The conditions for starting-up an economic activity in Poland - comparison and evaluation

Abstract

Any Polish citizen have a right to set up its own business in the European Union. The process of starting a new firm or the creation of its subsidiary abroad depends on the legal regulations governed by the EU directives as well as national legally binding requirements and administrative procedures where the business is to be run. From the perspective of an entrepreneur it is of the same importance cost-effectiveness and the lack of red-tape. It is in the interest of an entrepreneur to run a business in an area where the current macroeconomic situation enhance firm’s profitability. However, the positive approach of local public administration supporting entrepreneurship initiatives and uncomplicated administrative procedures in relation to the businesses work as well as incentives. In order to present the most preferable conditions for entrepreneurs, the World Bank has worked out an indicator called Ease of Doing Business Index. 
Countries all over the world can be ranked in relation to this index. The higher the position obtained by an economy the better the conditions for running the business and the stronger the legal protection of the business.
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the conditions for running an economic activity in Poland compared to other EU member countries. For this reason the Author will present the data regarding the general values of the Ease of Doing Business Index for the EU countries as well as other variables that characterize the starting-up a business in the form of limited liability company in the years 2004-2013. In the next chapter the correlation between selected variables from the World Bank rankings and the number of newly registered companies in Poland will be discussed. Because in the Local Data Bank the latest data available in relation to the national statistics necessary for the completion of correlation analysis are for the year 2011, the time series were created only between the years 2004 and 2011. The data presented in the paper were downloaded from electronic databases provided by the World Bank and Central Statistical Office of Poland.
The conclusion of the paper proves that Poland has significantly moved in the ranking, and is now placed in 55th position, which is quite a success. This confirms that the process of starting up own business in Poland becomes less difficult, procedures are eased and time and cost conditions are improved.