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to EU regulations. In the special zones, this has resulted in clear, legal,
transparent procedures in support of exchange and trade. Although
corruption was perhaps widespread during the first decade, it has
become apparent that it was suppressed after joining the EU became
the priority of the various administrations, with the result that the rule
of law triumphed in the end.

The EU was therefore a crucial player in Poland’s transformation,
but political and administrative actors who demonstrated their ability to
apply the regulations contained in the Acquis Communautaire while
creating effective labor organizations, made it all possible. The role of
public, central, and regional administrations was considerable in this
process, not only in their handling of structural and public funds, but
through their close application of the rule of law. By stark contrast with
the rule by law under authoritarian regimes such as the Cambodian
government, which is strictly limited to the economic domain, the rule of
law has greatly contributed to regional public exchanges and, as a
result, to a system of oversight of private activity. The long-term growth
of investment, particularly by multinational automobile manufacturers, has
had a beneficial effect on these changes although, as mentioned earlier,
it has not necessarily produced significant social dialogue via labor
unions.

The final factor that differentiates these two contexts concerns
the significant impact of the zones on their regional environments. This
was among the expected results of their creation and the justification
for generous tax incentives—which after all represent substantial income
losses, at least initially, for governments. The zones have led to
increased skill levels among employees throughout Poland, in turn
fueling an increase in the number of suppliers to foreign-owned
industrial groups on the local level as well the participation of these
new firms in regional value chains. These backwards and downwards
linkages have led to a significant degree of dependence on foreign
capital that has been further reinforced by the near total domination of
the foreign banking sector. The Polish pattern of development is also

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