The Polish Miracle of Economic Growth: Prospects for the Future – Presentation by Tomasz Mroczkowski

POLISH LIBRARY IN WASHINGTON DC

in cooperation with The Kosciuszko Foundation Washington DC Center is pleased to present:

From the series of THE ELEPHANT AND THE POLISH CASE:
The Polish miracle of economic growth compared to other countries – prospects for the future

Guest Speaker: Tomasz Mroczkowski, Professor at American University
Discussion Moderator: Michał Rutkowski, Director, Department of Education, Health and Social Policy, World Bank

The Board of the Polish Library in Washington cordially invites you to an evening of discussion and reflection on Poland’s economic transformation.

SUNDAY, February 15, 2026 | 5 PM

Kosciuszko Foundation DC
2025 O St NW, Washington, DC 20036

💻 Hybrid event – in person and via Zoom

The meeting will be conducted in English and will be accessible both to in-person attendees and online participants via Zoom:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89804207400?pwd=dQgqz1eJll9Q5U5wGzRyO7j9BpDmJo.1

We warmly invite all those interested in Poland’s economic development, international comparisons, and future challenges to join us for this engaging discussion.

Tomasz Mroczkowski

Degrees: B.A. and M.S., Jagiellonian University; Ph.D., Academy of Economics, Krakow, Poland

Tomasz Mroczkowski is a professor emeritus at the American University. He has taught International Business and Management in Emerging Markets courses in the MBA program. His current research interests include knowledge management, international outsourcing and globalization of R&D and comparative innovation policies in emerging economies.

Professor Mroczkowski has lectured at universities in Japan and Europe, including the National Defense Academy of Japan, Copenhagen Business School, University of Cambridge, University of Paris-Sorbonne and the ESCP-EAP in Paris. He has conducted executive development seminars for leading American and European companies, such as GM, AT&T, Union Carbide, GE and Polaroid. Mroczkowski has been a recipient of a number of grants, including awards from the Andrew A. Mellon Foundation, the US Agency for International Development and the German Marshall Fund of the US.

Michal Rutkowski is the Regional Director for Human Development for Europe and Central Asia (ECA). Previously, he was the Global Director for Social Protection and Jobs from 2016-2023, where he oversaw the World Bank’s work to protect the poorest and vulnerable from crises and shocks, while supporting private sector-led growth.

Mr. Rutkowski joined the World Bank in 1990. He was a country economist for the Russian Federation between 1995-1996, and after taking a brief leave from the Bank, returned as Sector Manager for social protection between 1998-2004, where he led a team of professionals working on pensions, labor market and social assistance reforms in 28 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union, as well as in Turkey.

Prior to joining the World Bank, he helped design the Polish pension system while serving as the Director of the Office for Social Security Reform. He also taught at the Institute of Economic Policy at the Warsaw School of Economics.

Mr. Rutkowski holds an M.Sc. and Ph.D from Warsaw School of Economics and finished his post-graduate studies at the London School of Economics. He also graduated from the Executive Development program at the Harvard Business School in 1999, and from the Leadership for Collective Intelligence program run by Dialogos in 2010.