Expenditure on ASIF in the Years 1991-2018 as an Example of the Redistributive Function of Poland’s Agricultural Budget

The aim of the paper was to indicate the size of expenditure on the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (ASIF) on the background of changes that occurred in the agricultural budget, state budget and GDP in almost the entire period of adjustment of the Polish economy to market conditions. This period covers the years 1991-2018 and concerns budgetary expenditure supplementing the deficit, in particular the Pension Fund of ASIF as an example of the implementation of the redistributive function of the state budget. The study covered the share of expenditure on the agricultural sector in the total expenditure of the state budget and in the developed Gross Domestic Product, as a reference to the economic situation in the economy. The analyses showed that the share of budgetary expenditure on rural areas, agriculture and agricultural markets, in the analysed period, increased significantly after Poland’s integration with the EU, which primarily constituted a pro-development impulse. Expenditure on ASIF benefits, in a way, reflect the satisfaction of social needs related to rural areas and agriculture. The share of social expenditure (on ASIF) in total state budget expenditure decreased at the same time. However, it is noticeable that the nominal volume of these expenditures slightly increased in relation to the stabilised level (ca. PLN 17.5 billion) from past years. The authors believe that this amount should not be lower, because the social insurance system of farmers has been effectively “sealed” and additionally there is an increase in pension benefits in the whole economy (within ZUS), which is also an indirect reason for their increase in ASIF.