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Young consumers (children and adolescents) play an increasingly important role in the functioning of the modern consumer market. Accordingly, it is becoming more important to promote sustainable, ecological consumption patterns among this group. The authors of the article analysed the results of a survey conducted on a group of 1326 children aged 9 to 15. The purpose was to diagnose the awareness and functioning patterns of consumption among the studied group of young consumers from the Polish market and to formulate a set of recommendations for the process of their ecological, economic and social education aimed at building sustainable consumption patterns. During the research process, an attempt was made to diagnose the ability to identify eleven selected, popular, pro-ecological graphic symbols placed on consumer products, aimed at assessing the skills of young consumers to identify products with better environmental parameters. The collected empirical data was analysed with the R-project program using the following methods: descriptive statistics, nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test and Pearson Chi-square test of independence. As a result of the use of the comparative analysis method, the results of research in individual age groups of young consumers were compared and interpreted. After the research, the authors concluded that the education system lacks actions to consolidate the acquired knowledge in the field of ecolabeling, which results in large disproportions in the recognition of eco-labels both in individual age groups and in relation to selected symbols. It is disturbing that only 12.2% of the interviewed learners indicated the eco-label as a decisive factor in purchasing a food product. The authors of the article believe that among the group of young consumers, actions should be taken to raise awareness of sustainable consumption, and this requires consistent and differentiated steps at all levels of their education.

The paper discusses the issue of the development of the market of traditional food products in the Lubuskie province. Legal and institutional aspects of the development of the market are presented and the significance of the system of the European Union is stressed. The analysis was carried out from the point of view of sustainable development of the sector and according to the product structure as well as location of selected elements of the system of distribution. The aim of the paper is to identification and structuring of traditional food products in the Lubuskie region. Types of traditional products manufactured and sold on the market are presented, the research was conducted on the basis of secondary sources by means the analysis of information provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the years 2006-2020. Changes which have taken place in the system of distribution are shown, and in particular local market places offering direct contact between producers and consumers of regional products. The analysis demonstrates increased interest in this market among regional producers.

Purpose: The process of diversifying economic activity in rural areas and incorporating new non-agricultural and non-production functions into the rural space is currently one of the key determinants of development in these areas. A comparative assessment of Poland's competitiveness against selected European countries has been made in the study. The main objective was to present the conditions of international tourist competitiveness of rural areas in Poland in comparison to other European areas. Design/Methodology/Approach: An in-depth analysis of Poland's competitiveness as a tourist region against the European countries was carried out taking into consideration individual indicators of the second pillar. The study uses a synthetic tourist competitiveness index and panel regression to demonstrate the determinants of this phenomenon. Findings: On the basis of the conducted research, it has been shown that the natural and landscape value of Poland's agricultural areas is highly assessed on a European scale. Therefore, for many consumers in the European Union, Poland is increasingly seen as an attractive region for tourists. At the same time, the importance of these factors in the demand for tourist places has been demonstrated by distinguishing selected aspects of these conditions. Economic factors affecting internal demand as well as environmental and institutional conditions turned out to be the key ones. Practical Implications: The presented considerations are of great importance for practical reasons. They constitute an indicator which, under certain conditions can influence the increase of tourist competitive attractiveness of rural areas in an international perspective. Therefore, they allow to indicate the proper structure of investments and activities aimed at valuing public goods by both private and public entities. Originality/Value: The development of rural areas in the current conditions requires the development of non-agricultural and non-production functions. The article indicates the importance of individual resources and conditions in the proposed model. Not only was their role emphasized, but mutual relations between the factors considered were determined., peer-reviewed

The transformation process towards a low-emission, green economy implies an increase in the demand for new professions and competences. Quality changes of jobs under the influence of the idea of sustainable development are both an opportunity and a challenge for both countries and individual regions. Green jobs are created as a result of the development of eco-innovation, new environmentally friendly technologies. The development of green jobs is particularly noticeable in the renewable energy sector. The article presents the results of empirical research in the field of analyzing the number of green jobs in the renewable energy sector in the Visegrad Group. In order to identify and determine the nature and changes in the impact of individual factors on the development of green jobs, panel regression was used – a model with fixed effects. The dependent variable was the relative number of green jobs per million inhabitants in 2000-2016.

In recent studies many researchers have identified non-agricultural attributes of land that significantly contribute to its value. They claim that the increasing proportion of the value of land may now be explained by environmental amenities in rural areas. On the other hand, mainstream economics says that farmland values are determined by the discounted stream of returns (present value model). The main aim of this work was to adapt neoclassical concept of the Returns Discount Model (RDM) of Saphiro–Gordon type to the case of a land market in Poland. We introduced a modified RDM (i.e. the multilevel variance component model) to answer whether it remains applicable to the valuation of farmland in the context of sustainable agriculture. It was found that in spite of the growing role of non-productive functions of agriculture the improved RDM continues to perform well as a tool to assess changes in land prices.

This article presents the use of gravity models in bilateral trade in agricultural products such as wheat, oats and maize between the EU and the USA. The analysis covered the years 2000-2016, and the explanatory variables included GDP, PSE index, value added in agriculture and value added per employee in agriculture. The conducted research revealed significant disturbances in trade between selected EU and US agricultural products. Consequently, the gravity model applied to wheat, oats and maize did not confirm that the masses of economies expressed in their real GDP are attracting and strengthening trade. The phenomenon of repulsion was also noticed for added values in agriculture. However, the research has shown that agricultural support creates the effects of attracting trade, for wheat and oats. / Synopsis. Niniejszy artykul przedstawia zastosowanie modeli grawitacyjnych w bilateralnym handlu takimi artykulami rolnymi jak: pszenica, owies i kukurydza miedzy UE a USA. Analiza obejmowala lata 2000-2016, a w sklad zmiennych objaśniających weszly PKB, wskaźnik PSE, wartośc dodana w rolnictwie oraz wartośc dodana na pracownika w rolnictwie. Przeprowadzone badania wykazaly wystepowanie znacznych zaklocen w wymianie handlowej wybranymi produktami rolnymi pomiedzy UE i USA. W konsekwencji model grawitacyjny zastosowany dla pszenicy, owsa i kukurydzy nie potwierdzil, ze masy gospodarek wyrazone w ich realnym PKB przyciągają sie i umacniają wymiane handlową. Zjawisko odpychania zauwazono takze dla wartości dodanych w rolnictwie. Badania pozwolily natomiast wykazac, iz wsparcie rolnictwa tworzy efekty przyciągania handlu, dla pszenicy i owsa.

Purpose: The main aim of this study was to show different approaches to sustainable consumption and attitudes toward food waste and environmental pollution. The main goal formulated in this way is associated with specific objectives, which include identifying factors determining consumer behaviour on the organic food market, as well as to indicate the approach to the issue of food waste and the problem of environmental pollution. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article is based on theoretical considerations, which were supported by the results of own research, presenting tendencies and phenomena in the consumer behaviour of contemporary consumers characteristic of sustainable consumption. Surveys were used in the studies to demonstrate the determinants of this phenomenon. An empirical study using the survey method was conducted were carried out on consumers of the Lubuskie Voivodeship from May to September 2017. Findings: The conducted research shows that more than half of the respondents declared behavior in the sphere of consumption in accordance with eco-consumption. The study also found that more than half of women and men perceive the problem of food waste in their household. Among the activities to promote sustainable consumption, the most common were the use of reusable bags, waste segregation, and buying products that are produced in an environmentally friendly way. Economic factors affecting internal demand as well as environmental and institutional conditions turned out to be the key ones. Practical Implications: The presented considerations are of great importance for practice. They constitute an indicator which conditions the influence on the increase of consumption of food products. There is important for food producers. Originality/Value: The paper presents the attitudes of consumers towards ecological products, environmental and social issues and identifies consumer pro-ecological behaviors that translate into the state of the natural environment and affect the level of consumption sustainability., peer-reviewed

The study presents the impact of eco-innovation and policy conducive to the implementation of the principles of sustainable development in agriculture on economic development. The starting point was the analysis of economic growth models and indicating in them the approach to innovation for the implementation of sustainable development. The specifics of eco-innovation in the agricultural sector and their typology have been presented. Due to the complexity of innovative processes and in particular the resulting effects, multi-component measures of innovation and eco-innovation have been discussed. In the last part, using the panel analysis, the effect of eco-innovation in agriculture on socio-economic development at the level of the entire economy has been demonstrated.

The article presents the changes taking place in the socio-economic structure before the merger of the city and the commune of Zielona Gora. On this basis, as taking into account an analysis of the assumptions of contemporary urban transformations, the indications of the integration process of these two administrative units were presented. An attempt was also made to publicly assess the effects of the merger after 3 years. The analysis took into account the opinions of residents and changes in the structure of allocation of financial resources in the commune.

This paper presents the problems of changes in financial support for agriculture estimated through the PSE indicator and their possible convergence. The analysis was carried out using sigma and beta convergence absolute between 1986 and 2015. Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Turkey, the USA and the European Union included the regions analyzed. The aim of the article was to confirm or deny the existence of convergence of support for agriculture on a global scale. The study did not confirm the hypothesis of the co­nvergence of agricultural support. These conclusions coincide with previous investigations for OECD countries

In the article were presented the changes taking place in the Common Agricultural Policy and social attitudes at regional level in the context of the idea of sustainable development. The study was showed on the basis of secondary data in accordance with the OECD's assessment methodology and questionnaire surveys. It shows that changes in agricultural policy were directedtowards introducing the principles of sustainable development. Similar attitudes and consumer attitudes can be assessed. Their decisions were increasingly determined also by social and environmental factors.

The research was a response to the search for alternative energy sources and the assessment of their profitability and legitimacy of use. The assessment used combined energy sources in the form of wind, solar, and natural gas energy. The research was carried out in various locations with varying degrees of sunlight and in various wind zones, which was motivated by the adopted strategy of increasing the importance of non-conventional energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The evaluation was performed using the Homer Grid software. The studies showed the justification for the use of hybrid energy sources, combining renewable and non-renewable sources, at the current stage of development. In the conditions of the Lubuskie Voivodeship, the level of insolation was more important than the more favourable wind zone in such a model. Higher economic efficiency of the hybrid model was obtained in the southern location, with slightly less favourable conditions for wind installations. At the same time, the investments were economically profitable and allowed for their return in the perspective of at least eleven years, even at current prices.

The problem of consumer behavior in the food market is of interest to a variety of scientific disciplines, includ­ing sciences such as economics, psychology, sociology and management. The key issue in the decision-making process made by every person in the field of food consumption is the choice of proper nutrition, which seems difficult. The paper presents the level and the structure of food consumption in Poland as well as in individual provinces, with particular emphasis on Lubuskie voivodeship. Moreover, the causes of the change in food intake are shown. The main objective of the study is to assess the trends in food consumption in Lubuskie voivodeship against the changes in the pattern of food consumption in Poland. The study among inhabitants of the Lubuskie voivodeship shows that the majority of respondents purchase food taking economic factors into account. Among the most frequently consumed products are bakery and confectionery products, followed by products of animal origin, i.e. meat and meat products, whereas milk and dairy products are ranked third and fourth respectively. Two out of three respondents claim to consume vegetables. It should be noted that for the surveyed food safety is of paramount importance when buying food.

In an era of rapidly growing competition logistic customer service is growing increasingly important and is becoming a substantial factor in the success of companies operating in the market. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the components affecting the quality of customer service. Taking appropriate action in this regard, and thus preparing and implementing an appropriate logistic customer service strategy becomes important from the point of view of both the survival and development of enterprises, and to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The aim of this study is to identify and evaluate determinants influencing consumers′ purchasing decisions in the area of logistics customer service. In addition, the article focuses on the development of solution proposals for enterprises to enable a better match the supply to the needs and preferences of customers. It is worth noting that the effectiveness and efficiency of operations in the field of logistic customer service is highly dependent on proper identification of needs and expectations of existing and potential buyers. Therefore, there is in this respect a need for permanent monitoring of the quality of service and customer expectations.

The main aim of this article was to identify the behavior of consumers in the e-commerce market in Poland, according to the model of e-customer as adopted by Meier and Stormer. An attempt was made to answer the following questions: whether education has an impact on the propensity to make purchases over the Internet and the level of concern about Internet security, what are the greatest limitations of e-commerce, whether there is a clear link between the assessment of the overall impression of shopping online and satisfaction with service. The study shows that the largest group of respondents make purchases in online stores after carefully reading the information relating to the e-business and the products it offers, often adding a Web address to favorites returning later to obtain detailed information, or return to some services. At the same time they show a great interest in the price and terms of delivery. The research procedure used the analysis of literature, statistical data and results of the survey respondents of Lubuskie voivodship.

W opracowaniu przedstawiono ideę zrównoważonego rozwoju i jej wpływ na decyzje podejmowane w podmiotach gospodarczych. Zwrócono uwagę na zmianę uwarunkowań oddziałujących na ryzyko cenowe i dochodowe w gospodarstwach rolnych w wyniku realizacji wspomnianej idei na przykładzie rolnictwa organicznego. Przedstawiono konsekwencje zachodzących przekształceń dla relacji między rolnictwem ekologicznym i konwencjonalnym. Podkreślono konieczność uwzględnienia dodatkowych czynników przy ocenie stopnia stabilności relacji cenowych dla właściwego oszacowania takiego zjawiska w tym w szczególności brak kompletności rynków i asymetrię informacji. Wyniki wskazują, że rolnicy zajmujący się produkcją ekologiczną wykazują niższą awersję do ryzyka niż rolnicy z gospodarstw konwencjonalnych. Mechanizm rynkowy tworzy możliwości uzyskania korzyści z tytułu realizacji części zasad zrównoważonego rozwoju.

Processes occurring in the natural environment due to the implementation of industrial concepts of agricultural development led to a significant change of the production and consumption models. The approach shifted to a more balanced one, leading to the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas based on the combination of social, environmental and economic goals. Whilst ensuring an appropriate balance between these systems, there is an attempt to achieve balance within and between generations. The focus on organic food matches well with these trends and seems particularly important, given growing awareness of consumers and their willingness to best meet their needs through the selection of products with the appropriate nutritional and health parameters. Ecological product provides an opportunity to improve the competitiveness of agriculture, especially in Europe, enabling rational management of resources by implementing the economics of sustainable development. The article presents the status and trends of development of organic farming in Poland in the years 2004–2014. In addition, the structure of expenditure in Polish households is shown, including the level of spending on organic food against the background of the countries with the highest per capita consumption.

W artykule podjeto probe identyfikacji czynnikow wplywających na rozwoj regionu na przykladzie wojewodztwa lubuskiego. Zwrocono szczegolną uwage na decyzje podejmowane przez wladze samorządowe, ktore wplywają na funkcjonowanie i rozwoj regionu. Uksztaltowanie odpowiedniego wizerunku i stworzenie warunkow do rozwoju wymaga wypracowania konkretnych rozwiązan i określenia kierunkow dzialan, jakimi powinny podązac wladze, aby wspierac pozytywny obraz regionu.

This article presents issues of rational energy management in the Lubuskie province. The starting point is the idea of sustainable development. The authors focus on the reduction of gas emissions in the context of sustainable development. The results obtained are collated with those in other provinces and a comparative analysis is conducted. The aim of the article is to evaluate changes in pollutant emissions, factors affecting the emissions and to indicate methods of their reduction. The authors use a fixed effects model and selected statistical tests to evaluate and chose the right model.

W pracy przedstawiono zależności między zmienną określającą ocenę atrakcyjności gmin województwa zachodniopomorskiego a zmiennymi ekonomicznymi, społecznymi i ekologicznymi charakteryzującymi właścicieli gospodarstw agroturystycznych. W celu zidentyfikowania czynników różnicujących poziom atrakcyjności badanych gmin przez gospodarstwa agroturystyczne oraz związków zachodzących pomiędzy nimi wykorzystano test niezależności χ2. Zwrócono uwagę na koncepcję wielofunkcyjności rolnictwa i znaczenie w niej działalności agroturystycznej.

In the article the relations of the credit market with the agricultural sector were evaluated. The significance of the imperfections in the allocation of resources with help of the credit market was presented. The attention was paid to both the specificity of the very agriculture and the external conditions, which were created as a result of the process of globalization. The effects of the impact of the selected macroeconomic indicators on the adjustments within the interest rate calculated with use of the changes of the prices of agricultural products were examined. Ten highly-developed countries were analyzed for regard of the similar conditions of functioning. The research period referred to 1990-2010. The conducted deliberations allowed to distinguish a group of factors influencing the terms of creating the costs of obtaining the credit money. The character of the existing correlations was analyzed. The different meaning of particular relations was proved. The presented results raise the significance of retransfers dedicated to agriculture with help of the state.

The subject of this paper is an attempt to assess the level of convergence of government health spending in the European Union countries. The ever-increasing level of life expectancy, demographic changes, including the aging of society in many European countries, and the development of medical technologies are a growing challenge for modern nations. The similarities in the changes taking place in the EU states lead to considering whether there are similar transformations in health spending? Ensuring access to primary healthcare is one of the tasks of the welfare state and it can be assumed to be a public good. Accepting these reasons, the authors set out to investigate the phenomenon of sigma and beta unconditional convergence for the level of government spending on health care in the EU countries. The answer to the question has been sought: does participation in the EU leads to convergence in government spending on health care? The study uses selected dispersion measures for sigma convergence calculations and econometric modelling for beta convergence.

Research background: The article has addressed the issue of sustainable consumption, which is becoming increasingly important on account of the adverse social and environmental consequences caused by the development and growth of societies. Sustainable consumption encourages to make rational choices and take responsibility for one's choices. Consumers take a number of decisions every day that affect not only them, but also cause externalities. There are many studies that indicate that consumers when buying goods and services are driven by environmental and ethical considerations.Purpose of the article: Changes occurring in the environment affect consumer behavior, leading to multiplicity of attitudes and changes in consumption trends. The article has shown consumer behavior in line with the concept of sustainable development against the background of trends in consumption in Poland.Methods: The basis for the discussion in the article will be: literature studies, available empirical studies, and our own results of the survey among respondents in Lubuskie voi-vodeship. Surveys using questionnaires were directed at 541 respondents. The number of correctly completed questionnaires was 500, and the figures contained in them were subjected to further analysis.Findings & Value added: Respondents in their purchasing choices are not guided by the influence of the consumption on the natural environment. However, in their behaviors we can notice some environmental measures, which stem from different reasons, depending on the socio-economic conditions.

In this paper we have evaluated the relationship of the credit market to the agricultural sector. The weakness of appropriate resource allocation from the credit market has been emphasized. We paid attention both to the external environment of agriculture itself, as well as to the way it has been shaped as a result of the process of globalization. The effect was examined of the influence of particular macroeconomic indicators adjusted according to the range of the interest rate as a result of change in the price of agricultural products. The period of the research covered the years 1990-2010. A discussion was carried out to allow for the setting apart of factors that influenced conditions which shaped the cost of financial loans and credit. The character of dependencies or related factors were analysed. The different significance of individual accounts was shown.