Consumer expenditure of large-city households in Poland during economic crisis

Abstract

The financial and economic crisis that started in the USA in the late 2010s affected all countries on the Old Continent, including Poland. In fact, the effects of economic slowdown produced by global recession became visible in the Polish economy in 2009. Crises exert both micro- and macroeconomic impacts. The basic microeconomic consequences of decelerating economy include declining consumption and adaptive behaviours among consumers, while the macroeconomic ones are shrinking GDP, growing unemployment (mainly structural), more enterprises going bankrupt because of Forex options, public finance problems, changing consumption structure, deteriorating financial situation of households and adjustments in their lifestyles, as well as worsening consumer confidence. The article presents an analysis of changes taking place in consumer expenditure of large-city households in Poland during financial and economic crisis. Its aim is to identify the scale of changes and restrictions affecting consumer expenditure as well as the level of needs satisfaction in the surveyed households in a period of economic slowdown. The article closes with summary and major conclusions are drawn.