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We investigate the evolution of intergenerational educational mobility in Poland since 1920. We use a novel empirical method allowing for the measurement of mobility at a constant rank in the education distribution, not among education levels. This paper finds that intergenerational mobility increased after WWII. This increase was only temporary. When the new social system stabilized, intergenerational mobility decreased. The transition to a free market economy decreased intergenerational mobility but it recovered after the first 15 years of the transition. Despite these identified fluctuations, intergenerational mobility has been rather stable over time [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use administrative tabulations from occupation-based income tax (class tax) to estimate income inequality in the Duchy of Warsaw. We start off by estimating income inequality in the Department of Kalisz, and then use the decomposability of the Theil index to estimate national income inequality based on a sample of Theil indices corresponding to different settlement types. According to our results, income inequality in the Duchy was at a moderate level, although in the biggest cities it was relatively high. Income inequality at county level was positively correlated with the mean income of the county. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1923 Poland introduced an extraordinary wealth tax. I have used internal statistics of the Ministry of the Treasury to estimate wealth inequality in interwar Poland. This data source was not previously used by researchers. There are no estimates of wealth inequality in interwar Poland available in the literature. According to my estimates, the top 0.01% of wealth owners controlled 14.8% of total private wealth. The wealth share of the top 1% stood at 37.5%. The top decile owned 60.7% of total private wealth. Wealth inequality varied strongly by region. A comparison of wealth inequality in Poland with wealth inequality in other European countries in the interwar period yields a diverse picture. The wealth share of the top 0.01% was the highest in Europe, the wealth share of the top 1% was in the middle of the European ranking, and the wealth share of the top 10% was almost the lowest in Europe. The small elite of super-rich (0.01%) controlled a higher share of national wealth than their European peers, but the wealth share of the rest of the top decile was relatively low. The unequal development of former partitions may partially explain the very high top wealth shares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public pension wealth is an important component of a household’s wealth portfolio. However, due to data scarcity, it is usually omitted in the research on household wealth. The literature on augmented wealth is limited to developed economies. We use a novel data source to estimate the distribution of public pension wealth and augmented wealth in Poland. We assess the impact of education-related mortality differential on the value of public pension wealth. Our research sample includes pensioners and workers near retirement. Therefore, we measure the impact of public pension wealth on wealth distribution among those who already profit from their public pension wealth, or will profit from it soon. Moreover, the value of their public pension wealth is stable and robust, while the value of public pension entitlements of the working-age population may change rapidly due to pension system reforms. The public pension system significantly decreases wealth inequality. The Gini index equals 0.5007 for private wealth distribution and 0.3472 for augmented wealth distribution. Decomposition techniques confirm an equalizing impact of public pension wealth on the pension system. The impact of education-related mortality differential on the value of public pension wealth exists at the individual level, but it diminishes at the household level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study how the problem of the 'missing rich', the underrepresentation of the wealthiest in household surveys, affects wealth inequality estimates for the post‐socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The survey data from the second wave of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) are joined with the data from the national rich lists for Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia. Pareto distribution is fitted to the joined survey and rich lists' data to impute the missing observations for the largest wealth values. We provide the first estimates of the top‐corrected wealth inequality for the CEE region in 2013/2014. Despite a short period of wealth accumulation during the post‐1989 market economy period, our adjustment procedure reveals that wealth inequality in the Baltic countries is comparable to that of Germany (one of the most wealth‐unequal countries in Europe), while in Poland and Hungary it has reached levels observed in France or Spain. We discuss possible explanations of these findings with reference to the speed and range of privatization processes, extent of income inequality, and the role of inheritances and wealth taxes in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stress partitioning between phases, phase stress relaxation as well as origins of Al/SiCp composite strengthening are studied in the present work. In this aim, the measurements of lattice strains by neutron diffraction were performed in situ during tensile test up to sample fracture. The experimental results were compared with results of elastic–plastic self-consistent model. It was found that thermal origin phase stresses relax at the beginning of plastic deformation of Al/SiCp composite. The evolution of lattice strains in both phases can be correctly simulated by the elastic–plastic self-consistent model only if the relaxation of initial stresses is taken into account. A major role in the strengthening of the studied composite plays a transfer of stresses to the SiCp reinforcement, however the hardness of Al metal matrix is also important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of the study was to assess atopy and its risk factors in school children from Cracow. A survey of atopy in the 223 children, aged 12-14 years, in relation to developmental, environmental and social factors, was conducted in the three districts of Cracow. Atopic sensitization (SPT > 3 mm) was more prevalent in children from highly polluted district of the Stare Miasto than in children living in Prokocim and Nowa Huta (34.7%-26.1%-22.1%). Good and very good socioeconomical status was an important risk factor for development of atopy. Prevalence of atopy was also related to place of residence, living conditions and diseases in early childhood.