IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/eurcou/v10y2018i2p280-299n7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Quality of Life and Quality of Living in Rural Communes in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Michalska-Żyła Agnieszka

    (University of Łódź, Faculty of Sociology and Economics, Department of Rural and Urban Sociology, Rewolucji 1905r. 41/43, 90-214Łódź, Poland)

  • Marks-Krzyszkowska Małgorzata

    (University of Łódź, Faculty of Sociology and Economics, Institute of Spatial Economics, Department of Local Government Economics, Rewolucji 1905r. 41/43, 90-214Łódź, Poland)

Abstract

Quality of life is an issue taken into account increasingly more often as one of the main elements of the evaluation and in comparisons between countries, regions and communes (local governments). The aim of this article is to show the relationship between quality of life and quality of living in rural communities at varying levels of socio-economic development. The analysis of both aspects yields the opportunity to observe the relationship between objective resources of the local community as well as the level of their socio-economic condition and level of satisfaction of the inhabitants, the latter of which results from, inter alia, their ability to meet specific needs within the local environment. The presented analysis leads to several main conclusions. The first is that the rural residents who participated in the study were characterized by a relatively high satisfaction with their own lives. The main source of their life satisfaction was the family sphere. The greatest source of dissatisfaction was their financial situation. The second conclusion comes from the analysis of their subjective assessment of their quality of living in terms of the local commune. The examined residents overall positively assessed the conditions of living in their community. They were content, first and foremost, with the natural environment and security. The lowest level of satisfaction with living in the commune was associated with such aspects as technical infrastructure, transport links, activities of NGOs and political parties, and the lack of possibilities to exert influence on what is happening in the commune. However, it is difficult to specify general correlations that would clarify the relationship between quality of life and quality of living in rural communities. The regression analysis confirmed the weak link between these phenomena. The final conclusion confirms the thesis of the high heterogeneity and diversity of rural communes in Poland, even within a socially, culturally and economically coherent area of a voivodeship (province).

Suggested Citation

  • Michalska-Żyła Agnieszka & Marks-Krzyszkowska Małgorzata, 2018. "Quality of Life and Quality of Living in Rural Communes in Poland," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 10(2), pages 280-299, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:eurcou:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:280-299:n:7
    DOI: 10.2478/euco-2018-0017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2018-0017
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/euco-2018-0017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Shucksmith & Stuart Cameron & Tanya Merridew & Florian Pichler, 2009. "Urban--Rural Differences in Quality of Life across the European Union," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(10), pages 1275-1289, December.
    2. Ed Diener & Eunkook Suh, 1997. "Measuring Quality Of Life: Economic, Social, And Subjective Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 189-216, January.
    3. Luiz D’Agostini & Alfredo Fantini, 2008. "Quality of Life and Quality of Living Conditions in Rural Areas: Distinctively Perceived and Quantitatively Distinguished," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 487-499, December.
    4. Robert Cummins, 1996. "The domains of life satisfaction: An attempt to order chaos," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 303-328, January.
    5. James O. Bukenya & Tesfa G. Gebremedhin & Peter V. Schaeffer, 2003. "Analysis of Quality of Life and Rural Development: Evidence from West Virginia Data," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 202-218, June.
    6. Jennifer A. Yoder, 2003. "Decentralisation and Regionalisation after Communism: Administrative and Territorial Reform in Poland and the Czech Republic," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(2), pages 263-286.
    7. Annette Spellerberg & Denis Huschka & Roland Habich, 2007. "Quality of life in rural areas: processes of divergence and convergence," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 283-307, September.
    8. Stanny, Monika & Rosner, Andrzej & Kozdroń, Edyta, 2016. "Changes in the Spatial Distribution of the Level and Dynamics of Socio-Economic Development of Rural Areas in Poland," Village and Agriculture (Wieś i Rolnictwo), Polish Academy of Sciences (IRWiR PAN), Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, vol. 4(173).
    9. Robert Biswas-Diener & Ed Diener, 2001. "Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Satisfaction in the Slums of Calcutta," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 329-352, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Megan King & Vivian Renó & Evlyn Novo, 2014. "The Concept, Dimensions and Methods of Assessment of Human Well-Being within a Socioecological Context: A Literature Review," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 681-698, May.
    2. Toni Babarović & Lidija Burušić & Josip Burušić, 2011. "Who are the Supporters of Croatian Membership in the European Union and NATO? Predictive Value of Personal and National Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 71-80, May.
    3. Rodica Enache & Mihaela Luminita Sandu & Constаntinа Alinа Milos (Ilie) & Maria Stirbetiu (Stancu), 2021. "Influence of Covid-19 pandemic on employees' quality of life in Romania," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 22(1), pages 376-384, August.
    4. Musa Pazhuhan & Saeed Zanganeh Shahraki & Niloofar Kaveerad & Sirio Cividino & Matteo Clemente & Luca Salvati, 2020. "Factors Underlying Life Quality in Urban Contexts: Evidence from an Industrial City (Arak, Iran)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-16, March.
    5. Phillip Gregg & Philip Salisbury, 2001. "Confirming and Expanding the Usefulness of the Extended Satisfaction With Life Scale (ESWLS)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 1-16, April.
    6. Vaishar Antonín & Vidovićová Lucie & Figueiredo Elisabete, 2018. "Quality of Rural Life. Editorial 16 June 2018," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 10(2), pages 180-190, June.
    7. Nadine Häusler & Oliver Hämmig & Matthias Bopp, 2018. "Which Life Domains Impact Most on Self-Rated Health? A Cross-Cultural Study of Switzerland and its Neighbors," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 787-802, September.
    8. Sean Moore & Heather Leslie & Carrie Lavis, 2005. "Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in the Kingdom of Tonga," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 70(3), pages 287-311, February.
    9. Sabina Alkire, 2013. "Choosing Dimensions: The Capability Approach and Multidimensional Poverty," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Nanak Kakwani & Jacques Silber (ed.), The Many Dimensions of Poverty, chapter 6, pages 89-119, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Massimo Aria & Michelangelo Misuraca & Maria Spano, 2020. "Mapping the Evolution of Social Research and Data Science on 30 Years of Social Indicators Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 803-831, June.
    11. Rodica Enache & Mihaela Luminita Sandu & Constаntinа Alinа Milos (Ilie) & Maria Stirbetiu (Stancu), 2021. "The self-esteem and work motivation of Romanian employees in the Covid-19," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 22(1), pages 397-408, August.
    12. Archana Sinha & Bibhas Chandra & Arvind Kumar Mishra & Shubham Goswami, 2023. "An Assessment on Quality of Life and Happiness Indices of Project Affected People in Indian Coalfields," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-24, June.
    13. Mammen, Sheila & Bauer, Jean W. & Lass, Daniel A., 2009. "Life Satisfaction Over Time Among Rural Low-income Mothers," Working Paper Series 47511, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Resource Economics.
    14. Li, Qian & Stoeckl, Natalie & King, David & Gyuris, Emma, 2017. "Exploring the impacts of coal mining on host communities in Shanxi, China – using subjective data," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 125-134.
    15. Ruta, Danny & Camfield, Laura & Donaldson, Cam, 2007. "Sen and the art of quality of life maintenance: Towards a general theory of quality of life and its causation," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 397-423, June.
    16. Qian Li & Natalie Stoeckl & David King & Emma Gyuris, 2018. "Using Both Objective and Subjective Indicators to Investigate the Impacts of Coal Mining on Wellbeing of Host Communities: A Case-Study in Shanxi Province, China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 895-921, June.
    17. Laura Camfield & Kaneta Choudhury & Joe Devine, 2009. "Well-being, Happiness and Why Relationships Matter: Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 71-91, March.
    18. Uzi Rebhun, 2009. "Housing Adjustment Among Immigrants in Israel: Application of Complementary Non-Metric and Metric Techniques," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 92(3), pages 565-590, July.
    19. Kathleen Lloyd & Christopher Auld, 2002. "The Role of Leisure in Determining Quality of Life: Issues of Content and Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 43-71, January.
    20. Uysal, Muzaffer & Sirgy, M. Joseph & Woo, Eunju & Kim, Hyelin (Lina), 2016. "Quality of life (QOL) and well-being research in tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 244-261.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:eurcou:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:280-299:n:7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.