Adaptive potential of the construction sector in select European Union countries

The building and construction industry is considered to have a significant impact on the development of economic potential of any country. Changes in this industry are strongly correlated with the economy’s overall condition and current stage of the business cycle. Moreover, there is a strong mutual relationship between this industry and the real estate market, which is particularly true for housing construction. The condition of the building and construction industry and its future prospects are determined by a variety of external factors (legal, political, economic and social environment) as well as the industry’s internal structure. Hence, the starting point for the analysis of adaptability of the building and construction industry in Poland is an assessment of its formal and legal environment, and an analysis of the structure of this industry by sub-industries, the building and construction output, the structure of assets and the structure of employment. The next step is to analyse and diagnose economic data, particularly those describing financial performance over the last years of the recession. It can be argued here whether the building and construction industry in Poland has a high potential for adapting to changes in the environment, especially with respect to individual stages of the economic cycle.

The main aim of the study is to assess adaptability of the Polish building and construction industry measured with its output growth potential, level of specialisation and spatial concentration. Additionally, barriers to and drivers of the industry’s development will be identified, the latter also contributing to better adaptability to changes in the environment.

The analyses of the building and construction industry performed for Poland will be presented in the context of selected other EU member states, and hence the conclusions reached for the Polish industry will be compared and contrasted to the experience of other economies. The paper provides an overview of the body of papers addressing this topic. The authors will use econometric models to assess how the relationships in question change over time.