The Financial and Legal Nature of Quasi-Grants Transferred to Polish Local Government Units From State Government Earmarked Funds

Abstract

In the field of public finance, earmarked funds are regarded as a versatile instrument for funding public tasks, and an important complement to the traditional budgetary system. They were deliberately and extensively implemented in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in 2020, as well as the refugee crisis in 2022. The funds earmarked by the state government, which were created at Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego at that time, proved to be an efficient and prompt approach in tackling the crisis and promoting local development. These funds were directed towards local investments by local governments, who were amongst their beneficiaries. This development was aided by allocating part of the COVID-19 Response Fund to investment expenses as freely designated by local authorities. Given their prior experience with using European Union funds, Polish local governments efficiently and promptly adjusted their financial management from the budget economy to the fund economy. Local governments have obtained earmarked funds which have become a significant source for funding local investments. However, these funds lack unambiguous regulation in Polish public finance law. This paper aims to illustrate the role of state government earmarked funds, which are established outside the public finance sector in Poland, in creating the budget economy for local governments. An additional aim is to determine the legal and financial characteristics of the resources within these funds in the light of the regulations outlined in the Polish public finance law.