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.
The benefits of immigration still outweigh the disadvantages
Jan CipiurThere are more than 115 million immigrants currently living in developed countries of the OECD - people born outside their current country of residence who hold citizenship of the country of their origin. They constitute...
Economic Slump Sends Hungarians Abroad
Kester EddyLast summer, having pondered his professional opportunities for some months, Istvan Kozari upped sticks, leaving his native Budapest for a new life in London. Mr Kozari, then just 35, had worked as a sales and marketing...
Counterfactual: A world without Swiss franc loans
It is 2006. The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) is working on Recommendation S regarding foreign currency mortgages. It is encouraged by large banks which do not want to take part in the risky race for profits...
Banking union’s success depends on further integration
Milena KabzaThe Eurozone’s sovereign-debt crisis both reflected and reinforced the banking crisis. Instituting a common regulatory framework in a form of a Eurozone-wide banking union is aimed to sever the link between public debt and...
Pressed by War and Economic Collapse, Ukraine Again Tries to Reform
Annabelle ChapmanReform is on the agenda in Kiev. After over twenty years deformed by corruption and incomplete reforms, the demand for “European standards” – an umbrella term for values such as greater transparency and rule-of-law –...
The Baltic States, A Model of Austerity or a One-Off?
Annabelle ChapmanEstonia, Latvia and Lithuania experienced the global financial crisis in a dramatic fashion, enduring the world’s worst recessions, followed by drastic austerity measures and then a return to growth – prompting some to...
Poland’s New Golden Age
Marcin PiątkowskiNapoleon Bonaparte once reportedly complained that history was a set of lies everyone agreed upon. While such a view may be too cynical, it is nonetheless true that nations tend to idealize their past. Poland is no...
Hungary Forges its Own Path
Kester EddySurrounded by fairy lights and fir trees, and with strains of 'White Christmas' crooning in the background, the crowd at Arena Plaza, a modern, Budapest shopping mall, makes for brisk trade just a fortnight before the big...
Unfinished Revolutions
Andrew MacDowallThe path taken by Romania and Bulgaria over the past 25 years differs from that of both Central Europe, which embraced free-market capitalism more enthusiastically, and the Western Balkans, much of which was set back by...
Former Yugoslavia still recovering from wars – and Titoist legacy
Andrew MacDowallWhile the rest of the CEE was either rapidly moving towards a democratic capitalist model, or languishing in post-communist malaise, but a least with new political and economic freedom, much of the Western Balkans plunged...