Rutkowski: Poles Should Work Longer.

(From Polish News Bulletin)

If no changes are made, Poland's economic growth will simply stop at some point. The only way is to adjust the economy to the new challenges, to keep older people on the labour market, provide young people with appropriate skills. and make the economy more innovative, says Jan Rutkowski, the World Bank's chief economist for social issues in Central and Eastern Europe.

The following is a summary of an interview featured by Gazeta Wyborcza.

What should Poland do: raise the retirement age as elsewhere in Europe, or give people a choice?

We should do both. The society is aging, the share of the working-age population is falling and the number of pensioners is rising. Meanwhile, the economic growth depends on two factors: the growth of new labour forces and the growth of labour efficiency. Poland has problems with both so one should provide incentives for longer work on the one hand, …