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Poland

A Tale of Three Friends: Urban planning and why it matters for Polish development

Marcel Ionescu-Heroiu's picture
Everyone who knows spatial planning has heard this famous quote of Socrates: “By far the greatest and most admirable form of wisdom is that needed to plan and beautify cities and human communities.”
 
Socrates was right. Urban planning matters greatly for development - it impacts regulations, construction, economic growth, and the everyday lives of people. Currently, the World Bank and the European Commission are working with the Polish municipality of Rzeszów to improve urban planning and beautify this economic and cultural center in south-eastern Poland.

Rodzina 500+: walka ze skrajnym ubóstwem wśród dzieci w Polsce

Karolina Goraus-Tańska's picture
Also available in: English
W obliczu jednego z najniższych współczynników dzietności w Unii Europejskiej (UE), polski rząd wprowadził nowy program wsparcia dla rodzin. To nowe świadczenie Rodzina 500+ miało służyć realizacji dwóch celów: zwiększyć dzietność oraz zmniejszyć ubóstwo wśród dzieci.
 
Program Rodzina 500+, wprowadzony w kwietniu 2016 r., zapewnia comiesięczne wypłaty w wysokości 500 złotych (115 euro) na każde drugie i kolejne dziecko do 18. roku życia. Świadczenie zostało również przyznane pierwszym dzieciom w rodzinach, których dochód był poniżej określonego progu.
 

The Family 500+: Battling Child Poverty in Poland

Karolina Goraus-Tańska's picture
Also available in: Polski
Facing one of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union (EU), the Government of Poland introduced a new family benefit program that had two objectives: encourage fertility and reduce child poverty.
 
The Family 500+ program, introduced in April, 2016, consists of a monthly payment of PLN 500 (€115) for every child after the first until the age of 18. The benefit was also extended to the first child in families whose income was below a defined threshold.
 

Pięć rzeczy, których nie wiedzieliście na temat słabiej rozwiniętych regionów w Unii Europejskiej („Lagging Regions”)

Thomas Farole's picture
Also available in: English | Română
Zatem, co dalej?
 
Mając na uwadze powyższe wnioski, powstaje pytanie jak możemy najlepiej spożytkować 50 mld euro przeznaczane co roku przez UE na cele polityki spójności. Jakie działania powinny wyjść na pierwszy plan? W jakim trybie powinny być realizowane? Czy może lepiej sprawdziłyby się transfery warunkowane efektami końcowymi?
 
Komisja Europejska stawia sobie te i inne trudne pytania. Bank Światowy ma bogate doświadczenie we wdrażaniu polityk rozwoju regionalnego w różnych częściach świata. Jesteśmy gotowi współpracować z Komisją Europejską, która teraz przygotowuje się do kolejnego okresu programowania polityki spójności.
Więcej informacji:
 


Economic growth does not evenly spread within countries: some regions benefit, while other regions lag behind. This is as true in the European Union (EU) as in most other parts of the world, despite  significant convergence efforts in the EU. The leading regions in Europe have, on average, 2.3 times the GDP per capita of their poorest counterparts.

There are 5 things you (probably) didn’t know about the phenomenon of “lagging regions” within the EU.
 

Што се случува ако не ја платите својата сметка? Извлечени поуки од централна и источна Европа

Georgia Harley's picture
Also available in: English


Сите ние имаме редовни сметки за плаќање за сеприсутните услуги кои ги трошиме – било да се работи за комунални услуги (вода, затоплување, електрична енергија итн.), кредитни картички, членства или отплати за автомобили.  Но, не сите ги плаќаат своите сметки.

Во целата економија овие неплатени сметки се претвораат во милиони предмети за извршување од мала вредност, кои честопати се неспорни. На економијата ѝ е потребен систем кој брзо, евтино и првично може да се справи со ваквиот долг.  Доколку системот за наплата на долгови потфрли тоа доведува до низа системски проблеми кои постепено ги задушуваат како судовите така и целата економија. 

Во неколку земји каде што работиме во Европа – главно во средна, јужна и источна Европа – судовите се заглавени со огромен број на заостанати предмети од ваков вид. Сепак, некои од нивните соседи успеале да го решат проблемот. 

Зошто луѓето не плаќаат? Зошто некои земји се подобри во оваа работа од другите?  И што може да се направи за да се подобрат системите за наплата на долговите?

What happens if you don’t pay your bill? Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe

Georgia Harley's picture
Also available in: Македонски


We all have regular bills to pay for the ubiquitous services we consume – whether they be for utilities (water, heating, electricity etc.), credit cards, memberships, or car payments.  But, not everyone pays.  

So why don’t people pay?  Why are some countries better at this than others?  And what can be done to improve systems for debt collection?

The economic benefits of LGBTI inclusion

Georgia Harley's picture
Civil Rights Defenders/Photo: Vesna Lalic
Civil Rights Defenders/Photo: Vesna Lalic
Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people is an all too familiar story. Members of this community are frequent targets of violence and other human rights abuses, and often face prejudice and hardship at work, in their communities, and at home.

Action is needed to address these problems and ensure that everyone – regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity - has an equal chance to live a healthy and prosperous life
This is not only the right thing to do, it also makes economic sense: a growing body of evidence indicates that discrimination against LGBTI people has a negative economic impact on society.

Don’t sweat the small stuff – lessons from European courts

Georgia Harley's picture

Last year, we posted a blog – Resolving Minor Disputes Matters Big Time for the Poor – which highlighted how courts can fast-track minor disputes to deliver faster, cheaper and more appropriate justice and how – for the poor and for micro and small businesses – this may be their only path to justice. 

Increasingly, citizens and businesses demand fast-tracking services for small cases and, according to Doing Business data, 138 economies have a small claims procedure of some kind. So courts across the world are eager to learn how to roll out such reforms – either to introduce a fast track procedure or to improve on an existing one.

Inspecting Poland's inspections

Maciej Drozd's picture


According to the World Bank’s Doing Business report, Poland ranked 74th globally in the ease of doing business in 2006. It took 10 procedures to incorporate a business in Warsaw, more than 40 steps to pay taxes, close to 200 days to register property, and almost 1,000 days to enforce a contract. A decade later, Poland ranked 24th, higher than the EU average – progress unmatched by any high-income country in terms of ease of doing business.

Poland has been one of the most active and steady reformers of its business environment in the world, but firms are yet to benefit from reforming the country’s burdensome business inspections.

Assessing disaster risk in Europe and Central Asia – what did we learn?

Alanna Simpson's picture
Heavy rains on June 13-14, 2015 caused a 1 million cubic-meter landslide to flow down the Vere River valley and damage the capital city of Tbilisi, Georgia. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
Across the Europe and Central Asia region today, policymakers are confronted daily with a wide range of development challenges and decisions, but the potential impacts of adverse natural events and climate change – such as earthquakes or flooding – may not always be first and foremost in their thoughts.

Admittedly, the region does not face the same daunting disaster risks as some other parts of the world – especially in South Asia, East Asia and Latin America – but nevertheless, it is far from immune to the effects of natural hazards – as the past clearly reminds us.

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