Gospodarka Narodowa - Gospodarka Planowa - Gospodarka Narodowa

Abstract

The article examines the origins of Gospodarka Narodowa and the magazine’s evolution from 1931 to 2011. The author analyzes press reports and archival materials to trace the publication’s history over the past 80 years. Gospodarka Narodowa was started in 1931 as an initiative by economist Czesław Bobrowski. The magazine was initially published every two weeks. It quickly became one of the most influential economic periodicals in Poland in the period between World War I and II. At the time, Gospodarka Narodowa focused on general economic topics and was run by a team of young editors who targeted a mostly young audience. One of the magazine’s characteristic features was its considerable independence and an apolitical approach. The magazine brought together a number of up-and-coming Warsaw economists, who set up a prestigious organization known as the National Economic Club. In the postwar period, Bobrowski, who was chairman of the no-longer-existing Central Planning Office (CUP), came up with the idea of reviving the magazine. The new biweekly publication, renamed Gospodarka Planowa, initially followed up on what its predecessor did in terms of form and content, however it was controlled by the Central Planning Office. In the late 1940s, the magazine found itself completely dependent on the decision makers at the time and became a mouthpiece and propaganda tool of the country’s communist authorities. As a result of political changes in Poland in 1956, Gospodarka Planowa was transformed into a scientific and economic monthly whose contributors included top Polish economists at the time. In 1990, the magazine reverted to its original title. Today Gospodarka Narodowa is one of the most highly rated Polish magazines dealing with economic issues.