Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Oeconomica

The Support for the Elderly in Formal, Non‑formal and Informal Care Provision Based on Examples in England

Justyna Hołyst — 2019-09-13

The main aim of the article was to present three aspects of community care for the elderly in England: formal care which is provided by government, non‑formal which is private care as well as non‑governmental organisations (NGOs), informal care mostly provided by family members. Presentation of these three forms of support for the elderly was to highlight the importance of multidisciplinary co‑operation as the core value in creating an effective care package of an elderly person. Interdisciplinary approach in community care provision gives an elderly person opportunities to remain in his/her own home environment. The new way in functioning of social care tends to be called integrated care model where co‑operation and coordination of various tasks is essential. This article emphasises the importance of family member who provides care on a daily basis.

Remarks on Statistical Measures for Assessing Quality of Scoring Models

Adam Piotr Idczak — 2019-09-13

Granting a credit product has always been at the heart of banking. Simultaneously, banks are obligated to assess the borrower’s credit risk. Apart from creditworthiness, to grant a credit product, banks are using credit scoring more and more often. Scoring models, which are an essential part of credit scoring, are being developed in order to select those clients who will repay their debt. For lenders, high effectiveness of selection based on the scoring model is the primary attribute, so it is crucial to gauge its statistical quality. Several textbooks regarding assessing statistical quality of scoring models are available, there is however no full consistency between names and definitions of particular measures. In this article, the most common statistical measures for assessing quality of scoring models, such as the pseudo Gini index, Kolmogorov‑Smirnov statistic, and concentration curve are reviewed and their statistical characteristics are discussed. Furthermore, the author proposes the application of the well‑known distribution similarity index as a measure of discriminatory power of scoring models. The author also attempts to standardise names and formulas for particular measures in order to finally contrast them in a comparative analysis of credit scoring models.

A Dynamic Approach to a Comparative Evaluation of Financial Performance of Sections and Sectors of the Polish Economy

Wanda Skoczylas — 2019-09-13

Financial performance of companies and their groups is of major interest to all stakeholders. As a result, they assess categories such as profitability, financial liquidity, financial independence, and risk. Separate analyses carried out for each of those elements alone do not always deliver conclusive findings, which is where synthetic methods are helpful. A ranking based on the taxonomic measure of development is one of such methods. The aim of the paper is, firstly, to present opportunities for using a dynamic version of the taxonomic measure of development in a comparative and complex assessment of financial performance in PKD divisions (Polish Classification of Activity), and, secondly, to evaluate changes in this area in the years 2014–2016. The data used for developing the ranking were sourced from the joint publication of industry indicators by the Financial Analysis Commission at the Research Council of the Accountants Association in Poland and InfoCredit, and from the Statistics Poland.

Narrow Banking from the Perspective of Risk

Jacek Pera — 2019-09-13

The aim of this article is to identify risks arising from the attempt to stabilise the banking system with the use of narrow banking, which in practice means imposing restrictions on various types of assets held by banks and on handling current deposits. To this end, the following will be discussed: the nature and concepts of narrow banking and the risks of narrow banking. The research hypothesis is as follows: narrow banking is an effective concept to use to secure the stability of the financial system. The principal risk connected with the implementation of the concept of narrow banking results from: the cost of deposit insurance, partial loss of banks’ efficiency, mismatching of structures of assets and liabilities of the bank (resulting in GAP), as well as the size and structure of loans for the non‑financial sector. As a result of the conducted analysis, 6 indirect risks were identified, each for the assumed risk level: low, medium and high.

Assessment of Life Years Lost Due to Cardiovascular Diseases in Subpopulation of Elderly People in Poland

Monika Burzyńska — 2019-09-13

The aim of the study was to assess mortality trends due to cardiovascular diseases in the group of people aged 65 and more in Poland in 2000-2014 using the Standard Expected Years of Life Lost. In the study there was used a database containing 2,148,871 deaths cards for older Polish citizens who died in the years 2000-2014 due to cardiovascular diseases. Years of life lost were calculated using the SEYLLp (Standard Expected Years of Life Lost per living person). The joinpoint models were used to analyze trends. The SEYLLp ratio (per 10,000) due to cardiovascular diseases in Poland in the population aged 65 and over decreased in the analyzed period. Among men, from 4619.0 in 2000 to 3067.0 in 2014 (AAPC = –2.4%, p < 0.05), and in the group of women from 3038.0 to 2065.0 (AAPC = –2.5%, p < 0.05). In 2014, the largest number of years of life lost among men the ischemic heart disease caused (819.0), while in women, diseases of arteries, arterioles and capillaries (489.0). Unfavorable trends (in the group of men and women) were reported for heart failure (AAPC, respectively, 3.3% and 2.8%, p < 0.05). Despite the positive tendency of the studied phenomenon, it is necessary to increase the emphasis on cardiological problems of elderly people in order to eliminate inequities in health and unfavorable differences in the average life expectancy.

Generational Diversity of Employees and the Preferred Organizational Culture Model

Anna Lucyna Wziątek-Staśko — 2019-09-13

The convergence of key values for an organization with values relevant to employees is a research problem of high priority for modern entrepreneurs and one of the key challenges that they should devote special attention to. The subject of considerations taken in this article is the organizational culture and its perception by employees of different ages. The increasingly visible stereotyping of features and preferences of representatives of different generations, regarding their functioning in the work environment, has become an inspiration to undertake original research in this area. The participants of the research were 664 Polish respondents. The quantitative methods were used in the research process. The purpose of the article is to present the current and desired organizational culture model in the assessment of employees at different ages.

Determinants of Foreign Direct Investments in the Visegrad Group Countries

Liwiusz Wojciechowski — 2019-09-13

The purpose of this paper is to investigate determinants of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Visegrad Group countries. The theory indicates that FDI are mainly driven by market and efficiency seeking motives. Foreign investors are looking for a productive and relatively low‑cost business environment, which leads us to the assumption that productivity is one of key drivers of foreign capital. In order to verify this, we formulate a model based on a system of two equations: one for production to capture productivity and one for FDI to assess the influence of productivity on FDI. For robustness check, a number of macroeconomic and institutional factors are also considered. The study is conducted using a panel of 13 NACE industry sectors of the Visegrad Group countries in 2004-2013. The results indicate a positive, significant relationship between FDI and productivity as well as that market size, labour quality (and quantity), R&D expenditures and price changes over time are relevant FDI determinants at an industry level.

On the Use of Permutation Tests in the Analysis of the Factorial Design of Experiment Results

Małgorzata Złotoś — 2019-09-13

An experimental design is one of the tools which are used in statistical quality control. The proper implementation of experimental design results in the improvement of technological outcomes of a manufacturing process, which in turn leads to the enhancement of economic results. Permutation tests, among other things, form a group of resampling methods which are used to verify statistical hypotheses. These tests, unlike parametric ones, do not entail the fulfilment of strict criteria and may be used for a small number of observations. The presented article deals with the use of permutation tests in the design of experiments. The proposed method will be presented with reference to selected empirical data.

The Impact of Trade Liquidity on the Rates of Return from Emerging Market Shares Based on the Example of Poland, Austria and Hungary

Agata Gniadkowska - Szymańska — 2019-09-13

In relation to assets, liquidity generally relates to the ease by which an asset can be sold immediately after purchase without incurring losses of any kind. These losses could be due to price changes or various transaction costs. This can be seen with respect to various instruments (such as stocks or futures contracts), market segments, or even entire exchanges. The importance of liquidity has been acknowledged a long time ago. A considerable number of studies have investigated stock liquidity, providing evidence that more illiquid stocks have higher returns, which may be deemed an “illiquidity premium”. This paper examines various factors which have an effect on liquidity by presenting the results of research concerning relations between liquidity and stock returns on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) and the Vienna Stock Exchange (VSE). The main objective of the study is to determine whether there is a statistically significant relationship between the trading liquidity of the shares and the evolution of the rate of return on these shares. The applied research methodology is similar to that described by Datar, Naik and Radcliffe in their work “Liquidity and Stock Returns: An Alternative Test”.

The Spatial Analysis of Human Capital in the Area of Health in Poland in the Connection with the Socio‑economic Situation in Regions

Maria Klonowska-Matynia — 2019-09-13

The aim of the article is to measure the human capital resources defined in the area of health and to diagnose its structure. It was attempted also to assess its spatial distribution, as well as to examine the relationship between the health capital and the level of socio‑economic development. The selected taxonomic hierarchisation methods (pointless) and classification of multi‑feature objects were used. The assumption about spatial disproportions in the level of health capital (HCSIH) was verified, as well as the positive relation between the level of health capital (HCSIH) and the level of socio‑economic development (LHDI) was also examined. The results confirm the spatial disproportions of the health capital in Poland, and the differentiation its structure, visible between regions. Also noticeable are the effects of polarization: center‑periphery. The results of statistical tests positively verify the tested hypothesis about the existing positive relation between the level of health capital of the (HCSIH) and the level of development (LHDI) of a given unit, whereby the strength of the relationship is assessed at the level at most medium. The analysis was carried out at the poviat level in Poland. The Central Statistical Office Local Data Bank, National Census 2011 (NSP) and data on LHDI from the National Report on Social Development Poland 2012 UNDP were the main data source.

The Application of Discriminant Analysis to the Identification of Key Factors of the Development of Polish Cities

Barbara Batóg — 2019-09-13

Due to limited resources, effective urban development policies require the identification of key development areas and priorities. The existing development strategies or results of statistical analyses can be used for this purpose. In the latter case, one of methods of multidimensional analysis can be used – discriminant analysis. Although it is applied to many areas on a microeconomic scale, e.g. in predicting the bankruptcy of enterprises, it was rarely used to assess the competitive position or the dynamics of development of cities. The main aim of the paper is to identify the most important factors of development of Polish cities with powiat status and to analyse changes of these factors in time. Apart from typical areas, such as investment, income, employment, debt, or migration, the analysis uses qualitative variables which allow us to assess whether the size of the city and its location determine the dynamics of city development. The authors have found that the key factors determining the development of the largest Polish cities are related to the situation on the labour market and investments incurred by companies as well as by the cities themselves.

A Ranking of Combined Nomenclature Chapters According to Quality of Data on Intra‑Community Trade in Goods of Polish Businesses

Iwona Markowicz — 2019-09-16

Adopting the Intrastat system in Poland on its EU‑accession on 1st May, 2004 imposed a new obligation on companies trading goods within the EU. They are obliged to provide information on their intra‑Community trade in the form of monthly declarations. Data on intra‑Community trade from all Member States are collected by Eurostat and disseminated in the form of the Comext database. In public statistics, special attention is being paid to data quality. It is constantly monitored and certain actions are taken to improve it. In order to assess quality of data on intra‑Community trade, the authors have calculated differences between declared values of supplies of goods from Poland as well as foreign acquisitions originating in Poland. The aims of the paper are an analysis of quality of data on Polish intra‑Community trade in goods within Combined Nomenclature chapters as well as creating a ranking of chapters with regard to data accuracy (one of quality dimensions) which we define in terms of divergence between mirror data. Data accuracy was measured with the use of aggregate data quality indices. The ranking of Combined Nomenclature (CN) chapters was presented according to the calculated index value for both intra‑Community supplies of goods (ICS) and intra‑Community acquisitions (ICA). We utilised data on Polish exporters’ transactions from 2017 from the Comext database. In the research results, we indicate those chapters for which large relative discrepancies between mirror data are observed (thus data quality is low). For chapters with low data quality, we present inner structures of discrepancies by country and by CN position. The problem of quality of data on intra‑Community trade is addressed in Poland only in publications of the Central Statistical Office/Statistics Poland. There are no scientific publications on this subject. Therefore, the authors decided to fill this gap and conduct research on sources of information which is the basis for many economic analyses.

The Directions of Interrelations Between the Company’s Performance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities

Robert Zajkowski — 2019-09-16

The interrelations between engagement in CSR activities and the company’s performance are still one of pivotal managerial problems. Ample findings related to this issue seem to reveal a rather hazy than clear picture. In this paper, an attempt has been made to complement this problematic issue with the results of the survey conducted among a group of Polish large and medium‑sized family businesses. The aim of the paper is to analyse relationships between the self‑assessment of the company’s performance and its engagement in various CSR activities. It seems to be interesting to identify what kind of relationship and mutual influences can be found between the company’s economic and non‑economic activities and whether its value aspects, in their broad meaning, exist. To identify this relationship, two groups of linear regression models were adopted (CSR activities or the self‑assessment of the company’s performance as dependent variables). The ultimate conclusion drawn seems to confirm that the problematic area mentioned above should be described rather by a circular than linear direction of influences which were called a multilevel chain of interferences.

The Application of Statistical Methods to Identify Factors Determining Employment Effectiveness in District Labour Offices in Poland

Iwona Bąk — 2019-09-16

In Poland, institutions that perform public tasks in the field of the labour market are state employment services, including District Labour Offices (PUPs). They try to restore the unemployed to the open labour market using active forms of their activation. The activities of PUPs in the field of customer activation are subject to annual evaluation. According to the “Act on Employment Promotion and on Labour Market Institutions”, four indicators were selected for the evaluation of the functioning of labour offices in 2015–2017. Among them, the employment effectiveness index is very important, as its level allows us to assess to what extent active forms of activation of the unemployed implemented by PUPs contribute to the return of the unemployed to employment. This assessment is so important that in Poland as well as in other countries research has been conducted on both active forms of activation of the unemployed and employment policies. The aim of the research whose results are presented in the article was to identify factors influencing the employment effectiveness index achieved by District Labour Offices (PUPs) operating in Poland in 2016. Selected statistical methods were used, including correlation and regression analysis as well as multidimensional correspondence analysis. It turned out that the methods applied did not make it possible to unambiguously identify factors which had significantly affected the employment effectiveness index calculated on the basis of all forms of activation. It may turn out that clearer relations could be identified if this indicator was considered separately for particular forms of activation.