IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/aia/ginicr/poland.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

GINI Country Report: Growing Inequalities and their Impacts in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • M. Brzeziński
  • B. Jancewicz
  • Natalia Letki

    (PGPE Project, Institute of Sociology, University of Warsaw)

Abstract

Most inequality measures and income concepts show a moderate, but steady growth in inequality in Poland since early 1990s. Inequality of market income is much higher than inequality in terms of other income concepts. In general, absolute poverty declined from 13.2% in 1993 to 3.9% in 2010. The situation is different with relative poverty rates, which were increasing up to 2004. Dynamics of consumption inequality is similar to the dynamics of income inequality – both types of measures show that inequality was rising steadily, but that the overall inequality growth was rather modest. Overall, it seems that Poland is more unequal with respect to wealth than most of Western countries, but less unequal than many other transition countries. Both individual and household based indices show that labour market participation declined. At the same time all data sources agree that there was a substantial increase in earnings inequality. However, educational attainment has improved significantly over the last decade. The share of tertiary graduates almost doubled since 1997 (rising from 7,7% to 13,8% in 2008 year).

Suggested Citation

  • M. Brzeziński & B. Jancewicz & Natalia Letki, 2013. "GINI Country Report: Growing Inequalities and their Impacts in Poland," GINI Country Reports poland, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:aia:ginicr:poland
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www1.feb.uva.nl/aias/Poland.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mitra, Pradeep & Yemtsov, Ruslan, 2006. "Increasing inequality in transition economies : is there more to come?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4007, The World Bank.
    2. Hervé Boulhol & Agnieszka Sowa & Stanislawa Golinowska & Patrizio Sicari, 2012. "Improving the Health-Care System in Poland," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 957, OECD Publishing.
    3. Skopek, Nora & Buchholz, Sandra & Blossfeld, Hans-Peter, 2011. "Wealth inequality in Europe and the delusive egalitarianism of Scandinavian countries," MPRA Paper 35307, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Rutkowski, Jan J., 2001. "Earnings inequality in transition economies of Central Europetrends and patterns during the 1990s," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 23306, The World Bank.
    5. Gianluca Grimalda & David Barlow & Elena Meschi, 2010. "Varieties of capitalisms and varieties of performances: accounting for inequality in post-Soviet Union transition economies," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 379-403.
    6. Elena Meschi & Francesco Scervini, 2014. "A new dataset on educational inequality," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 695-716, September.
    7. Leszek Morawski, 2009. "Efekty wprowadzenia dwóch stóp w podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych w 2009 roku," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 7-8, pages 37-58.
    8. Leon Podkaminer, 2003. "A note on the evolution of inequality in Poland, 1992-99," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 27(5), pages 755-768, September.
    9. Michael P. Keane & Eswar S. Prasad, 2002. "Inequality, Transfers, And Growth: New Evidence From The Economic Transition In Poland," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 324-341, May.
    10. Atkinson,Anthony Barnes & Micklewright,John, 1992. "Economic Transformation in Eastern Europe and the Distribution of Income," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521438827, January.
    11. Irena Kotowska & Janina Jóźwiak & Anna Matysiak & Anna Baranowska-Rataj, 2008. "Poland: Fertility decline as a response to profound societal and labour market changes?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(22), pages 795-854.
    12. Andrea Brandolini, 2006. "Measurement of Income Distribution in Supranational Entities: The Case of the European Union," LIS Working papers 452, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    13. Keane, Michael P. & Prasad, Eswar S., 2006. "Changes in the structure of earnings during the Polish transition," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 389-427, August.
    14. Ruslan Yemtsov, 2007. "Housing Privatization and Household Wealth in Transition," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2007-02, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Davies, James B. (ed.), 2008. "Personal Wealth from a Global Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199548897, Decembrie.
    16. Tomáš Sobotka, 2008. "Overview Chapter 6: The diverse faces of the Second Demographic Transition in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(8), pages 171-224.
    17. Adam Szulc, 2008. "Checking the consistency of poverty in Poland: 1997-2003 evidence," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 33-55.
    18. Letki, Natalia & Evans, Geoffrey, 2005. "Endogenizing Social Trust: Democratization in East-Central Europe," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 35(3), pages 515-529, July.
    19. Newell, Andrew T. & Socha, Mieczyslaw, 2007. "The Polish Wage Inequality Explosion," IZA Discussion Papers 2644, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. David Barlow & Gianluca Grimalda & Elena Meschi, 2009. "Globalisation vs internal reforms as factors of inequality in transition economies," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 265-287.
    21. Rose-Ackerman, Susan, 2001. "Trust and Honesty in Post-socialist Societies," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2-3), pages 415-443.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," CEP Discussion Papers dp1628, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between Communism and Capitalism: Long-Term Inequality in Poland, 1892- 2015," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02876995, HAL.
    3. Kacper Grejcz & Zbigniew Żółkiewski, 2017. "Household wealth in Poland: the results of a new survey of household finance," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 48(3), pages 295-326.
    4. Małgorzata Walerych, 2024. "The aggregate and redistributive effects of emigration," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 160(1), pages 99-143, February.
    5. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2018. "Inequality in Poland: Estimating the whole distribution by g-percentile 1983-2015," LIS Working papers 731, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    6. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102834, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2021. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892–2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110221, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102814, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Paweł Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2021. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892–2015," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 187-239, June.
    10. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between Communism and Capitalism: Long-Term Inequality in Poland, 1892- 2015," Working Papers hal-02876995, HAL.
    11. Ewa Genge, 2021. "LC and LC-IRT Models in the Identification of Polish Households with Similar Perception of Financial Position," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-22, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2017. "Top Incomes during Wars, Communism and Capitalism: Poland 1892-2015," Working Papers halshs-02797835, HAL.
    2. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2017. "Top Incomes during Wars, Communism and Capitalism: Poland 1892-2015," PSE Working Papers halshs-02797835, HAL.
    3. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2017. "Top Incomes during Wars, Communism and Capitalism: Poland 1892-2015," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-02797835, HAL.
    4. Kecmanovic, Milica, 2012. "Men's wage inequality in Serbia's transition," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 65-86.
    5. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2017. "Top incomes during wars, communism and capitalism: Poland 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101855, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Paweł Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2021. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892–2015," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 187-239, June.
    7. Kacper Grejcz & Zbigniew Żółkiewski, 2017. "Household wealth in Poland: the results of a new survey of household finance," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 48(3), pages 295-326.
    8. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between Communism and Capitalism: Long-Term Inequality in Poland, 1892- 2015," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02876995, HAL.
    9. Laporšek, Suzana & Orazem, Peter F. & Vodopivec, Milan & Vodopivec, Matija, 2021. "Winners and losers after 25 years of transition: Decreasing wage inequality in Slovenia," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    10. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102834, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Michal Brzezinski, 2010. "Income Affluence in Poland," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 99(2), pages 285-299, November.
    12. Aleksandra Parteka, 2012. "Skilled-Unskilled Wage Gap Versus Evolving Trade And Labour Market Structures in the EU," Working Papers 1204, Instytut Rozwoju, Institute for Development.
    13. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102814, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2021. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892–2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110221, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," CEP Discussion Papers dp1628, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    16. Jens Holscher & Cristiano Perugini & Fabrizio Pompei, 2011. "Wage inequality, labour market flexibility and duality in Eastern and Western Europe," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 271-310.
    17. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between Communism and Capitalism: Long-Term Inequality in Poland, 1892- 2015," Working Papers hal-02876995, HAL.
    18. Myck, Michal & Nici?ska, Anna & Morawski, Leszek, 2009. "Count Your Hours: Returns to Education in Poland," IZA Discussion Papers 4332, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Svilena MIHAYLOVA, 2015. "Foreign direct investment and income inequality in Central and Eastern Europe," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 0(2(603), S), pages 23-42, Summer.
    20. Monika Mynarska, 2011. "Kiedy mieæ dziecko? Jakoœciowe badanie procesu odraczania decyzji o rodzicielstwie," Working Papers 32, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aia:ginicr:poland. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiemer Salverda (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aiuvanl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.