Search results

The article presents issues related to the occurrence of political risk in local government in Poland. It will attempt to identify the symptoms to demonstrate the possibility of a political budget cycle in local government units. On the basis of budgetary data an empirical analysis of local governments will be carried out, with a particular emphasis on debt levels, capital expenditures, and a result of the budget in the years of local elections and pre-election periods. The presented research results cover all categories of local government units, i.e., municipalities, cities with poviat rights, poviats, and voivodships. The time range of the analysis is 2003-2019. The empirical part is preceded by a literature review, both in terms of the election cycle and the risk related to local debt management. The adopted structure of the article allows obtaining an answer to the question of whether there is a political risk in the surveyed entities.

This study is focused on a small village in Tuscany and explores how citizens
evaluate the actions and communication strategies applied by the local government during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted a combination of
qualitative and quantitative methods: semi-structured interviews with local administrators, and a survey with a representative sample of the local population.
The findings show a limitedly articulated yet meaningful relationship between
the central administration and the local one, a positive evaluation by citizens
of the local government's management of the emergency and, generally, good
social cohesion, albeit not fully supported by the engagement of civic cultures
that were heavily restricted by the socially restrictive measures imposed during
the pandemic.

This report discusses the following topics: the system of vocational education in societies and economies based on knowledge and creativity; emerging challenges for vocational training systems; support for adapting vocational schools for socio-economic trends; support through human capital management for vocational teachers; support for creating a culture of employability; employability; concept, characteristics and relationships with security in the labor market; lifelong learning and the creation of work-life balance of teachers and instructors of vocational schools; approaches to shape the structure of employment in the system of vocational educatio; reconversion and outplacement of teachers and instructors of apprenticeship; opportunities for vocational teachers outside the public education system.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to explain why the Euro­pean Union perceives globalisation as the challenge for its regional development and how this assumption influences on regional development management. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The research problem concerns the issue of globalisation as the process which is estimated by the EU as the opportunity and challenge for its regional development at the same time. As a result the EU develops multi-level political system in which, along sovereign states, there are transnational and subnational political actors which have been engaged in regional development management. The research methods used in the study consist of an institutional and legal analysis of the major policy docu­ments, actors and regional development management instruments that they use. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The introduction presents the principal methodological assumptions concerning the analysed research area, the applied conceptual approach and the research methods. The main body of the article discusses why the European Union perceives globalisation as the challenge and opportunity for regions' competitiveness. RESEARCH RESULTS: The analysis shows that the scope of competences of the EU with regard to regional development management was laid out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; however, the globalisa­tion affects the formulation of strategic directions of EU actions in this area and implementation of relevant interventions of the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: In accordance to the European Commission globalisation creates conditions and challenges in the scope of regions' economic development. In order to prepare the regions for global competitiveness in the EU, authority is spread among different decision making and implementing levels which have the sources and knowledge required in the process of increasing regions' competitiveness. ; Celem artykułu jest ananliza wpływu procesów globalizacji na zarządzanie rozwojem regionalnym w Unii Europejskiej, w kontekście wzrostu konkurencyjności unijnych regionów w gospodarce globalnej. Problem badawczy odnosi się do określenia zakresu kompetencji odnoszących się do zarządzania rozwojem regionalnym implementowanych na rzecz poprawy ich pozycji konkurencyjnej w gospodarce globalnej. W tym kontekście omówiony został proces umacniania się wielopoziomowego charakteru systemu politycznego UE, w którym obok suwerennych państw, funkcjonują ponadnarodowi i subnarodowi aktorzy polityczni. Wykorzystane metody badawcze obejmują analizę instytucjonalno-prawną, odnoszącą się do głównych aktorów polityki oraz instrumentów zarządzania rozwojem regionalnym przez nich stosowanych, a także ustalenia zawarte w najnowszej literaturze przedmiotu. We wstępie przedstawione zostały jego główne założenia metodologiczne obejmujące analizowany obszar badawczy, wykorzystane podejście koncepcyjne i metody badawcze. W dalszej, zasadniczej części tekstu omówione zostały uwarunkowania kształtowania konkurencyjności regionów w gospodarce globalnej oraz wskazany zakres kompetencji i instrumenty stosowane przez UE na rzecz wzrostu konkurencyjności regionów, z odniesieniem do roli samych regionów w powyższym procesie. Wyniki analizy wskazują, że zakres kompetencji UE w obszarze zarządzania rozwojem regionalnym został określony w Traktacie o Funkcjonowaniu UE, natomiast presja globalnej konkurencyjności ma wpływ na formułowanie strategicznych kierunków działań UE w tym zakresie i podporządkowanie im interwencji Europejski Fundusz Rozowju Regionalnego i Europejski Fundusz Społeczny. Globalizacja kreuje uwarunkowania i wyzwania w zakresie rozwoju gospodarczego regionów. Efektem jej oddziaływania jest redefinicja roli poszczególnych aktorów politycznych w procesach zarządzania rozwojem.