- Discouraged workers in Poland – The stock approach (1)
We study the evolution of the discouraged worker effect in Poland in the last two decades. Using Labour Force Survey we calculate the number of discouraged workers and discouraged worker rate as a fraction of the relevant population. Both the number and the rate of discouraged workers have increased substantially since 1995. There were more women than med among the discouraged workers, and the effect was the strongest in the oldest age groups. Given the rising scale of the discouraged worker effect we compute an alternative measure of unemployment rate, where we include discouraged workers. The difference between the traditional unemployment rate and the alternative measure is very significant in case of the oldest age groups. We conclude with a set of policy recommendations.
- The essence of transactive costs on the example of functioning of the quota system of employment of people with disabilities – Pigou contra Coase (8)
In 1960, Economist Ronald Coase published an article entitled “The Problem of Social Costs”, which is still one of the most frequently cited economic texts and still raises lively discussions. He wrote there that the problem of external costs is twofold: negative external effects generated by one entity cause loss for another, but the suppression of injustice is automatically a loss for the first one. He argued that in the case of well-defined the suppression of injustice is automatically a loss for the first one. He argued that in the case of well-defined property rights and low transaction costs, the problem of external effects can be solved through transactions between parties affected by these effects. This was in opposition to previous attempts to solve this problem through government regulation or taxation proposed by Arthur Pigou. In fact – looking through the prism of the system of supporting employment of people with disabilities – the solution is decision whether it is profitable to limit the employment of efficient people or financial resources of employers in order to provide work for less-efficient people with disabilities, or to leave these people without support on the labour market. In each case, it is about doing the least possible social damage. This article presents both concepts on the example of a system of supporting the employment of people with disabilities in Poland.
- From research and studies
- The long-term unemployed in the opinion of local labour offices and social welfare centres workers (15)
Despite the growing number of workplaces and a wide range of legal instruments available for local labour offices, some of the unemployed still do not work. This usually leads to a significant lowering of their living conditions level as well as to the necessity of help from social welfare. There appears a question of whether this situation is a conscious personal choice or the result of public services inefficiency. Another question is that of what conditions should be satisfied in order to increase the efficiency of the public services involved in the helping activities. The aim of the article is to present the report on the research done in December 2016 among the workers of regional labour offices and social welfare centres. The subject of the research was the problem of long-term unemployment among social services benefiaries.
- The problem of migration among paramedics (24)
Analysis of the problem of migration in group of paramedics. The main research problem was the question of how ready to go abroad paramedics, in view of the current trend of emigration of Polish medical personnel. The study was conducted at the turn of January and February 2017 in the group of 110 employees of the Medical Rescue Department in Olkusz and the Regional Emergency Medical Service in Bytom. The research tool was an author’s questionnaire. Paramedics, who took part in the study, have a small degree of willingness to emigrate (11%). Factors such as a negative assessment of current financial situation, travel abroad in the past, encouragement from a third party, or a short medical career have proved to be unrelated to the decision to emigrate. The most important thing was having friends who are currently staying abroad. There is an urgent need for reliable and uniform tools and systems to collect data on the flow of medical staff. The problem of migration among paramedics is not sufficiently understood. It is necessary to carry out more research and make further follow-up to the current strikes in this professional group.
- Vollunteers’ motivations in Poland (29)
The aim of the paper is the presentation of the motivational profiles of Polish volunteers. The presented results are the effect of the original survey conducted in years 2014-2016 on the sample of 692 active volunteers. In the survey the Vollunteer Functions Inventory was used which applies the so called functional approach to motivations. The conducted research has shown that the volunteers in Poland are motivated mostly through the values function and the career and enhancement functions have the minor importance. The comparison of the results from the transition country with the results of former surveys carried out mostly in context of developed market economies confirmed the universality of already drawn conclusions. The motivational profiles of volunteers differed significantly with respect to their socio-economic characteristics and the sector of charitable engagement. The concluding part of the paper suggests some recommendations for further research.
- Book reviews (36)
- Diary of Social Policy
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