Economic resilience. The Case Study of Pomorskie Region

Iwona Sagan; Grzegorz Masik

doi:10.1007/s13147-013-0266-3

Authors

Iwona Sagan Department of Economic Geography, University of Gdańsk, 4 Bażyńskiego str., 80-952, Gdańsk, Poland
Grzegorz Masik Department of Economic Geography, University of Gdańsk, 4 Bażyńskiego str., 80-952, Gdańsk, Poland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13147-013-0266-3

Keywords:

Economic resilience, Macroeconomic policy, Structural and functional determinants, Pomorskie Region

Abstract

This article aims to identify the resilience of the Pomorskie Region in Poland. The analysed region belongs to a group of European regions where the negative impact of the economic crisis has not been distinctively visible. In a unitary state like Poland the resilience of the region to the crisis results to a high degree from the external macroeconomic factors of the country. However some regional features play an important role in strengthening resilience. We analysed socio-economic structures in the context of their significance for the region’s resilience. Walker’s and Salt’s (Resilience Thinking. Sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world, 2006) resilience attributes were used as a template for the findings. Although it is difficult to determine the level of a region’s resilience in a situation of ongoing and growing recession, some conclusions may be derived from the analysis. One of the most important factors of the Pomorskie Region’s resilience is the diversity of economic and social structures. The community and its social capital is undoubtedly one of the strongest attributes of the regional resilience. The Pomorskie Region’s richness in ecosystem services also strengthens its resilience significantly. Overlaps in governance are mainly connected with the development of institutional embeddedness. However the current lack of governance on the level of the most dynamically developing metropolitan areas is an impediment to more dynamic development. The post-totalitarian tradition of centralised governance continues to negatively influence the tight feedbacks attribute of resilience.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Adger, W.N. (2003): Building resilience to promote sustainability. In: IHDP Update 2, 1–3.

Briguglio, L.; Cordina, G.; Farrugia, N.; Vella, S. (2009): Economic Vulnerability and Resilience: Concepts and Measurements. In: Oxford Development Studies 37 (3), 229–247.

Central Intelligence Agency (2013): The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html (15.10. 2013).

Central Statistical Office (2012): Bank Danych Lokalnych. http://www.stat.gov.pl/bdl/app/strona.html?p_name=indeks (15.10.2013).

Christopherson, S.; Michie, J.; Tyler, P. (2010): Regional resilience: theoretical and empirical perspectives. In: Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 3 (1), 3–10.

Davoudi, S. (2013): Resilience: A Bridging Concept or a Dead End? In: Planning Theory and Practice 13 (2), 299–307.

Davoudi, S.; Strange, I. (2009): Space and place in the twentieth-century planning: An analytical framework and an historical review. In: Davoudi, S.; Strange, I. (eds.): Conceptions of Space and Place in Strategic Spatial Planning. London, 7–42.

Doran, J.; Fingleton, B. (2013): Economic shocks and growth: Spatio-temporal perspectives on Europe’s economies in a time of crisis. In: Papers in Regional Science. doi:10.1111/pirs.12048.

Działek, J. (2011): Kapitał społeczny jako czynnik rozwoju gospodarczego w skali regionalnej i lokalnej w Polsce. Kraków.

Eurostat (2012): Regional Statistics. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/region_cities/regional_statistics/data/database (15.10.2013).

Fingleton, B.; Garretsen, H.; Martin, R. (2012): Recessionary shocks and regional employment: evidence on the resilience of UK regions. In: Journal of Regional Science 52 (1), 109–133.

Folke, C.; Carpenter, S.; Elmqvist, T.; Gunderson, L.; Holling, C.S.; Walker, B.; Bengtsson, J.; Berkes, F.; Colding, J.; Danell, K.; Falkenmark, M.; Gordon, L.; Kasperson, R.; Kautsky, N.; Kinzig, A.; Levin, S.; Mäler, K.-G.; Moberg, F.; Ohlsson, L.; Olsson, P.; Ostrom, E.; Reid, W.; Rockström, J.; Savenije, H.; Svedin, U. (2002): Resilience and sustainable development: Building adaptive capacity in a world of transformations. Scientific Background Paper on Resilience for the Process of the World Summit on Sustainable Development on Behalf of the Environmental Advisory Council to the Swedish Government. Stockholm.

Folke, C.; Carpenter, S.; Walker, B.; Scheffer, M.; Chapin, T.; Rockström, J. (2010): Resilience thinking: Integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability. In: Ecology and Society 15 (4), 20–28.

Holling, C.S. (1986): The resilience of terrestrial ecosystems: Local surprise and global change. In: Clark, W.C.; Munn, R.E. (eds.): Sustainable Development of the Biosphere. Cambridge, 292–320.

Holling, C.S.; Gunderson, L.H. (2002): Resilience and adaptive cycles. In: Gunderson, L.H.; Holling, C.S. (eds): Panarchy: Understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Washington, D.C., 25–62.

Kalinowski T. (ed.) (2006): Development success of Polish regions. Gdańsk.

Kębłowski, P.; Welfe, A. (2010): Estimation of the equilibrium exchange rate: The CHEER approach. In: Journal of International Money and Finance 29 (7), 1385–1397.

Marshal’s Office of the Pomorskie Voivodeship (2008): Handel zagraniczny województwa pomorskiego w latach 2000–2006 (Foreign trade of Pomorskie Voivodeship in the years 2000–2006). Gdańsk.

Marshal’s Office of the Pomorskie Voivodeship (2012): Strategia Rozwoju Województwa Pomorskiego 2020 (Development Strategy of Pomorskie Voivodeship 2020). Gdańsk.

Mukherji, N.; Silberman, J. (2013): Absorptive capacity, knowledge flows, and innovation in U.S. metropolitan areas. In: Journal of Regional Science 53 (3), 392–417.

The National Electoral Commission (2011): Wybory 2011 do Sejmu i Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. http://wybory2011.pkw.gov.pl/wyn/pl/000000.html#tabs-1 (15.10.2013).

OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2008): OECD Territorial Reviews: Poland. Paris.

rganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012): OECD. StatExtracts. http://stats.oecd.org (15.10.2013).

Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (2011): Raport o stanie sektora małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw w Polsce (Report on the condition of small and medium enterprises in Poland). Warszawa.

Putnam, R.D. (2000): Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community. New York.

Scheffer, M. (2009): Critical Transitions in Nature and Society. Princeton.

Statistical Office in Gdańsk (2013): Raport o sytuacji społeczno-gospodarczej województwa pomorskiego w 2012 roku (Report on the socio-economic situation of Pomorskie voivodeship in 2012). Gdańsk.

Stoker, G. (1995): Regime Theory and Urban Politics. In: Judge, D.; Stoker, G.; Wolman, H. (eds.): Theories of Urban Politics. London, 54–71.

Szmytkowska, M.; Masik, G.; Czepczyński, M. (2010): Trendy rozwoju oraz ocena jakości kapitału ludzkiego w regionie pomorskim (Trends and quality assessment of human capital in the Pomorskie Region). Research project for the Department of Regional and Spatial Development of Pomorskie Region (Human Capital Operational Programme in 2007–2013). Gdańsk.

Teigao dos Santos, F.; Rosário Partidário, M. (2011): SPARK: Strategic Planning Approach for Resilience Keeping. In: European Planning Studies 19 (8), 1517–1536.

The Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics (2008): Identyfikacja potencjalnych klastrów na bazie analizy struktury gospodarki województwa pomorskiego (Identification of potential clusters based on analysis of the structure of Pomorskie voivodeship economy). Gdańsk.

Walker, B.; Salt, D. (2006): Resilience Thinking. Sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world. Washington, DC.