Articles in English
Obserwator Finansowy features views and analysis of economy in Poland and other countries, written by some of the best journalists, economists and analysts. Our mission is to share knowledge of economics and financial markets in the world.
Obserwator Finansowy is a project under aegis of the Poland’s central bank, Narodowy Bank Polski. We have published thousands of articles about the Polish and global economy. Our journalists have conducted hundreds of interviews with Nobel laureates, distinguished economists, business leaders and politicians with views across the political spectrum.
In this section you can find selected articles in English.
A jubilee week of central banking in Poland and abroad
This week marks two anniversaries: the 20th anniversary of the initiation of unconventional monetary policy by the Bank of Japan and the first anniversary of the launch of quantitative easing by NBP.
EBRD: The Polish economy will recover to its pre-pandemic level in early 2022
In spite of another wave of the pandemic and the continued shutdown of many of the EU’s major economies, Poland’s return to its pre-pandemic GDP levels will already be possible in early 2022, Beata Javorcik, EBRD’s...
Central and Eastern Europe still has time to improve its demographics
Rising economic activity rates and levels of education, the growing role of immigration, and incentives for Poles to return home, will mitigate the impact of demographic changes, writes Dr. Piotr J. Szpunar, Director of the...
IMF: NBP’s response to the pandemic appropriate, Poland well positioned for a strong recovery
NBP’s response to the challenges posed by COVID was agile, forceful, and added innovative elements to existing policy frameworks. Poland is well positioned for a strong recovery. 2021 should be much better than 2020 –...
What causes negative interest rates?
Negative interest rates are not so much the effect of discretionary decisions of central banks but are mainly driven by changes in economic conditions. In the past decades real interest rates worldwide have been...
Is public debt a source of inflation? The data does not confirm it
In conditions of a global recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, massive fiscal deficits and rising public debt levels have become unavoidable. However, the size of those deficits may prove insufficient – also...
World Bank: The recovery in Central Europe in 2021 will be underpinned by, among others, interest rate policy in Poland
The recovery in Central Europe will be supported by a rebound in global trade and activity in the euro area, and by exceptional policy accommodation throughout 2021, including near-zero policy interest rates in Poland –...
Benefits and risks of central bank digital currency
The concept of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), i.e. publicly available electronic money issued by a central bank, has become a hot topic for economists in recent years.
World Bank: NBP’s response – swift, large and effective in limiting the economic scarring effects of the pandemic
The policy response of Narodowy Bank Polski has been swift and large and effective in limiting the economic scarring effects of the pandemic – adequate liquidity provision remains critical in the short-term. The...
Historically pandemics had a positive impact on GDP per capita
For a sample of 33 countries with data stretching back to the 13th century, a pandemic killing 1% of the population raises GDP per capita by 0.3% after almost 20 years.