DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL AREAS OF NORTH-EASTERN POLAND

Rural areas are characterised by a considerable diversification of their natural, demographic, historical, spatial and socio-economic conditions. These conditions caused disproportions in the density of entities of national economy in the rural areas of North-eastern Poland. The main aim of article is the presentation of both the growth of non-agricultural activity in the rural areas of the Warminsko-Mazurskie and Podlaskie Voivodships in 2014 and the dynamics of changes in relation to 2004. Upon the analyses it was concluded that the density level of entities of national economy and the dynamics of change in entities of national economy featured by large disproportions across rural communes. The biggest changes characterised mainly the rural communes lying near the largest towns in the region: Olsztyn, Elblag and Bialystok. The highest dynamics of increase among the rural communes of North-eastern Poland were mainly recorded in the Warminsko-Mazurskie voivodship; whereas the most noteworthy decrease in the number of entities of national economy was in the rural communes situated along the Eastern border of the Podlaskie voivodship, which is the reflection of their poor economic activity. For a more profound analysis of the spatial distribution of the growth of entrepreneurship, the study results were juxtaposed to the existing demographic potential of the rural areas in North-eastern Poland. The results of the study revealed the following tendency: the higher the demographic potential of rural communes was, the more favourable indicators of growth of entrepreneurship appeared. It proves that demographic potential of workforce has a considerable impact on the development of the rural areas of North-eastern Poland.