Economic development of the smallest towns in the West Pomeranian

Abstract

The article aims to determine the level of economic development of the smallest towns in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, based on changes in values of indicators over time. It refers to these centers, which population during the period under review – between 2002 and 2016, was less than two thousand people. Statistical data included in the work come from the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office and other available official materials. The analysis was enriched with the use of synthetic indicator as the sum of the standardized partial indicators, as well as Mc Quitty's and Ward’s methods. The results show that, despite the investments made and bottom-up initiatives, the economic development took place only in the case of Tuczno and Moryń, for which the value of the synthetic indicator has increased significantly. Currently Tuczno has a well-developed labor market and a high share of medium-sized entities in the structure of the economy, which proves its distinctiveness and greater similarity to the small towns, that are land counties centers. The other smallest towns have many features in common, their local resources are in short supply and their function is still mainly limited to provide access to basic public services, through the administrative and social infrastructure. They are dominated by small business activities, gathered among trade and construction, or like in Suchań and Ińsko, processing. In the last period of time unfavorable economic situation occurred in Nowe Warpno and Cedynia, which require external intervention to create mechanisms for a new path of development.