Regional diversification of the inflow of foreign direct investment in Poland - an empirical analysis

Currently, foreign direct investment (FDI) is considered the most important factor of regional development in the world, as it significantly influences the functioning of regional economic structures and the degree of their use, which is particularly noticeable in some countries, including Poland. In the global economy, most FDI is located in highly developed countries. However, for several years, there has been an increase in the inflow of FDI to developing countries, among them Poland, which has become one of the largest recipients of foreign capital from among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In the report Investor’s Guide - Poland - How to do business (2017), it was emphasised that Poland’s accession to the European Union opened the Polish market to foreign enterprises and created favourable conditions for investing in Poland. Therefore, the aim of this article is to present the regional distribution of foreign direct investment in Poland, with a particular view to presenting differences in the volume of foreign direct investment inflows to individual Polish regions and what conditions them. In the statistical analysis, the determinants of FDI inflow to Poland between 2010 and 2017 referred to selected macroeconomic indicators that allow the foreign investor to determine the level of economic stability of a country or region. This choice was based on literature and own research on the investment attractiveness of a country and the determinants of FDI inflow. The empirical part of the article was prepared on the basis of GUS statistical data. This source of data was opted for, as it enabled showing FDI engagement by provinces.