The organisation, which brings together 38 developed countries, on Monday unveiled its latest economic report on Poland, the country’s PAP news agency reported.
The OECD Economic Surveys: Poland 2023 study says that Poland has successfully managed a large inflow of refugees from Ukraine, according to the PAP news agency.
However, the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is overshadowing the outlook and economic growth is expected to slow to 0.9 percent this year before it recovers to 2.4 percent in 2024, PAP reported.
The report maintains that fiscal policy continues to support the economy in managing higher energy prices.
Among other main findings, the survey points to retirement-related issues including low pension adequacy that may in the future increase “the risk of old-age poverty and long-term spending pressures.”
The study offers key recommendations to address these challenges, such as extending working lives, including by gradually aligning the retirement age for men and women and increasing it in line with life expectancy gains in good health.
The retirement age remains a divisive issue in Polish society. The previous centrist government raised it to 67 years for both men and women. However, after the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party took power in 2015, it lowered it again to 65 years for men and 60 for women.
At the moment, Poland’s retirement age for women is joint-lowest in the European Union, with some experts arguing that the country should follow in the footsteps of other EU members that have raised their retirement ages.
Among other key recommendations, the report says that monetary and fiscal policies should ensure that higher inflation does not become entrenched in Poland.
The study also argues that “digitisation could help unleash the entrepreneurial potential of Polish businesses at home and in global markets but requires adequate skills.”
For this, however, the government would need to “take a comprehensive approach across several policy areas, such as adult education, life-long learning and training for small and medium-sized enterprises," where the adoption of digital technology is relatively low, according to the report.
The survey also says that Poland has made progress in transitioning to net zero emissions by 2050, but the rate of decarbonisation needs to accelerate significantly.
(mo/gs)
Source: OECD Economic Surveys: Poland 2023, PAP