! EE supports China's annexation of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan??
"population that just consumes and not produces" is a very simplistic point of view in these circumstances, as they consume but someone must produce for them
Hope to see you do a video on the chaos in the global bond market over the past couple weeks and if this chaos signals the start of a larger economic crisis across America, Europe and Asia.
We did a video about this recently. I hope you find it interesting: ruclips.net/video/WU4cPNC_JFE/видео.htmlsi=Txabua1kHtKNyq-r
seeing the economic developments you just explained, I guess I should look into buying a vacation/retirement home over there sooner rather than later before its getting unaffordable, provided that was my long-term goal? 🤔
Unless you're Polish yourself or are willing to learn the language that's not a good idea
Buying a home in Poland is very good choice, cause the salaries will grow higher and higher every year i next few decades faster than other EU countires. Maybe beyond Estonia
@@fatoeki yes, that's a very fair point, you're pretty much out of luck with just English in a lot of places in Poland (Warsaw probably being somewhat of an exception). however, to me moving somewhere for the long run includes learning the language as well, I just wouldn't want to be that guy who stands out for not integrating much or at all ...
@@Yorinobu1447 Not really sure about that, might be a good idea, if you want to buy it in a city or one of the really sweet spots of the country, may be less bright if you want a house in the countryside or a small town that still has a hosbital and also depends on when you want to retire. Poland still is declining in population so some areas grow while most shrink. in the parts of the country were the population falls houseprices will mostly stagnate.
Too late, mate. Unless you have deep pockets :)
Жыве Беларусь (VKL) ! 🏳❤🏳
While I consider the title 'Next Germany' a clickbait, I think perhaps in 20 years Poland could have a chance of being economically on par with Italy. Why? Despite being conservative, people in Poland have the drive to improve things, learn languages, work hard for it and get the job done well. They like to try new things. There is some will in Poland's governments to address issues, even if it's just for show before elections, things slowly become solved or improved. The problem is - there is not enough money for a significant R&D in Poland that could give it some highly lucrative niches to quickly catch up economically with powerhouses like Germany. BUT For comparison, Mediterranean countries appear stagnant. Rampant unemployment. Governments incapable of resolving chronic issues. Poor language education = poor start in the interconnected world. High costs of living vs relatively low salaries. High national debt, money being spent on social welfare. Italy at least excels in (and can successfully sell) its design, food and engineering. The rest just seems content with what they have. 'It has to be this way because this is the way it has always been' is a Mediterranean mantra and it doesn't really encourage making any progress. If you're not progressing, you are left behind - hence, perhaps, a chance for Poland.
Poland has one major advantage that's a sleeper; access to technology and little risk for a company to locate a facility there.
It would be really interesting if you can explore and explain the economies from the Western Balkan countries, having in mind that they are all negotiating with the EU and it seems like they are most likely to be the next big enlargement of the union.