INTRODUCTION

This book analyses the deep Polish economic crisis of 1979-82 and its aftermath. To understand the economic crisis of 1979-82, it is necessary to consider the basic features of Gierek’s ‘new economic strategy’ (high growth of investment, consumption and indebtedness to the West, etc.), its implementation and the result; the systemic shortcomings of the centrally planned economies (CPEs); and the specific sociopolitical environment facing the regime. The study attempts to focus attention on the interaction of economic policy, the economic system and specific features of the Polish political scene, which together caused such a dramatic economic crisis in 1979-82.