THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OF HOUSEHOLDS IN POLAND

Abstract

The aim of this article was a one-dimensional and multidimensional assessment as well as a diagnosis of the economic situation of households according to socio-economic groups in Poland in the years 2009-2019. In the first stage of the research, the development of objective indicators reflecting the economic welfare of households was analyzed. The analysis of the economic situation of households included indicators of the income and expenditure situation in equivalent terms, the expenditure structure, measures of housing welfare including access to durable goods in households and average usable floor area of household per 1 person in m². In the second stage of the research, with the help of the classic TOPSIS (the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution) method, a synthetic measure of the economic situation of the studied aggregate units (socio-economic groups) was built. On the basis of the value of the synthetic measure, a linear arrangement of studied aggregate units was performed, considering variables related to the economic situation of households. The analysis was prepared on the basis of data derived from household budget surveys conducted by Statistics Poland (GUS). The research covered data from the 2009-2019 period. The performed analysis, both one-dimensional and multidimensional, proved that in considerably the best economic situation in the studied period were households of self-employed persons and households of white-collar workers. However, in the worst financial situation were households of pensioners, which occupied the lowest positions in the ranking created on the basis of the value of the synthetic measure.