The activity of international enterprises and the regional diffusion of intellectual capital in Poland: Were the special economic zones properly localized?

This article investigates the role of direct foreign investments in the regional diffusion of intellectual capital in Poland. The empirical results obtained on the basis of the labour market analysis suggest that wages are higher in those regions of Poland which are characterized by greater activity of foreign investors measured by their share in regional employment. This result confirms the view that apart from capital foreign firms supply also indirect production factors which lead to raise the productivity of the employees which in turn is reflected in higher levels of remunerations in relation to regions with smaller commitment of foreign investors. Direct foreign investments can be seen as one of the instruments of regional policy, however the distribution of special economic zones whose purpose is to attract investors does not seem to favour the decrease of the differences in development between the regions.