ABSTRACT

This chapter traces the economic story of Poland from the rise of the free-market economy and analyzes how the macro-level talent context can be linked to a largely positive success story. Since the end of communism in the late 1980s Poland has made substantial progress in its country-level competitiveness with steady improvements in economic well-being, labour force participation and education standards. Poland has been rapidly catching up on its European neighbours over the past quarter of a century as evidenced by its economic growth rates and managing to avert a recession during the recent global financial crash. However, there are major talent challenges ahead for Poland, with the demographic profile especially concerning, which has the potential to severely undermine future growth.