Regional Human Development in transition economics: the role of institutions

The aim of this paper is to analyse regional difference yield in terms of Human Development (HD) in Poland. During transition, western Polish regions grew more than eastern regions, and differences in terms of GDP per capita are evident. Nevertheless, higher GDP per capita in the West did not produce a higher level of non-income dimension indicators (i.e., Education and Life expectancy). On the contrary eastern regions, although they have a lower level of GDP per capita, have a higher level of non-income dimension indicators. This contradicts a neoclassical argument of considering HD as a proxy of GDP per capita. GDP growth is not a sufficient condition for HD. Along with GDP growth HD requires investments in social dimensions.