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The issue of harmonization and diversity of tax rates for basic excise goods among the EU member states, associated with the establishment of the single market of the Community, has been studied on the background of a brief outline of the characteristic features of the modern EU excise duties and excise system. The differences in the size and structure of the proceeds are also discussed.A special attention is paid to the countries of Eastern Europe - current and future EU members and their problems. The topics of the excise system and excise policy of Bulgaria are presented in details. Finally,specific conclusions and some recommendations are made in this article.
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The authors present the results of the study “Implementation of norms, values and procedures of the civil service in local government units in Poland”. The examination was conducted as a part of the project “Management processes support systems in local government units”, carried out by the Ministry of Administration and Digitization of Poland, in collaboration with the Małopolska School of Public Administration – Cracow University of Economics, the University of Lódź, and the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. The primary objective of the study was to gain information on local government policy makers’ opinion regarding the possibility of implementing the civil service institution within local government bodies. The study presents selected issues referring to facts and myths concerning the possibility of establishing local government civil service in Poland.
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The paper analyzes the scope of gerrymandering (manipulation of electoral district boundaries for political gain) in Polish township council elections of 2014. It presents one of the possible methods for identifying those townships where districting plan could have resulted in distortion of electoral results. The paper employs two indexes calculated for committees associated with incumbent township executives and their principal competitors (the parties most likely to be involved in gerrymandering, though in different roles). The first one is a correlation of the number of votes with district size (indicating either packing or cracking, characterizing respectively victims and beneficiaries of gerrymandering), and the second one – a deviation of the actual number of seats from a theoretical projection based on estimated power law curve. In townships where for at least one committee both of those indexes deviate from the norm, there exists a probability that gerrymandering might have occurred, which will be verified in the later stages of the research project (through such measures as, inter alia, testing whether the districting process was politically controversial).
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The paper focuses on the problems relating to metropolitan centres in relation to the problems of city resources activation. Through literature analysis, the authors try to determine to what extent the result of the activity of the municipal government, with particular emphasis on the role of the executive body, affects the resources of the city. The latter are the result of public administration activities and processes of the free market mechanisms, therefore, the question arises about the role of public administration in relation to natural (free market) processes. The authors further take on the topic of the dual activities of local government: ensuring the collective needs of citizens and actions in order to improve territorial competitiveness (location attractiveness). An important element of this paper is the consideration of public management models in the context of management by the city mayors. Although the paper is theoretical, the authors make attempts to analyze the prevailing public management models and styles in metropolitan centres.
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It is empirically contested whether the phenomenon of presidentialisation, i.e. the concentration of power around the leading political positions in non-presidential systems, is taking place or not. This study sets out to investigate whether presidentialisation on the executive arena takes place in a collegial political system, more specifically in Norwegian municipalities. Using several independent empirical data in the period from 1992 to 2012, the main conclusion is that there are few traces of presidentialisation on the Norwegian local level. However, there are tendencies towards political concentration in the sense that political power is centralised in the political elite. Rather than presidentialisation or centralisation of power around one position, this can be regarded as an institutional centralisation of power.
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Fair methodology for public performance measurement is at present one of the most important issues, especially in terms of providing high quality services for citizens in an economic way. Setting Public Value at the front of performance measurement makes it possible to present the benefits of more broadly defined effects of administration activities. The research objective of the paper is to analyse and compare the frameworks for measuring public value. Analysis and comparison were applied to the identified public value measurement frameworks based on the literature review. These frameworks were described on the basis of the literature review, which was conducted using relevant books and journals and supported by materials available on the Internet. Six public value measurement frameworks were compared. They originated from Public Value or Value Analysis, conducted mostly in the last decade in the USA and the United Kingdom, as part of the New Public Management agenda. Measuring public value has entered its maturity phase. It has evolved from a general concept, to explaining the role of public managers, to more specific procedures for establishing countable results and the area of application was extended: from public to all kinds of organisations.
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In recent years, public procurement has become a very popular topic among theorists and practitioners involved in innovation policy in many countries. The purpose of this article is to discuss and systematise procurement-related issues in the context of innovation. The article presents arguments for and against the use of public procurement in innovation policy, definitions and types of public procurement aimed at supporting innovation. The activities relating to public procurement and innovation carried out in Poland are an example of a general policy in the field of innovative public procurement or innovation-friendly policy. Public procurement for innovation or pre-commercial procurement were rarely used in the past and usually they were linked to the projects funded by the European Commission. Their importance, however, should increase in the coming years due to a growing, proactive role of the state in economic processes, including activities related to the implementation of smart specialisation strategy.
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The article looks at the selected aspects of tax allowance, i.e. the threshold above which income tax is levied on an individual’s income. The author examines the EU member states’ regulations on tax-free income in light of the amount of income which is not taxed, various ways of cumputing and its economic and social effects.
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The article discusses selected aspects concerning Technology Assessment as an institutionalised way of supporting public policy in the area of technology governance. The author introduces the concept of governance (as opposed to governement), i.e. a decision-making proces that proposes more involvement of citizens and discusses its principles (openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness, coherence). The author argues that Technology Assessment is a very important field of good governance as it contributes to the formation of public and political opinion on societal aspects of science and technology.
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The article looks at the impact of demographic changes (low fertility rate, population ageing, emigration) on the pension system in Poland. The author presents key figures on demographic processes and provides a brief description of key features of the Polish pension system. In conclusion, policy responses to manage demographic changes are discussed.
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The system changes of the Polish economy, which began in the 80s of the 20th century and were continued after the accession to the European Union in 2004, have caused significant transformations, not only in the economy and ownership relations, but also in single markets. What is more, some of the European Commission’s guidelines have introduced the market regulations which were dominated by natural monopolies. These changes were to cause the competitiveness on the market and to improve its functioning in an efficiency allocative sense in order to make the consumers’ situation better. However, it is often a kind of struggle without any visible effects in short or long term. One of such examples is the Polish Post Office as the national operator in the market of postal services. The scientific objective of this study is to answer the question whether the changes in the law regulating the postal market cause real changes in the market structure, resulting in a reduction in allocative inefficiency? The working hypothesis referring to such research problem is formulated as follows: large business entities operating in the monopolistic market structure until now use all of the tools – including changes in the law, to maintain their position. It causes an increase in allocative inefficiency of companies and market. The object of the research is Poczta Polska SA. The primary research method will be based on the analysis of the legal rules, the analysis of the activities and entities’ decisions and the comparative analysis. The active research is supported by the literature recognition.
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The hard coal mining industry in the European Union (EU) is in decline, mostly due to a lack of price competitiveness. It is maintained, to a great extent, by state aid; the key objective of the industry’s existence is to provide energy security and guarantee employment in the mining regions. In Poland, the hard coal mining industry is currently undergoing a serious crisis that threatens the two largest mining enterprises with bankruptcy. In addition, due to the European Union’s restrictions concerning the circumstances of granting state aid, these enterprises cannot count on the financial support for the repair restructuring that they used on a large scale until 2011. Therefore, in this article, the main objective is to determine the influence of state aid on the competitiveness of the hard coal mining industry in 12 countries of the EU, including Poland in specific. In order to achieve the stated objective, the article is divided into three parts. The first part consists of a literature review, and legal regulations that are related to state aid for the hard coal mining industry in the EU are presented. The second part identifies the amount of state aid for the mining industry in the examined countries. Next, the economic effects of state aid for hard coal mining in the European Union are examined. The third assesses the financial results of 24 Polish hard coal mines.
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The aim of this research was to identify the determinants of the employment protection legislation reforms in the global perspective. The study was based on the Labor Freedom index published by the Heritage Foundation, which allowed to include 179 countries in the research that were observed in the period 2003–2013. The conducted study has indicated that changes in GDP and the level of employment in industry may induce the introduction of labor reforms. The changes in the labor law also occurred to be correlated with the number of the nearly excluded from the labor market (the long-term unemployed and youth not in education, employment or training) and also with changes in the government expenditure. However, all these factors may lead to substantially various reform programs in particular countries due to the heterogeneous political pressure of the labor market interest groups and different governmental determination in introduction of the reforms.
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Impacts of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan on country’s agriculture (farms and agrarian resources) and food sector are assessed. The extent of radioactive contamination of agri-food products is presented. Effects on markets, consumers and international trade are evaluated. Responses of different agents are summed up, progress and challenges in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction assessed, and lessons from the Japanese experiences withdrawn.
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The article examines the disclosures in the financial statements of Bulgarian enterprises that implement the National Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. The nature of the component of the financial statements, which includes the disclosures – the notes and its contents are discussed. Problems in the presentation of the notes have been detected by representative sample of 200 entities. Their financial statements are analyzed for the presence of selected disclosures that allow to make conclusions of compliances with applicable standards. In systematic form the most common violations of the norms are pointed out. Based on the results of the study guidelines for improving the financial reporting in Bulgaria are determined.
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We examine the consequences of changes in work incentives in Poland between 2005 and 2011 resulting from a complex tax and benefit reform package and substantial real wage growth. While marginal and participation tax rates (PTRs) in the majority of analysed cases fall as a result of the introduced reforms, the conclusions from looking at replacement rates (RRs) for the population eligible for means tested benefits are generally different. These suggest that despite significant tax giveaways incentives on the labour market weakened for families with children and for those eligible to safety net benefits. Yet despite these negative policy implications, we show that work incentives improved substantially over the period due to significant real wage growth. When analysing the effect of the reforms on financial incentives to work, we often find conflicting conclusions when using the PTRs and RRs to reflect financial attractiveness of employment. This is not necessarily surprising, but serves as a note of caution on the use of each of them independently.
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This study is about the exploration of innovative management control systems in the context of New Public Management (NPM) initiatives. NPM initiatives created the changes to the structure and processes of public sector organizations with the objective of getting them to run better. A government department in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has been selected as the field for investigation. This study draws on a single theoretical perspective, Giddens’s structuration theory to understand the management control systems evolved in the researched organization. Qualitative research methodology is applied to obtain a better understanding of the phenomena. Case-based research method is used in developing a complete understanding of the relative role of controls in the management of organizational performance. In this study, it is argued that the researched organization has adopted various management control tools to improve its performance and demonstrate transparency and accountability. Some of the control tools it has adopted are the innovations in the public sector. It appears from the case that these adopted management control tools forced the researched organization towards better performance supporting the rationale of adopting New Public Management practices.
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In his article, the author discussed the proceeding related to consideration of the applicant as a consumer bankrupt by the relevant adjudicating authority. In the article, there are taken into account the following acts: 1) the Law on Bankruptcy and Reorganisation, 2) the Civil Code, 3) the Labour Code. The issues are presented taking into consideration morality of the problem of legal authorisation of the possibility of failure to settle one’s financial liabilities by the debtor. The author discussed growth of the level of consumer indebtedness as the reason for undertaking legislative actions and presented the description of the consumer in the bankruptcy law and the issue of court procedure in the issues in question.
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