Košická bezpečnostná revue (Jun 2022)
Economic activity in peripheral regions during the COVID-19 pandemic – Evidence from Poland
Abstract
Substantial and long-term differences in economic activity and potential result in a clear distinction of central and peripheral regions in spatial structure of a national economy. The interregional disproportions of economic activity and economic potential in Poland were explored and assessed. Five peripheral regions of Poland were in the center of the study, i.e. five Eastern provinces. The main objective of the paper was to study and evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic activity of the aforementioned peripheral provinces. The situation in the peripheral regions of Poland was compared to Poland as a whole and to Poland’s central region, i.e. Masovia Province. The situation during the year 2020, i.e. the 1st of the COVID-19 pandemic was studied and confronted with the situation in the analyzed provinces in 2019. The research tools used in the article included: literature studies, critical thinking, documents examination, logical construction, descriptive and comparative analysis, in that the selected statistical method of multivariate comparative analysis (taxonomic measure of development introduced by Hellwig). Statistical material provided by Central Statistical Office was used for the analysis. The obtained results indicated huge disparities of economic activity, economic potential and economic development between the five studied peripheral provinces and other Poland’s regions before the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the abovementioned disproportions became even greater during the first year of the pandemic. Hence, the research hypothesis assuming that the gap between the studied peripheral regions and the rest of Poland widened during the COVID-19 pandemic was positively verified.
