Changes in the Structure and Intensity of Regional State Aid in Poland

Abstract

The article presents the principle of regional state aid. Moreover, the article shows the structure of regional state aid in Poland. The paper includes a comparison of regional state aid intensity for 2007–2013 and 2014–2020. The main purpose of the article is the analysis of the structure of regional aid granted in the years 2003–2013. The article includes the hypothesis that the structure of regional state aid has changed dramatically during the analyzed period. Along with the Poland’s accession to the European Union its importance in the structure of total state aid grew steadily and accounted for more than half of the aid granted in 2013. Moreover, state aid in passive forms dominated until 2007, while state aid in active forms dominated from 2008. In turn, taking into account the purpose of the aid, regional investment aid dominated throughout the analyzed period. What is more, the paper presents the comparison intensity of regional aid in each province between the years 2007–2013 and 2014–2020. There was an increase in GDP per capita measured by the percentage of average per capita GDP of the EU in all regions, which means reducing the gap in the development of Polish regions to regions of the EU on one hand, but on the other - forces reduction in allowable intensity of regional aid in most provinces in 2014-2020. In addition, it recorded faster growth in GDP per capita in