Poland’s Accession to the EU : What Effects on Transitional Dynamics, Long Run Growth and Welfare ?

This article achieves to assess the impact of Poland’s accession to the European Union (EU) on factor and product markets, household consumption, economic growth and also on welfare. To explore the effects of regional integration in this specific transition economy, we implement an applied general equilibrium model with endogenous technological change. A mechanism through which trade liberalization might change the long run growthis specifically highlighted : the reallocation of resources. We find that adhesion may cause the growth rate to fall by inducing to allocate less resources to research and development (R&D) activity, even under the technological diffusion assumption. However, the results suggest that a R&D promotion policy creates a more favorable environment for the regional integration. In this case, trade liberalization stimulates growth and leads to an increase of welfare.