Policy In Poland Research Articles

No Country for Sick Men: The Political Determinants of Health Policy in Poland

Context: The objective of this article is to explain the political factors determining the relatively weak performance of the Polish health care (HC) sector. This can be treated as a critical case for several reasons. First, the Poles are among the most unsatisfied patients in the European Union, with one of the lowest life expectancy levels. Second, Poland spends one of the lowest shares of gross domestic product on HC-related expenditures among OECD countries. Third, the country is facing medical personnel shortages. Methods: The analysis is based on the mixed-methods approach. The authors rely on quantitative data outsourced from a survey, which is supplemented by the semistructured, in-depth interviews with selected key HC stakeholders representing patients' advocacy groups, medical personnel organizations, and high-level decision-makers. Findings: The Polish HC system remains weak due to the postcommunist legacy in terms of organization, a short-term approach by politicians, and weak decision-making processes. Conclusions: The HC policy inertia in Poland is determined by a group of interrelated political factors that effectively block the development of any positive reform.

One size fits most: On the emergence of differentiated regional policy in Poland

Abstract In recent years, Poland has experienced exceptional and consistently high levels of economic growth. An important component of this growth has been the role played by regional policy. However, while Polish regions generally enjoy high levels of autonomy and have received considerable support from the EU, the changing structure and orientation of Polish regional development strategies remains an understudied area. This paper uses recent advances in the field of text mining to identify the similarity of regional strategies to identify whether Polish regions differentiate regional policy in their regional development strategies. Our results indicate that Polish regional development strategies have diverged significantly during the years covered by the two periods studied and that this degree of change appears to be strongly influenced by spatial factors. This increased divergence supports the notion of the greater use of differentiated regional policy in Poland.

Ideology and the Rationality of Domination: Nazi Germanization Policies in Poland. Gerhard Wolf, trans., Wayne Yung

<i>Ideology and the Rationality of Domination: Nazi Germanization Policies in Poland</i>. Gerhard Wolf, trans., Wayne Yung

Nuclear energy acceptance in Poland: From societal attitudes to effective policy strategies-Network modeling approach.

Poland is currently undergoing substantial transformation in its energy sector, and gaining public support is pivotal for the success of its energy policies. We conducted a study with 338 Polish participants to investigate societal attitudes towards various energy sources, including nuclear energy and renewables. Applying a novel network approach, we identified a multitude of factors influencing energy acceptance. Political ideology is the central factor in shaping public acceptance, however we also found that environmental attitudes, risk perception, safety concerns, and economic variables play substantial roles. Considering the long-term commitment associated with nuclear energy and its role in Poland's energy transformation, our findings provide a foundation for improving energy policy in Poland. Our research underscores the importance of policies that resonate with the diverse values, beliefs, and preferences of the population. While the risk-risk trade-off and technology-focused strategies are effective to a degree, we advocate for a more comprehensive approach. The framing strategy, which tailors messages to distinct societal values, shows particular promise.

Poland's Climate Policy – Selected Legal Aspects

This paper aims to briefly present the climate policy in Poland, in selected critical areas from the author's perspective and that may accelerate or delay the just transformation. Climate policy should be a significant part of Poland's activities because Poland is one of the EU countries most dependent on fossil fuels, and the increase in carbon dioxide emissions is also disturbing. However, as the analyses show, the conclusions of various reports seem fully justified, and Poland is not correctly implementing its climate policy. This paper, the first in the series, first explains the basic concepts. Then it briefly presents the basics of the EU's climate policy. The last part concerns Poland's implementation of climate policy in selected areas. Renewable energy sources and air protection will be discussed first in the series. The final fragment contains unoptimistic conclusions with a simultaneous suggestion to undertake urgent work on the Climate Protection Act in Poland. The research was carried out using dogmatic, legal, and statistical methods to a narrow extent.

ENERGY INDEPENDENT CITIES? INVESTMENT ACTIVITY OF CITIES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU CO-FINANCED PROJECTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND ITS CONDITIONS IN POLAND

Aim: The main objective of the paper is to evaluate the scale, scope, and significance of investments in renew­able energy sources by cities in Poland, which were co-financed from EU funds. This assessment will focus on the last two multiannual financial frameworks, namely for the years 2007–2013 and 2014–2020. Methods: Empirical studies were conducted based on data from the database of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy in Poland, the Local Data Bank, and the Ministry of Finance. When investigating the invest­ment activity of towns and cities related to renewable energy sources, basic descriptive statistics methods were applied. Logistic regression was used to identify the primary socio-economic, financial, and environmental conditions. Results: In the analyzed period, the role of towns and cities in the realization of renewable energy projects increased, although it is still relatively limited compared to other types of administrative communes. In the multiannual financial framework for 2007–2013, less than one in ten cities executed at least one project, while in the years 2014–2020, more than one in four cities realized at least one project related to the develop­ment of renewable energy sources supported by EU funds. The disparity in activity between towns and cities on a regional scale was huge. These investments were more often realized by towns and cities with a lower level of development, serving tourist functions, and experienced in carrying out such investments. Their lower investment activity was influenced by their level of indebtedness. Conclusions: So far, one of the main drivers behind the development of renewable energy in urban areas has been the ecological aspect, particularly the improvement of air quality. However, there is now a growing recognition of the importance of energy security.

What Works for Whom? Youth Labour Market Policy in Poland

What Works for Whom? Youth Labour Market Policy in Poland

Drug Policy in Poland — Medical Treatment or Penalisation?

The objective of this paper is to outline drug policy in Poland in pre-and post-political transition period. In the study, the author examines the period from the end of the Second World War to the present day, with a focus on the Polish government’s shaping of specifi c areas of drug policy. Two main policy schemes are presented, both of which used to predominate with varying intensity across the periods in question. The fi rst of these, the repressive or otherwise prohibitive model, which consists primarily in the predominance of penalisation over other solutions. The second, the permissive one, that focuses on the ‘treatment over penalisation’ principle and represents a certain shift from the restrictive model of drug prevention. The paper concludes with a summary highlighting examples of permissive solutions applied in some countries and emphasising the need to fi nd a balance between sanctioning and treatment in order to effectively respond to the drug-related challenges in Poland.ResumenEl objetivo del artículo es presentar la política de drogas en Polonia en el periodo anterior y posterior a la transformación política. El artículo analiza el periodo que va desde el fi nal de la Segunda Guerra Mundial hasta la actualidad, haciendo hincapié en la confi guración de determinadas áreas de la política de drogas por parte del Estado polaco. Se presentan dos modelos principales, que fueron visibles con diferente intensidad en cada periodo. El primero, el modelo represivo o prohibicionista, basado principalmente en el predominio de la represión penal sobre otras soluciones. El segundo, el permisivo, que se centra en el principio de “curar en lugar de castigar” y representa una especie de distanciamiento del modelo restrictivo de prevención de las drogas. El artículo concluye con un resumen en el que se indican ejemplos de soluciones permisivas utilizadas en algunos países y se subraya la necesidad de encontrar un equilibrio entre el castigo y el tratamiento para responder efi cazmente a los problemas generados por las drogas en Polonia.Palarbas clave: Palabras clave: drogadicción, droga, contraacción, represividad, permisividad

PERIODISATION OF CHANGES IN STATE FAMILY POLICY IN POLAND BETWEEN 1989 AND 2022

The subject of this article is the periodization of changes in the state family policy in Poland that took place in the years 1989–2022, in order to systematize on this basis the main directions, priorities and instruments of the title policy as well as the most significant events, activities and turning points in a given area. This analysis shows a multi-aspect perspective on the assessment of the evolution of family policy in Poland in the years 1989–2022. Indicates, among others: periods in which there was a significant expansion of the scope of state intervention in the functioning of the family, especially through a significant increase in expenditure on financial instruments, for example after 2015. However, the development of service and leave instruments is particularly important, which took place in particular in 2013 as part of the "Good climate for the family" program. Due to the low fertility rate, financial difficulties of many families and difficulties in combining child care responsibilities with paid work, family policy should be based to a greater extent on investments and social services.

Does Party Identification Matter for Deliberation? Evidence from the Poland Speaks Experiment

Deliberation among the public appears wanting, even in many of the world’s established democracies. This apparent lack of mutually respectful conversation among citizens about politics involving a give-and-take of reasons is often ascribed to growing affective polarisation. The more the citizens come to think of each other as belonging to opposing groups, the less likely it allegedly becomes that they will show respect towards each other or exchange arguments while talking politics. However, the empirical support for this common supposition remains tentative, as prior research suffers from potential endogeneity problems and selection bias. To address these limitations, we introduce a novel experimental design involving an imagined conversation on refugee policy in Poland. Our experimental test shows that, on average, participants’ inclination to deliberate did not significantly differ based on whether they imagined talking to someone from an ingroup or to someone from an outgroup instead. Our findings thereby suggest that the relationship between group identification and public deliberation might not be as straightforward as is often assumed. At least in some contexts, a lack of mutual group identification does not spell disaster for deliberation.

Threats, Victims and Unimaginable Subjects of Rights: A Genealogy of Sex Worker Governance in Poland

This paper sketches the emergence of, and shifts within, the social, legal, and political figurations of sex workers in Poland. By adopting a genealogical perspective, I investigate how sex workers have been (re)constituted as subjects of governance and unimaginable social justice claimants in legislation, political debates, and law enforcement strategies. With a broad temporal scope, this article traces continuities, transformations, and disruptions within modes of sex work governance in Poland from the adoption of the first laws relating to sex work enacted during the early 19th century to the present day. Through analysis of policy documents, scholarly work on the history of sex work policies in Poland, and personal accounts by sex workers, I identify and examine two dominant discursive and legal figurations of a sex worker: as a threat, and as a victim in need of rescue and protection. While analysing the emergence of and interplay between these two figurations, this article demonstrates how these seemingly contradictory frames of recognition gradually conjoined within 20th-century Polish sex work governance strategies, rendering sex workers unimaginable subjects of rights and social justice claimants.

Variațiuni ale socialismului de stat: Politici familiale în Europa Centrală și de Est în perioada postbelică

This is a review of the book Mothers, Families or Children? Family Policy in Poland, Hungary, and Romania, 1945-2020, by Tomasz Inglot, Dorottya Szikra, Cristina Raț, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2022, 455 p.

How Re (Build) Social Capital in the (Post) COVID-19 Pandemic Era? The Raciborz Case Study

The concept of social capital has been recognized as one of the key aspect of public administration and is an essential part of local urban policy. From the point of view of the inhabitants, it conveys a sense of subjectivity, achievement, participation and co-government. Much more important is that social capital will be characterized by a measurable impact in terms of civic engagement in local affairs. Racibórz was selected as a case study due to the city’s proximity to the border. On the one hand, it is regarded with a long tradition of self-government, self-organization, belonging to different legal and administrative systems throughout history, and on the other hand, with a marginal position in the territory and in the administrative structures of the country and the region. All these factors have, over the course of history, given rise to inhabitants’ behavioral patterns and created the basic forms and structures of civil society and/or social capital. Based on qualitative and ethnographic field studies, the authors presents the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic phenomena, which changes the structures of social capital in Raciborz by reducing/destroying it and ask the question how it can be rebuilt in the future. The aim of the article is to present one of the current challenges for urban policy in Poland: social participation, especially in the context of the concept of social capital, in Raciborz town at the time of the (post) Covid-19 pandemic.

Polish climate policy in the opinion of young Poles - a pilot survey

As established in the Europe 2020 Strategy and the European Green Deal, combating climate change is one of the central elements of the European Union’s policy. As a member, Poland is obliged to develop and implement climate policy in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so climate neutrality can be achieved by 2050. In the context of low political priority for the Polish government, the study aims to identify the level of awareness, perceptions, and attitudes of young Poles towards climate change, as well as their assessment of climate policy. To achieve this aim, a non-random sampling pilot survey was conducted among young Poles in spring 2022, using an electronic questionnaire made available via social media. While the results show respondents’ awareness of and rather high interest in the threats posed by climate change, in-depth knowledge of climate change, climate policy, and its socio-economic implications is lacking. The progress in and effectiveness of climate policy in Poland is rather assessed negatively. Based on the results, key directions for future actions are suggested for the young generation to become a force in creating a more effective climate policy.

Energy Policy until 2050—Comparative Analysis between Poland and Germany

The article presents a comprehensive study of the energy strategies of both countries, aimed at achieving their goals by 2050. A literature review presents global trends in energy policy, the current situation in Poland and Germany, and the importance of sustainable energy. For Poland and Germany, the current situation, goals, and strategies for 2050 are described, and the results of surveys carried out using a survey questionnaire are presented. A comparative analysis included a comparison of the goals and strategies of both countries and the results of surveys, presented in tabular form. This analysis drew conclusions regarding the differences and similarities in the approach of both countries to energy policy. The “Challenges and Prospects” section identifies potential challenges and presents opportunities and recommendations for the future. In conclusion, the article provides a thorough analysis, based on the methodology of a literature review, survey questionnaire, and tabular analysis, and contains important conclusions and implications for energy policy in Poland and Germany. The article also addresses the limitations of the study that may affect the interpretation of the results.

The Economic and Social Dimension of Energy Transformation in the Face of the Energy Crisis: The Case of Poland

Energy transformation in Poland, including the need to accelerate the shift away from hard coal and lignite in the power system, has been taking place in the face of the energy crisis. Ambitious climate and economic goals force the development of renewable energy sources, but they require legislative changes for the benefit of socially vulnerable consumers. This is important from the point of view of counteracting energy poverty. Energy transformation is not only a change in the fuel used, but most of all, the path and basis of low-carbon development that changes many socio-economic systems. The aim of this study is to link the development and environmental challenges in the studied subject matter with social challenges. The analyses show that it is necessary to strengthen the use of local energy potential and resources, and to activate local communities. The construction of nuclear power plants is also crucial. The results of the presented theoretical and empirical studies can be the basis for a revision of the energy policy in Poland in the area of the social dimension of the energy sector.

Directions of change in the spatial policies of Polish border municipalities during the first year of war in Ukraine, 2022

Local-level spatial policies in Poland are determined by diverse social, economic, political and environmental factors. On the one hand, they result from the specific characteristics of individual areas. On the other, however, supra-local factors are found to be playing an increasingly important role. These can include trends related to the Europeanisation of spatial planning and the associated promoted institutional changes and changes in planning practices. However, from February 2022 onwards, certain European countries in particular have seen another important factor has come into play, i.e. the war in Ukraine. It thus seems legitimate to verify how the fundamental change in the geopolitical situation, i.e. the location in the immediate vicinity of a victim state (Ukraine), an aggressor state (Russia) and an aggressor-friendly state (Belarus), along with a number of related consequences (including a change in the nature of border capacity, a sense of insecurity, potential changes in investment policy, etc.) determine the directions local spatial policies have been taking. The main purpose of the article is to diagnose the current planning situation of units of local-government administration along Poland’s eastern border by reference to two groups of issues: (1) concerning the state of progress of planning work, as well as (2) the impact of the outbreak of war in Ukraine on changes in spatial policy (perforce ancillary, given the small number of responses received). The source of the data were annual surveys of the Ministry of Development and Technology and Statistics Poland regarding the advancement of planning work at the level of the Polish gmina, as well and a survey addressed to all 77 such units of local administration located by the border. Particular reference was made to the application of spatial-planning instruments at the local level (studies of spatial planning conditions and directions, local spatial development plans and decisions on development conditions – with the analyses concerning the period before the major July 2023 amendment of spatial planning law). Particular attention was paid to the frequency of enactment of individual acts, with this being related to both earlier periods and trends in Poland as a whole. The research finds that the relatively high level of activity shown by some of the surveyed gminas in amending/updating spatial planning studies and spatial / physical development plans may not be related to the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The Polish spatial-planning system in fact lacks instruments by which to react flexibly and ensure the integration of development policies (as is particularly necessary when a crisis erupts).

Integral Indicators of Macroeconomic Conditions In The Formation of Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Poland

Integral Indicators of Macroeconomic Conditions In The Formation of Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Poland

Sex Work Policy in Poland and Its Impact on the Lived Experience of Sex Workers

This article discusses the model of sex work regulation in Poland. Officially ‎being an abolitionist one, it criminalises directly third parties, while in practice the whole working environment is criminalised, pushing sex workers into ‎shadow economy and precarious working conditions, and exposing them to ‎heightened risks of violence. At the same time, the Polish state does not provide any support programmes for sex workers. As such, it misrecognises sex ‎workers, who are not seen as workers or victims. This article looks at the prostitution policy from the perspective of sex workers’ rights. It also shows how ‎complicated sex work policy is, since the law includes contradictory rules and ‎values, which all have a negative impact on sex workers’ lives, and how these ‎contradictory rules contribute to misrecognition of sex workers, as workers, ‎subjects of rights and citizens, and to their stigmatisation.

Legal determinants of control and supervision in the health system in Poland

The crisis triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus epidemic has demonstrated how much of a challenge it is for each Member State of the European Union to ensure the implementation of its health policy in accordance with the pro-visions of Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Unionand in a spirit of European solidarity. The aim of this article is to present the legal determinants of supervision and control of the implementation of health policy in Poland in terms of its subjective and objective scopes, and their analysis in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. The subject of this article includes the systematisation in legal terms of the competencies and tasks of the entitiesresponsible for the implementation of the state health policy, an indication of the criteria for supervision and control in health protection, and the presentation of the principles and techniques of control carried out in this area of thestate activity. The result of the analysis is the conclusion that the provisions of law ensure the proper functioning of the system of control and supervision system in the area of health protection.