The Institute of Finance at the Agglomeration Congress – we talked about local government finance

Katarzyna Obłąkowska, PhD, Head of the Behavioural Analysis and Social Research Team at the Institute of Finance, took part in the 2nd Congress of Agglomeration, Kalisz 2023. The meeting brought together entrepreneurs, public administration representatives and opinion leaders.

The Agglomeration Congress is an event in which speakers address topics concerning local communities and the development of medium-sized agglomerations. The debates at the congress generally concern economic and social issues related to both urban and non-urban areas. The second edition of the event, held on 5-6 June 2023, was no different. The Institute of Finance was among the patrons of the Congress.

“There is no macro-scale development without effectively developing the potential of local Poland. Therefore, issues concerning medium-sized agglomerations are extremely important for building the Polish economy. We are glad that, as the Institute of Finance, we were able to be part of such an important discourse held at the event”, commented Łukasz Chrobak, Director of the Institute of Finance.

More than a dozen panel discussions and lectures were held during the conference in Kalisz. The debate “Local government finances in uncertain times” featured Katarzyna Obłąkowska, PhD, Head of the Behavioural Analysis and Social Research Team at the Institute of Finance. The panel addressed issues of financial stability in the face of the challenges of recent years.

“There is no doubt that the past years have brought difficult experiences that local governments and the government have had to face. These include the pandemic crisis and associated sanitary restrictions, as well as economic and social challenges, energy issues, inflation, the ongoing war across our border and its consequences. Recent years have made it clear to all of us that we must be prepared to act in situations that are difficult to foresee and that require extraordinary agility and communication as well as joint and coordinated cooperation between local governments and the government to effectively develop Poland and secure the needs of citizens”, says Katarzyna Obłąkowska, PhD.

The meeting was opened by the Minister for Family and Social Policy, Marlena Maląg, who emphasised in her speech the role of cooperation and dialogue with local communities for economic development.