The Polish Alternative. Old Myths, Hard Facts and New Strategies in the Successful Transformation of the Polish Economy.

In 1994-97 Poland has recorded an outstanding economic performance in terms of GDP growth, simultaneous reduction of inflation and unemployment, fiscal balance, zloty real revaluation, capacity restructuring, private sector growth and institution building. The Polish success needed a market environment but is not and could not be, as it is often claimed, the delayed result of the so-called 'shock therapy' of the early 1990s. This paper shows that initial shocks - e.g. in the foreign trade regime, exchange rate, credit and interest rate policies - were largely unnecessary or excessive.