Agglomeration patterns in the Polish manufacturing industry

External liberalization should affect regional agglomeration patterns in manufacturing industry. In Poland, the largest CEE economy, economic transition was marked by accelerated restructuring associated with relatively rapid external trade and capital flows liberalization. The process of economic transition was reinforced by accession to the EU. Economic transition could potentially have a sizeable impact on industrial agglomeration patterns. Using sectoral agglomeration indices we examine changes in the agglomeration patterns of the Polish manufacturing industry. The analysis is carried out on a disaggregated data set on employment for 2 and 3-digit NACE manufacturing industry sectors at the level of local administrative districts (LAD4 level). The data set covers the period 1999-2006. The overall agglomeration index for Polish manufacturing industry decreased only by 0.5 percent within the analyzed period of time. The patter of agglomeration remained largely unaffected despite of significant structural adjustments in other areas.