Abstract
The primary aim of this article is to examine financial efficiency and work productivity, as well as their determinants, in selected Polish coal mines in 1998–2015. To achieve this goal, after introducing a justification for the choice of subject and the literature studies, the research methodology is presented, and research results are subsequently described and analyzed. Next, based on the main conclusions, model regularities and policy implications regarding efficiency and productivity improvement in Polish coal mining enterprises are established. The research for this study was conducted in five Polish coal mines, which were chosen on the basis of criteria aimed at ensuring the results’ comparability and the stability of organizational and mining conditions in the analyzed research period.
Highlights
Coal mining is a traditional industry that is currently perceived as being in decline, especially in Europe, in conjunction with increasing decarbonisation and promotion of renewable energy sources [1,2].The image of the coal mining industry is worsened by its destructive influence on the environment and mining damages that disturb the life of local and regional communities [3,4]
RQ3: Are the changes in unit costs economically rational? What factors influence changes in the production costs?. These assumptions help verify the following research hypotheses (RH): RH1: Labor productivity is characterized by high fluctuations over time in a sole coal mine (A)
The average labor productivity in examined coal mines ranged from 743 Mg per employee
Summary
Coal mining is a traditional industry that is currently perceived as being in decline, especially in Europe, in conjunction with increasing decarbonisation and promotion of renewable energy sources [1,2].The image of the coal mining industry is worsened by its destructive influence on the environment and mining damages that disturb the life of local and regional communities [3,4]. Coal mining is a traditional industry that is currently perceived as being in decline, especially in Europe, in conjunction with increasing decarbonisation and promotion of renewable energy sources [1,2]. The changes in energy balances have occurred slowly; it should be assumed that societies will use coal as an energy carrier from a long-term perspective for a few decades to come [5,6,7,8]. The unfavorable economic situation is exacerbated by a long-lasting and deep decrease in coal prices in the international market. European mining enterprises have found themselves in a very difficult position, in which declining demand is accompanied with the price drop [9]
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