Regional Development in Poland in Taxonomic Terms

Abstract

Regional development is a complex economic category and a commonly used term today, yet it is vaguely defined and, therefore, interpreted implicitly and understood intuitively. From a statistical point of view, this concept, on account of its imprecision and ambiguity, is a kind of multidimensional characteristic which may be measured, though not conclusively. Due to the lack of a universal set of diagnostic variables adopted in taxonomic analyses, the quantitative approach to the examined research area, which is in most cases presented descriptively, poses the main problem. The objectives of the article are to rank the provinces of Poland in terms of regional development in the years 2006–2018 and to assess the similarity of results over time. The research study is based on linear ordering methods within the scope of multidimensional statistical analysis. The results of the conducted analyses allowed us to rank the provinces of Poland in terms of regional development in the years 2006–2018 and to assess the similarity of the results over time. The results of the analysis indicate a clear stabilization of high ranked positions during the examined period, last places are generally taken by the same regions. This situation may indicate an increase or at least strengthening of the disproportions between the most and least developed regions in Poland. Theoretical considerations presented in the article as well as the empirical results of our own research may provoke more detailed discussion on the subject.