Clustering of voivodships in Poland according to the effectiveness of professional activisation in the aspect of changes in procedures

Purpose: The aim of the research is the assessment of voivodships according to the effectiveness of basic forms of professional activisation and comparison of the results obtained for the new and old procedures of their determination.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The voivodships were clustered by using the k-means method for both new and old procedures of their determination. The impact of changes introduced from 2015 on results of clustering. The differences were examined using a simple measure of similarity. The study was conducted on the basis of statistical data on cost and employment effectiveness published in the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy.

Findings: The greatest effectiveness of the use of the funds allocated for economic activisation was observed in Pomorskie, Lubuskie and Opolskie Voivodships, and the smallest in Mazowieckie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Świętokrzyskie and Podkarpackie Voivodships. The voivodships, in which greater funds were allocated for activisation (there were high values of cost effectiveness), generally used them to a lesser extent (employment effectiveness values were lower) and vice versa. In the analysed period, a change in the procedure of determination of effectiveness measures generally did not cause large differences in results of clustering. The year 2016 was an exception, and in 2018 the results of clustering were identical.

Practical Implications: The presented research can be used to assess the impact of various factors on socio-economic phenomena. It makes it possible to determine the impact of regulatory changes on the effectiveness of various social policy instruments.

Originality/value: The added value of the research is the comparison of results for both procedures of determination of effectiveness measures.