The Polish economy is expanding rapidly and living standards continue to rise, catching up with those in other OECD countries. To sustain this trend Poland needs to invest further in skills and infrastructure and develop its capacity to innovate. Indicators of scientific research quality are below those in the leading OECD countries, and business R&D investment remains weak despite rapid recent growth. Vocational training suffers from limited business engagement, and adult learning is not well developed, inhibiting citizens’ ability to acquire stronger basic and digital skills. This is holding back the economy’s capacity to innovate and the ability of Poland’s plentiful small enterprises to adopt new technologies, modernise their organisation and production procedures, and thus improve their productivity and grow. The government plans a higher education reform and the development of a skills strategy to address those issues. To help Poland confront rapid ageing, policies need to bolster seniors' and female employment, while making Poland more attractive to domestic and foreign workers alike. Poland also needs a strategy how to ensure continued financing for investment in infrastructure, skills and innovation from domestic sources should the availability of EU Structural Funds decline in the next EU budgetary cycle.

SPECIAL FEATURES: INNOVATION; FINANCING INNOVATIVE BUSINESS INVESTMENT