Regional business cycles in Poland

Purpose: The main goal of the considerations presented hereinbelow is a presentation of the course of action as well as an analysis of crucial features of cyclical fluctuations differentiated as entities in the Polish economy as well as in all provinces in the period of the first quarter of 2005 until the second quarter of 2019 based on the rate of the sold production of industry. Design/methodology/approach: A share of the respective regions in the structure of the sold production of industry was assessed. Finally, an attempt of assessing the rate of convergence in terms of morphology of a national chain with time chains of the respective regions was undertaken. In the thesis, a hypothesis is being stated that the most synchronised with the cycle of Poland are regions having the biggest share in the sold production of industry. Methodological bases of the research process as well as an empirical assessment of the regional business cycles in Poland were preceded by theoretical analyses concerning the notion, the core as well as the morphological features of the regional business fluctuations. Findings: Making an assessment of the progression of business cycle fluctuations of the economy of Poland as a whole as well as business cycle fluctuations of Polish provinces in the period between the first quarter 2005 and the second quarter of 2019, one may conclude the progression is not uniform. The variation depends to a large extent on the specificity of development of each region. Provinces which have a lower share in the national structure of the sold production of industry demonstrate higher sensitivity to economic shocks. The highest degree of compliance with the national cycle has been demonstrated in provinces with the highest rate of share in the structure of the sold production of industry. Research limitations/implications: The conducted research, as well as the obtained results might thus be a basis for taking up more extensive analyses in that field, comprising a discussion on the remaining morphological features of business cycles. Originality/value: Determining the course of cyclical fluctuations in Poland as well as in its respective provinces has been made.