Since 1989 Poland’s economy has undergone a profound transformation from a centrally planned to a market economy. Economic growth has been accompanied by restructuring of the economy (e.g. privatisation of many large industries, liberalisation of the electricity market). In 2001 the service sector accounted for 64% of GDP and industry for nearly 33%, with a shift towards less energy- and material-intensive industries and processing activities. After a twoyear recession followed by a gradual economic recovery, the highest rate of GDP growth was reached in 1995 (6.9%); the growth rate subsequently slowed, to 4.3% in 2000 and 1.1% in 2001. There are currently serious concerns about the state of Poland’s public finance...