Andrzej Wołoszyn

Contemporary food consumption patterns are undergoing dynamic changes influenced by globalization, urbanization, and evolving lifestyles and work models. One of the most visible trends in recent years is the growing interest in ready-to-eat meals, which are gaining popularity among both urban and rural residents. The study aimed to diagnose differences in the consumption of ready-made meals between rural and urban households from 2015 to 2023. The study drew on individual, non-identifiable data from the Household Budget Survey conducted by GUS during this period. The research revealed a continuous and significant increase in the percentage of households purchasing ready-made meals. At the beginning of the study, every second household in Poland declared buying ready-made meals, with a difference of about 14 percentage points between urban and rural households. By 2023, approximately three-quarters of households in Poland were purchasing these products, with urban households only 4 percentage points higher than rural ones. The study also noted a systematic increase in the real average expenditure on ready-made meals until 2022 (from 6.2 PLN/person/month in 2015 to 10.3 PLN in 2022 for all households). In 2015, the average expenditure on ready-made meals in urban households was twice as high as in rural ones, but these disparities decreased towards the end of the period. In 2023, urban households’ expenditure on ready-made meals was about 60% higher than that of rural households.

The aim of the study was to assess the financial situation of rural and urban households and its changes from 2015 to 2022. This evaluation was based on unidimensional values, financial situation indicators, and the value of a synthetic indicator determined using the multidimensional TOPSIS method. The data source was individual, non-identifiable data from the “Household budget survey” conducted by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) from 2015 to 2022. It was found that during the examined period, the financial situation of rural households was rated lower than that of urban households. In the pre-COVID-19 period, i.e., from 2015 to 2019, there was a significant improvement in the financial situation of both rural households (rating from low to medium-low) and urban households (rating from medium-high to high). During the pandemic period, i.e., from 2020 to 2022, the financial situation of rural households deteriorated slightly and was rated as medium-low. On the other hand, in urban households, slight improvements and declines in their financial situation were observed alternatively over the subsequent years.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the most influential factors impacting the level and dynamics of general income inequalities in Poland, Denmark, Germany, Spain and Romania in the period 2007-2019. Methodology: The study was based on unpublished individual data from the European Survey of Income and Living Conditions carried out by the European Commission. The research was conducted using the procedure of decomposing the Gini coefficient to the general assessment of inequalities as per income source. Results: The study enabled the conclusion that the biggest inequalities in household gross income were present in Romania, and the smallest in Denmark. In Romania and Poland income inequalities are slowly but continuously rising, whilst in Denmark, Spain and Germany, they are in decline. The gross income in the analysed EU households was based on three main elements, namely paid employment, self-employment and pensions, which constituted 86-96% of household financial resources. The diversity of inequality was predominantly influenced by the income from paid employment, interests, dividends and profit from capital investments in unincorporated businesses, self-employment as well as old-age benefits; such benefits showed an equalising effect on income inequalities. Implications and recommendations: Analyses carried out on the basis of microdata can contribute to the formulation of policies, the targeting of interventions, and the monitoring and measurement of the impact of ongoing interventions and policies on the situation of households. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on income inequality by providing a comparative analysis of five European countries, By utilizing unpublished microdata from the European Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), this research offers a novel approach to identifying the distinct contributions of employment income, self-employment, capital income, and pensions to inequality levels. The study's cross-country comparison covering the period 2007-2019 also provides valuable insights into the heterogeneous impacts of socioeconomic policies across both Western and Eastern European countries. This original dataset and analytical approach support the development of more effective, evidence-based public policies aimed at reducing income disparities.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused a global health crisis but also had a huge impact on household finances. This research aimed to examine the financial situation of rural and urban households in Poland between 2018 and 2022 from a multidimensional perspective. In a unidimensional approach, the financial situation of households was analyzed separately for their income, expenditures, savings rate, and shares of fixed expenses. In a multidimensional approach, the analysis used a synthetic index constructed for all these variables combined, employing the TOPSIS method and drawing on microdata from the Polish Central Statistical Office that totaled approximately 150,000 households. It was found that despite the pandemic outbreak, which led to major changes in the labor market, government-introduced organizational and legal measures protected the income of Polish households from decline. Indeed, income was increasing up until 2021, with a modest fall in 2022, which was less severe in rural households (by about 2%) than in urban ones (by 6%). A more immediate response to the outbreak was observed in consumer spending, which fell sharply, while the food share in consumption increased at similar levels in rural and urban areas. Regression analysis showed that compared to 2019, the pandemic worsened the financial situation of Polish households, but only in 2020 and 2022 were these changes statistically significant. In 2021, the financial situation improved slightly, but the change was not statistically significant. Before the pandemic, the synthetic assessment of the financial situation in rural areas was lower than in urban ones, and the pandemic period did not reduce these differences, showing no convergence between poorer rural areas and richer urban ones. Diagnosing and monitoring the household financial situation are crucial steps for achieving the social dimension goals of sustainable development. Research on the pandemic’s effects on household finances provides valuable information that can help develop effective strategies to counter future crises while supporting the social dimension of the sustainable development strategy.

This study investigates the nexus between the macroeconomic environment and entrepreneurship in Nigeria using linear regression with ARMA (autoregressive moving average) analysis. Results indicate a positive relationship between GDP per capita and both new businesses registered and new business density, highlighting the role of economic prosperity in fostering entrepreneurial activity. Conversely, inflation exerts a negative influence on entrepreneurship, with higher inflation rates associated with reduced new business registrations and lower business density. Access to financing emerges as a crucial factor, as reflected in the positive correlation between monetary sector credit to the private sector and new business registered. However, the significance of this relationship is marginally significant, prompting further inquiry into credit provision mechanisms. Furthermore, government expenditure on education is found to negatively impact entrepreneurship, underscoring the importance of aligning education spending with entrepreneurship development initiatives. The findings underscore the need for targeted policies aimed at promoting economic growth, mitigating inflationary pressures, enhancing access to financing, and aligning education spending with entrepreneurship support programs to create a conducive environment for entrepreneurial growth in Nigeria.

Rural households live on income much lower than the national average and experience income inequality much higher than the general population. This excess inequality is primarily due to the internal heterogeneity caused by the different nature of household income sources. The purpose of the study was then to assess the level of rural household income inequality and to decompose the inequality index by the main sources of income. The chosen inequality index was Theil-T. The research drew on unidentifiable microdata from the Household Budget Survey conducted by the CSO in 2019-2021.The study found that rural household inequality was slightly higher than that of all Polish households over the analyzed period. Among the various income-source groups, the highest inequality affected farmer households. This group also contributed most to the overall level of inequality in rural areas (44% in 2019 and over 46% in 2021). The pandemic saw an increase in inequality for all identified groups of rural households (the largest – for farmer households) and a decrease in between-group inequality.

He aim of the research was to conduct a multidimensional assessment of the quality of housing conditions in rural households of different voivodeships (provinces) in comparison to households in Poland overall. The research involved separate evaluations of the quality of internal and external housing conditions. Internal housing conditions pertained to the dwellings themselves and included the standards of their use and the presence of sanitary and technical installations. External housing conditions characterized the housing environment, including nuisances related to noise, crime, and deficiencies in technical and service infrastructure. The overall assessment of the quality of housing conditions encompassed both internal and external indicators. These assessments were based on the values of synthetic indicators determined using the TOPSIS method. The analyses were conducted using individual non-identifiable data from the Household Budget Survey carried out by the Central Statistical Office in 2021. For half of the voivodeships, the quality of internal housing conditions in rural households was assessed as average, while in the dzkie Voivodeship, it was assessed as low. A very high rating was obtained for seven voivodeships: lskie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Maopolskie, Lubuskie, Wielkopolskie, and Pomorskie. On the other hand, the quality of external conditions was assessed as high only in the Maopolskie and Podkarpackie Voivodeships, while in the dzkie Voivodeship, it was also assessed as low.