Impact'21 is a place of exchange of views and substantial discussions at the crossroads of business, politics, science and modern technologies.

State of the Polish economy after COVID-19

The pandemic is a difficult time for the economy – rising unemployment, tough time for catering establishments, tourism and airlines. These are just some of the consequences of COVID-19 visible in the economic market. 
At the same time, as the Prime Minister emphasised, in order to break out of this deadlock, it is necessary to avoid an approach in which the state is unnecessary because the market will cope anyway. What is needed are the combined forces of the market, creativity, innovation and an agile state. It is the government that can create the best possible framework for business and attract talent from abroad.
The Prime Minister noted that he was happy to see 300,000 people returning to Poland in the last 3 years. This is a reversal of the trend of the last 30 years, when 100-200 thousand people were leaving every year.

Addressing the traps that threaten the implementation of the government's strategy

In his speech, the Prime Minister outlined the traps identified in the implementation of the responsible development strategy. These include:
•    the middle-income trap - low product quality and low margin;
•    the demographic trap;
•    addictions;
•    weaknesses of institutions.
The government is already taking steps to mitigate them – one of the weaknesses of institutions was the gigantic VAT gap, which, thanks to the measures undertaken, has been largely closed. The head of the Polish government stressed that there is no economic development without stable public finances.

Changes in the economy - future prospects

Summarising the changes in the economy – the transition from an agriculture-based economy to an industrial one in the last 100 years – one can see a trend towards automation and centralisation of processes. The Prime Minister called for reflection on the current state of the economy by referring not to economic theories but to the goals of humanity. Our goals should be the basis for choosing effective tools, such as appropriate social policy, education system or economic and industrial policy.
The issues raised, which are to be the impulse for discussion, must also take into account the threats related to work or climate policy. At the same time, the head of the Polish government stressed that he looks to the future with optimism. This is connected with increasing social justice, which is one of the government's goals, and at the same time creating appropriate conditions for development, creating new jobs and securing climate values. This is based on working on a new model that takes all these parameters into account at the same time.
The Prime Minister concluded his speech with a question summarising the purpose of reflection on the social model: “At the threshold of another great revolution, is Poland able to make a great, wonderful contribution to development, modernity, but also to the construction of a new world through a proper, just and solidarity-based social model?”