Industrial Policy Development Towards Sustainability

Chapter I
INDUSTRIAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS
SUSTAINABILITY
Beata ŚLUSARCZYK
Premises and purposefulness of conducting industrial policy
Industrial policy is an element of the global concept of economic development
of a country. Its construction and realization entail an assumption that the state,
its divisions and institutions, participate in the process of shaping the industrial
development. A major dilemma connected with shaping the industrial policy is its
scope and the instruments of intervention to be applied.1
What is more, the industrial policy ought to take into account the newest
trends in economic and social development which fulfill the requirement of a
balanced development, the nature of which “…consists in establishing the
connection between the economic and social development by assuring an access
to the renewable and non-renewable resources together with improving quality of
life in a natural and clean environment. Economic development ought to assure a
more effective utilization of natural resources and other resources of nature,
rationalization of the input of energy and work, as well as the development of proecological technologies and the protection of environmental and cultural heritage.
Thus, the continuous and sustainable development is a humanitarian concept of
global development, whose basic feature is the improvement of the quality of life
and welfare of mankind under the conditions of a limited availability of natural
resources, taking into account the far-reaching consequences of industrial
development. This concept assumes a common responsibility and solidarity of the
present and future generations.”2
Newer definitions of the industrial policy do include aspects of the sustainable
development, nevertheless an attempt at providing a homogenous definition of
the concept of “industrial policy” encounters many difficulties. This is due to the
fact that the concept in question is often mistaken with other spheres of
economic policy, because both its objectives and the instruments implemented

Beata Ślusarczyk, PhD., Czestochowa University of Technology, Faculty of Management,
e-mail: [email protected]
1
Pierścionek Z. (ed.), Strategia rozwoju firmy a polityka przemysłowa, Wydawnictwo ZWP
SYNPRESS, Warszawa 1993, p. 88.
2
Adamczyk J., Nitkiewicz T., Programowanie zrównoważonego rozwoju przedsiębiorstw, PWE,
Warszawa 2007, p. 25.
1
within its scope, as well as the entities which create these instruments, are
frequently not specific to the industrial policy, but can also refer to other sectors
of economy3 and other spheres of social life. One of many definitions of the
industrial policy has been formulated by Z. Bartosik, according to whom it
comprises “all the coordinated government activities directed at the shaping of
conditions defining the reactions of business entities with the view of achieving
goals considered to be important ”. Therefore, the industrial policy ought to be
perceived as the interventionist activity of the state conducted towards the
industry, which focuses on modifying the allocation performed by the market.4
Under the conditions of market economy, business entities make decisions
based on the signals from the market. As long as the requirements of
competitiveness are met, there is no reason for the state to intervene. The
problem begins with the activation of mechanisms distorting the market, and thus
also the competitiveness (e.g. state support, duty charges), which render the
efficient functioning of the market impossible.5 At the time when such
phenomena occur, the state authorities have to intervene in order to help the
economy reach an optimal condition. In this situation it is necessary for the state
to conduct the industrial policy.
However, according to M. Rainelli, failures of the market do not necessarily
have to lead to the implementation of instruments of the industrial policy.
A majority of distortions can be regulated or, contrarily, deregulated. On the other
hand, implementation of the instruments of the industrial policy may be justified
by two premises which do not stand in opposition to the market:6
- Firstly, the industry plays a major role in the economic growth; this role results
from the relation between the growth, the investments and the efficiency in
particular branches of industry;
- Secondly, the results of international competition have to be appeased by state
authorities; the industry constitutes a part of national economy which is
subjected to the competition provided by foreign producers.
The process of restructuring the production agents in particular sectors is very
time consuming, and leaving the task exclusively to market regulations would
have some burdensome socio-economic consequences.
Nowadays, the industrial policy is conducted by all industrial countries,
regardless of the model of market economy which can be encountered in these
countries.
3
Kazarowicz H., Skowrońska A., Polityka przemysłowa, Wyd. AE we Wrocławiu, Wrocław 2005,
p. 20.
4
Janasz W. (ed.), Elementy strategii rozwoju przemysłu, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego,
Szczecin 2000, pp. 437-440.
5
Rainelli M., Ekonomia przemysłowa, PWN, Warszawa 1996, p. 147.
6
Ibid., p. 148.
2
Presently, the functions of the state are not solely political ones. Apart from
these, the state also focuses on the indirect regulation and coordination of
economic activity. In some cases the state is also involved in direct management,
steering selected areas of the industry by establishing the pace and directions of
their development. Should the state not participate in the industrial economic
activity, it would be impossible to solve the most significant contemporary
problems which have a serious social impact, such as, for instance, mass poverty
in the regions where old-fashioned industries have been done away with, the
increase of regional economic disproportions,7 as well as the protection of
resources and natural environment.
The state may effectively influence the industrial economy, being a significant
economic entity itself; it also possesses appropriate economic foundations which
result from the following conditionings:8
- the state owns a certain number of companies and with respect to these
companies it performs the function of an entrepreneur, regulating, for instance,
their production, investments and technical development;
- in the public sector, under the direct state supervision and regulation is taking
place the realization of some investments which are the main form of
introducing scientific and technical development in economy;
- a large part of the national income is being transferred through the state
budget, which means that the state is an important contractor on the
commodity market where it purchases industrial investment goods, materials
and equipment;
- the state is an important contractor in the credit market, because it takes loans
to cover some large-scale expenditure, e.g. in connection with undertakings
which are especially capital-consuming.
The necessary functions performed by the state in the national economy are
also due to the following reasons:9
- the necessity of performing by the state some indispensable functions having
the character of social and infrastructural services, whose rendering requires
the provision of material and financial means, as well as establishing and
collecting taxes to attain such objectives;
- the necessity of performing some legislative and executive functions which
establish, organize and correct the functioning of the regulatory system, and the
legal and organizational order in economy;
- the necessity for the state to establish some general conditions (legal,
institutional, organizational, monetary and currency ones and others) in order
7
Białoń L., Obrębki T., Elementy polityki przemysłowej, Wydawnictwo Politechniki Warszawskiej,
Warszawa 1993, p. 10.
8
Ibid., p. 10.
9
Mazurkiewicz E. (ed.), Polityka gospodarcza, Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Ekonomicznej
w Warszawie, Warszawa 2000, p. 95.
3
to assure the functioning and development of economy, economic cooperation
with abroad, protection of the economic interests of a given country in
international relationships, improvement of social cohesion, etc.
Through the industrial policy the state exercises its influence in a specific way,
with the help of specific measures and specific institutions, in order to stimulate
the economic development in accordance with social objectives.
The necessity of conducting industrial policy is advocated by K. Markowski,
who quotes the statements of many authors from outside Poland, in whose
opinion this kind of policy may contribute to the reduction and even distribution
of costs borne by the society due to structural conversions. The cost of adjusting
some groups of industry to new conditionings ought to be distributed in such a
way that it is borne by the whole society, which is possible only with the help of
state intervention. The state, by developing programs of re-qualification and reallocation of workforce and capital, may reduce the social, political and economic
costs of economic restructuring. The state intervention is indispensable due to the
disparity of criteria governing investment decisions of private and public
investors. Private investors often do not take into account the external results of
their investments. Under some circumstances (e.g. slow economic growth, high
rate of inflation or uncertainty with respect to the shaping of demand), the
market reacts too slowly to affect the growth of production and work efficiency,
and thus improve the competitive stance of industry. Under such conditions many
investors assume a conservative investment strategy.10
Several other reasons for conducting the industrial policy by the government
have been listed by W. Janasz, according to whom:11
- “the necessity to conduct such a policy is due to the very nature of its structure;
- only an economic centre is an entity endowed with a full picture of the
development of the economy and industry as a whole;
- the response of supply and demand to market stimuli is varied;
- under the market economy the functions of economic objectives in the macro
scale and the micro scale (companies) are separate.”
Apart from the already mentioned ones, the following arguments can be added
in support of the necessity to conduct the industrial policy:12
- the argument of pragmatism, as the worldwide experiences show that the
measures of macroeconomic policy are insufficient to stimulate positive
changes in the structure of industry;
10
Markowski K., Rola państwa…, op. cit., pp. 183-184.
Janasz W. (ed.), Elementy strategii rozwoju przemysłu, op. cit., p. 443.
12
Karpiński A., Co warto wiedzieć o polityce gospodarczej rządów, Wyd. ORGMASZ, Warszawa 1997,
pp. 94-95; Karpiński A., Pajestka J., Perczyński M., Polityka przemysłowa a procesy dostosowawcze
do Wspólnoty Europejskiej, [in:] Rola polityki państwa w procesach dostosowawczych do wspólnoty
europejskiej, Dom Wyd. i Handlowy „Elipsa”, Warszawa 1994, p. 22.
11
4
- decisions made solely within the framework of market mechanisms have
a short-term horizon and the long-term development strategy cannot be
founded on them;
- the argument of effectiveness; without the industrial policy which specifies
structural goals and preferences the state cannot influence the industry in an
effective manner. The absence of an industrial policy has negative
consequences with reference to the privatization policy, trade policy and
employment policy;
- equal treatment of all industries remains in contradiction with their objectives,
processes and the roles they play in technical and technological development,
as some of them perform the function of a driving force in the technological
development, while others only use this driving force to their advantage. Thus,
various industries are not equal. What is more, particular sectors of industry
behave in the market in their own peculiar ways;
- being threatened by the competition due to an active industrial policy
conducted by our partners and international corporations operating on the
domestic market; the absence of the state’s own industrial policy does not allow
for a counteraction in the cases when they become a threat to the national
interests;
- state intervention supports the synchronization of the processes connected
with liquidating old-fashioned industries and replacing them with new ones; if
such processes are not supported in any way by the state the society may suffer
from their negative consequences, e.g. one of them being the mass scale
unemployment.
According to Z. Sadowski, the necessity for conducting the industrial policy is
further justified by the benefits it entails. The author claims that the competitive
status of a particular country depends not on its total economy, but rather on the
successes of particular companies.
A large-scale establishment of conditions generally conducive to expansion by
the macroeconomic policy is useful, but more benefits result from accompanying
this kind of policy with the concentration of measures in the specific, most
promising areas of economy. Then the growth of competitive force of domestic
companies takes place not only thank to the establishment of generally favorable
conditions connected with finance, taxes, credits and currency rates, but also
thank to the focused activities which provide the companies producing particular
goods with support in the sphere of export expansion or innovative processes.13
The opponents of the industrial policy do not agree with the arguments listed
above and believe that the government is not able to understand the industrial
13
Sadowski Z., W sprawie polityki przemysłowej [in:] Polityka przemysłowo – strukturalna, Raport nr
10, Rada Strategii Społeczno – Gospodarczej przy Radzie Ministrów, pp. 55-56; Pachura A., Modelling
in Innovation Process, Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, vol. 2, issue 10, 2008,
pp.726 - 730.
5
structure better than the market. An additional difficulty lies in determining the
criteria of supporting investments in the growing and slumping sectors of
industry, not to mention the fact that the very identification of such sectors is
quite problematic. Therefore, the following arguments can be provided against
the implementation of industrial policy:14
- the state support of particular economic entities is contrary to the rules of
market economy and infringes upon the principle of free trade, which easily
leads to the phenomenon of protectionism that might trigger off a “war” in
which the companies fight for subsidies, this way hampering the development
of the worldwide trade. What is more, implementation of any forms of the
state support distorts the actual balance of effectiveness, economic rationality
and healthy competition;
- the criteria of choices being made often result from subjective decisions and
are frequently lacking in the sufficient informative foundation, which is
connected with the danger of undertaking inappropriate activities;15
- the employees of state administration responsible for making decisions within
the framework of industrial policy are usually incapable of making good
decisions and economic choices. It is so, since they bear no material liability
towards the entrepreneurs for the potentially wrong decisions and choices they
have made;
- the industrial policy and the state support for industry it entails are only
a surrogate of the resources which would otherwise be invested by the private
capital. This being so, the industrial policy is a burden to the tax payers instead
of increasing the income of citizens;
- identifying the developing and slumping sectors of industry, as well as
determining the criteria for providing them with investment support is
a complex undertaking;
- there exists no foundation for the assumption that the government is capable
of making better investment decisions than the private investors.
The opponents of the industrial policy raise the argument that in spite of its
declaration of supporting the adjustment processes, the policy in question tries to
protect, against market mechanisms, the slumping areas of industry, in this
manner thwarting structural changes. They also point out the incoherent
development policy of the industry in general, resulting from the pressure
exercised by influential interest groups. Furthermore, a disadvantage of the
industrial policy consists also in the fact that should the social and political
relationships become pathological, their effect would be reverted form a positive
14
cf.: Janasz W. (ed.), Elementy strategii rozwoju przemysłu, op. cit., p. 444; A. Karpiński, Co warto
wiedzieć…, op. cit. p. 95; Karpiński A., Pajetka J., Perczyński M., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit. p. 20;
Markowski K., Rola państwa…, op. cit., p. 185.
15
Ćwikliński H. (ed.), Polityka gospodarcza, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, Gdańsk 2004,
p. 135.
6
one, when some branches of industry are being promoted, into a negative one,
evoking, for instance, the negative growth or ecological damage.16
It ought to be highlighted that a negative attitude to the industrial policy is
shown especially by the best developed and riches countries (Japan excluded). It
is explicable by the fact that these countries having attained, among other factors,
also thank to the state interventionism, their present position in the world
market, currently feel no need for conducting the sector or interventionist
industrial policy felt by underdeveloped countries, whose economies have far
weaker positions in the world economy. For the latter group of countries the
introduction of the policy in question is often the only chance of changing their
present, unfavourable economic status.17
Despite the presence of such considerable disparities in the opinions about
the industrial policy, a majority of countries do conduct such a policy to a greater
or lesser extent.
The acceptance or negation of the industrial policy is not, however, a key
dilemma connected with it. A more vital problem is to determine what this policy
ought to be like, what objectives it is supposed to attain, and to specify the
structure of future investments and name the sectors that ought to be developed
or restrained, as well as to decide what instruments should be implemented in
fulfilling its tasks.
Thus, the industrial policy is an intentional activity. “Playing the role of
a corrective agent with reference to the market mechanism, the industrial policy
enables the authorities to achieve goals, which are usually unattainable in any
other way.”18 The objectives of the industrial policy result from its nature and
change under the influence of external and internal conditionings for
development; they are also formulated in various ways. Many economists voicing
their opinions in this matter claim that the essential objective of the industrial
policy in Poland is a rational protection of the selected sectors of industry against
the overly negative results of the systemic changes. Furthermore, the policy in
question ought to facilitate regional development, provide a protection against
unemployment and protect the natural environment. Another objective of the
industrial policy should be the creation of industrial agglomerations that would
secure the conditions for consumption. These tasks of the industrial policy affect
the projects for restructuring the industry, as well as the scope and focus of state
interventionism.
The objectives of the industrial policy ought to be understood as “the changes
and results to be achieved in the industry and economy, assumed by the economic
authorities of the state, resulting from the implementation of carefully chosen and
16
Ibid., p. 135.
Karpiński A., Pajetka J., Perczyński M., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit., p. 21.
18
Kazarowicz H., Skowrońska A., Polityka przemysłowa, op.cit., p. 65.
17
7
applied instruments (i.a. legal, economic, motivating, financial ones) in the whole
industry or in its particular areas.19
The industrial policy strives for the “creation of highly competitive, pro-export
sectors of economy, open to the world market, performing the function of the socalled locomotives of development, ‘pulling’ the whole economy and generating
resources for restructuring other production sectors and implementing important
programs in the social sphere.”20 As far as the above objectives are concerned, the
market mechanism may prove unreliable, and not guarantee neither the desirable
structural adjustments in economy, nor the implementation of social reforms.
Thus, it may be concluded that the industrial policy can constitute a specific
antidote to the imperfections of the market mechanism and supplement its
functioning. This being so, the industrial policy is complementary, not
competitive, with reference to the market mechanism.
In the light of everything that has been said so far, it becomes justified to
state that the industrial policy promotes the development of industry, improves
its competitiveness in foreign markets, stimulates structural changes in the
industry and alleviates the social effects entailed by the decay of some branches
of industry. Furthermore, it improves the effectiveness of utilizing resources by
their appropriate allocation, and stimulates innovativeness in the industry.21
The industrial policy may serve for attaining a plethora of goals, among which
A. Lipowski distinguishes four essential goals, which at the same time constitute
the criteria for selecting the spheres of production to be supported:22
- commercial goal, which the government has in view while selecting the key
areas of production taking into account their developmental capacities. Thus,
there are selected the areas with comparatively largest competitive potential,
and the result of such a selection is promoting the development of these
particular areas;
- the goal of securing the supplies, which means that the government gives the
priority status to the spheres of industry which are crucial for the balance of
domestic supplies. These spheres include the so-called strategic spheres, i.e. the
arms production, food production and the sector of resources and energy;
- the goal of internalizing external effects, which consists in determining the key
spheres of industry which generate external profits, and at the same time
limiting the development of spheres which generate external costs for business
entities;
- social goal, which entails supporting the existence of some spheres of
production in order to maintain the places of employment in these spheres.
19
Mazurkiewicz E. (ed.), Polityka gospodarcza, , op. cit., p. 122.
Fajferek A. (ed.), Polityka ekonomiczna, Wydawnictwo AE w Krakowie, Kraków 1999, p. 231.
21
Janasz W. (ed), Elementy strategii rozwoju przemysłu, op. cit., p. 444; Karpiński A., Co warto
wiedzieć…, op. cit., p. 91.
22
Lipowski A., Polityka przemysłowa a wzrost konkurencyjności, PWN, Warszawa 1997, pp. 15-16.
20
8
Furthermore, in the publication edited by E. Mazurkiewicz there have been
differentiated the following kinds of goals which the industrial policy is supposed
to attain:23
- strategic and long-term goals, medium-term goals and current short-term goals;
- macroeconomic, mesoeconomic and microeconomic goals, referring
respectively to:
1) the industry within the whole economy,
2) the production, territorial, sector and branch groupings of industry, and
3) particular types of companies and economic undertakings;
- systemic goals focused on restructuring the economic system of the industry;
- goals of social character, e.g. adjusting the structure of industry and the scope
of its production to the important needs of citizens, increasing the number of
places of employment in the periods of unemployment, improvement of the
social, health and educational working conditions, environmental protection.
Summing up the discussion about the purposefulness of implementing the
industrial policy, the truth of A. Karpiński’s statement can be acknowledged, who
claimed that the “goal of this kind of policy is always the strengthening of a given
country’s position against the position of other partners operating in the same
market”24 Therefore, this goal lies in improving the competitiveness of the
production structures functioning in a given market, including both the national
and private structures, as well as ones with the share of foreign capital.25
Such an approach is imposed by the empirically proved fact that a country
which is incapable of securing the competitiveness of its goods on the foreign
markets is incapable, under the conditions of the open market, of securing the
competitiveness of its own goods on its own domestic market. In order to become
competitive, a strategic choice has to be made, specifying the industry to be
supported and developed and the industry to be left unsupported. “For no
country is so rich that it can afford to support all industries.”26
The purposefulness of conducting the industrial policy aiming at the
protection of producers or their groups has been and still remains a controversial
issue. Some researchers believe that it is a way of defending the economy of a
given country against the competition, while others claim that it is an
unacceptable intervention of public authorities into the economy. However,
independently of any point of view, it is a fact that the industrial policy, being a
stimulus for certain expected changes in the economy, constitutes a kind of the
state’s interference. In spite of this, a majority of countries, in varying degrees,
interfere with the development of economy.
23
Mazurkiewicz E. (ed.), Polityka gospodarcza, op. cit., p. 123.
Karpiński A., Co warto wiedzieć…, op. cit., p. 99.
25
Kotowicz – Jawor J., Przebudowa mikroekonomicznego mechanizmu rozwoju, PWN, Warszawa
1998, p. 28.
26
Karpiński A., Co warto wiedzieć…, op. cit., p. 99.
24
9
Evolution of EU industrial policy towards sustainability
The approach to the industrial policy in the European Community has been
negative from the very beginning, both with reference to conducting such a policy
by particular countries and by the Community as a whole. The contemporary
attempts at interpretation of the process of western European integration are
treated as alternatives to national industrial policies implemented by individual
countries. A decision to access the EU indicates the resignation from the option of
conducting an independent industrial policy, as the national industrial policies
have been viewed as an obstacle for the internal consolidation of the
Community.27
The declared goal of the European Union industrial policy is the intensification
of the industrial competitiveness accompanied by the simultaneous attainment of
the improving living standards of citizens and a high level of employment. Such
goals are to be achieved by accelerating structural changes, industrial cooperation
and effective use of the potential of innovation policy and technological
development. The horizontal guidelines sketched in this way result in the fact that
the elements of the EU industrial policy exist in the form of common activities in
the sphere of research and development and education, as well as a common
effort to remove the obstacles in the functioning of small and medium-sized
businesses, regional and structural policies, and others.
The Community industrial policy functions independently of the national
industrial policies of the member states. The absence of direct provisions with
reference to the industrial policy in the Treaty of Rome reflected the attitude of
the Community prevailing in the sixties and at the beginning of the seventies,
when it merely assumed the form of reducing the intervention into economy and
was implemented on the level of particular member states. Community activities
with reference to the industry and focusing on the state support were undertaken
as late as the nineties.28
In the Treaty founding the European Community there was no definition of
the concept of industrial policy, and it was not mentioned that it ought to be
common for all the member states. Only the steel and coal industry, as well as the
sector of atomic energy were selected as an object of common activities within
the framework of the European Steel and Coal Community (ECSC) and the
European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). The industrial policy was
viewed in the context of government activities meant to develop and support
particular branches of industry within the frames of national economies, so the
concept of “EU industrial policy” constitutes a new category of the policy in
question.
27
Karpiński A., Pajetka J., Perczyński M., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit., p. 23.
Michoński A., Polityka przemysłowa Unii Europejskiej – dostosowania Polski [in:] Płowiec U. (ed.)
Polska i Unia Europejska; stan obecny i wyzwania na przyszłość, PLACET, Warszawa 2000, p. 157.
28
10
Articles 92-94 of the Treaty of Rome focus mainly on determining the
categories of the state support for industry which would not infringe upon the
rules of common market (i.e. such categories which have “social character” or
reflect the “common European interest”). However, in the seventies the
provisions in question were practically of no importance, since the worth of state
support in the member states of the Community exceeded the capacity of the
Commission for its control.29
However, the already mentioned Treaty of Rome included in its contents
many provisions directly affecting the industry. They referred to the creation of
a homogenous market securing the free flow of goods, services, people and
capital, to the protection of competition among companies, rules to be followed
by the member states while giving state support to companies so that it would
not distort the competition, the establishment of a harmonized legislative
framework for the industry in order to facilitate an international cooperation of
companies, and the establishment of the European Investment Bank (EIB).30
The sixties and the beginning of the seventies were the period during which
there were developed the rules of intervention on the regional level. The Council
accepted the principles according to which there were established the maximum
levels of the support given to particular regions and the ways of assuring the
clarity and notification of the Commission’s assistance. During this period, the
state interference did not play any major role in the structural changes of the
industry in the Community member states. However, there already occurred
some individual proposals to develop a common industrial policy.31 In 1970, the
European Commission handed over to the Council a memorandum on this subject.
The document in question contained the proposals of guidelines concerning the
creation of more favourable conditions for industrial development and the
reduction of the technological gap between the Community and the United States
and Japan. According to the European Commission, the goals of the industrial
policy should include the following:32
- stimulating the increasing importance of specific spheres of industry in order to
accelerate the development of the whole economy;
- conducting, within the scope of industry, the actual structural policy by
adjusting branches of industry in a way facilitating the proper course of an
economic process;
29
Czerwińska E., Polityka przemysłowa, Raport nr 107, http://biurose.sejm.gov.pl
Muńko A., Polityka przemysłowa Unii Europejskiej i Polski (problemy ewolucji dostosowań),
Instytut Nauk Ekonomicznych PAN, Warszawa 1996, p. 5.
31
Michoński A., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit., p. 157.
32
Bartosik Z., Ekonomika i polityka przemysłowa, Wydawnictwo AE we Wrocławiu, Wrocław 1993,
p. 23.
30
11
- creating such conditions for industrial organizations with would facilitate an
improvement in the sphere of innovativeness, production quality, and better
“fitting” of production structures in these organizations.
With reference to the above memorandum, in 1973 the Council approved
a program of activities which were bound to be undertaken on the Community
level for the benefit of industrial development and technological policy. This
program addressed the following issues:
- removing barriers in trading within the Community;
- promoting the consolidation of companies within the Community;
- promoting European companies capable of competing in the international
market with American or Japanese companies;
- gradually liberalizing an access to the market of public procurements;
- supporting sectors characterized by advanced technology;
- introducing the Community element in all cases where the development of
industry demanded the state participation, e.g. standardization, public
procurements, etc.
Despite the above described activities, until the half of the eighties the
industrial policy of the member states had no common character and remained
a domain of the governments in particular member states. What is more, during
this period there could be observed the intensification of the state
interventionism, fragmentation of the market with reference to consumers’
demands, diversification of the norms and standards, as well as ineffective
spending of the funds for research and development inside the Community.33
In the second half of the seventies and in the eighties there took place
a recession in the Community economy. Since the traditional macroeconomic
measures failed, member states reached for microeconomic instruments, such as
the control of prices, payments and import. Unfortunately, all these efforts failed.
Then the member states implemented the instrument of subsidizing these
branches of industry which bore losses. In order to perform this task there were
utilized the already commonly existing programs and channels for providing state
support. The European Commission developed structural programs for such
spheres as: iron and steel industry, textile industry, shipbuilding industry and
footwear industry. As the situation on the market was improving in the second
half of the eighties, a majority of these interventions were limited.
In spite of the support given to national undertakings and attempts made at
creating proper mechanisms of coordinating the industrial policy, potentially
followed by its harmonization and standardization, the industrial policy did not
acquire a community character until the half of the eighties and remained in the
sphere of competence of the governments in particular member states.
33
Czerwińska E., Polityka przemysłowa, op. cit.
12
Towards the end of the seventies and in the eighties, the policy with
reference to industry consisted in adapting the goals of social policy to activities
undertaken within the framework of the industrial policy. The interventionist
policy, focused on the restructuring of traditional sectors, was implemented in
order to reduce the negative effects of such a policy. However, the support given
to slumping sectors made it impossible to allocate funds for the support of
developing industries. As a result, there came into being a new element of the
community industrial policy, i.e. the initiative with reference to advanced
technologies.34
Further new elements of the industrial policy were introduced by the
European Commission at the beginning of the nineties. While establishing its new
directions, special importance was attached to the competition, open character of
the markets and the horizontal measures which served the purpose of increasing
productivity and supporting innovativeness. These changes were the result of
a necessity to reduce the high level of subsidies and an altered global situation.
In 1990 there were formulated basic guidelines for the liberal industrial policy
of the Community, based on free trade, competition and positive structural
adjustments. They were listed in the Commission report entitled “Industrial policy
in an open and competitive environment”.35
The report highlighted the fact that the major responsibility for the
competitiveness of industry fell on companies, which could, however, expect that
the state authorities would create proper and predictable conditions for their
functioning. What was meant, however, was not the support of particular branches
of industry (sector approach), but the promotion of competition in the whole
industry (horizontal approach). According to the above mentioned report, the
Community industrial policy was going to have the following foundations
(Table 1):36
1) facilitating the effective, long-term functioning of market economy as
a preliminary condition for structural adjustments;
2) providing catalysts for structural adjustments;
3) developing instruments that would accelerate the structural adjustments and
increase the competitiveness of the industry, i.e. the so-called accelerators.
34
Michoński A., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit., p. 158.
Ibid., p. 159.
36
Muńko A., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit., p. 11.
35
13
Table 1. Preliminary conditions, catalysts and accelerators of the European
industrial policy in the nineties
PRELIMINARY CONDITIONS
 competition
 stable macroeconomic
conditions
 high level of education
 social and economic
cohesion
 environmental protection
CATALYSTS
ACCELERATORS
 internal market
 promotion of scientific
program
research and technological
 common trade policy development
 vocational education
 support for the SMEs
 program of services for
the private sector
Source: European Commission, European Industrial Policy for the 1990s, „Bulletin of the European
Communities”, Supplement 3/91 after: Płowiec U. (ed.), Polska i Unia Europejska; stan obecny
i wyzwania na przyszłość, PLACET, Warszawa 2000, p. 160.
Preliminary conditions include the factors which determine the increase of
competitiveness. This group comprises i.a. the competitive environment, the
stable economic environment and the environmental protection. The catalysts
include government procurements, programs for the internal market, and
opening the market to the foreign competition. The function of accelerators is
performed by the so-called horizontal instruments and programs, which include
the policy of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting the
scientific research and stimulating the innovative activity.
Even though the above mentioned report clearly specified the tasks of the
industrial policy, this kind of policy was still associated with subsidizing the
unprofitable spheres of industry by the governments of the individual member
states.
The competitiveness of European companies depends on the effectively
functioning markets, thus the Community policy entails the harmonization of
these activities undertaken by the member states, which affect the structure of
industry. In order to implement the industrial policy it is advisable to promote a
positive approach to restructuring, which makes it possible to discontinue the
implementation of defensive policies of the state interference. The previously
implemented sector policies had the character of instruments of the social policy,
serving the purpose of protecting traditional industries. The new approach was
characterized by a departure from the defensive policy in most sectors. What is
more, it assumed that the industrial policy ought to be founded on the open
markets which facilitated the materialization of the scale effects and the
international specialization.
In the Treaty of Maastricht on European Union that entered into force in 1993
there was recommended the creation of conditions necessary to assure the
competitiveness of the community industry both by the European Community and
the member states. The provisions of Art. 130 of the Treaty outlined the strategy
of such a policy but contained no detailed guidelines. They obliged the EU
member states to undertake more extensive activities to accelerate the
14
adaptation of structural changes, to create proper conditions for the initiatives
and development of companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, and to
make a better use of the industrial potential in the innovative, research and
technological policies. The activities undertaken by virtue of this article had to be
consulted among the member states and also communicated to the Commission.
Member states had to coordinate their activities in the sphere of the industrial
policy, while the Commission might show an initiative in promoting this type of
cooperation.
In this way the industrial policy was formally included in the group of activities
coordinated on the Community level, even though in the Treaty on the EU the
expression “industrial policy” was not mentioned. Furthermore, the character of
industrial policy evolved from the sector character to a more horizontal one.37
In 1994 the European Council passed the “Council resolution on the
strengthening of the competitiveness of Community Industry”. This resolution,
with reference to the guidelines that had been specified in 1990, highlighted the
fact that the European companies conducted their business activities in the
environment of growing international competition and thus it was necessary, first
of all, to make structural adjustments in the industry, especially in less developed
regions, and also to modernize the infrastructure and to promote technological
innovations. The strategy determined in the resolution specified four priority tasks
of the competitiveness policy to be implemented by the European Union
(Table 2).
The above facts indicate that the concept of industrial policy in the European
Union is becoming clearer. The member states are encouraged to collaborate with
the Commission in order to coordinate activities undertaken within the
framework of Community programs and focusing on the industry. Essential
activities undertaken by the EU countries within the framework of the industrial
policy are based on three basic assumptions including the creation of conditions
for the long-term effective functioning of the industry, creation of the institutional
and infrastructural conditions for making changes in the industry, and the
development of instruments accelerating the structural adjustments and
improving competitiveness.38
37
Ibid., p. 14.
Borowiecki R., Rojek T., Restrukturyzacja jako narzędzie dostosowania polskich przedsiębiorstw do
wymogów Unii Europejskiej, [in:] Glinkowski Cz. (ed.), Uwarunkowania konkurencyjności
restrukturyzowanych przedsiębiorstw, Wydawnictwo AE w Poznaniu, Poznań 1999, p. 109.
38
15
Table 2. Priorities of the EU industrial policy specified in the Council resolution
of 21 November 1994
Promoting nonmaterial investments
- rationalizing
vocational education
- promoting new
forms of work
organization
- supporting the
industrial dialogue
(among companies)
- supporting the R+D
- supporting the
technological
innovation
- promoting quality
systems
Developing
industrial
cooperation
- supporting the
cooperation of
companies in the
private sector
- promoting the
flow of know-how
among companies,
especially the SMEs
Securing honest
competition
The role of public
authorities
- controlling the
state support and
favouring horizontal
programs over the
sector programs
- ensuring the
compatibility of the
principles of
competition with the
principles of other
community policies
- identifying the
barriers thwarting
the growth of export
- monitoring the
efficient functioning of the
internal market
- making proper use of
the Structural Funds in
supporting the
development of
competitive sectors of
industry
- improving the
cooperation among the
administrations of the
member states and the
European Commission
(electronic programs of
information exchange)
- simplifying the
administrative procedures
- deregulation
- consulting the
regulations bound to be
introduced with
representatives of interest
groups
Source: Michoński A., Polityka przemysłowa Unii Europejskiej – dostosowania Polski [in:] Płowiec U.
(ed.), Polska i Unia Europejska; stan obecny i wyzwania na przyszłość, PLACET, Warszawa 2000,
p. 160.
In the form promoted by the European Commission, the concept of the
industrial policy assumes the increase of international competitiveness of the
Community industry achieved by means of activities undertaken by the member
states in order to:39
- “create a stable macroeconomic policy being the basis for introducing the
common currency;
- support the non-material investments without breaking the rules of competition;
- support the research and development policy;
- support educational programs for the developing branches of industry;
- support the development of industrial cooperation among the companies within
the EU and with other countries;
- simplify the administrative procedures and legislation, especially with respect to
SMEs;
39
Michoński A., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit., p. 162.
16
- protect both the internal and external competition; the rules of competition
developed by the European Union with respect to the state support are
supposed to neutralize any disturbances in the trade caused by this support.”
A decisive factor in conducting the common industrial policy will be the
economic situation of the European Union. As has been proved so far, a slumping
economy may be conducive to national protectionism, however, presently the EU
member states seem to be realizing to a still greater extent the necessity for
undertaking common actions on the Community level in order to fight the
structural problems.
The provision about creating necessary conditions (economy convergence40)
to ensure competitiveness of the community industry was included by the EU
member states in the Maastricht Treaty which came into force in 1993. Presently
such a regulation can be found in Art. 157 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community.
However, before such provisions were written down, the member states had
gone through the period of national policy and cooperation (the sixties and the
break of the sixties and the seventies) and the period of interventionism (the
eighties), when the policy of the Common Market began to be shaped, especially
in the sphere of industrial policy.
Its objective was not the industrial development as such, but rather its
international competitiveness. However, because of the serious distance between
the European industry and American industry, as well as the challenges due to
globalization, the undertaken activities were focused on competitiveness of
individual companies rather than sectors of industry. Since then the European
Union has been persistently striving to attain these goals. On 1 January 2000
within the EU there was established the Directorate General for Enterprise and
Industry, which became, together with the Directorate General for Energy and
Transport, a major center creating the industrial policy of the EU.41
The concept of “industrial policy” did not exist in the Treaty establishing the
European Community. Thus, the policy was not treated as “common” by the
member states. Common activities were undertaken only with reference to the
steel and coal sector (within the framework of ECSC) and the sector of atomic
energy (within the framework of EUROATOM). On the other hand, the Treaty of
Rome included many provisions indirectly influencing the industry. However, in
spite of the attempts made in the seventies to develop a common industrial
policy, until the middle of the eighties it remained the domain of the governments
of particular member states. Basic guidelines concerning the liberal industrial
policy were formulated at the beginning of the nineties, stressing that it was
necessary for the governments to support the competitiveness of companies.
40
Kiseľáková D., Euro Strategy Slovakia Into Euro Area – Theoretical And Practical Aspects, Presovska
Univerzita v Presovie, Faculta Manażmentu, Presov 2010, p. 12.
41
Markowski J., Potrzeba polityki przemysłowej, Rzeczpospolita, Ekonomia i rynek, 8 – 9.02.2003.
17
Contemporary industrial policy of the European Union is based mainly on
increasing the international competitiveness of the European Union economy.
This present industrial policy, which is an important element of the Lisbon
strategy, originates from the EU striving to assure the existence of an efficiently
functioning internal market, as well as open and competitive markets worldwide,
and facing the challenges connected with environmental protection.42
There were a number of reasons that necessitated the implementation of the
industrial policy recommendations in the expanded European Union. One of those
is the enormous significance of the industrial sector of the EU, which is the source
of places of employment, and also contributes to the generation of assets and
stimulates an activity in the sector of services. The production industry plays a key
role in the development of the EU growth potential and the strengthening and
maintaining its economic and technological position.43 A regulatory effect on the
European industry is even more desirable, because since 2008 the crisis in the
global financial market began to exercise a negative influence on world economy.
In the “old EU member states”, especially tightly connected both with the finance
and the American real economy, the beginnings of an economic slump were
already observed at the break of 2007 and 2008. Since the middle of 2008 in the
Union there has been observed a drop in the industrial production, a slight one at
the beginning, but rapidly becoming larger.44
Apart from the necessity to support the EU production industry, the
implementation of the industrial policy principles in the EU member states is
justified by many other facts, including:45
- intensification of international competition;
- destructive influence of the phenomenon of industrial delocalization;
- enormous significance of the process of industrial reconversion of the regions
affected by economic restructuring;
- demographic changes caused by the aging of societies, which clearly is going to
have an impact on the industrial sector, resulting in a drop in its share in the job
market. Competitiveness is dependent also on human resources, and the quality
and quantity improvement of employment refers to the industry as well;
- sector approach will allow for a better evaluation of the competitiveness
indicators of an incohesive economy;
42
Przegląd śródokresowy polityki przemysłowej Wkład w strategię UE na rzecz wzrostu
gospodarczego i zatrudnienia COM(2007) 374 http://eur-lex.europa.eu
43
Wdrażanie wspólnotowego programu lizbońskiego: Ramy polityczne dla wzmocnienia przemysłu
UE – w kierunku bardziej zintegrowanego podejścia do polityki przemysłowej COM(2005) 474
http://ec.europa.eu
44
Wpływ kryzysu na globalnym rynku finansowym na PKB i produkcję przemysłową Unii Europejskiej
ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem sytuacji w polskim przemyśle przetwórczym, Departament Analiz
i Prognoz Ministerstwa gospodarki, Warszawa February 2009, http://www.mg.gov.pl
45
Rezolucja Parlamentu Europejskiego "Wzmacnianie konkurencyjności europejskiej: skutki przemian
w przemyśle na politykę i rolę MŚP” (2004/2154(INI)) http://www.europarl.europa.eu
18
- the scarcity of the existing industrial policy instruments does not allow for the
reorientation of the industry towards advanced technologies, and therefore it is
necessary to promote an organized activity in the sphere of public and private
financing of the research and development (R & D);
- the necessity to improve the legislative and executive frameworks determining
the development of companies and their access to community programs.
Expansion of the European Union brings new challenges for the European
business. Undoubtedly, the expansion of the Common Market results in the
increase of competitiveness of companies from the new member states.
However, the competitive advantage of new member states, due to the relatively
low costs of labour, is going to be a short-term phenomenon. For this reason the
new member states ought to focus specifically on building the knowledge-based
economy in order to avoid the pressure connected with potential loss of
competitiveness by their companies on a long-term basis.
A major goal of the industrial policy is creating proper frame conditions for
the development and innovativeness of companies in order to make the EU an
attractive place for investing and creating new places of employment in the
industry. It is obvious that mainly the sector of private companies, and not the
sector of public companies, contributes to the economic development. The
companies are responsible for the development of their products and processes
and raising their qualifications in order to create new markets and find new
opportunities due to the development of technology and internationalization. In
taking advantage of such opportunities a key role is played by the responsibility of
companies for the social issues and balanced development.46
An effective and well-functioning industrial policy within the Community has
to be based on cohesive and well-coordinated activities both on the national and
European level. Many elements which have an important effect on the
competitiveness of the European industry are shaped on the national level. On
the other hand, important challenges such as creating an open and competitive,
homogenous market or the activities of industrial policy in the sphere of energy or
climate changes cannot be addressed, or are addressed insufficiently, on the
national level. Therefore it is necessary to undertake some activities also on the
European level.
Taking the above factors into account, the European Commission has
proposed a number of crucial modifications of the present industrial policy. These
proposals have been based on three major assumptions. Firstly, both the
Commission and other institutions ought to continue the activities supporting new
initiatives and proposals facilitating the industrial development, i.a. by getting a
better insight into the aspects of competitiveness. Secondly, another important
issue is the improvement of the synergy effect among those Community policies
46
Wdrażanie wspólnotowego programu lizbońskiego…, op. cit.
19
which have a significant influence on the competitiveness of industry (this refers
especially to the cohesion policy, the employment policy and the regional policy)
in order to assure the increase of competitiveness and to accelerate the
structural changes in the industry thank to, i.e. lowering taxes or developing a
sustainable production. On the international scale a priority is to improve the
access of the Community companies to the markets of countries from outside the
EU. Thirdly, the Union has to continue developing the sector sphere of the
industrial development. In the car industry and mechanical industry new legal
regulations and development initiatives have already taken place.
The outlines of the EU industrial policy have been specified by the
Communicates of the European Commission.47 The first two communicates
focused on the improvement of the European infrastructure and business
environment in the industry. Presently, the industrial policy is characterized by
stressing the horizontal issues, i.e. the ones common for all sectors of industry.
The analysis of the key horizontal issues has been conducted within the
framework of seven inter-sector policy initiatives referring to the following
problems:48
− simplification of legislation;
− improvement of workforce qualifications;
− research and development;
− competitiveness, energy and environmental protection;
− management of structural changes;
− intellectual property laws and forgery;
− external aspects of competitiveness and market access.
The implementation of the above initiatives is tantamount with reaching the
goal of sustainable development. Detailed guidelines referring to this issue were
already included by the European Commission in its communication of 2001,
entitled A Sustainable Europe for a Better World: A European Union Strategy for
Sustainable Development.49 This strategy addressed the problem of assuring the
welfare and economic development of Europe in the face of such challenges as
climate change, poverty or threats to health.
In 2006, after verifying the activities that had been undertaken up till then,
the European Council approved The Renewed European Union Sustainable
Development Strategy50 which accounted for a more extensive, global dimension
47
Polityka przemysłowa dla rozszerzonej Europy (COM(2002)714), http://eur-lex.europa.eu;
Wspieranie przemian strukturalnych: polityka przemysłowa dla rozszerzonej Europy
(COM(2004)274), http://eur-lex.europa.eu; Wdrażanie wspólnotowego programu …, op. cit.
48
Polska 2007 Raport o stanie gospodarki, Ministerstwo Gospodarki, Warszawa 2007, p. 41,
www.mg.gov.pl
49
Zrównoważona Europa dla Lepszego Świata: Strategia Zrównoważonego Rozwoju Unii
Europejskiej,
Komisja
Wspólnot
Europejskich,
Bruksela
2001,
(COM(2001)264),
http://eur-lex.europa.eu
50
Odnowiona Strategia Zrównoważonego Rozwoju UE, Rada Unii Europejskiej, Bruksela 2006.
20
of the challenges to be faced. Among major objectives of this renewed strategy
there ought to be counted the activities in the sphere of environmental
protection, social justice and social cohesion, economic welfare and the
fulfillment of international obligations.
The Renewed European Union Sustainable Development Strategy
differentiates seven priority challenges in the spheres of economic, ecological and
social policies:
 reducing climate changes, its costs and negative effects, and promoting
cleaner energy;
 assuring that transport systems comply with the requirements of
environmental protection and meet the economic and social needs of the society,
and simultaneously minimizing their undesirable effect;
 promoting sustainable patterns of production and consumption;
 managing more efficiently the environmental resources and preventing
their excessive exploitation;
 promoting public health on equal conditions and providing more efficient
protection against health threats;
 creating an integrated society by accounting for intra-generational and
inter-generational solidarity and assuring a stable quality of life for the citizens;
 actively popularizing all over the world the sustainable development and
assuring the convergence of the European Union policy with the global objectives
of continuous development and international obligations of the European
Community.
Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy ought to have
a horizontal character with respect to all policies and strategies on the EU level
and member states level. At the same time, the success of this strategy is bound
to depend largely on its careful and well-though-out incorporation into national
instruments of realizing the sustainable development policy.
One of the areas of the sustainable development policy includes activities
promoting the sustainable consumption and production and the sustainable
industrial policy.51
The essence of the plan of action lies in the dynamic framework of activities
aiming at the improvement of energy-friendly and ecologically-friendly
characteristics of products, and the promotion of such products. This framework
of activities encompasses the ambitious norms to be introduced in the whole
internal market, supporting product improvement by a systemic approach to
encouragements and orders and the improvement of communication with
consumers achieved by introducing more cohesive, simplified rules of labeling
51
Komunikat Komisji do Parlamentu Europejskiego, Rady, Europejskiego Komitetu EkonomicznoSpołecznego oraz Komitetu Regionów dotyczący planu działania na rzecz zrównoważonej konsumpcji
i produkcji oraz zrównoważonej polityki przemysłowej (COM(2008) 397), Komisja Wspólnot
Europejskich, Bruksela 2008, http://eur-lex.europa.eu
21
products, so that the policy in question would be supported by the very demand
for products. This approach is going to refer to such products, whose impact on
the environment can be considerably reduced. The challenge lies in establishing
a positive trend, and hence the general improvement of ecologically-friendly
product quality on every stage of its life cycle ought to be accompanied by
promoting and stimulating the demand for better products and production
technologies, as well as helping the consumers make better choices by
introducing a more cohesive and simplified product labeling. This trend is bound
to be additionally supported and reinforced by the activities directed at improving
the production effectiveness and accounting for international aspects of the
above discussed issues.
Sustainable aspects of industrial policy in Poland
Much attention was devoted to Polish industrial policy at the beginning of the
nineties. During the period of system transformation Polish industrial policy went
through three major stages:52
1. During the first stage, in the years 1989-1991, the economic policy was
focused on the implementation of a stabilizing program and fighting against
inflation, which resulted in shifting the problems of restructuring economy to the
background. At this stage the state subsidies for the industry were considerably
reduced. The “industrial policy” of the time was implemented in a chaotic
manner, in the absence of programs that would propose necessary changes in the
structure of production and production potential;
2. During the second stage, between the middle of 1991 till the end of 1994,
there were made attempts at specifying the principles of industrial policy. The
Ministry of Industry and Trade commenced the works on specifying the guidelines
of industrial policy and issued the first version of such guidelines in June 1992. The
guidelines included projects of restructuring programs for selected branches of
industry (the so-called sector studies). In 1991 Poland signed the European Union
Treaty limiting the freedom of conducting industrial policy by imposing rules
restricting the provision of state support;
3. During the third stage, which began towards the end of 1994 there was
approved the document “International Competitiveness of Polish Industry –
Industrial Policy Programme for the Years 1995-1997”. The acceptance of this
program marked the movement away from the defensive industrial policy
focusing on the protection and restructuring of some traditional branches
52
cf.: Polska i Unia Europejska. Stan obecny i wyzwania na przyszłość,. U. Płowiec (ed.), Wyd.
PLACET, Warszawa 2000, p. 170; Pełka B., Przemysł polski w perspektywie strategicznej, Wyd.
ORGMASZ, Warszawa 1998, p. 12; Muńko A., Polska polityka przemysłowa w procesie transformacji
i integracji z Unią Europejską, Wspólnoty Europejskie, nr 7-8, 1996, p. 15.
22
towards the active policy of promoting branches of the future, and ones that were
promising with respect to export.
Before 1989, in Poland had dominated the theory of developing all branches
of production. This development had been advocated at all costs, regardless of its
price and level of profitability.53 As a result, the best developed and clearly
preferred was the heavy industry. Investment processes were fulfilled on the basis
of the company’s own sources of financing and mainly it’s own resources of
technological development. Decisions concerning directions of production
development were made on the basis of a plan which assumed a specific structure
of consumption, which was not compatible with the actual needs of consumers
and the capacity of industry to develop; what is more, such decisions were made
under the influence of tenders and pressure applied by various interest groups. As
a result, the structure of industry was not adjusted to consumers’ needs on one
hand, and to the conditions of development on the other; it was intentionally
adjusted to the internal market, characterized by excessively developed heavy
industry and a low level of technology.54
The polemics which was conducted in Poland with reference to the industrial
policy in the first years following the transformation was dominated by negative
experiences connected with the shaping of production structure by the state in
the system of centrally planned economy. The command economy excluded the
functioning of the market mechanism, and the state made even the most minor
decisions concerning industrial development.
As a result, all mistakes of the industrial policy were ascribed to the state
interventionism, and the major guideline shaping the industrial policy became the
statement “the best industrial policy is the absence of such policy.”55
A discussion about the purposefulness of implementing the industrial policy in
Poland divided national economists into three groups, namely those who were
definitely opposed to its introduction, those who grudgingly allowed its
introduction in line with the rules of necessity, and those who were its advocates.
After the first several years of the system transformation in Poland passed,
there began to emerge more and more new arguments in favour of implementing
the industrial policy:56
- slow pace of systemic changes;
- increasing the dynamics of production did not bring about any significant
structural changes;
53
Karpiński A., Co to jest liberalna polityka przemysłowa – jej zalety i wady, Ekonomika i Organizacja
Przedsiębiorstwa, 1992, nr 1, p. 6.
54
Pierścionek Z., Kryteria polityki przemysłowej w Polsce, Ekonomika i Organizacja Przedsiębiorstwa,
1992, nr 5, p. 8.
55
Bożyk P., Polityka gospodarcza Polski 1985 – 2000, Wyd. FBC – Prywatne Policealne Studium
Handlowe, Warszawa 2000, p. 142.
56
Sadowski Z., W sprawie polityki…, op. cit., p. 61.
23
- the processes of adjusting to market economy that had been taking place so far
only to a little degree contributed to the development of the industrial activity
in such directions which were indispensable for the structural modernization
and assurance of the continuity of development processes;
- insufficient amount of the investment outlays in spite of some increase;
- the phenomenon of becoming out-of-date observed in the high technology
industries;
- a very low level of outlays on research and development;
- lack of innovative mechanisms due to the insufficiency of both supply and
demand for technical innovations.
The program of restructuring the Polish economy which had been shaping the
structural changes (i.e. restructuring) of the industry since 1989 was based on six
elements: establishment of basic legal infrastructure for the development of the
private sector of industry, privatization, liberalization of the foreign investment
flow, trade liberalization, demonopolization, and financial reforms.57 At that time
there took place some changes whose impact was decisive for future shaping of
the industrial policy program. Among others, these changes included:58
- realigning and freeing the prices – the country suffered the so-called price
shock;
- opening the Polish market almost completely by decreasing the rates of duty
charges;
- introducing the internal exchange of Polish zloty into foreign currencies;
- attempting to break the monopolies by establishing the Antimonopoly Office;
- initiating the business ownership transformation and restructuring of many
industries and companies;
- establishment and development of many new small and medium-sized
companies.
Having analyzed both the positive and negative implications of the process of
system transformation, it seems that the active industrial policy was necessary for
the improvement of economy. “It should have both the micro- and
macroeconomic character, and associate the economic objectives of companies
with the objectives of the economy as a whole. The vision of structural changes in
the industry has to be a long-term one. Otherwise, the industrial policy will be in
danger of giving in to the pressure applied by particular branches and companies,
often contradictory towards one another, preferring only partial and local
interests .”59
57
Muńko A., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit., p. 31.
Grudzewski W.M., Polityka przemysłowa w Polsce, Ekonomika i Organizacja Przedsiębiorstwa,
1994, nr 4, pp. 6-7.
59
Bożyk P., Polityka gospodarcza…, op. cit., p. 145.
58
24
The necessity of implementing the industrial policy in Poland was also shared
by A. Karpiński, J. Pajestka, and M. Perczyński.60 In the view of these authors, the
industrial policy is an indispensable element of the modern market economy.
“It requires not only the existence of specific institutions but also specific activities
in the real sphere, different from those taking place under the centrally planned
economy. A modern economy is not able to function effectively with a structure
adjusted to a different system of economy management. For this reason, the
industrial policy – if it succeeds in stimulating the dynamics of structural changes
in the direction which agrees with the requirements of market economy and
conquer the crisis – then it serves the purpose of economic transformation.”
According to many experts, the conclusion of negotiations with the European
Union created a chance of creating a new industrial policy in Poland. Such a policy
ought to exclude the possibility that companies receive support from the state
budget, and at the same time lead to the increase of national demand for their
products and the increase of their competitiveness. Accessing the European Union
ought to bring back the need to take responsibility for the industry, which is a vital
attribute of Polish economy.61
The formulation of the Polish industrial policy was accompanied by
considerable limitations in the shape of the lack of social consensus with
reference to the economic policy which was being implemented, and above all the
lack of financial means for conducting this kind of policy.62
An implementation of the industrial policy in Poland had many advocates.
Since the beginning of the system transformation its principles had been
formulated many times. Such principles used to be based mainly on the rational
protection of selected sectors against the negative effects of the system
conversion and the justified support of specific branches of industry in their
becoming competitive in the world markets.
Simultaneously with formulating the industrial policy principles there were
established the sector programs of restructuring the branches recognized as the
strategic ones, such as the iron and steel industry, petrochemistry and liquid fuels
industry.
The end of the economic transformation in Poland was tantamount with
moving away from the sector industrial policy focusing on the protection and
restructuring of some traditional branches towards the horizontal policy
promoting the branches of the future and ones that were promising with respect
to export.
In Poland, assumptions concerning horizontal aspect of industrial policy were
presented in governmental document named The Concept of Horizontal Industrial
60
Karpiński A., Pajetka J., Perczyński M., Polityka przemysłowa…, op. cit., pp. 33-35.
Markowski J., Potrzeba polityki przemysłowej, op. cit.
62
Kalinowski A., Małkiewicz A., Polityka przemysłowa dla Polski, Gazeta Przemysłowa, 1991,
nr 18, p. 1.
61
25
Policies in Poland, which contains a number of postulates of enhanced
competitiveness in enterprises. Detailed initiatives, common for all the sectors,
were determined in eight areas of horizontal activities (Table 3).
Table 3. Areas of horizontal initiatives in the area of industrial policies in Poland
Areas of
horizontal
initiatives
Regulatory documents
for selected areas
Instruments within the areas of initiatives
Directions for
Increasing of Innovation
of Economy for 20072013
Within the Act of Some Forms of Support for
Innovation Initiatives e.g.:
- technology credits,
- tax reliefs for purchase of new technologies,
- status of R&D centres for private research
entities,
- public procurement.
Within the Operational Programme Innovative
Economy, e.g.:
- co-financing of implementation of the results of
R&D works, new technologies, new products,
- co-financing of consulting and investments
necessary for R&D initiatives,
- co-financing of research, development works
and integrated research projects,
- improvement in competences of scientific and
research workers,
- support for innovativeness centres.
Within the Operational Programme Innovative
Economy, e.g.:
- support for business-to-business (B2B) eservices
- building cooperation electronic platforms for
public services on which the services for citizens
and enterprises will be possible.
R&D and
innovativeness
Information and
Communication
Technologies (ICT)
Human Capital
Strategy of
Development of
Informatization of
Poland until 2013 and
Perspectives of
Transformation of
Informational Society
until 2020
Strategy of
Development for 20072015
Within the Operational Programme Human
Capital e.g.:
- support for vocational trainings,
- consulting, general and specialized trainings,
- popularization of new forms of education
(including e-learning),
- development and modernization of the system
of education,
- increasing competences in sciences related to
the industry,
- development of lifelong learning systems,
- promoting mobility and professional flexibility,
- promoting knowledge transfer between the
sector of the science and industry.
26
Environmental
Protection –
Sustainable
Development
Strategy of Changes in
Patterns for Production
and Consumption
Towards Realization of
the Principles of
Sustainable
Development.
Strategy of
Implementation of
Integrated Product
Policies in Poland.
National Plan of Actions
Towards Environmental
Technologies
Commercial contracts
- support for ecological investments,
- rationalization of environmental resource
management (e.g. adaptation of installation to
the requirements of best available technologies
(BAT), intensification of the process of recycling
and recycling of hazardous waste, popularization
of the system of environmental management),
- support for training projects and combined
information and promotion campaigns to
promote ecology-oriented attitudes,
application of energy- material- and waterefficient technological solutions,
preferential credits.
- support for commercial contacts of
entrepreneurs with foreign partners,
- consulting and training to promote export and
to research markets,
- participation in fairs and exhibitions,
- development of internet system for
Markets
simplification of international contacts,
- facilitation of investments in Poland,
- support for investors through networks of
service centres,
- insurance of export credits,
- promoting view of Poland and Polish products in
international markets.
Directions for
- support for use of industrial property rights and
Increasing of Innovation copyrights by companies,
Protection of
of Economy for 2007- support for use of industrial design for
Industrial Property
2013
enhanced competitiveness of products in Polish
enterprises.
The Regulatory Reform
- implementation of the system of measurement
Programme
and lightening of regulatory load,
Simplification and
- improvement in the quality of translations of
Improvement in
specialized EU documents,
the System of
- implementation of electronic platforms of
Legal Regulations
services for entrepreneurs,
- facilitation of economic judiciary system.
Directions for
- consulting for micro- , small and medium
Increasing of Innovation businesses in terms of the access to sources of
of Economy for 2007finance,
2013
- capital support for initial phase of development
Access to Capital
of innovative companies,
- support for technological investments from the
resources of the Technology Credit Fund,
granting guarantees from the National Credit
Guarantee Fund for security of loan repayment.,
Source: Author’s elaboration based on: Koncepcja horyzontalnej polityki przemysłowej w Polsce,
Ministerstwo Gospodarki, Warszawa 2007, www.mg.gov.pl.
27
The horizontal initiatives in the areas identified as critical for development of
competitiveness of Polish industry focus mainly on improvement in innovation
and technological advances in companies, enhanced quality of human resources,
and breaking legal and administrative barriers which limit economic growth63.
Great emphasis on innovation results from the fact that dynamic changes in
technology and organization force enterprises to take adaptation measures. Only
the companies capable of implementation of innovative changes stand chances of
development.64 On the other hand, implementation of considerable technological
and organizational changes in business calls for having suitable human resources.
Thus changes in education and continuous improvement in qualifications of
workers becomes one of the most fundamental areas of horizontal industrial
policies.
Another equally critical issue is environmental protection and sustainable
development. A number of initiatives were reported, both on EU and domestic
level, for creation of ecology-oriented attitudes among entrepreneurs.65 In the
context of this activity, it is of particular importance to implement Environmental
Management Systems, considerably contributing to formation of co-responsibility
for the environment at all the levels of organizational structure.
A precondition for being a part of global economy is also opportunity to
protect industrial property in international markets.66 Infringement of property
rights threatens competitiveness of enterprises whereas observance of these
rights is a basis for investment decision-making. However, not only legal
regulations for protection of industrial property are in particular focus.
Simplification and improvement of the system of legal regulations comprise
another area of horizontal industrial policy, both at national and EU level.
In order to undertake development-related initiatives, it is also essential that
the access to capital is improved. Small and medium businesses experience
particular problems in this area; being granted a loan is a major difficulty for
63
Nowicka-Skowron, M.; Pachura, P., Networking - The Urban And Regional Development Strategy?
Annals of the University of Petroşani, Economics, 8(2), 2008, p. 45; Seroka-Stolka O., BrendzelSkowera K., Influence of the Strategy of Sustainable Development on Companies Functioning. [in:]
Lescroart R., Pachura P., Nitkiewicz T., Interdisciplinary Approach to Sustainable Development. ISI
Pierrard HEC du Luxemburg. Virton 2007, p. 51-59.
64
Skowron-Grabowska B., Innovation Processes in the Enterprises and the Influence of R&D on
Businessep. [in:] Pachura P. (ed.), The Challenges for Reconversion. Innovation - Sustainability Knowledge Management. ISI Pierrard, HEC du Luxemburg, Virton 2006.
65
Wider consideration on initiatives Industrial Policy towards environment protection you can find
[in:] Komunikat dotyczący planu działania na rzecz zrównoważonej konsumpcji i produkcji oraz
zrównoważonej polityki przemysłowej, Komisja Wspólnot Europejskich, Bruksela 2008,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu
66
Kot S. , Global Trends in Foreign Direct Investment [in:] Kościelniak H. (ed.), Processes of Capital
Supply in Production Enterprises, Wyd. WZPCz, Częstochowa 2006, p.116-122.
28
them. Another barrier to access to capital is formed by reduced knowledge of
available instruments of support as well as lack of ability to use them.67
In the “Horizontal industrial policy concept in Poland” proposed by the
government there was also discussed the problem of sustainable development. In
this sphere the activities of strategic importance are those advantageous with
respect to both the economy and the environment. In this context, it is especially
important to implement the Environmental Management Systems (EMS), which
considerably contribute to the shaping of ecological awareness and taking
responsibility for the state of environment at all levels of the organizational
structure. The implementation of these systems facilitates the systematic
perfecting of processes in the organization, assuring compliance with the legal
provisions in force concerning the environmental protection and the optimal
utilization of environmental resources. Thus, a special stress ought to be put on
the activities limiting the excessive energy consumption, material consumption
and water consumption of products and services, application of the methodology
of life cycle evaluation, and the development of ecological labeling and
environmental declarations on goods, enabling consumers to make an aware
choice of thus marked products and services. It is also indispensable for building
a company’s success and establishing its reliable picture to undertake obligations
in the sphere of social responsibility and to formulate green marketing strategies.
Also the government promotion of the so-called “green public procurements”, i.e.
taking into account the environmental criteria while inviting for tenders financed
from the public means can significantly contribute to the expansion of the market
of technologies for the environmental protection industry and the sector of
environment based services.
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31