Leszek Henryk Balcerowicz (
pronounced ; born 19 January 1947) is a Polish economist, statesman, and Professor at
Warsaw School of Economics. He served as Chairman of the
National Bank of Poland (2001–2007) and twice as
Deputy Prime Minister of Poland (1989–1991, 1997–2001).
In 1989, he became Minister of Finance in
Tadeusz Mazowiecki's first non-communist government and led the
free-market economic reforms, proponents of which say they have transformed Poland into one of Europe's fastest growing economies, but which critics say were followed by a large increase in unemployment.
In 2007, he founded the Civic Development Forum (Forum Obywatelskiego Rozwoju) think-tank and became the chairman of its council.
Biography
In 1970 he graduated with distinction from the Foreign Trade faculty of the Central School of Planning and Statistics in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
(currently:
SGH Warsaw School of Economics).
Balcerowicz received his
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
from
St. John's University in New York, in 1974 and doctorate from the Central School of Planning and Statistics in 1975.
He was a member of the Polish
communist party (
Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...
) from 1969 until the declaration of
martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...
, in 1981.
In the late 1970s he participated in an economic-advisory team associated with the prime minister of
People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
. In 1978–1980 he worked at the
Institute of Marxism-Leninism. Later he became an economics expert in the pro-democracy independent trade union
Solidarity (NSZZ "Solidarność").
From 1989 to 1991 and also between 1997 and 2000 he was the Deputy Prime Minister and
Finance Minister
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
of Poland. Between 1995 and 2000 he was the chairman of
Freedom Union, a centrist free-market political party. On 22 December 2000 he became the Chairman of the National Bank of Poland. He was also a columnist for ''
Wprost
''Wprost'' (, meaning "Directly") is a Polish weekly news magazine published in Poznań, Poland.[Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...]
, awarded L. Balcerowicz with the
Order of the White Eagle for his "contribution to Poland's economic transformation". In 2006 he was elected member of ''
Galeria Chwały Polskiej Ekonomii'', a hall of fame for "outstanding Polish economists".
Balcerowicz was a member of the
Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, an independent initiative hosted by the
UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
and the first global initiative to focus specifically on the link between exclusion, poverty and the law.
He is also a member of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, the
Group of Thirty
The Group of Thirty, often abbreviated to G30, is an international body of financiers and academics which aims to deepen understanding of economic and financial issues and to examine consequences of decisions made in the public and private sec ...
, and is a board member of renowned Washington, D.C. think-tank the
Peterson Institute. Fellow of
Collegium Invisibile.
Since 11 June 2008 Balcerowicz has been a member of the board of
Bruegel, the Brussels-based
think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
on
international economics
International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...
.
Since 2007, he has led the Civil Development Forum (Polish: ''Forum Obywatelskiego Rozwoju''), a think-tank with a mission of "increasing active support of the society for a wide range of individual freedoms (especially economic freedom), and – what goes with it – for strengthening the rule of law in the country".
In 2016, he was appointed as
representative of the
Ukrainian President
The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...
in the
Cabinet of ministers.
He is a recipient of the Chilean
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...
.
Balcerowicz Plan
The
Balcerowicz Plan
The Balcerowicz Plan (), also termed " Shock Therapy", was a method for rapidly transitioning from an economy based on state ownership and central planning, to a capitalist market economy. Named after the Polish minister and economist Leszek Balc ...
was a series of reforms, which brought the end to
hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...
, dismantled inefficient economic structures, and balanced the national budget. The prices of most consumer goods were freed and caps for annual increases established in state-sector employees' wages. Poland's currency, the
zloty, was made convertible within the country's borders. This resulted in a substantial increase in prices and had forced state-owned companies while making them economically competitive. This amounted to a two-year shock to the Polish economy. Among other actions included in the plan was the negotiation of a significant reduction (approximately 50%) of the debts inherited from the
Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
. In 1998, Balcerowicz was awarded the
Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year Between 1981-2016, ''Euromoney'' magazine awarded the Finance Minister of the Year award. This award was given to a country Finance Minister who reformed or innovated their countries economy during their tenure. In Australia, the award is colloquial ...
Award for his accomplishments as a finance minister.
The severity of the reforms was controversial and made Balcerowicz an object of criticism by some politicians in Poland. The reforms impoverished and vanished economic opportunities of already struggling social groups such as low-educated, rural and low-income workers. This resulted in Poland becoming a deeply divided and polarised society.
This led to the rise of populist movements that gained popularity through dissatisfaction with the reforms - this included the left-wing agrarian
Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland (which became known for its slogan "Balcerowicz must go!"), far-right
League of Polish Families, and later
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...
. The plan was decried as "economic genocide" by the leader of Self-Defence,
Andrzej Lepper
Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (; 13 June 1954 – 5 August 2011) was a Polish people, Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, and the leader of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland. Known for his radical rhetoric and agg ...
.
A slowly on-going rise in discontent continued into the 2000s, and in 2002, when asked about the Balcerowicz Plan, 78% of Poles described their economic situation as bad, and nearly 40% preferred to live in socialist Poland - amongst rural residents and skilled workers, this figure rose to 50%.
On the other hand, neoliberal economists and experts such as Krzysztof Sobczak,
Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...
(who personally advised Balcerowicz), and
Jacek Rostowski agree that without introducing such radical changes, Poland's economic success and steady economic growth would not have been possible. Other economists and political scientists criticised the plan -
Adam Przeworski
Adam Przeworski (; born May 5, 1940) is a Polish-American professor of political science specializing in comparative politics. He is Carroll and Milton Professor Emeritus in the Department of Politics of New York University. He is a scholar of dem ...
described Balcerowicz Plan as a "a pure
trickle-down model of reforms", and argued that Balcerowicz neglected the social costs of the reform, focusing only on growth. The economic growth produced by the reforms did not trickle down to average citizen.
Polish economist
Tadeusz Kowalik argues that Balcerowicz's reforms were a failure, stating that the good economic performance of Poland in comparison to other post-communist Poland was caused by much better initial economic conditions. Kowalik accuses Balcerowicz of squandering a unique opportunity of creating a fair and egalitarian socio-economic system, instead creating a system "whose trademarks became mass and permanent unemployment, for many years the highest in Central Europe and then the highest in the EU; one of the highest income disparities; the dismantling of the welfare state. Added to this was the breaking down of workers' negotiating power. The shock operation meant consenting to the introduction of the worst variety of capitalism into Poland."
Balcerowicz was also criticised by Polish economist and former Finance Minister
Grzegorz Kołodko, who described Balcerowicz Plan as "shock without therapy". Kołodko notes that Balcerowicz promised only a slight increase in unemployment and poverty, while in reality Polish GDP fell by 20% and rendered millions of Poles unemployed. According to Kołodko, "Balcerowicz is praised only by people from the same camp as him - representatives of Polish neoliberalism". Kołodko notes the excessive scale of reductions in household incomes (including real wages), as after two months of the reforms, real wages in Poland fell by over 40%. He also adds that since the reforms resulted in the industrial production falling by over 30%, that cost alone makes the reform impossible to be regarded as successful, regardless the future stabilisation. Lastly, Kołodko believes that Balcerowicz acted irrationally, as the plan did not manage to eliminate inefficient companies, but instead blindly discriminated against state-owned companies, denying them investment loans and granting them to private companies instead, regardless of their economic performance. Kołodko concludes that the Balcerowicz Plan was "creative destruction".
Criticism
High unemployment remained a problem for some two decades after the implementation of the reforms, leaving certain poverty-stricken regions with structural unemployment.
[Balcerowicz Plan: 20 Years On](_blank)
www.warsawvoice.pl Reducing unprofitability of the state-owned companies required significant layoffs. Even though over 2 million Poles emigrated from Poland since its entry into the EU, until 2010s, the unemployment level remained at 13%. Populist politician
Andrzej Lepper
Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (; 13 June 1954 – 5 August 2011) was a Polish people, Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, and the leader of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland. Known for his radical rhetoric and agg ...
, the leader of the populist Self-Defence ''(
Samoobrona
The Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland (, SRP) is a Christian socialism, Christian socialist, Populism, populist, agrarianism, agrarian, and Nationalism, nationalist list of political parties in Poland, political party and trade union in Pola ...
)'' party, created the slogan: "Balcerowicz must go" (''Balcerowicz musi odejść''), echoing the disgruntlement felt by some Poles with Balcerowicz's plan. However, since 2013, the unemployment rate has not exceeded 10% and in 2019 has reached the record low of 3.8%.
The BELLS
During the Eurozone crisis Balcerowicz has been an outspoken supporter for fiscal discipline and has been frequently dubbed the anti-Bernanke for his scorn of distortionary fiscal stimulus. In various articles he has developed a comparison between the fiscally-profligate
PIGS
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
(
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
and
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
) and the fiscally-disciplined BELLs (
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
,
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
).
Responsible fiscal policy brings about better growth outcomes, claims Leszek Balcerowicz.
He has many followers among East European economists, most prominently
Simeon Djankov
Simeon Dyankov (, also Djankov; born July 13, 1970) is a Bulgarian economist and chairman of the Fiscal Council since March 2025. From 2009 to 2013, he was the deputy prime minister and minister of finance of Bulgaria in the government of Boyko ...
, Deputy prime Minister and Minister of Finance of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
between 2009 and 2013.
Private life
Balcerowicz was a competitive athlete in his youth. In 1966, he became Poland's youth champion in cross country at the distance of 1500 metres. Since 1977, he has been married to Ewa Balcerowicz, an economist. He has three children.
Honourary doctorates
* 1993
University of Aix-en-Provence,
France
* 1994
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...
,
United Kingdom
* 1996
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...
,
United States
* 1998:
**
University of Szczecin
The University of Szczecin () is a public university in Szczecin, western Poland. It is the biggest university in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomerania, with 33,267 students and a staff of nearly 1,200.
Faculties
The university consists o ...
,
Poland
**
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń or NCU (, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born in Toruń in 1473.
History
The beginnings of higher education in Toruń
The first institution of higher ...
,
Poland
**
Staffordshire University,
United Kingdom
**
Abertay University
Abertay University () is a public university in the city of Dundee, Scotland. In 1872, Sir David Baxter, 1st Baronet of Kilmaron, left a bequest for the establishment of a mechanics' institute in Dundee and the Dundee Institute of Technology w ...
,
United Kingdom
* 1999
University of Economics in Bratislava
The Bratislava University of Economics and Business () is the oldest university of economics in Slovakia.
History
The university was established in 1940 as a private university under the name Vysoká obchodná škola v Bratislave (College of Co ...
,
Slovakia
* 2001
Viadrina European University
European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) () is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the Oder River, which marks the border between Germany ...
,
Germany
* 2002:
**
University of the Pacific,
Peru
**
University of Iaşi,
[Professor Balcerowicz – doctor honoris causa of the University of Economics in Katowice](_blank)
NBP Romania
* 2004
University of Duisburg,
Germany
* 2006:
**
University of Economics in Katowice,
Poland
**
Poznań University of Economics,
Poland
**
Wrocław University of Economics
The Wroclaw University of Economics and Business ''(Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu)'' is one of ten public universities located in Wrocław, Poland. Originally established in 1947 as a private business school (then named ''Wyższa Szkoła H ...
,
Poland
**
University of Gdańsk,
Poland
* 2007
Warsaw School of Economics,
Poland
* 2008:
**
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...
,
Poland
**
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.
The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
, Australia
* 2009
Babeş-Bolyai University Romania
* 2011
Central Connecticut State University
Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut's oldest publi ...
United States
* 2015
Universidad Francisco Marroquín Guatemala
Selected publications
*''Socialism, Capitalism, Transformation'', Central European University Press, Budapest, 1995
*''Wolność i rozwój: ekonomia wolnego rynku'', Znak, Kraków, 1995
*''Post-Communist Transition: Some Lessons'', Institute of Economic Affairs, London, 2002
*''Towards a Limited State'', World Bank, 2003
*''Institutional Systems and Economic Growth, in: Challenges of Globalization. Imbalances and Growth'', edited by Anders Åslund and Marek Dąbrowski, Peterson Institutute for International Economics, p. 153–199, Washington, DC, 2008
*''Zagadki wzrostu gospodarczego'' (Puzzles of Economic Growth), Leszek Balcerowicz, Andrzej Rzońca, C.H. Beck Sp. z o.o., Warsaw, 2010
*''Odkrywając wolność. Przeciw zniewoleniu umysłów'', Leszek Balcerowicz, ZYSK i S-KA Wydawnictwo, 2012
*''Wzrost gospodarczy w Unii Europejskiej'' (Economic Growth in the European Union), Lisbon Council e-book, Leszek Balcerowicz (main author), A. Rzońca, L. Kalina, A. Łaszek, 2013
*''Trzeba się bić. Opowieść biograficzna'', Leszek Balcerowicz, Marta Stremecka, Wydawnictwo Czerwone i Czarne, Warsaw, 2014
*''Euro Imbalances and Adjustment: A Comperative Analysis'', The Cato Journal, nr 3, 2014
See also
*
Yegor Gaidar – architect of the post-Soviet economic reforms in Russia.
*
Economy of Poland
*
List of Poles
This is a partial list of notable Polish people, Polish or Polish language, Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
Physics
*Miedziak Antal
* Czesław Białobrzesk ...
References
External links
Leszek Balcerowicz at CSA Celebrity SpeakersLeszek Balcerowicz's Official Website
Leszek Balcerowicz's op/ed commentaries for Project Syndicate*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcerowicz, Leszek
1947 births
Living people
People from Lipno, Lipno County
Deputy prime ministers of Poland
Ministers of finance of Poland
Governors of the National Bank of Poland
Group of Thirty
20th-century Polish economists
Polish United Workers' Party members
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class
Polish expatriates in Ukraine
SGH Warsaw School of Economics alumni
Academic staff of the SGH Warsaw School of Economics
Bruegel (think tank) people
21st-century Polish economists
Member of the Mont Pelerin Society