Poverty in Poland
Poverty in Poland has been relatively stable in the past decades, affecting (depending on measure) about 6.5% of the society. In the last decade there has been a lowering trend, as in general Polish society is becoming wealthier and the economy is enjoying one of the highest growth rates in Europe. There have been noticeable increases in poverty around the turns of the decades, offset by decreases in poverty in the years following those periods.
History and trends
Before WWII
During the Second Polish Republic, deep poverty characterized the country's farmers, who made up 70% of the population, a feature that worsened with the Great Depression.[2][3] Per capita GNP in 1929 was lower than that of the neighboring Baltic states,[2] although, in 1937, higher than in Portugal or Greece.[1] While farm productivity was high in western Poland, it was much lower in southern and eastern areas, due to high population levels and relatively small farm size. In the country's central, southern and eastern regions, 6.5 million people were unable to satisfy their basic food needs by 1934–1935. In 1930–1931, farm laborers earned 54% of their low wages of two years earlier, with one noting his family's diet consisted of unseasoned potatoes, that the unaffordable price of soap meant they were covered in lice, and that a slice of bread was only for special occasions. An observer described the south as "a nightmare of degradation and poverty". By late 1934, rural Poles had an estimated purchasing capacity at 43% of the 1928 level. Urban consumers were aided by falling food prices, but jobs became scarcer, with industrial production in 1932 at 58% of the pre-depression level, and unemployment above 40% in 1932–1934.[2]
Poverty was acute among
Communist era
Under the
The most common site of poverty was among retirees and those receiving disability payments; one 1979 estimate indicates that 40-50% of pensioners and disabled families lived at or below the social minimum. Next came workers in the lowest income categories (agricultural and unskilled workers, as well as labourers). In 1974, 48% of workers were in low income groups, while in 1979, 10% of people in workers' families were below the social minimum level. A dissenting view is that poverty did not affect employed individuals and their families, as full employment guaranteed subsistence, if at a modest standard. Families with several children came next; in 1974, 60% of children lived in families below the social minimum.[12]
Poverty was sometimes very deep, close to the subsistence minimum; this was the case for single, old and disabled pensioners; other times, it was partial, not affecting people's entire lives. For instance, a lack of adequate accommodation could impact a family's finances. The most common response to money troubles was to take on additional jobs, whether formal or informal, legal or illegal. One innovation was to wait in a queue on behalf of someone else, for a fee. Such practices meant that serious time shortages often came with poverty. As people started doing more at home to save or earn cash (producing food and clothing, repairing, painting apartments), time pressure damaged family life, so that lack of leisure time was a very widespread phenomenon among poor families.[13]
Concurrently, the state tended to neglect the problem: a 1983 work claims that social assistance fulfilled 14% of poor people's needs. Institutions were not proactively interested in bettering people's lives, while the poor had little awareness of their rights. Official ideology saw poverty as a marginal phenomenon caused by unusual life events and pathology, rather than being a usual part of life. In the 1980s, as economic depression and the shortage economy took hold, poverty changed from afflicting the marginalized and the maladapted, to include those willing and able to work.[14]
There are various estimates of poverty's extent in Communist Poland. Using the social minimum level as a measure, the following figures are cited: 20% at the end of the 1960s; 28%, mostly employees, in 1975 (a secret official estimate); about 30% at the end of the 1980s; 14.2% in 1981, 27.2% in 1983, 25.3% in 1987 and 16.3% in 1989, according to the World Bank. One researcher found that the number of the poor increased from 3.3 million in 1978 to 8.6 million in 1987. By a stricter definition of poverty, figures for the end of the 1980s include 5-7%, 6% and 5-10%.[15]
Polish sociologists began analysing poverty almost as soon as sociology was established there. Early research institutions, such as the
Early post-communist era
It has been estimated that Poland began its transformation from communist to capitalist economy with about 20% of its population in poverty.
According to the Polish
Overall, the levels of poverty in Poland have been reported as stable[19][21] or on the decrease in the past years, but it is still a significant concern.[18][22] The reduction in poverty slowed down or was partially reversed again in early 2010s, although as of early 2013 the datasets are still mostly preliminary and usually cover the period only up to 2011.[19][23][24]
Modern era since government shift in 2015
The Law and Justice party won the 2015 parliamentary election, first ever time with an outright majority—something no Polish party had done since the fall of communism, and with the emphasis on lowering income inequality in Poland. The party was founded in 2001 as a centrist and Christian democratic party. Initially the party was broadly pro-market.[25] It has adopted the social market economy rhetoric similar to that of western European Christian democratic parties.[26][25] However, one of the major themes in the PiS party is balanced social structure and fighting the income inequality. Shortly after assuming power it is launched successful 500+ programme giving monthly monetary benefit of 500zł per child to all families with two or more children. While this is not a social welfare program since it has no conditions like income level nor "any other strings attached", it has most benefited low income families for whom this monetary transfer is significant boost to their disposable income and as such represents transfer of wealth between social groups in the society.
The 500+ program enjoys broad support in the society and in 2019 PiS has both extended the eligibility and added more programs aimed at lowering poverty. This has attracted significant criticism especially from the main opposition liberal party Platforma Obywatelska, and some international media, as the way to buy votes and as populist, anti-liberal agenda.[27][28][29][30] PiS supports state provided universal health care, which is free to all citizens, however it is supplemented by growing private medical care with lower queues.[31]
Structural breakdown
Poverty in Poland has been described as "shallow", referring to the fact that few poor live significantly below the
In terms of geography, poverty was more likely to affect households in small towns and rural areas, as well as households in the east and north, with the highest poverty reported in
Poverty was most prevalent for households suffering from unemployment, disability, and with multiple children.[19] The young are more likely to be affected by the poverty than the old, who are relatively well off due to generous pension system.[16][19][33] As such, poverty in Poland is relatively similar, in terms of structure, to that found in most other European countries.[16] Beblo et al. (2002) note that poverty in Poland is primarily caused by unemployment, insufficient aid to families with multiple children or from marginalized groups, and poor earnings in agricultural sector.[16] Brzeziński (2011) notes that the rise in poverty in late 1990s and early 2000s can be attributed to stagnant wages and pensions, and growing unemployment, and its subsequent decline, to economic growth and welfare policies.[18]
Poverty in Poland - international ranking
Population living under 1.90 and 3.20 dollar (PPP) a day (%) (International poverty line) |
Population living below national poverty line (%)
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Income inequality
Since
There is a widespread perception of widening
Income inequality in Poland - international ranking
Key:
R/P 10%: The ratio of the average income of the richest 10% to the poorest 10%
R/P 20%: The ratio of average income of the richest 20% to the poorest 20%
Gini:
UN: Data from the United Nations Development Programme.
CIA: Data from the Central Intelligence Agency's The World Factbook.
GPI: Data from the Global Peace Index.
Country | UN R/P 10%[38] |
UN R/P 20%[39] |
World Bank Gini (%)[40] |
WB Gini (year) |
CIA R/P 10%[41] |
Year | CIA Gini (%)[42] |
CIA Gini (year) |
GPI Gini (%)[43] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poland | 8.8 | 5.6 | 34.1 | 2009 | 8.7 | 2002 | 34.2 | 2008 |
See also
References
- ^ .
- ^ ISBN 978-0-5214-1608-5. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-6740-6816-2. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-9-0279-3239-6. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ Joseph Marcus, Social and political history of the Jews in Poland, 1919–1939 (ibidem) page 34
- ^ Yehuda Bauer: A History of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 1929–1939. Ibidem. Chapter 1. A Time of Crisis: 1929–1932
- ^ T. Ron Jasinski-Herbert, Confrontation among neighbors Archived 2009-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, Conference at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington
- ^ "Trudności i osiągnięcia gospodarcze i kulturalne Polski okresu międzywojennego. 2). Odbudowa gospodarki". Serwis prawno-historyczny © 2006–2009. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ Joseph Marcus, Social and political history of the Jews in Poland, 1919–1939 (ibidem) page 41
- ^ Joseph Marcus , Social and political history of the Jews in Poland, 1919–1939, (ibidem) page 47
- ^ ISBN 978-0-2759-6881-6. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-2759-6881-6. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-2759-6881-6. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-2759-6881-6. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-2759-6881-6. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g Miriam Beblo, Stanisława Golinowska, Charlotte Lauer, Katarzyna Piętka, Agnieszka Sowa, Poverty Dynamics in Poland Selected quantitative analyses, CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research, Warsaw 2002, 2002. P. 30-31, 34-45
- ISBN 978-0-8213-4318-0. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d Michał Brzeziński, Accounting for recent trends in absolute poverty in Poland: A decomposition analysis, Working Paper, 2011 "Accounting for recent trends in absolute poverty in Poland: A decomposition analysis" (PDF). www.wne.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "GUS - Główny Urząd Statystyczny - Ubóstwo w Polsce w 2011r" (in Polish). Stat.gov.pl. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ a b "GUS - Główny Urząd Statystyczny - Zasięg ubóstwa materialnego w 2005 r" (in Polish). Stat.gov.pl. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ "Interpelacja nr 5181 - tekst odpowiedzi". Sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ "Poland". Socialwatch.eu. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ "Po latach spadków poziom ubóstwa w Polsce znów rośnie | Forsal.pl - Giełda, Waluty, Finanse". Forsal.pl. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ Kasat Sp. z o.o. (1 June 2012). "Ubóstwo w Polsce 2011 - eGospodarka.pl - Raporty i prognozy". eGospodarka.pl. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7425-5501-3.
- ^ Bale, Tim; Szczerbiak, Aleks (December 2006). "Why is there no Christian Democracy in Poland (and why does this matter)?". SEI Working Paper (91). Sussex European Institute.
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: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ISBN 978-1-137-41411-3.
- ^ Łukasz Warzecha (20 April 2018). "PiS, Czyli Populizm i Socjalizm" [PiS means Populism and Socialism] (in Polish). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ Traub, James (2 November 2016). "The Party That Wants to Make Poland Great Again". The New York Times Magazine.
- ^ Adekoya, Remi (25 October 2016). "Xenophobic, authoritarian – and generous on welfare: how Poland's right rules". The Guardian.
- ^ "PiS wygrywa: koniec NFZ, system budżetowy i sieć szpitali? - Polityka zdrowotna". www.rynekzdrowia.pl.
- ISBN 978-0-8213-4318-0. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8213-4318-0. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ a b "World Development Indicators". World Bank. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ "World Databank". Databank.worldbank.org. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- CIA, accessed on July 25, 2012.
- ^ PovCalNet. PovcalNet: the on-line tool for poverty measurement developed by the Development Research Group of the World Bank.
- UNDP, accessed on July 30, 2011.
- UNDP, accessed on February 3, 2008.
- ^ World Bank GINI index, accessed on November 24, 2011.
- CIA, updated on January 24, 2008. Note: To calculate the value given in the table for this article, the highest 10% value was divided by the lowest 10% value.
- CIA, accessed on November 24, 2011.
- ^ Global Peace Index calculation incorporates UN Gini scores where available, so countries with a UN Gini calculation are left blank in this column. At "Vision of Humanity". Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2013. click on each country to see its Gini coefficient. Year is not given. "There are, nevertheless, some problems with the Gini-coefficient; there is a considerable lag in the publication of statistics for many countries suffers, forcing the Economist Intelligence Unit to estimate the coefficient for a sizeable proportion of the 153 countries in the GPI. These problems of measurement look likely to persist for the foreseeable future, and the use of other measures of income inequality may be more effective."
Further reading
- (in Polish and English) Dochody i warunki życia ludności Polski (raport z badania EU-SILC 2011) (Incomes and Living Conditions of Population in Poland 2011)
- Lucjana Mis; Katarzna Ornacka (15 August 2006). "Evaluation Research on the Conditions of Poverty and Unemployment in Poland - Critical Analysis". In Arno Heimgartner (ed.). Face of Research on European Social Development: Community Work, Civil Society and Professionalisation of Social Work ; [proceedings of the Inter-University Consortium for International Social Development (IUCISD) European Branch Conference 2004 in Graz]. LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 213–228. ISBN 978-3-8258-8984-5. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- Monika Popow; Kowzan, Piotr; Zielińska, Małgorzata; Prusinowska, Magdalena; Chruściel, Magdalena (2011). Oblicza biedy we współczesnej Polsce. DKN Na Styku. ISBN 978-83-933742-0-5. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- Poverty in Poland, World Bank 1993 analysis
- Poland successful in fighting poverty, Warsaw Business Journal, 28 February 2013
- Adam Szulc, THE MANY DIMENSIONS OF POVERTY IN POLAND: ARE THE RESULTS ROBUST?
- Pockets of Poverty in Poland, businessweek, 2008
- Elżbieta Tarkowska, 2005, Polish Poverty
- 4.5 Wiejskie ubóstwo [Rural poverty], in: Chapter 4: Warunki bytu ludności wiejskiej, Raport o rozwoju społecznym - Polska 2000. Rozwój obszarów wiejskich [National Human Development Report. Poland 2000. Rural Development], Warszawa: UNDP "Warunki bytu ludnoœci wiejskiej" (PDF). www.unic.un.org.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 11 September 2023., p. 52-57, including Elżbieta Tarkowska, 2000, Bieda "popegeerowska" [Post-PGR poverty] on p. 53 and Elżbieta Tarkowska, 2000, Bieda wiejskich dzieci [Poverty of rural children], on p. 56
- Małgorzata Dziubińska – Michalewicz, Unemployment and poverty in former State Agricultural Farms