Compensatory subsidy transferred to the budgets of voivodeship self-governments in the context of regional policy instruments’ coordination

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to consider to what extent a compensatory subsidy transferred to the budgets of voivodeship self-governments can help level fiscal imbalances among voivodeships. The article also aims to determine if and (if it is so) to what extent the rules and procedures related to a compensatory subsidy are coordinated with other instruments of regional policy. Method research – The paper uses the descriptive method with the elements of legal analysis and examines statistical data relating to the budgets of voivodeship self-governments in Poland during the years 2009-2017. Description of research – The paper studies the issues connected with construction together with the rules associated with the transfer of compensatory subsidy to voivodeship self-governments in the context of aims and instruments of a regional policy. In individual sections, the author presents the theoretical aspects of regional policy under the conditions of globalization, characterizes the functions and significance of compensatory subsidy for voivodeships in the context of good-governance and attempts to assess the scope of the coordination of the procedures referring to a compensatory subsidy with other instruments of a regional policy. Results – It has been stated that a compensatory subsidy transferred to the budgets of voivodeships should be considered not only as the source of budget revenues, but also as an instrument of a regional policy. The allocation of public funds to voivodeships takes place by means of numerous autonomous public institutions that use different (and uncoordinated – from the point of view of regional policy) criteria and procedures. This in turn has a negative consequence in the form of excessive dispersion of public funding among voivodeships and in the duplicated realization of public tasks by numerous institutions. Subsequently, it increases the costs of the functioning of the public administration. During the analysis of the rules, procedures and construction of a compensatory subsidy it was shown that this particular financial instrument is neither connected nor coordinated with different instruments of regional policy.