Fulfilled promise or a tool of political rhetoric? Analysis of the consequences of the Polish “500+ Family” Program
Fulfilled promise or a tool of political rhetoric? Analysis of the consequences of the Polish “500+ Family” Program

Summary/Abstract: The article is a critical analysis of the “500+ Family” Programme, a new instrument of demographic and family policy in Poland. The article seeks to answer the question: what are the effects of the Program implementation from the perspective of various structural categories and social actors which we can find in the Polish scientific and journalistic discourse? The “500+ Family” Programme, officially aimed to encourage people to have the second and more children, improving the educational potential of families and increasing the scope of economic security in families with children, is actually an instrument of social policy with a wide spectrum of both positive and negative influences in the areas of income, labour market, mental health, citizens’ financial situation, their subjectivity and women’s empowerment. The study offers a presentation and organisation of all effects of changes induced by the “500+ Family” Program which currently exist in the public debate in Poland. The authors of the article tried to collect data and expert comments present in public discourse regarding the broad spectrum of the Program’s impact on the socio-economic situation of various social groups and categories.

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