Dynamics of Economic Development Measure. Fiftieth Anniversary of Publication of the Article by Prof. Zdzisław Hellwig

Abstract

2018 marked the 50th anniversary of publication in Przegląd Statystyczny journal of an article entitled: “Procedure of evaluating high level manpower data and typology of countries by means of the taxonomic method” written by prof. Zdzisław Hellwig. This article is one of the most frequently quoted articles published in Przegląd Statystyczny and is one of the most often quoted articles in Polish economic literature. More importantly, the number of quotations has been growing recently. The pattern of economic development method developed in the article was the first proposal of a method of linear ordering in the area of economic research. The method is still used and has become an inspiration for many methodological studies concerning multidimensional comparative analysis written since the 1970s. Apart from drawing attention to the “phenomenon” of prof. Hellwig’s publication and, in particular, its impact on the development of economic research in Poland, the main purpose of the study is presentation of the complex procedure of a dynamic approach to measuring development which integrates the issue of selection of diagnostic variables and comparability of Hellwig’s development measures from different periods. The proposed procedure was illustrated with an analysis of the standard of living of residents of Polish voivodships (NUTS 2) in 2005–2016.