Etatism of the economy of the Second Polish Republic in the period of parliamentary democracy: conditions, stages, evaluation (part 2: 1923–1926)

The article constitutes the second part of the study analysing the development of the public sector in the economy of the Second Polish Republic in the period from the regaining of independence in November 1918 to the coup of May 1926. The first part, published in the previous issue, concerned the period of 1918–1923. The second part presents the etatist policy of the last years of parliamentary democracy, in particular, the policy implemented by the government of Wladyslaw Grabski which was formed in December 1923. This government, functioning until November 1925, has markedly contributed to the further growth of the state sector through, inter alia, the reform of treasury monopolies, reorganization of commercial banking and activation of investments in industry and infrastructure. The strengthening of the etatist tendencies which took place in 1923–1925 also impacted on the policy of the government of Aleksander Skrzynski, which was operating from November 1925 to April 1926. The conclusion of the article is the claim that the state sector in the economy of the Second Polish Republic in 1918–1926 was undergoing the process of continuous growth.