Regional disparities in Poland

Regional income and labour market disparities in Poland are characterised by three dimensions: the gap between the western and the eastern parts of the country, the privileged position of the capital region and rising differences between rural and urban regions. Disparities in labour markets are to a large degree the result of the economic transformation process, with unfinished restructuring in agriculture being one of the main features. Regional divergence is further aggravated by the inefficient functioning of traditional mechanisms of regional equalisation (labour mobility, wages and investment). This has resulted in persistently high unemployment and low employment rates in some regions.