Polish Local Governments Research Articles

The Increasing Importance of Intergovernmental Transfer Revenue in Local Finance in Poland and the Flypaper Effect

The article explores the growing trend of fiscal recentralization in Polish local finance, evident in the increase of intergovernmental transfers, leading to expanded budgetary expenditures, known as the "Flypaper Effect" (FPE). It aims to identify the causes and extent of the FPE in Polish municipalities and cities with county rights from 2010 to 2020, using descriptive and panel data analyses. Empirical research confirms the presence of the FPE in Polish local governments, more pronounced in rural municipalities than in urban counterparts and cities with county rights. The rise in public budgetary expenditures results from limited fiscal autonomy and the ongoing process of recentralization in public finance, further amplifying the FPE. The strength of the FPE varies depending on the specific types and characteristics of intergovernmental transfers. Additionally, the article highlights significant flaws in Poland's local funding legislation and its consequences, proposing potential paths for local finance reforms. In conclusion, it underscores the increasing trend of fiscal recentralization in Polish local finance driven by the FPE and emphasizes the pressing need for reforms to address these challenges.

Cities in transition: Krakow‘s social, economic and spatial transformation within the last thirty years (selected aspects)

Krakow is a city that has undergone an immense transformation in recent years. At the end of the 1980s, the period of communism ended and Polish local governments began to operate based on the principles of subsidiarity, decentralisation and independence. In 2004, Poland joined the European Union, which opened up new prospects for development, including in regional and local terms. The world has become a networked and digitized entity susceptible to the influence of innovation. Due to metropolitisation processes, cities, especially those offering above-average earnings, a diversification of economic resources and a relatively high quality of life, began to develop even more dynamically, which had and still has negative consequences. In Poland, there are five cities in which development dynamics have a highly specific dimension. Apart from the capital city of Warsaw, these are Krakow, Wrocław, Poznań and the agglomeration of the so-called Tri-city (Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia). The aim of this study is to show how Krakow, the second-largest city in Poland, has evolved over the last three decades at the level of demographics, urban development and economy; how it changed in the historical “milestones” indicated above. Therefore, depending on the availability of statistical data, several time periods were selected and compared with each other in the most important areas of Krakow’s functioning. The research hypothesis is as follows: Krakow’s development policy in key areas optimally uses the opportunities resulting from contextual conditions (social, economic and cultural changes that have taken place in recent decades). The study focuses on the three main problems of the city’s development (the abovementioned key areas of the city’s functioning and development): socio-demographic, spatial and economic changes. The analysis assessed data from the literature, city reports and other available sources, as well as public quantitative data (assessment of data from the National Census for the years 1988, 2002, 2011, 2022; Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland and otherrepositories and reports).

Kierunki pozaeuropejskie paradyplomacji polskich województw

The main purpose of this article is to present the directions of foreign activity (paradiplomacy) of Polish regional governments with partners from outside Europe. The first, theoretical part shows the essence of paradiplomacy, which is understood as the ability of local government units to conduct political interactions beyond country borders. The empirical part discusses the spatial directions of paradiplomacy of Polish local governments, Polish-chinese regional partnerships and other partnerships from outside Europe. The hypothesis was verified that regional governments, in addition to european and neighbourhood cooperation, also cooperate with geographically distant partners from outside the european continent. The article uses methods typical of social sciences, including case studies and quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Od decentralizacji do (re)centralizacji. Polityka rządzących wobec samorządów terytorialnych w Polsce po 2015 roku

For Poland, the turn of the 1980s and 1990s for Poland was the beginning of a profound systemic change dubbed transformation. As the result of multifaceted alterations, a new political system was shaped based on the patterns, standards and principles on which democratic states and societies base their organization and functioning. The principle of decentralization determined the direction and nature of changes in the construction of the administrative apparatus of the state, so that its bodies and institutions could perform the assigned tasks and functions in a practical manner. Local governments became a significant component of the new structure of public authorities, and they were entrusted with the implementation of the part of public tasks which directly concerned local and regional communities. And although Polish local governments were not free from defects, and the implementation of tasks caused tensions between the state and local governments, until 2015 the principle of decentralization was respected by those in power. However, the elections in 2015 brought a change, and the new ruling party revealed its actual attitude to state governance, including all forms of local government.

Changes in the Involvement of Polish Local Governments in Public Policies Addressing Involuntary Migration Following the 2022 Inflow of Ukrainian Forced Migrants

Changes in the Involvement of Polish Local Governments in Public Policies Addressing Involuntary Migration Following the 2022 Inflow of Ukrainian Forced Migrants

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

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.

SELECTED ASPECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN POLAND AND THE WORLD

The purpose of the article is to identify and evaluate selected municipal government activities in environmental management for climate protection and to formulate recommendations for municipalities in this regard. The research methods used are: a literature review, and a quantitative analysis of CSO data on 13 specific indicators of municipalities (counties) on: climate change, air and groundwater protection, land use, biodiversity and waste management and qualitative analysis. The research examines the results of environmental management in municipalities in different parts of the world and on the territory of Polish municipalities (districts) of varying wealth. A comparative analysis of the management activity of municipalities (counties) in three groups of Polish local governments: the most wealthy, medium wealthy and least wealthy has been carried out. The study shows a higher intensity of pro-environmental activities among the more prosperous municipalities. The available CSO data are also insufficient to comprehensively assess the multi-faceted activity of municipalities in environmental management. The current priorities of local authorities and the natural conditions of the municipality due to its location are also important. It is recommended to increase the activity of municipal authorities, especially less wealthy ones, in environmental management, and to increase the activity of all municipalities in the legal protection of environmentally valuable areas and in the creation of biodiversity.

A mainstay of budget? Coal mining as a source of revenue for Polish local governments

Climate change mitigation requires a rapid coal phase-out. The concentration of the coal industry in selected areas may be a significant barrier to this process since the actors that need to make the most significant change are those most dependent on the fossil fuel industry. Poland is one of the world's most coal-reliant countries, and this reliance manifests most strongly in municipalities where coal mines or power plants are located.This article focuses on the influence of the coal industry on local government's budgets and necessary compensations in case of an abrupt coal phase-out. It is found that some, but not all, coal-related local governments are highly dependent on taxes and royalties from coal mines and power plants. This effect is the strongest in mostly rural and sparsely populated areas where lignite is mined and used for power generation. It is therefore suggested that the level of economic dependence on coal widely varies, and some, but not all, local governments will require financial assistance after the coal phase-out. Their role in a smooth and Just Transition is essential, while the impact on them may be as substantial as on energy companies or miners themselves.

The Local Government as a New Quality in the International Relations. Aggresion Against Ukraine as a Verifying Factor

The article describes the international cooperation of local governments, which are a form of decentralization of democratic states. This cooperation developed massively after the Second World War. Today more than 200,000 local and regional communities participate in it, cooperating not only by direct contacts, but also through various types of organizations and networks. This is a new and growing phenomenon in the international environment. On selected examples of Polish local governments, it is shown how strong are the positive ties between members of territorial communities from different countries, built by this cooperation. Their strength and nature are shown by presenting the activities of selected Polish local governments during the extreme crisis, i.e. the war in Ukraine. Thus, it was presented how Polish local governments help the attacked Ukrainians and Ukraine.

Pomoc polskich miast na prawach powiatu udzielana ukraińskim partnerom współpracy międzynarodowej w okresie rosyjskiej agresji. Przykład województwa kujawsko-pomorskiego

The aim of the research is to verify the admissibility of granting financial and material aid to territorial units from Ukraine by Polish cities with poviat rights. Consideration was also given to the state and scale of cooperation between cities with county rights (i.e. Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek) from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship and their partners from Ukraine during the period of Russian aggression. The paper uses the method of content analysis, in addition, own research was carried out involving local governments from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and the results are presented. The results of the research in this paper proved that there is a legal possibility on the basis of the Act on local self-government (at the same time bearing in mind the provisions of the Act on public finances) to provide financial support from one’s own budget in the form of financial aid and in-kind support in the form of aid in kind to “local and regional communities” in Ukraine, including during the period of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In addition, the article found that all surveyed Polish local governments implemented international cooperation focused on humanitarian aid to Ukrainian partners. The article is original in nature and was devoted entirely to the issue of international cooperation during the period of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Konstytucyjne i ustawowe podstawy współpracy samorządów gminnych z organizacjami pozarządowymi w zakresie realizacji funkcji świadczącej wobec uchodźców wojennych z Ukrainy

The subject of the study is the performance of a providing function by communal governments in Poland in the context of the influx of war refugees from Ukraine in 2022. The work analyzes the legal basis for the operation of Polish local governments in this area. The author adopted as a research hypothesis the statement according to which the implementation of social assistance for war refugees from Ukraine was possible thanks to the cooperation of local governments with non-governmental organizations and parishes. The aim of the study is to show the need and effectiveness of cooperation between local governments and non-governmental organizations in Poland and parishes. The final conclusion of the study is the statement that thanks to the cooperation of local governments with non-governmental organizations and parishes, communal governments could better fulfill their function of providing services to people in need.

Pomoc polskich miast na prawach powiatu udzielana ukraińskim partnerom współpracy międzynarodowej w okresie rosyjskiej agresji. Przykład województwa kujawsko-pomorskiego

The aim of the research is to verify the admissibility of granting financial and material aid to territorial units from Ukraine by Polish cities with poviat rights. Consideration was also given to the state and scale of cooperation between cities with county rights (i.e. Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek) from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship and their partners from Ukraine during the period of Russian aggression. The paper uses the method of content analysis, in addition, own research was carried out involving local governments from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and the results are presented. The results of the research in this paper proved that there is a legal possibility on the basis of the Act on local self-government (at the same time bearing in mind the provisions of the Act on public finances) to provide financial support from one’s own budget in the form of financial aid and in-kind support in the form of aid in kind to “local and regional communities” in Ukraine, including during the period of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In addition, the article found that all surveyed Polish local governments implemented international cooperation focused on humanitarian aid to Ukrainian partners. The article is original in nature and was devoted entirely to the issue of international cooperation during the period of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Relacje pomiędzy Policją a samorządem terytorialnym – ujęcie prawne i polityczne

Relations Between the Police and the Polish Local Governments – Legal and Political Approach The relationship between the police forces and local governments (self‑government units) is of particular importance to effective national security management. In the article, I provide an extensive review of the existing mechanisms in the area and track down their evolution. I analyze trajectories and results of reforms carried out after 1990, examining crucial aspects of the relationship, including the participation of local governments in the appointment of Police governing bodies, co-financing, the institution of the “demand” to restore legal order, and the particularly problematic ties between poviats and the Police.

The Relationship of the Public Sector and Citizens – Co-production in Polish Local Government Units. Empirical Study on Forty-One Units Forming Metropolis GZM

The concept of co-production offers a solution to some of the challenges facing modern societies. It provides an original model for relationship building and a platform for initiating and managing the practicalities between the state and citizenry. When scaled down to the local level, co-production takes on a special role, i.e., public administration liaises directly with citizens through public services. Subsequently, there is value to be gained in observing how co-production develops in this domain. The main purpose of this article is to present the findings regarding the potential co-production has in the implementation of three types of local civic initiatives (Participatory Budget, Local Initiative, Village Fund), all of which may be optionally undertaken in Polish local governments. The empirical basis for this study is the author’s research, conducted in forty-one cities and towns forming one of Polish metropolis GZM.

Political Business Cycle in Local Governments in Transition and Developing Economies. Literature Review and Empirical Study for Poland

Theory of political business cycles in democratic systems indicates that politicians have an incentive to operate with different economic instruments to acquire voters or secure re-election. Such phenomena also take place on the local government level, with incumbents manipulating the scale of expenditures, investments, or the amount of debt raised before elections. In this article, we focus on the analysis of local government investment as it is one of the most flexible parts of the budget so there is a strong incentive to use it as an election support instrument. Based on the panel data for the three full electoral cycles in Poland, we check the existence of the relationship between investment budget sizes and the phase of the electoral cycle. The results of the analysis show that even as a single explanatory variable, the election cycle is a significant factor explaining the behaviour of local public investments. It causes fluctuations of local investments by over 20% around their average level. This confirms the existence of a strong political budget cycle in Polish local governments. As this also provides evidence of political rent seeking, our findings provide a general rationale for limiting the number of office terms for incumbents in local authorities.

Crowdsourcing initiatives in city management: the perspective of Polish local governments

The past decade has seen a rise in the significance of the Internet facilitating the communication between local governments and local stakeholders. A growing role in this dialog has been played by crowdsourcing. The paper aims to identify areas, forms, and tools for the implementation of crowdsourcing in managing cities in Poland as well as the assessment of benefits provided by the use of crowdsourcing initiatives by representatives of municipal governments. The article utilized a quantitative study method of the survey realized on a sample of 176 city governments from Poland. Conducted studies have shown that crowdsourcing initiatives of cities concern such areas as culture, city image, spatial management, environmental protection, security, recreation and tourism as well as relations between entrepreneurs and city hall, transport and innovations. Forms of stakeholder engagement via crowdsourcing involve civic budgets, "voting/polls/surveys and interviews" as well as "debate/discussion/meeting, workshop, postulates and comments". The larger the city the more often its representatives employ the forms of crowdsourcing listed above. Local governments most frequently carry out crowdsourcing initiatives by utilizing cities' official web pages, social media, and special platforms dedicated to public consultations. The larger the city the greater the value placed on the utility of crowdsourcing.

Implementation of Sustainable Development by Cities and Businesses in Poland. Evolution of the Approach

Adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015 put the theoretical concept of sustainable development (SD) into practice. The goals kindled a vivid interest among Poland-based companies, too, especially large enterprises, which took them to the next level, and embedded them in their corporate strategies. Truth be told, Polish local governments started to implement SD much earlier, namely through Local Agendas 21 after the Second Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The year 2015 was a pivotal moment for the development of the SD concept. Yet, in the opinion of many experts, 2020 was a major test for SDGs as the COVID-19 pandemic was exerting an adverse impact on the progress in their achievement. The study attempts to assess the approach of SD pioneers in Poland, both cities and companies, to the implementation of the concept in the first year of the pandemic. The text provides a critical analysis of the literature on the subject, web research, and authors’ empirical studies conducted among those cities and businesses in Poland that are considered the leading SD implementers. The conducted research demonstrated that most of these leaders (both cities and businesses) are acquainted with both SD and SDGs. In the period covered by analysis, there was a major growth in SD institutionalization. Both business and city representatives understand SD primarily in accordance with the definition framed in Agenda 2030. A stable majority of the surveyed cities and businesses believe that their approach to SD implementation has changed since the announcement of SDGs in 2015. The COVID-19 pandemic has not halted the implementation of SDGs, although in some cases, it has forced the surveyed implementers to revise their modus operandi.

Energy Innovation of Polish Local Governments

The main aim of the research is to evaluate the innovativeness of Polish municipalities in the field of energy. The study was carried out as a part of the First National Competition for the Most Innovative Local Government in Poland, taking into account the original method of assessing the innovativeness of local governments. From all over Poland, 30 communes participated in the research: 14 urban communes, 8 rural communes, and 8 urban–rural communes. The study analyzes the activities of municipalities in the field of energy-related construction and transport innovations and inventories innovative social campaigns in the area of climate and energy policy implementation. The second part of the article presents a case study of innovations recognized as exemplary. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that 50% of the surveyed local governments are innovative and the remaining are moderately innovative. No commune has been assigned to the non-innovative category. In terms of the type and size of the local government, it has been observed that smaller municipalities, mainly rural local governments, allocate much higher financial resources per capita to the implementation of modern solutions in the field of climate and energy policy implementation. In some cases, commune heads spend several times higher funds per capita than mayors and city presidents. The use of the developed innovation research method in practice may motivate local government authorities to increase innovative activities for energy transformation.

Crowdsourcing Initiatives in City Management: The Perspective of Polish Local Governments

Crowdsourcing Initiatives in City Management: The Perspective of Polish Local Governments

Ocena zdolności jednostek samorządu terytorialnego do finansowania projektów inwestycyjnych w perspektywie finansowej 2021–2027

Purpose – The aim of the research is to assess the capacity of Polish local governments to finance investments in the EU 2021–2027 multiannual financial framework. Due to the importance of local governments as public investors, their capacity to finance invest-ments, which are largely development projects, is an important factor in increasing the international competitiveness of the entire country.Research method – The research consists in the construction of a forecasting model and then preparation of cash flow forecasts for all local governments in Poland. Four forecast scenarios made it possible to estimate the impact of changes in individual assumptions on the size of the investment capacity of local governments.Results – Forecasts indicate some symptoms of the local government finance crisis and the risk of its aggravation. Maintaining a faster growth rate of current expenditure than cur-rent revenue, with investment needs resulting, inter alia, from the necessity to absorb the EU funds, will lead to an unprecedented increase in debt. This relates primarily to poviat -cities responsible for the implementation of a significant part of public development projects. Originality / value / implications / recommendations – The study was based on the authors’ method of forecasting financial processes in each local government (excluding voivodships). Its results allow the formulation of important conclusions. It was shown that in the case of a large number of local governments, the implementation of investments at the current level will be possible only on condition of a significant reduction in the growth of current expenditures. However, with regard to cities with poviat rights, it may be necessary to change the financing system itself.