ABSTRACT
Many of the difficulties which face Poland's economy in the field of foreign economic relations have their roots in the 1950s. The Polish Six-Year Plan (1950-1955), like all other East European plans at that time, was based on the assumption that a rapid development of heavy industry should increase the degree of self-sufficiency of the economy. The Soviet demand had a considerable impact on the expansion of the Polish engineering industry. In 1961-1965 the share of industry in total investment outlays increased again and reached 40.2 percent, although the share of agriculture also increased. During 1971-1975 the share of industry in total investment outlays in the national economy increased from 39.4 percent to 43.8 percent, and the share of construction increased from 4.0 percent to 5.1 percent. In 1971 and 1972 import prices in trade with non socialist countries declined more than prices of import in total trade. The 1976-1980 plans seem to put a considerable stress on import substitution.
