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The aim of this paper is a synthetic presentation of the theory of household finances in the area of economics, sociology and psychology. An overview of the theories, regardless of the field of science, shows a progressive increase in the complexity and individualisation of household finances. At the same time the extension of the scope of the research (of sociological and psychological aspects of decisions made by and within a household) has contributed significantly to a better representation of reality in economic theories. The development of the concept regarding the functioning of households clearly shows the growing importance of household finances. This does not mean reducing the role of public policy in ensuring the economic security of households. On the contrary, the growing financialisation of household budgets poses new challenges to public policy. The condition of household budgets increasingly affects the overall economy and in order to achieve the target level of effectiveness, greater precision in the design of public solutions is required.

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.

The author focuses on the analysis of the participatory budgeting issue. He presents the outcomes of its three-year implementation in Warsaw's Ursynów District. He emphasises more the conclusions drawn from practice than from the confrontation of the reality with the assumptions of participatory budgeting. The participatory budget is defined as a process aimed at enabling the community to directly influence the decision to allocate part of the public budget. Within its scope the inhabitants report proposals for projects worth funding. It is a way of including them in the planning of spending public funds that have been given by the authorities at their disposal. The author formulates the thesis that the practice of the participatory budget functioning in Poland is subject to numerous procedural defects. Local governments do not always produce the right patterns for its implementation. They struggle to match these budgets to their realities and often duplicate mistakes. It is a challenge for self-government councils to use their democratic mandate to more actively shape public spending processes.

The author analyses the design and imposition of the bank levy that came into effect on the 1st of February 2016 both from the economic and legal perspective. The author portrays its origin as well as the main solutions. The risks connected with their implementation involving the capacity to collect the tax are outlined. The author also presents the development of the design of taxation of the banking sector in Poland in the past dozen or more years. The author conducts a comparative analysis of the various tax designs that prove effective in many E.U. Member States. This allows to show the similarities and tell the differences between the various state-specific designs and the ones adopted in Poland. The paper is also concerned with the consequences that the bank levy might bring about in Poland. The author postulates that the analysis of its design flaws makes it possible to evade taxation. The author puts forward alternative concepts, which would make the provisions of the law more precise. The bank levy applicable in Poland has also been subject to an in-depth analysis in the context of tax avoidance.

The following publication elaborates on the notion of international tax competition and international tax avoidance in the light of cross-border public policy. In terms of intercommunity relations, tax competition may be defined as a phenomenon consisting in application of various tax instruments for the purpose of developing a state's economy and prosperity by means of increasing competitiveness of the domestic business activity or attracting foreign investments. Tax competition is a natural consequence of the processes of globalization since in the reality of growing business interrelations, tax considerations exert more and more influence over investment decisions of holding companies. It reveals the dissonance between the interests of the particular member states in the EU and the interest of the European Union as a whole. Usually it is difficult to mark the border between a harmful and an advantageous tax competition.

Globally, tax incentives belong to the group of the most popular state intervention tools which are directed to support R&D activities. From a historical perspective, the prevalence of R&D tax incentives has increased both in the long-run and also over the past decade. When it comes to Poland, until the beginning of 2016 R&D tax incentives were used only to a very limited extent. Afterwards they became available to a wide range of entrepreneurs. The aim of the article is to analyze state interventions involving the introduction of R&D tax incentives, and in particular to answer the following questions: (1) When should the state intervene with the use of innovation policy instruments? (2) What factors have determined the popularity and increasing generosity of R&D tax incentives? (3) What were the circumstances and reasons for the introduction of R&D tax incentives in Poland?

The article aims to present the participatory budget in Poland. The core role of this institution can be reduced to accepting responsibility for its surroundings by inhabitants. Hence, their involvement in the budgeting process is essential, and this activity should go beyond traditional public consultation. The analysis of the participatory budget in Poland begins with the presentation of the origin of this institution, the models created over time and a complex process of its design and implementation. The beginnings of the participatory budget in Poland were difficult and exposed almost all the dangers and difficulties that might arise. Starting from 2013, the participatory budget in Poland has ceased to be an isolated phenomenon, gaining increasing popularity over time. It is difficult, however, to decide about its future. On the basis of the collected data and observations, it has to be stated that the participatory budget in Poland still has plenty of shortcomings. The lack of rationality and effectiveness of decision-making, instrumental treatment of the institution, small financial outlays and mistakes in the design and implementation of participatory budgets are some examples of the negligence that decides that the institution cannot bring maximum benefits. Changing the existing state of affairs can only come about as a result of deliberate actions undertaken and carried out by conscious and active civil society.

The social economy sector is an important area of public policy implementation in social assistance and the labor market. Social economy entities have instruments of public financial support at their disposal, including returnable ones, enabling them to develop and achieve economic and social goals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they received new support instruments of a unique nature compared to the existing solutions. An important issue is the flexibility of public policy responses and the ability to jointly - the public authority and the non-profit stakeholder community - to develop and implement support to protect this sector, which is sensitive to economic crises resulting from the consequences of operating restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The social enterprise, or more broadly social entrepreneurship, is certainly one of the most fascinating innovations of recent decades, still eluding theoretically satisfactory explanation.

The aim of the article is to analyse the state control function over the activity of local self-governments in the field of their finances. The analysis is based on empirical data of the Regional Accounting Chambers (RACs), which is a special body created for control and supervision in the field of local government finances. Attention is paid to the question of financial independence of the local powers and how it is influenced by the state's external supervision. In this context both too strong and too weak control has negative consequences for prudent funds usage by local government. The research indicates a decrease in law infringement by local authorities in the financial sphere. However, there are still cases of inefficient and irrational budget usage by local powers, which does not contradict the law, yet exerts a negative impact on their financial independence and performance of public tasks. Possible solutions of the indicated problems are outlined at the end of the article.

Financial determinants related to the budgetary situation of territorial self-government units play the most important role among all the factors affecting the undertaking and conducting of investments by territorial units. Finances are a key element in functioning of territorial self-government units as well as the primary determinant of viability and success of any investment. The objective of this article is to present financial determinants associated with the budgetary situation of territorial self-government units in Poland and their effects on investment execution by these entities. Consequently, investment expenditure, own income, and budgetary result with particular attention to operating surplus have been characterized.