ABSTRACT
In communist Poland regional policy was targeted towards 'equalization', its principal instrument investment: if the centre believed it had to do something for a weaker region it was enough to take a new plant to the town concerned. Regional policy gained greater prominence when the Government Centre for Strategic Studies was set up in 1997 and given responsibility for, among others, conceptual developments in spatial policy. The urban-rural dimension continues to have an impact on patterns of regional development. From the late 1990s independent investigators have looked more closely at regional patterns of development and all confirm a continuing east-west divide. The Polish regions, especially in the east, are ready to meet the challenges in formulating and implementing effective regional policy. At present it seems doubtful that Polish regions, especially in the east, are ready to meet the challenges in formulating and implementing effective regional policy.
