FINANCIAL AUTONOMY OF SMALL TOWNS IN POLAND

Abstract

The main aim of the study was to assess the level, dynamics of changes and diversification of the financial autonomy of small towns with the status of urban communes in Poland in 2011 and 2020. Two basic indicators used in the assessment of the studied phenomenon were used: the level of own income per capita, as well as and their share in the own income of the surveyed entities. The subjective scope of the research included small towns (less than 20 thousand inhabitants) with the status of urban communes (116 entities in 2020). Empirical research was carried out on the basis of secondary data from the Central Statistical Office. The empirical research conducted was aimed at answering the following research questions: is the distance between small towns and larger urban centers in terms of the level of financial autonomy high and increasing over the years, does the lowest level of financial autonomy distinguish small cities from the Eastern Macroregion, what are the most important determinants of the level of financial autonomy of small towns. The conducted research has shown that small towns are characterized by the lowest level of financial autonomy, but also the highest diversity in this respect. However, disproportions in the level of financial autonomy of small towns in relation to urban communes in general are relatively small and have decreased in the analyzed period. The highest level of the studied phenomenon is observed in small towns from the Northern and Southern Macroregions, and the lowest in the Eastern Macroregion. Disproportions in the financial autonomy of small towns in the Eastern Macroregion in relation to, among others, to small towns in Poland in general, however, decreased. However, the financial autonomy of these entities is still the result of local entrepreneurship, conditions for the development of tourism and location benefits.