On October 15-17, 2025, the European Forum for New Ideas (EFNI) took place in Sopot, featuring an Oxford debate titled "The employee market - an obstacle or a driver of development." The University of Economics in Katowice was represented by Economics students: Kinga Wolny (2nd year, 2nd-cycle studies) and Jakub Kuczkowski (3rd year, 1st-cycle studies).
The representatives of the University of Economics in Katowice spoke for the proposition, whose thesis stated: "Wage pressure hampers investment and innovation." Jakub Kuczkowski was one of the debate moderators.
Each generation of Poles has believed that the strength of the economy is born out of work, but today we must especially emphasize that stability of the mechanisms enabling this work is just as important as the work itself. A market that, in the name of certain benefits, undermines this stability becomes a threat to its own future. And this is exactly what we demonstrated in this debate - that the employee market, instead of being a driver of development, becomes its brake. Today’s thesis concerns the balance of the effects of the employee market in Poland from the perspective of long-term development. Therefore, the axis of our dispute was not whether the employee market brings any benefits. The essence of today’s debate boils down to one question – does the dominance of the employee over the employer strengthen or weaken Poland? Our team defined our key concepts very clearly from the beginning. The employee market is a situation in which the demand for labor exceeds its supply – when employers have to compete for employees. Long-term development is a sustained process of changes in the economy leading to an increase in social welfare. We presented the precise factors of this development, pointing out human capital, physical capital, and technology. Additionally, we emphasized that the factors of production must adapt, since we are talking about the long term, and short-term economic fluctuations do not affect them. The opposition, however, slightly narrowed their definition, making it incomplete. They mentioned innovations that are developing - but in our second speech we showed that most small and medium-sized enterprises did not plan any investments in innovation, focusing solely on retaining their current employees. It was also said that investing in employees and their skills allows them to negotiate better wages. That is not true – it mainly depends on the economic situation,” emphasized student Kinga Wolny in her concluding speech.
A student representing the opposition summarized the statements of her predecessors. In her speech, she referred, among other things, to the arguments of the proposition, which indicated that the employee market might lead to stagnation or a decline in competitiveness. She replied that such concerns stem from a short-term perspective. In the longer run - as she emphasized - a strong, well-paid, and motivated employee becomes the foundation of sustainable economic growth, as they drive innovation, consumption, and social development. In conclusion, she stated that the employee market is a natural stage in the maturation of the economy, which in the long term brings more benefits than drawbacks, building an economy that is more balanced, innovative, and resilient.
Join us