Discounted methods are broadly applied to evaluate the effectiveness of investment projects. These methods do not pose difficulty calculating and interpreting their outcome as long as the NPV function is monotonic. However, the lack of monotonicity of this function creates obstacles to efficient applications of the mentioned methods. The current state of knowledge on this matter suggests that various modifications of such methods should be used in order to avoid any ambiguity of measures in case the NPV function is non-monotonic. However, it is not infrequent that instead of eliminating disadvantages of discounted methods the said modifications lead to an erroneous interpretation of the achieved results. Then, a more radical solution is to use an NPV measure as one unburdened with errors originating from unconventional cash flows and to abandon measures like the IRR. However, this solution may also be incorrect because - despite obtaining a single NPV measure - its interpretation cannot be adequate due to the function’s intervals in which the NPV increases together with an increasing discount rate, which can lead to an absurd conclusion that an investment project would become more profitable if the cost of capital was higher. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.27.1.6334

An efficient market should not show any anomalies. When new information reaches a market which is efficient, it should automatically translate into prices of assets, which ought to eliminate the possibility of gaining an advantage over other investors, thus preventing excess profits. However, studies on capital markets indicate that in reality it is possible to earn unusually high profits by taking advantage of certain anomalies which occur on a given market. Among such anomalies there is the momentum effect. This study performed on the Stock Exchange in Warsaw has shown that the momentum effect occurred throughout the entire analyzed time period. Positive returns demonstrated for investment strategies based on the momentum effect were unexplainable by the classical theory of finances. A correlation was found between the economic situation on the stock exchange and portfolio return rates, but it was too weak to attribute the effect to a single decisive factor. In addition, the returns from investments based on the momentum effect were statistically higher in January than in the other months, which was caused by the January effect, stimulating the occurrence of statistically higher returns at the beginning of a year rather than later on during the analyzed period of time.

Województwo warmińsko-mazurskie należy do województw o najniższym poziomie wzrostu gospodarczego w Polsce. Biorąc pod uwagę znaczenie kapitału ludzkiego w stymulowaniu wzrostu gospodarczego, można założyć, że jego niski poziom stanowi jedną z barier ograniczających możliwość zdynamizowania procesów wzrostu i rozwoju gospodarczego w omawianym regionie. Celem analiz, których wyniki zaprezentowano w pracy, jest wskazanie wybranych determinant niskiego poziomu kapitału ludzkiego w województwie warmińsko-mazurskim. Uzyskane wyniki pozwalają na stwierdzenie, że wśród najważniejszych uwarunkowań tego stanu należy wskazać relatywnie niski poziom konkurencyjności województwa w zakresie kształtowania kapitału ludzkiego oraz niski poziom konkurencyjności gospodarki województwa, którego bezpośrednim skutkiem jest względnie niekorzystna sytuacja na regionalnym rynku pracy, co prowadzi do odpływu najbardziej wykwalifikowanej i najlepiej wykształconej części zasobów siły roboczej.

This article investigates the role of the model of family and their savings as a support to growth and source of economic sustainability. The central objective of the present article was to determine the impact of the model of a family on the propensity to save money in the population of Poland. As indicated by independence tests, in most studied cases, the model of a family does not have a key role in sustainable consumption and saving behavior. The only exception are the forms of allocation of the saved capital. The study results suggest that households in Poland hold traditional views on the family model and the allocation of their savings. Decisions in everyday life are often reached together with the partner, which may attest to the growing egalitarian tendencies in Polish families. The research shows that the funds saved monthly by households are not planned in advance but constitute a financial surplus after all the expenses have been paid, which is then set aside as a reserve for the future. Partners usually prefer to have separate bank accounts with funds for day-to-day spending. However, the awareness concerning the forms of allocating capital is still poor, which is confirmed by the fact that most of the financial surplus is kept in the current account. The funds saved this way are spent to satisfy current needs, such as holidays or durable goods, and cover expenses in emergencies, which may be particularly important in the context of minimizing the risk of poverty and social exclusion, which should be prevented in line with the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

The growing wealth of the Polish population noted in the recent years has led to a significant change in the behaviour of Poles as consumers. Increasingly often, the type and volume of purchases are dictated not only by real and objective reasons but also by impulse buying. In consequence, any retail outlet frequented by consumers to make purchases is no longer a place where thoroughly planned purchases are made, but a site where consumer needs are created by marketing activities. They are therefore a significant instrument of creating some influence on the consumer at the point of sale and multiplying the entrepreneur’s revenue, which is particularly important in large retail grocery shops, where an average Pole buys most groceries. The study showed that the most significant determinants of impulse buying are the age and sex of consumers. Young people display quite a high level of impulse consumption. Because of their age, they do not attach much importance to planning expenses, which frequently leads to irrational spending. Impulse purchases are more often made by women, who most often do grocery shopping. Women also spend more time in shops than men do. As a result, they are more exposed to merchandising activities carried out in retail outlets. It has been noticed that the atmosphere in a shop and the consumer’s mood while shopping have a significant impact on how much the consumer will buy. The amounts of products bought tend to increase when the consumer’s mood is extreme (very good / very bad). It was alsoobserved that a higher level of unplanned and impulse purchases is achieved by households with higher income, which in general allows them to buy more. The volume of unplanned and impulse purchases is distinctly higher in supermarkets and hypermarkets, which implicates much greater opportunities to use marketing strategies stimulating this type of purchases in such large shops than in small local shops.