Search

Purpose: The primary objective of this article is to illustrate the strategic goals outlined in the European Union's cohesion policy PO1, "A more competitive and smarter Europe" in the context of Poland for the period 2021-2027, and provide an overview of the initial experiences of Poland in implementing these goals. A secondary objective is to present the features and evaluate the European Union's cohesion policy concerning support for research and innovation (R&I), particularly within the programming period of 2021-2027. Design/methodology/approach: The research employed various methods, including a literature analysis focusing on EU funds, cohesion policy and innovation, an analysis of EU strategic and programming documents for the period 2021-2027, as well as analysis of the financial data contained therein, mainly relating to the area of "A more competitive and smarter Europe". This specific area, constituting a key aspect of the EU cohesion policy, serves as the primary focus of the study, with particular attention given to its application in Poland. The deductive method was employed for reasoning, and the research findings were presented using graphical methods. Findings: The funding allocated to R&I in the EU has been progressively increasing. In the period from 2000 to 2006, the allocation was approximately EUR 26 billion, and for the years 2021-2027, there is a planned investment of EUR 137.5 billion in this area. These funds are designated to be utilized under one of the five objectives of the EU cohesion policy for 2021-2027, specifically PO1, known as "A more competitive and smarter Europe". The implementation of the PO1 objective aims to bridge the innovation and digital divide across the EU. In Poland, a substantial investment of EUR 16,046 billion is earmarked to achieve this goal. The initial competition organized in Poland under the SMART path has demonstrated significant interest in these funds, presenting an opportunity to enhance the country's innovativeness. Research limitations/implications: The research faced limitations, particularly in maintaining the consistency of homogeneous financial data. The primary source utilized was the Cohesion Data Platform, chosen for its up-to-date information. Another constraint was the nascent stage of competitions for EU funding under SMART paths, which significantly restricted the availability of research material. Practical implications: The research can be used by potential beneficiaries of EU funds to create innovative projects that can be submitted to subsequent SMART competitions in the future. Originality/value: Considering that the topic revolves around a relatively recent subject, namely Smarter Europe in the 2021-2027 perspective, and is grounded in the most current data available as of the end of 2023, the article contributes to both domestic and foreign literature on the subject of subsidy support instruments directed towards enterprises through state institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that some EU member states have been smart, or even dishonest. Splitting off capital cities from existing NUTS2 regions has given them an advantage in the Cohesion Policy funds allocation scheme but worsened the position of others. To explain the reasons and implications, we review the issue of delimiting the NUTS2 regions and the related allocation of financial resources. We evaluate how modifications of NUTS2 regions, carried out by Hungary, Poland, and Lithuania, impacted the allocation of financial resources for the 2021–2027 programming period. The analysis shows the shift of billions of euros towards these countries. We also argue that this experience is and could also be an inspiration for other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Poland, systemic transformation, social changes and integration with European Union structures all instilled major change in the country's system of spatial planning. This encompassed the general framework, the adopted procedures, the range of entities involved, and the sources and forms by which large new infrastructural developments attracted funding. This article seeks to offer an overview of the evolution in post-1989 Poland of transport infrastructure planning. Various aspects to the development of this infrastructure are explored, while the roles of factors of a political nature are assessed, also in connection with the related issue of new legislation developing and changing approaches to the investment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The publication presents the evolution of the European Union policy implemented in Poland, focusing primarily on the 2014-2020 perspective, which was characterized by its decentralization. Design/methodology/approach: The method of statistical data analysis and source materials was used in the work. Findings: As a result of the conducted research, it was indicated that the 2014-2020 perspective was characterized not only by the highest allocation of financial resources, but the solutions proposed therein led to a deeper decentralization of regional policy in Poland consisting in the construction of two-fund regional programs (ERDF and ESF), prepared, managed and implemented at the regional level, bringing the thereby increasing the effectiveness of this policy. Originality/value: The literature research and statistical analysis carried out in the article served to show the evolution of the regional policy decentralization process on maximizing its effects. The research results are dedicated to a wide group of people and entities benefiting from the support of European Union funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union and the whole world are facing the problem of increasing income and wealth inequalities at the country and regional levels. Inequalities are a severe obstacle to sustainable and balanced growth. Politicians perceive this problem by trying to implement different types of development models. The cohesion policy is the European Union's response to the development differences between countries and regions. It is clearly defined that development has to be sustainable and inclusive, which is reflected in the objectives of all leading EU development strategies. The aim of this paper is (1) to examine how effective the EU cohesion policy is in reducing regional disparities (2) to assess that the main cause of regional disparities is the misallocation of human capital. The authors base their study on the regions of Poland, estimating the state of their human capital and innovation between 2004 and 2018. We examine the effectiveness of cohesion policy using functional data analysis—the Wilcoxon test, which was used for the first time for this type of issue. The current question is whether to help metropolises and large cities, which will entail the development of smaller units, or whether to try to increase the rate of development of smaller and economically weaker territorial units in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comparative Economic Research is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Preparations for the EU's post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework have brought increased interest to the functional approach as a major paradigm of the EU policies towards cross-border areas. This approach aims to focus cross-border programmes on territories where there is a high degree of cross-border interaction. Cross-border functional areas (CBFAs) can be a potential instrument for this, fostering further reduction of cross-border barriers and enhancing flows of people, goods, materials and knowledge. However, certain aspects of this notion are rather vague. This includes both the way how to turn the rather discursive concept of the CBFA into more material-institutional practices, and how CBFAs can be identified in practice to successfully implement the EU's cohesion policy. This paper debates the concept of the CBFA and proposes understanding CBFAs as spatially specific territorial complexes, located on two (or more) sides of a state border(s) that are not defined by administrative borders, but by cross-border functional linkages, a system of cooperative relationships and the existence of governance mechanisms. The paper proposes a novel approach for CBFA's identification based on a four-level model, taking into account the selected criteria. The proposed framework enabled to identify CBFAs and potential CBFAs at the borders of Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to compare a degree of beta-convergence between V4 countries and EU28 at national and NUTS 2 level. Methodology/Approach: We will make this comparison separately for each indicator (gross domestic product at current market prices, unemployment rate and disposable income of households.). To evaluate beta-convergence differences at national and regional level, we will compare the data for the V4 countries and for Germany and Austria. To show convergence, we approximated the GDP growth trend in individual countries, using a trend line for three different time periods. Findings: Our results point to persistent disparities between regions. They have confirmed that the cohesion policy in the regions of the V4 countries should promote innovations and investments into less developed and predominantly agricultural regions, complete the necessary backbone infrastructure and develop a high-quality regional education. At regional level, the implementation of high value-added programs may be hampered by institutional factors and a lack of capacity to make the necessary infrastructure or human capital investments. Our analysis showed that differences in regional performance are also accompanied by significant differences in investigated indicators. Research Limitation/Implication: Limitations of the paper are at first missing data for Poland to the year 2013. Second limit of the article are data from regions, because data are related to the palce of residence of its branch. Originality/Value of paper: Paper is full original, also a data analysis does not copy any other articles neither article in a journal nor paper on conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is to examine the effects of investment in human capital, as funded by EU cohesion policy, on economic development in Poland at the local (LAU 2) level, that is, at the level of municipalities. We found evidence that human capital investment has a positive effect on local revenues. This effect is stronger than what is observed for the assistance programmes not related to human capital. The impact of intervention on migration balance is in turn not significant. We also observed that the effectiveness of the assistance within the cohesion policy depends on existing regional preconditions for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article maps the path to the adoption of the rule of law conditionality regulation for the EU budget in 2020 and the political framing of the adoption and application of the new EU regime. The article then analyses the review of the legality of the regulation carried out by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the initiative of Poland and Hungary, where the EU judges provided their insight into the interpretation of the existence of EU competence to adopt the regulation, the relationship between the regime under the new regulation, the mechanism under Article 7 TEU and the CJEU enforcement action, as well as into the EU concept of the rule of law itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The JESSICA initiative was set up to provide a more sustainable and efficient response to the needs of urban areas, as compared to non-repayable grants. Anchored in the literature on place-based policy and territorial cohesion, this paper addresses the question how the JESSICA funds were allocated among Polish cities - whether, intuitively, only to key urban centres, or to smaller cities as well. The results illustrate that the repayable assistance of JESSICA was dispersed throughout the regions, although the degree of dispersion remains mixed across them. Almost half of the JESSICA funds was transferred to small and medium-sized cities. It was also found that the bulk of the assistance went to the projects that were implemented in cities situated within metropolitan areas of the regional capital cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU Cohesion Policy was observed to be marked by financial compliance problems due to a relatively high level of irregularities. This problem brings into question the issue of how to prevent such infringements of the rules applicable to EU expenditure. Against this backdrop, this article investigates how Poland worked to prevent irregularities during the 2014-2020 programming period. Specifically, the focus is on whether prevention measures enhanced Poland's financial compliance performance. For this purpose, a novel model of 'non-compliance financial rate' (NCFR) is proposed and triangulated with qualitative findings from semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis, which has shown encouraging results that might be relevant also for other Member States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Public Management / Zarządzanie Publiczne is the property of Jagiellonian University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The aim of the article is to evaluate the significance of European Union funds for the development of the regions of Eastern Poland, by focusing on the benefits of obtaining this type of financial support Design/methodology/approach: When collecting empirical material for the article, the method of economic and general statistics was used. The time range of the research covers the years 2004-2018. The rationale for the location of the research is the peripheral location of Eastern Poland voivodeships and the related problems of low growth and economic development, low population density, and low income of local governments and residents. Moreover, this part of Poland benefits from a special European Union Program that financially supports the development of the researched regions. Findings: The research has showed that all voivodships of Eastern Poland narrowed their distance to the national average as it was there that the influence of the cohesion policy on the pace of development was the strongest. Originality/value: The article presents the use of European Union funds, supporting the cohesion policy implemented by local governments in Eastern Poland and the effects of support based on selected indicators, including the absorption rate developed by the present author. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study sheds more light on the implementation of smart growth and supporting it with public funds by examining the Polish experiences in the period 2007-2016. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the challenges associated with the implantation of smart growth concept in the less developed regions. Secondly, the impact of EU structural funds on smart growth in Poland is analyzed at the regional level with a view to contributing to the debate on public intervention in this area. The author used descriptive analysis, analysis of strategic documents and statistical analysis. Smart growth is particularly challenging for less developed regions. The model reveals that smart growth of Polish regions was increasing after 2007, when the support under EU cohesion policy for innovative solutions has grown considerably. However, among the various factors influencing regional development processes, the impact of structural funds was not as strong as might be expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the paper is twofold. First, we investigate the mobility of Polish municipalities within the distribution of per capita EU fund expenditures over two terms of office: 2007-2010 and 2011-2014. The resulting joint distribution serves as the basis for some empirical analyses. Second, we consider the relationship between mobility and social capital in 16 Polish regions. Research Design & Methods: We make use of a transition probability matrix and rankrank regression. Additionally, we employ Spearman's rank correlation and Kendall's rank correlation. Both nation-wide and region-specific analyses are conducted. Findings: The municipalities most (least) successful in attracting EU funds in the 2007- 2010 period tended to maintain their positions in the 2011-2014 period. The relative and absolute mobility of municipalities - EU funds beneficiaries - differ considerably across regions. There is a significant negative correlation between within-region absolute mobility and the level of bridging social capital within regions. Implications/Recommendations: The persistence of municipalities at the ends of the EU fund absorption ranking can facilitate forecasts of the spatial allocation of EU funds and, consequently, its effects. Contribution: To the author's best knowledge, the study constitutes the first empirical analysis of within-distribution mobility of municipalities - EU funds beneficiaries. We also provide an initial study on the nexus between social capital and mobility within the ranking of EU funds beneficiaries. Adding to an earlier study by Swianiewicz et al. (2008), we show that the allocation of EU funds in Poland is affected by the level and structure of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puszcza Zielonka Landscape Park (PZLP), located in western Poland is an area under the constant pressure of urbanization processes occurring in the zone of influence of the Poznan urban agglomeration. The park was established in 1993. The protected area is surrounded by built-up areas, which interrupt the continuity of wildlife corridors. The park and its buffer zone are located in six communes, which have their own spatial policies. The aim of the article was to determine changes in the trends, scale and rate of investments in the park and its buffer zone, expressed by changes in the land cover and use, which have taken place since the establishment of the park. These changes were considered important factors affecting the state of protected natural values and defining the effectiveness of protective instruments. The study included an analysis of the spatial policy of the communes expressed in Study of the Conditions and Directions of the Spatial Management (SCDSM) and its compliance with the Park protection trends indicated in the Protection Plan. The analyses were carried out with GIS tools. The results showed conflicts between the intended changes in land development expressed by local governments and the park protection objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to evaluate the significance of the European Union funds supporting the cohesion policy, which the Eastern Polish local governments benefit from in order to improve their residents' quality of life. Empirical data used in the research concerns five provinces located in Eastern Poland and the research data comes from the sources of the Polish Main Statistical Office in Warsaw. The temporal scope of the study encompasses the period 2004-2018. The choice of the spatial scope of the research is justified by the peripheral location of Eastern Poland, as well as the fact that this region benefits from the EU Programme financially supporting local government units. The article elaborates on the use of the EU funds aiming to enhance the cohesion policy performed by local governments of Eastern Poland and the residents' opinion on the improvement of their quality of life. The research proves that the provinces of Eastern Poland are particularly qualified to gain financial funding from the European Union due to their lower level of Gross Domestic Product per capita compared to the country as a whole. According to the residents of Eastern Poland, their quality of life has improved and can be treated as comparable to the country's average, even though slightly worse. The research confirms the elaboration's hypothesis that the use of the EU funds by the local governments in Eastern Poland results in the increased country cohesion measured by the improvement of residents' quality of life. This, in turn, constitutes a vital outcome of the European Union cohesion policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this article is to investigate the spatial allocation of human capital investment at the local level in Poland. In particular, this analysis refers to the funds within the Human Capital Operational Programme (POKL 2007-2013). The study is divided into the following parts: extrapolation of the algorithm for allocating the POKL funds between regions to the local level; comparison of the allocation based on the data from the period before the programme with the hypothetical allocation of the same funds based on the measurement done after the end of the programme (the „before-after" method); and a comparison of the intentional allocation of POKL funds with the observed actual absorption of funds at the local level in 2007-2015. The analysis carried out in this article proves that the final effect of POKL allocation at the local level is not a simple extension of the government's plan of division expressed by an algorithm. The absorption of funds per capita differed between municipalities within individual voivodships, but more funds did not necessarily go to the areas that were particularly structurally burdened (according to the governmental algorithm). The „before-after" analysis leads to the conclusion that, in the period under study, development disparities increased, and development gap between eastern and western Poland deepened. The situation is particularly difficult in the territories of the so-called internal peripherals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Objectives of the article are the following: to identify 1) similarity/dissimilarity in Polish regions with regard to the implementation of JESSICA projects in terms of the size of JESSICA loans/projects and the legal form of beneficiaries, 2) what factors have the biggest impact on the project capacities to generate revenues. Research Design & Methods: The authors used the logistic regression to build a model showing the association of the variables analysed on the dependent variable. In addition, to point out a relative importance from all possible orderings of explanatory variables and to show the most important one(s), ANOVA method was applied. Findings: Not all the projects co-financed under the JESSICA initiative bring revenues from their main operations. The legal form of a beneficiary plays an important role. Both projects implemented by companies and projects of a relatively high value increase the probability of generating revenues. Location of the project (capital city/non-capital city of the region) is not significant with regard to capacities to generate revenues. Implications & Recommendations: JESSICA projects characterised with a high value and implemented by entities having the company status involve private capital and consequently generate capital backflows. They contribute to leverage effects and thereby raise the role of JESSICA as a powerful instrument aimed at rendering existing market failures. It seems that the results of the study might help to design the use of JESSICA resources in the current and the future EU financial perspective. Contribution & Value Added: The article sheds more light on a still under-researched area of the use of financial instruments in the EU Cohesion Policy. The analysis provides pioneering results and points out the vital issues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper evaluates the processes of regional income convergence in Poland. This new research approach involves an attempt to assess the process of convergence from the point of view of development gaps. Six key development gaps were considered in the region of Eastern Poland, which is a singular case, significantly different from other regions. A dynamic panel data model was applied to investigate the impact of EU funds on the progress made towards closing these development gaps. Among the analysed development gaps, only the structural gap was not reduced in the period 2004-2015. Studies have also revealed the different impact of structural funds on each category of development gaps (a positive impact on reducing the regional transport accessibility gap and the investment gap, but negative - on reducing the innovation gap). Research has suggested the need for a change in the structure of using EU funds in the period 2014-2020 to favour stronger support for entrepreneurship and the creation of new jobs. Greater stimulation of the economic structure of peripheral regions has been proposed as the prerequisite for the future reduction in the discrepancies between regions and for the intensification of convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reintroduction of local government in 1990 was one of the main pillars of the post-socialist transformation in Poland. Municipalities assumed several tasks previously performed by the central administration and its territorial agencies. This paper presents the results of mass surveys conducted among Polish municipalities and compares the findings with similar surveys conducted almost 20 years earlier. The results prove that the learning process among representatives of local governments in Poland is regionally differentiated, and that the differences can be attributed to the historical trajectories of particular macro-regions of Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of the Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists is the property of Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of the article is to evaluate the significance of the European Union funds used by local governments of Eastern Poland to improve the cohesion of rural areas, measured by the dynamics of entrepreneurial development. This is illustrated by the level of their economic competitiveness and the pattern of demographic changes, considered as a measure of the residents' quality of life. A significant positive interdependence between the scale of financial support from EU funds for rural local governments and the migration reduction from rural areas was confirmed. The study did not, contrary to assumed priorities of cohesion policy, reveal the significant impact of EU funds on improving the competitiveness of local economies, measured by the number of enterprises per 1000 inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years a significant growth of concern over measuring the level of regional development has been observed. Measurement is inseparably connected with availability of statistical information. An integral element of a modern information system in official statistics, both in terms of organization and content, is regional statistics. The criterion to distinguish regional statistics is not the content of the survey, but the level of data aggregation. Space in statistical surveys plays a role of its own and is an essential dimension of the data. This paper presents a system for programming and monitoring of development policy – STRATEG – created by the Central Statistical Office of Poland in 2013. The system monitors the implementation of development strategies and public policies as well as cohesion policy during the years 2014–2020. Finally, the paper presents challenges for regional statistics in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at determining the role played by funds from the European Union in the development of renewable energy sources in Poland in the context of European Union cohesion policy. We have derived data from the official European Funds Portal for the size of projects and the financial support obtained from the European Union for the use of a specific renewable energy source. We have analyzed all (928) projects related to hydro- and geothermal energy, biomass (together with biogas), wind, and solar energy implemented in all 16 voivodships (administrative regions of the second order, NUTS 2). It must be mentioned that, in the programming period 2007-2013, the available European Union funds made it possible to obtain the largest support for all investments in renewable energy sources in Poland so far. The total value of the projects co-financed from these funds has amounted to 2 billion euro. Analyzing the value of investments in technologies based on varied renewable energy sources, an evident disproportion in either the size of particular installations or the costs of investments is observed.We demonstrate that large wind farms constitute more than 60% of the total value of investments in renewable sources subsided by the European Union. Small projects have also been subsided, but mainly those related to solar energy. Generally, the wind energy investments are established in northern and western parts of Poland, including Zachodniopomorskie, Pomorskie, Dolnośląskie, and Łódzkie voivodships, while the solar energy investments are found in the eastern and southern parts of Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For 10 years Poland, as a member of the European Union, has been implementing the EU's cohesion policy aimed at reducing the disparities in the social, economic and spatial development. The article is an analysis of the importance of cohesion policy instruments in the development of regional spatial information systems in Poland during the first 10 years of its membership in the EU. The identification of regions which capitalized on the opportunity given by the EU is provided and the level and structure of the EU funds used for that purpose are described. In conclusion, the effectiveness of activities related to the implementation of the cohesion policy, in the context of the development of Regional Information Systems in Poland, was confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss blended projects, i.e. project which combine public-private partnership with EU funds. The author addresses the main challenges and gives some recommendations for the next EU financial perspective. The first section provides an overview of financial instruments suitable for blended projects. The second section of the article covers various types of such projects. Next, the author discusses projects which were completed in Poland between 2007 and 2013. Special attention is given to the Polish and European Union regulations designed to support the development of blended project model. The final section assesses barriers for the development of blended projects and highlights their importance in the context of 2014-2020 financial perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study concentrated on the process of evaluation of public programs currently implemented with the support of European Union funds in Poland. The aim was to show how the evaluation practice was adopted in the regional administration within programming and implementation of Regional Operational Programs 2007-2013 (ROP). The author analysed what types of decisions are primarily supported by evaluation and what functions evaluation serves. Methodology: The quantitative analysis was based on data drawn from documentation of the full population of ROP evaluations completed in 2007 to 2012, which was acquired from 16 ROP evaluation units. Findings: The practice of evaluation was well adopted in regional administration and has grown rapidly in recent years. 236 studies, costing more than 16 million PLN, were completed by the end of 2012. However, most studies were of limited value as they concentrated on the implementation process, not on the effects and justification of intervention. Implications: This study focused on quantitative aspects of the knowledge production process (evaluation reports). It omitted the question of actual evaluation use, which together with evaluation process quality and development of evaluation culture should be a subject of further investigation. Originality: This study was the first review of ROP evaluations in Poland. It went far beyond the scope of data collected previously by the Ministry of Regional Development and proposed novel categorizations of evaluation subjects that may he useful for other than ROP evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of life (QoL) is a fashionable concept widely used not only in many scientific fields but also in strategic documents, political speeches, and newspaper headlines. Although QoL is a crucial element of political agendas and a goal of public policies, there is little evidence on how this concept has been incorporated in policy analysis and evaluation. This study presents how the QoL has so far been defined, contextualised, and measured in the European Union Cohesion Policy evaluation in Poland, based on the analysis of 1431 evaluation reports for the period 2004-2020. The findings show that the interest in the QoL is growing, and almost one-third of reports refer to the term. However, the concept is usually not clearly defined, and the number of evaluations with actual questions concerning QoL is limited. Moreover, the methodological approach to QoL measurement is rudimentary, limited to surveys of beneficiaries or end-users., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Numerous studies have examined the impact of evaluation quality on the use of evaluation, yet the findings are still inconclusive and only derived from examples in countries with a well-established evaluation culture. This article examines the relationship between evaluation quality and the instrumental use of evaluation in administrations with a low maturity of evaluation culture using Poland as a case study. The research method employs quantitative analysis of datasets regarding evaluation quality and recommendation use from the Polish cohesion policy evaluation system. The use of evaluation findings was measured at two stages: acceptance of recommendations and actual implementation. The results show that the impact of evaluation quality on the use of evaluation is limited and sometimes puzzling. While perceived utility increases the odds of accepting recommendations, the quality of analysis and conclusions reduces it. The actual implementation of recommendations is supported by the robustness of methodology, quality of the analysis and the clarity of the final report. Data reliability and achievement of the study objectives have no significant impact on either the decision to accept or implement recommendations. The problem of symbolic use is discussed as a potential explanation for the observed results., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

On May 1st, 2004, Poland and 9 other countries became members of the European union. The new economic and institutional conditions resulting from this event had a tremendous impact on Poland's macroeconomic performance. Poland is the biggest beneficiary of the European Cohesion Policy in 2007-2013. This paper aims at evaluating the scope and strength of cohesion policy's impact on the macroeconomic situation of Poland. Authors attempt to assess the economic benefits of Poland's membership in the Eu (focusing particularly on those related to impact of the cohesion policy's implementation). Additionally, the article presents the benefits derived by the Eu-15 countries from the implementation of the cohesion policy in Poland. Authors focus, inter alia, on assessing the impact of Poland's membership in the European union on macroeconomic situation of the country. The assessment of the said impact is based both on the analysis of selected studies of the subject and on authors' own research based on available statistical data. Within such a context, authors discuss the results of three research projects -- commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Regional Development -- which attempt to evaluate the impact of the Eu cohesion policy on selected macroeconomic indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Uprava is the property of University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Public Administration and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this paper is to assess the territorial cohesion of municipalities (gminas) in Poland using quantitative data and non-parametric modelling techniques. The full population of 2174 Polish municipalities divided into rural and urban-rural municipalities was examined. The time interval of the study, i.e., 2005–2017, allows us to capture the changes stimulated by the implementation of the cohesion policy, i.e., the programme of socio-economic transformation in Poland, implemented in the programming period 2007–2013. Using the DEA approach, a general decline in the cohesion index value over time was recorded in the period of analysis. The results of estimating autocorrelation measures indicate a progressive tendency to build spatial clusters, where the size of the local administrative unit (municipality), measured by the population potential and spatial location of the municipality significantly affect the cohesion level. It was also found that there are limits of positive influence of the EU income on the possibility of achieving a high level of cohesion, hampered by a limited resource of own funds. The research method in this paper has been empirically validated and can be applied to territorial cohesion studies in other EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key objective of the European Union is to strengthen regional cohesion by addressing development disparities, particularly by targeting less-favored regions (1). Initiatives related to leveling development differences in the field of health care are recognized as a one of priorities in the European Union. Therefore, when implementing cohesion policy, decisions have been made to mobilize structural funds for sectoral activities. The aim of this paper is to present the European Union's cohesion policy in the field of health care and to indicate the most important actions of the implemented programmes/projects in selected countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Hungary-the Visegrad Group-VG4-in the period of 2014-2020. Analysis covers programmes, funding sources, and activities undertaken in achieving cohesion policy objectives in health care in the VG4., (Copyright © 2020 Holecki, Kowalska-Bobko, Fraczkiewicz-Wronka and Wegrzyn.)