The State of Human Capital and Innovativeness of Polish Voivodships in 2004–2018

Abstract

The category of human capital has increased in importance with the emergence of human capital theory in the 1960s. The interest in innovativeness is a result of successive waves of industrial revolutions and technical progress. The article aims to estimate human capital and innovation in Polish voivodeships 2004–2018 as an essential determinant of socio-economic development in emerging economies. The regional dimension related to human capital and innovativeness is rarely studied in a socio-economic context. Additionally, the main contribution of the paper is that we propose an extraordinary set of variables capturing quantitative and qualitative aspects of regional research. To measure these factors, we propose a set of sub-indices describing the state of human capital and innovation. The delimitation of regions was carried out using the method of Czekanowski. The study results confirmed the polarization of voivodeships in Poland, generally according to Eastern and Western Poland. Unfortunately, it turns out that despite the economic growth in the country in recent years, disparities within the human capital of voivodeships are increasing. This makes it challenging to unleash innovation and enter a faster and more sustainable path of growth.