Increasing a personal debt burden implies greater financial vulnerability and threats for macroeconomic stability. It also generates a risk of the households over-indebtedness. The assessment of over-indebtedness is conducted with the use of various objective and subjective measures based on the micro-level data. The aim of the study is to investigate over-indebted households in Poland using a unique dataset obtained from the CATI survey. We discuss and compare the usefulness of various over-indebtedness measures across different socio-economic characteristics. Due to the differences in over-indebtedness across single measures, we perform a more complex assessment using a mix of indicators. As an alternative to other commonly criticised over-indebtedness measures, we apply the “below the poverty line” (BPL) measure. In order to obtain the profile of over-indebted households, we use classification and regression tree analysis as an alternative to logit or probit models. We find that DSTI (“debt service to income”) ratio underestimates the extent of over-indebtedness in vulnerable groups of households in comparison with the BPL. We highlight the necessity to use different measures depending on the adopted definition of over-indebtedness. A psychological burden of debts is particularly strong among older and poorly educated respondents. We also find that the age structure of over-indebted households in Poland differs from this structure in countries with a broader access to consumer credits. Our results can be used to enrich the methods of assessing the household over-indebtedness.

Health condition is an important area of social life. Employees in good health work more efficiently and effectively than sick ones. It is widely accepted that health is one of the elements of human capital and a factor in determining the situation of the individual in the labour market. The main objective of the research is to analyse the health status of household members in the context of their professional activity. The working hypothesis assumes that people suffering from health problems are rather economically inactive than unemployed. In the paper an attempt is made to identify factors (related to eg. health) which affect the probability of being economically inactive. To achieve the objective of the paper individual data of household members from the European Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU‑SILC) conducted by Central Statistical Office in Poland in 2013 was used. The results of the analysis indicate that in general, deterioration of health increases the risk of remaining economically inactive. In the analysis of the order of importance of factors affecting economic inactivity, the ones connected with health turned out to be of the greatest importance.

The objective of the article is to assess financial situation and debt repayments in households of self-employed individuals and compare them to these of other types of households. The article aims to identify the determinants of over-indebtedness. Research Design & Methods:The study focuses on households of self-employed. The results are based on a nationwide CATI survey conducted among 1107 Polish indebted households. Theoretical models of the income distribution (log-logistic, Burr III) and the power-exponential model were used to achieve the research goals. Findings: The economic status of indebted households differentiates income and debt repayments distributions. Self-employed households have a better financial situation and greater inequalities than households of the paid employees and individuals sustaining themselves from other sources of income. The debt repayments of entrepreneurs are higher than in households of paid employees but lower than in other groups of households. The determinants of over-indebtedness are essentially similar regardless of the work status, but the impact of income, number of loans, and debt type on over-indebtedness is greater for self-employed households. Implications & Recommendations:The results on the debt repayments distribution and determinants of overindebtedness may be helpful in creating regulations that preventing household bankruptcies and policies aimed at combating social exclusion. Contribution & Value Added: Introducing the issue of self-employment into the discussion on income and debt distribution and identifying the over-indebtedness among households of self-employed. To assess the debt repayments, we adopt theoretical income distributions and unique source of data on Polish households in debt. Article type:research article

The current grow of household debt requires a new approach to household indebtedness surveys in Poland. The aim of the article is to present and compare research methodologies in the field of consumer debt. The research is focused on presenting the theoretical context of indebtedness, and subsequently on the main aspects of methodological research on household borrowing at the microeconomic level. Selected international and national household surveys as well as data sources available in Poland regarding household indebtedness were discussed and compared. The review of available data sources on household indebtedness indicates that, compared to surveys in other countries, data on the microeconomic level are collected to a limited extent in Poland. The sources of these data can be treated complementary, however this is an obstacle in terms of both their comparability and access to them. This indicates the lack of a single long-term survey on the issue of household debt in Poland. Recommendations for directional changes in research on discussed issues conducted in Poland were formulated in the conclusion.

* Artykuł powstał w ramach tematu badawczego sfinansowanego ze środków przyznanych Wydziałowi Ekonomii i Stosunków Międzynarodowych Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie w ramach dotacji na utrzymanie potencjału badawczego. Grzegorz Wałęga Internet a zmiany modeli funkcjonowania przedsiębiorstw * Streszczenie Rozwój nowoczesnych technologii teleinformatycznych ma wpływ na różne dziedziny gospodarki. Komercyjne wykorzystanie internetu pozwoliło nie tylko na stworzenie sektora e-biznesu, ale stało się współcześnie jednym z głównych źródeł przewag konkurencyjnych. W artykule dokonano przeglądu modeli funkcjonowania przedsiębiorstw, które swoją działalność opierają na internecie. Przeprowadzone, na podstawie przeglądu literatury przedmiotu, analizy pozwalają stwierdzić, że dzięki nowym technologiom zaostrzyła się walka konkurencyjna oraz możliwe stało się pogłębienie integracji działań w łańcuchu wartości. W większości przypadków stosowane w e-biznesie modele to w istocie reimplementacja znanych ich tradycyjnych odpowiedników.

Współcześnie międzyokresowa substytucja konsumpcji dokonywana jest z wykorzystaniem na szeroką skalę rynku kredytowego. Głównym czynnikiem określającym poziom konsumpcji i możliwość zadłużania się jest dochód konsumentów. Celem artykułu jest zbadanie, w jakim stopniu konsumenci o niskich i wysokich dochodach korzystają z kredytów. Podjęto również próbę zidentyfikowania czynników, które wpływają na prawdopodobieństwo bycia zadłużonym. Analizie poddano także wysokość obciążenia budżetów gospodarstw domowych spłatami kredytów w zależności od poziomu zamożności. W artykule wykorzystano nieidentyfikowalne dane z badania budżetów gospodarstw domowych z lat 2000-2013 oraz dane pochodzące z badania "Diagnoza społeczna". Do weryfikacji problemów badawczych wykorzystano metody analizy struktury oraz modelowanie regresyjne z uwzględnieniem modeli dla dwumianowych zmiennych jakościowych.Wyniki badań wskazują na odmienny sposób wykorzystania kredytów przez gospodarstwa domowe o niskich i wysokich dochodach, co znajduje odbicie w zróżnicowa-niu struktury konsumpcji. W analizowanym okresie zauważalny jest wzrost obciążeń spłatami kredytów budżetów gospodarstw domowych o wysokich dochodach. Rezultaty badań wskazują, że dochód, wykształcenie i miejsce zamieszkania w największym stopniu determinują korzystanie z kredytów.

Changes in time management reflect contemporary socio-economic trends. Indicators of the use of leisure time may be considered as unconventional measures of the quality of life. The structure of time budget, in addition to the structure of consumer spending, is also considered to be a full-fledged component of individual and social well-being. The analysis of the time budget of the population is therefore an interesting issue related to the problems of the living conditions of families in Poland. It is also a valuable source of information on the amount and management of time for work, household duties, education, recreation and rest. The paper is aimed at analysing the time budget of the Polish population, with particular emphasis on leisure time and evaluation of changes that occurred in leisure time management during the period 2003/2004-2013. The authors attempt to assess the diversification of time devoted to leisure depending on the level of income among working people. The analysis was carried out on the basis of the Time Use Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office of Poland. Transformation in leisure time management has been identified during the analysed period. Namely, the pursuing of one's hobbies and abandoning of traditional media (television, radio) in favour of the Internet are becoming increasingly popular. The income level has a limited impact on time management and the observed dynamics of changes do not influence any changes in leisure time use in quintile groups.

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