OECD report says growth below potential, urges liberalized labor law

Analysts from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report that Poland's projected economic growth of 3.8% of GDP this year and 4% next year are a temporary phenomena below the nation's potential, and that rates of 5% to 6% a year could be reached if a "policy mix," i.e. coordination of fiscal and monetary policies, were combined with reduction of unemployment. Recommending reforms in the labor market, co-author of the OECD report Andrew Dean said that working time and salary rates should be made more flexible, while social insurance contributions and taxes made more liberal. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 18) M.T.