Local Government Investment Expenditure in Poland’s Voivodships: 2007-2013 Financial Perspective

Abstract

One of the indicators confi rming economic development is the investment spending i.e. the higher the expenditure that an economic entity earmarks for investment, the more vivid is the evidence of development. Sources of funds for fi nancing these investments may be savings, loans or subsidies. An additional source of investments funding since 2004 has been the European Union (EU). It should be noted that a number of Poland’s entities took advantage of pre-accession funding from the EU, but at the large scale funding to specifi c institutions was allocated only after 2004.

This article endeavors to present how Poland’s entry into the EU – and corresponding foreign capital – infl uenced the range of investments undertaken by Poland’s regional governments. The article describes investment expenditures carried out by the regional government entities in the period of 2002-2014.

The results of the analyzed data indicate that in all of Poland’s voivodships, there was an exceptionally signifi cant increase of general and investment spending in 2009, which can be tied into the initiation of EU subsidized projects within the program period of 2007-2013.

Throughout the entire study period, investment spending remained relatively high when compared to general voivodship spending – on average 30% to almost 50% and in a number of cases, even higher.

The highest spending per capita earmarked for the investment by voivodships was from the smallest of the group – Lubusz, Warmia-Masuria, Holy Cross and pole.

The highest investment spending percentage of general budgetary expenditures was found to be in the Silesia voivodship with a yearly average of over 43%.