National Economy, September 2004

• Wersja polska
• Download the text in RTF format
• Back to the home page

Spis treści numeru 9/2004

1. Andrzej Wojtyna - Central Bank in the Context of Agency Theory  See the summary
2. Jacek Szlachta - Poland's National Development Plan 2007-2013 See the summary
3. Robert Ciborowski, Jerzy Grabowiecki - The Impact of Technology Transfer on Technological Convergence of the Polish Economy See the summary
4. Cezary Klimkowski - Agricultural Production Insurance Market See the summary

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION 

1. Barbara Majewska-Jurczyk - The Role of the European Commission in Applying Competition Law in the Field of Company Mergers See the summary

CONFERENCES – POLEMICS – REVIEWS 

1. Development Prospects for the Podlasie Region - Tadeusz Smuga
2. State Aid and Enterprise Competitiveness - Wanda Karpińska-Mizielińska

Andrzej Wojtyna - Central Bank in the Context of Agency Theory

The article is devoted to possibilities of applying agency theory in research into efficiency of institutional solutions in central banks. Its first part presents factors due to which, like in many other cases of agency relationship, it is also in reference to central bank that drawing up appropriate practical solutions turns out to be a very complicated task giving rise giving rise to a lot of controversy and even political emotions. The second part of the article is focused on those tenets of theoretical research, which while treating the central bank as an agent aim at an optimum contract allowing central bank independence to be tied with requirements for its democratic accountability. In the third part, emphasis is put on agency relations within the central bank. It discusses the results of numerous studies of various aspects of efficiency of making central banks’ decisions by committees. In conclusions of this article several remarks are made about possibilities of applying agency theory in analyses of institutional solutions adopted in the National Bank of Poland.

Jacek Szlachta - Poland's National Development Plan 2007-2013

The article presents the role of strategic programming of socio-economic development of the European Union. First, major conclusions drawn from programming of Poland's development within European Union standards in 2000-2006 are discussed. The following section of the article highlights the main assumptions associated with programming of European funds in the years 2007-2013. Against this background, proposals are presented for an agenda of drawing up Poland's National Development Plan 2007-2013, along with major components of the Assumptions of Poland's National Development Plan 2007-2013. Proposals of consulting social partners about NDP stage documents are presented in detail. Finally, the article illustrates expected macroeconomic effects of the National Development Plan and identifies major threats to modern medium-term programming of socio-economic development in Poland.

Robert Ciborowski, Jerzy Grabowiecki - The Impact of Technology Transfer on Technological Convergence of the Polish Economy

Technology transfer (TT), being one of the main underlying factors of economic growth and of international economic co-operation conditions, is a characteristic feature of modern expanding economies. Adoption of innovative solutions worked out in advanced economies allows to improve the efficiency of production processes and contributes to redirection of competition and its methods towards non-price forms.

Upgrading of the innovative potential in the field of both financing and implementation of new solutions, as well as improvement of competitive ability, seen as an ability to ensure development in an open-economy conditions, are the major problems faced by the Polish economy. Poland's innovative potential is too limited to guarantee an increase in technological competitiveness. Therefore, the only chance to increase that potential is to create efficient channels of technology transfer, both in the technological and organisational sense. The possibilities for accomplishment of that process should be examined from the point of view of both external equilibrium and lines of long-term development.

Improved innovativeness should result in higher competitive ability and better competitive position of the Polish economy, as well as in providing conditions for faster technological convergence. Furthermore, the process of setting technology transfer channels, as well as creation and utilisation of the innovative potential should be analysed in the context of economic transformation, which are related to market liberalisation, macroeconomic stabilisation and institutional changes.

Cezary Klimkowski - Agricultural Production Insurance Market

Insufficient information is the main reason for the limited number of concluded contracts of insurance against losses in the process of agricultural production. Barriers to information flow distort both the demand and supply curves. Consequently, the prices at which insurance protection is offered are too high in the opinion of most farm producers. Since a well-functioning agricultural production insurance market would involve many measurable advantages, governments of many states intervene in order to cut insurance policy prices. Nevertheless, as a result of the unsolved problem of information asymmetry, usually only a small group of farms, involved in particularly risky kinds of production, as well as private insurers become the main beneficiaries of these activities.

Barbara Majewska-Jurczyk - The Role of the European Commission in Applying Competition Law in the Field of Company Mergers

The European Union competition law covers, inter alia, company concentration control. It exerts a significant impact on European market structure changes, mostly due to the role played by the European Commission, whose task is to assess whether the planned merger would restrict effective competition on the Community market.

In its assessments of consequences of concentration the European Commission puts special emphasis on evaluation of a proper market, due to the implied impact of mergers on effective competition. Under the competition protecting law, the proper market is a product market and a geographical market, in which mergers may involve consequences detrimental for competition.

The European Commission also plays a relevant role in assessment of enterprise domination, which allows to state whether concentration would strengthen the dominating position on a proper market. The Commission also examines the possibility of occurrence of a joint dominating position allowing entrepreneurs to raise prices and to cut production, and this way to stifle competition.

The European Commission evaluates economic consequences, which may arise from concentration and points out the advantages which may be obtained by consumers as a result of concentration.