Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis on the financial condition and expenditure structure of Poles

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the article was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflationary crisis that followed on the financial condition and consumer and investment expenditures of Poles. This purpose was supplemented by detailed research hypotheses. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted using the diagnostic survey method on a group of 1,000 randomly selected Polish residents. The research tool was an original survey questionnaire containing 50 substantive (problem) questions and 9 metric questions. Selected statistical tests were used in the analysis of the survey results. Findings: The research results indicated that the pandemic and inflationary crises contributed to the deterioration of Poles' financial condition. A significant decline in real income was declared by about 23% of respondents in both crisis phases. About one-fifth of active respondents were affected by job loss, mainly temporarily. A quarter of respondents indicated a significant increase in the share of consumer expenditure in current income and the need to give up a number of goods and services beyond basic consumption. A persistently limited Poles' propensity to invest was found, as well as little dynamic change in outlays and investment forms. Research limitations/implications: Limitations are the estimated nature of the information obtained in surveys. The reliability of some data can be improved by repeating the survey on the same sample at a time interval. Practical implications: The crises have changed Poles' attitudes toward accumulating savings and spending money. Awareness of this fact should prompt potential business entities and financial institutions to remodel their offerings in accordance with market conditions. Government bodies can use the research results to manage the crisis more effectively on a national scale. Social implications: The research revealed the Poles' limited knowledge of managing their own finances and could be a rationale for measures to disseminate such knowledge to society. Originality/value: The value of the research is the original author's diagnostic approach based on a representative research sample, addressing current social and economic problems of Poles, not fully recognized and disseminated in publications. Keywords: pandemic and inflation crisis, Poles' financial condition, consumer and investment expenditures. Category of the paper: Research paper.