Perception of the financial situation of households in Poland in conditions of uncertainty

Abstract

Objectives The financial situation of households is inseparably connected with the processes taking place in their surroundings. High inflation and the resulting lower real income, as well as uncertainty about the future, can cause changes in the previous functioning of households and their consumption. The aim of this article is to analyze and evaluate the perception of their financial situation by households in Poland, resulting from the uncertainty associated with high inflation. Material and methods The research methods used included literature studies, analysis of GUS reports, and statistical analysis of the results of survey research directed at a randomly selected group of 1000 respondents. This allowed for an assessment of whether current events have influenced the subjective assessment of households regarding their financial situation. The hypotheses were verified using the χ^2 independence test. Results According to the conducted research in February 2023, the majority of households assessed their financial situation worse than a year ago, and nearly half predict that it will worsen even more in the near future. However, the assessment of the current financial situation and its direction of change are not dependent on the gender, age, education, or place of residence of the respondent. On the other hand, predictions regarding the future financial situation are dependent on the current situation. Conclusions Based on conducted research, it can be assessed that as a result of the uncertainty caused by inflation, the moods among respondents were pessimistic.

Keywords

• households
• perception of the financial situation
• inflation
• uncertainty
• pearson's independence test