The Evolution of Local Public Service Provision in Poland

Abstract

In Poland the evolution of local public service provision has followed a different development course from that taken in most of Western Europe, yet perhaps somewhat typical of Central and Eastern European countries. The starting point in 1990, at the beginning of a complex political and economic transformation process, was a centralised system dominated by state-owned providers, but major decentralisation reforms empowered local governments and made them the dominant service provider in many sectors. The paper brings the review of institutional forms of public service provision in Poland in different fields of public utilities (energy sector, water and sewage, public transport, waste management), education, healthcare and personal social services in the context of municipalisation, corporatisation and privatisation that followed the democratic breakthrough of 1989/1990.