

The analysis was carried out on Poland’s regional as well as intra-regional units (NUTS-2 and NUTS4/LAU-1) with reference to the obtained results (as far as the availability of comparable statistical data allowed) for Lithuania and Slovakia. In the research, the partial and total system approach to growth were adopted. The main goal of the project was to analyse the process of social and economic growth with its characteristic spatial diversity leading to the emergence of the growth and stagnation areas and to identify important factors stimulating or hampering growth in these areas. (Katedra humánnej geografie a demo geografie, Univerzita Koménskeho v Bratislavie, Slovakia) and their associates. ( Geografijos ir kraštotvarkos katedra Vilniaus Universitetas, Lithuania) and prof. The foreign partners involved in the research included prof. In 2011-2014 the project was carried out by employees of the Department of Regional Analysis of the Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. the emergence of the economic growth and stagnation areas. This monograph is an attempt at identifying and interpreting the above regularities and sums up an international research project financed by the National Science Centre (NN 306 79 19 40) on Socio-economic growth vs.

This leads to a situation when intervention is imperative as part of the cohesion policy which, irrespective of the adopted model (be it the compensation or the polarization-diffusion model) is aimed at growth convergence on all the spatial levels. While the very fact of developmental differences is accepted in market economy, the increasing growth diversity results in numerous negative consequences and is perceived as one of the strongest barriers to an economy’s good performance. The distribution of these areas and its variability are affected by diverse growth factors which lead to convergence or divergence of the growth rate.

This phenomenon results in an emergence of the economic growth and stagnation areas. The social and economic growth has been characterized by polarization.
