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I am pleased to share this monograph on Poland’s investment attractiveness with the community of the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and other similar fora. I hope they feel inspired by the competitiveness and robustness of our economy. The monograph appears at the time when production locations and supply chains are being reshaped by technological change, twin green and digital transition and heightened geopolitical risk. In this context, a relevant question is not only whether a country can attract capital, but whether it can attract and retain investment that builds capabilities, strengthens domestic linkages and improves its position in global value chains. Increasingly, investors also ask whether a location enhances their own resilience and contributes to wider societal goals, including decarbonisation and social cohesion. Poland’s proposition to investors rests on three pillars: market scale, EU access and a diversified industrial and services base. As a large economy within the Single Market, Poland offers both sizeable domestic demand and efficient reach into European value chains. The analyses conducted by scholars at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics indicate that Poland’s investment attractiveness is shaped by an equilibrium of assets and institutions, including digital and analytical skills, modernising infrastructure, regulatory predictability and innovation linkages, rather than by a single metric. These institutional and infrastructural features now serve as decisive location factors for many investors. At the same time, the experience of recent years suggests that agility in policymaking and the ability to coordinate public and private actors are becoming as important as traditional cost or market advantages. This monograph addresses these issues with a practical focus. It documents where Poland already performs well and where targeted effort can raise the return on new investment: dependable and decarbonising energy systems; workforce development aligned with evolving task content; administrative simplification that shortens permitting and connection timelines; and stronger collaboration between research and industry anchoring higher-value functions such as engineering, testing, digital operations and design. It also highlights Poland’s increasingly demanding role in value chains, supplying domestic value added to partners’ exports while maintaining a diversified base in manufacturing and services. Universities have a direct responsibility in this agenda. As centres of knowledge creation and talent development, they help shape the very capabilities on which investment decisions rest: advanced skills, entrepreneurship, analytical capacity and openness to innovation. I commend the authors for a work that is both analytically rigorous and policy-relevant, and I thank our government, business and civil society partners for the collaborative spirit which animates Poland’s development. I hope this monograph informs decisions, clarifies priorities and fosters effective cooperation to translate investment inflows into durable gains in productivity and competitiveness.
(foreword)
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FOREWORD
Piotr Wachowiak
INTRODUCTION
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
1. INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
2. INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS AND THE FDI CLIMATE IN POLAND: AN OVERVIEW OF ECONOMIC INDICATORS, ATTRACTING FACTORS, POLICIES AND POLAND’S ROLE IN EUROPE
Anna M. Dzienis, Artur F. Tomeczek
3. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT STOCK AND INFLOW IN POLAND
Tomasz M. Napiórkowski
4. EVOLUTION AND STRUCTURE OF POLAND’S INTEGRATION INTO GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
Andżelika Kuźnar
5. AMERICAN FOOTPRINT IN POLAND: INVESTMENTS, ASSETS AND JOBS
Eliza Przeździecka
6. FUTURE OUTLOOK: EMERGING INVESTMENT AREAS. NEXT WAVE OF INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski, Małgorzata Stefania Lewandowska
CONSLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: POLAND’S INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS. KEY FINDINGS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
Opis
Wstęp
I am pleased to share this monograph on Poland’s investment attractiveness with the community of the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and other similar fora. I hope they feel inspired by the competitiveness and robustness of our economy. The monograph appears at the time when production locations and supply chains are being reshaped by technological change, twin green and digital transition and heightened geopolitical risk. In this context, a relevant question is not only whether a country can attract capital, but whether it can attract and retain investment that builds capabilities, strengthens domestic linkages and improves its position in global value chains. Increasingly, investors also ask whether a location enhances their own resilience and contributes to wider societal goals, including decarbonisation and social cohesion. Poland’s proposition to investors rests on three pillars: market scale, EU access and a diversified industrial and services base. As a large economy within the Single Market, Poland offers both sizeable domestic demand and efficient reach into European value chains. The analyses conducted by scholars at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics indicate that Poland’s investment attractiveness is shaped by an equilibrium of assets and institutions, including digital and analytical skills, modernising infrastructure, regulatory predictability and innovation linkages, rather than by a single metric. These institutional and infrastructural features now serve as decisive location factors for many investors. At the same time, the experience of recent years suggests that agility in policymaking and the ability to coordinate public and private actors are becoming as important as traditional cost or market advantages. This monograph addresses these issues with a practical focus. It documents where Poland already performs well and where targeted effort can raise the return on new investment: dependable and decarbonising energy systems; workforce development aligned with evolving task content; administrative simplification that shortens permitting and connection timelines; and stronger collaboration between research and industry anchoring higher-value functions such as engineering, testing, digital operations and design. It also highlights Poland’s increasingly demanding role in value chains, supplying domestic value added to partners’ exports while maintaining a diversified base in manufacturing and services. Universities have a direct responsibility in this agenda. As centres of knowledge creation and talent development, they help shape the very capabilities on which investment decisions rest: advanced skills, entrepreneurship, analytical capacity and openness to innovation. I commend the authors for a work that is both analytically rigorous and policy-relevant, and I thank our government, business and civil society partners for the collaborative spirit which animates Poland’s development. I hope this monograph informs decisions, clarifies priorities and fosters effective cooperation to translate investment inflows into durable gains in productivity and competitiveness.
(foreword)
Spis treści
FOREWORD
Piotr Wachowiak
INTRODUCTION
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
1. INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
2. INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS AND THE FDI CLIMATE IN POLAND: AN OVERVIEW OF ECONOMIC INDICATORS, ATTRACTING FACTORS, POLICIES AND POLAND’S ROLE IN EUROPE
Anna M. Dzienis, Artur F. Tomeczek
3. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT STOCK AND INFLOW IN POLAND
Tomasz M. Napiórkowski
4. EVOLUTION AND STRUCTURE OF POLAND’S INTEGRATION INTO GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
Andżelika Kuźnar
5. AMERICAN FOOTPRINT IN POLAND: INVESTMENTS, ASSETS AND JOBS
Eliza Przeździecka
6. FUTURE OUTLOOK: EMERGING INVESTMENT AREAS. NEXT WAVE OF INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski, Małgorzata Stefania Lewandowska
CONSLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: POLAND’S INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS. KEY FINDINGS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
Opinie
I am pleased to share this monograph on Poland’s investment attractiveness with the community of the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and other similar fora. I hope they feel inspired by the competitiveness and robustness of our economy. The monograph appears at the time when production locations and supply chains are being reshaped by technological change, twin green and digital transition and heightened geopolitical risk. In this context, a relevant question is not only whether a country can attract capital, but whether it can attract and retain investment that builds capabilities, strengthens domestic linkages and improves its position in global value chains. Increasingly, investors also ask whether a location enhances their own resilience and contributes to wider societal goals, including decarbonisation and social cohesion. Poland’s proposition to investors rests on three pillars: market scale, EU access and a diversified industrial and services base. As a large economy within the Single Market, Poland offers both sizeable domestic demand and efficient reach into European value chains. The analyses conducted by scholars at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics indicate that Poland’s investment attractiveness is shaped by an equilibrium of assets and institutions, including digital and analytical skills, modernising infrastructure, regulatory predictability and innovation linkages, rather than by a single metric. These institutional and infrastructural features now serve as decisive location factors for many investors. At the same time, the experience of recent years suggests that agility in policymaking and the ability to coordinate public and private actors are becoming as important as traditional cost or market advantages. This monograph addresses these issues with a practical focus. It documents where Poland already performs well and where targeted effort can raise the return on new investment: dependable and decarbonising energy systems; workforce development aligned with evolving task content; administrative simplification that shortens permitting and connection timelines; and stronger collaboration between research and industry anchoring higher-value functions such as engineering, testing, digital operations and design. It also highlights Poland’s increasingly demanding role in value chains, supplying domestic value added to partners’ exports while maintaining a diversified base in manufacturing and services. Universities have a direct responsibility in this agenda. As centres of knowledge creation and talent development, they help shape the very capabilities on which investment decisions rest: advanced skills, entrepreneurship, analytical capacity and openness to innovation. I commend the authors for a work that is both analytically rigorous and policy-relevant, and I thank our government, business and civil society partners for the collaborative spirit which animates Poland’s development. I hope this monograph informs decisions, clarifies priorities and fosters effective cooperation to translate investment inflows into durable gains in productivity and competitiveness.
(foreword)
FOREWORD
Piotr Wachowiak
INTRODUCTION
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
1. INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
2. INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS AND THE FDI CLIMATE IN POLAND: AN OVERVIEW OF ECONOMIC INDICATORS, ATTRACTING FACTORS, POLICIES AND POLAND’S ROLE IN EUROPE
Anna M. Dzienis, Artur F. Tomeczek
3. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT STOCK AND INFLOW IN POLAND
Tomasz M. Napiórkowski
4. EVOLUTION AND STRUCTURE OF POLAND’S INTEGRATION INTO GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
Andżelika Kuźnar
5. AMERICAN FOOTPRINT IN POLAND: INVESTMENTS, ASSETS AND JOBS
Eliza Przeździecka
6. FUTURE OUTLOOK: EMERGING INVESTMENT AREAS. NEXT WAVE OF INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski, Małgorzata Stefania Lewandowska
CONSLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: POLAND’S INVESTMENT COMPETITIVENESS. KEY FINDINGS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski
