A calculation of the equilibrium polarization and of the piezoelectric and pyroelectric coefficients of &bgr;‐phase poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVF2) is presented. The effects of both the orthorhombic crystal structure and of the finite separation between the monopoles of the molecular dipole are taken into account. Good agreement is obtained with the experimentally measured polarization and piezoelectric and pyroelectric coefficients of &bgr;‐PVF2films.