Leszek Balcerowicz - Balcerowicz Plan

Balcerowicz Plan

For more details on this topic, see Balcerowicz Plan.

The Balcerowicz Plan was a series of reforms, which sought to end hyperinflation and balance 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 Złoty was made convertible within the country's borders. This resulted in a substantial increase in prices and had forced state-owned companies to become competitive. This amounted to a real shock to the Polish economy.

The reforms were controversial and made Balcerowicz an object of harsh criticism, especially in his homeland. On the other hand most economists agree that without introducing such radical changes, Poland's economic success and steady economic growth would not have been possible. Since 1989, Poland's annual growth rate was one of the highest of all post-Communist economies, and have not entered economic recession.