INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY IN THE LIGHT OF DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT INFLUX

The growth and development of any country depends on the quantity and quality of investment made in it. Therefore, both developing and developed countries compete in an attempt to create beneficial conditions for foreign direct investments (FDIs). In the era of globalisation it is becoming crucial to define foreign investors’ motives in addition to localisation factors that influence the decision about the selection of place for an investment (i.e. determinants), as well as the investment risk and attractiveness of a given country. Ignorance of those factors which condition the influx of investment plainly hinders investment-attracting policies and reduces the efficiency of promotional activities on the international scale. By contrast, awareness of the mechanisms and regularities of foreign investors’ decisions allows to increase the inflow of those FDIs that appropriately stimulate the development of the country. The aim of this article is to identify factors determining the degree of investment attractiveness of Poland and affecting the scope of foreign direct investments made in this country. The main assets of the Polish market are, beside its geographic location, also its economic and demographic size, since, according to the results of an analysis of FDI influx to Poland, foreign investors look for large capacious markets with a high development potential. A high GDP growth rate, a reduced inflation level, consistent privatisation as well as an efficient unemployment-fighting policy are all a necessary condition to maintain the influx of FDIs into Poland. Foreign investments in Poland, if appropriately encouraged and managed, can be among the main tools to be used for reducing the distance between the Polish and EU economies. This is especially true in the view of the small competitiveness rate of the Polish economy as compared to the economies of the European Union