Europe's Growth Champion by Marcin Piatkowski
A clear account of Poland's growth, though historians question parts of its history.
The short version
- Readers interested in Poland or Central and Eastern Europe
- Students of development economics and economic history
- Policy readers looking for a regional growth model
- You want a light, narrative history of Poland
- You need rigorous coverage of Poland before the twentieth century
What owners like
- Clear writing and logical reasoning
- Balanced handling of sensitive topics such as the economic role of religion
- Makes a convincing case that many factors, not one, explain Poland's success
Common complaints
- Treatment of early modern Polish history has factual slips, according to an economic historian
- Some readers see contradictions in how the legacy of communism is weighed
- Leaves out some reforms and the social cost of emigration
- Dense and academic for a general reader
Based on An EH.net review by a University of Bialystok historian, plus the publisher descriptions carried by Google Books and AbeBooks.
Research scores
Scored from the maker's specs and what owners report. Drew's own notes and photos will refine these.
Ownership
- Sep 2024
First bought.
Drew's hands-on notes for this product are on the way. Long-term updates will be added to this timeline.
What it does
An economics book from Oxford University Press that explains how Poland went from a poor, backward economy to a high income country in about a generation.
- Argues that institutions, culture, ideas and leaders are the fundamental sources of growth
- Frames development as a move from an extractive to an inclusive society
- Moves from growth theory through Poland's distant past and communist era to the post 1989 transition
- Draws a parallel between the Black Death in Western Europe and communism in Central and Eastern Europe
- Proposes a "Warsaw Consensus" growth model for the region and closes with future scenarios
A good fit for readers who want a single, clearly argued account of Poland's post 1989 growth and what other countries might learn from it. The trade-off is that it is an academic title, and at least one historian has faulted its treatment of Poland's early modern past and of the communist era.
How it compares
Specs
- Author
- Marcin Piatkowski
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Edition
- Paperback, 2019 (hardcover first published 2018)
- Length
- xxv + 370 pages, ten chapters
- ISBN
- 9780198839613 (paperback), 9780198789345 (hardcover)
- Subject
- Economic history and development economics
Questions
Who wrote Europe's Growth Champion?
Marcin Piatkowski. It is published by Oxford University Press.
What is the Warsaw Consensus?
The name the book gives to its proposed growth model for Central and Eastern European countries trying to catch up with Western Europe.
Is Europe's Growth Champion an academic book?
Yes. It is an Oxford University Press title that engages with economic theory, though reviewers note it is clearly written.
How long is it?
The 2019 paperback runs xxv plus 370 pages across ten chapters.
Sources
- EH.net: Review of Europe's Growth Champion
- Google Books: Europe's Growth Champion
- AbeBooks: Europe's Growth Champion, 9780198839613
Researched 2026-10-01. We bought this product; our page is built from the maker's details and what owners report across reviews and forums. We never copy Amazon customer reviews.