Regional Formation and Development Studies

One of the most important aspects influencing the quality of life is education. The paper includes the research results from an analysis of how the level of education affects quality of life, and the development of different initiatives and values. An analysis of scientific literature is performed, with a more detailed analysis of data from Latvia, taking into account the level of household income and satisfaction with life. Research methods applied: analysis of scientific findings, analysis of time-series on several indicators of development related to different education indicators, and income indicators depending on educational level, with a calculation of income confidence interval with a probability of 0.95 for households with different educational levels. Data used in the research: data from databases of the Official Statistics Portal of the Republic of Latvia, Household Finance and Consumption Survey. The research results indicate that households in Latvia with a higher education have a significantly higher income than households with primary or no education.

Income inequality has received widespread attention in the scientific literature. Income inequality has a significant impact on the health and education levels of the population, as well as increases social tension and crime rates, however there is less research on the impact of income inequality on people`s overall life satisfaction. In Lithuania and Latvia, income inequality expressed by the Gini index of disposable income is among the highest in the EU, whereas in Estonia, income inequality is slightly higher than the average in the EU. Similar results are also found for the Lithuania and Latvia regarding overall life satisfaction, which is among the lowest in the EU, while overall life satisfaction in Estonia is somewhat lower than the average in the EU. The aim of the research is to assess whether income inequality has a negative impact on people`s overall life satisfaction and to evaluate how fiscal policy has affected income inequality and overall life satisfaction in the Baltic States. The results of the research show that income inequality and life satisfaction are negatively correlated, and that fiscal policy has reduced income inequality in the Baltic States, expressed by the Gini index based on market income, on average by 30%.

Sustainable economic development isbased on the favourable and stable business environment that promotescompetitiveness of companies. Commercial banks facilitate the capital flow fromthe less efficient sectors of the economy and businesses to more competitiveindustries and enterprises. The purpose of the research is to analyze the dynamicsof the Baltic States’ GDPs during years 2005–2010and to test the GDP correlation with the loans issued by domestic commercialbanks to the businesses. The key results of the analysis provide evidence aboutthe mutual relations between the leading and influencing factors in GDP andissued loans and serve as a basis for developing proposals on fostering the recoveryof Baltic States’ economies. The Granger testanalysis performed for the aggregate GDP and lending, as well as for six industries,provides controversial results and indicates that output in some industries hasmutual relationship with the availability of financial resources, however thebusiness sector development leads to the increase of credit granting thus ensuringthe development of the sector. The methods applied in the research comprise thesystematic, logical and comparative analysis, analysis of statistical data,expert method and generalization, as well as the econometric Granger causalitytest method.

Welfare in its narrow understanding means the state’s material help given to the members of society. It also may be understood as the whole of the state’s activities aimed at multi-level support for various social groups. The aim of this paper is to show different elements of material help given to society by the state which help society to meet social security. Also, the findings based on some examples of the current Polish history show how this kind of state’s support may help politicians to gain success in elections. The author argues that the same reality, i.e., social help, may be used for people’s welfare, however, it may be also used to obtain political goals. It must be noticed that using welfare for political goals often happens the situation when electoral promises are not necessary implemented after a particular party wins the election. To achieve the main purpose of this research the method of analysis was applied. Today, welfare can be used in both ways – as a form of ensuring the social safety of society and as an effective and successful tool in election campaigns.