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.
We are paying for free entertainment with lower productivity
Maciej JaszczukLeisure-enhancing technologies, which are taking up more and more of people's time and attention, may explain a significant part of the slowdown in productivity growth observed in advanced economies in recent decades –...
Post-Pandemic Stabilisation and Challenges
Adam GlapińskiThe Ancient Greeks were right on most issues, but unfortunately they did not know the concept of acceleration, or at least they did not possess the mathematical apparatus to formally describe it. Centuries had to pass before...
Poland in the international monetary system, 2021
William A. AllenPoland’s international financial policies have been guided by self-protection and self-insurance. Its strong economic performance and limited financial exposures reduce risk, and its international reserves provide...
The pandemic has accelerated the business cycle
Marek Pielach“The process of cyclical economic slowdown began already at the turn of 2019. Both the current and the forecasted path of the synthetic indicator of the current situation would be similar, even if the coronavirus pandemic...
A jubilee week of central banking in Poland and abroad
Karol Rogowicz, Paweł KowalewskiThis 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
Maciej DanielewiczIn 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
Piotr SzpunarRising 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
Maciej DanielewiczNBP’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?
Piotr SzpunarNegative 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
Leon PodkaminerIn 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...