Impact of demographic factors on household financial decisions - evidence from Poland

This paper addresses the problem of demographic trends in Poland in terms of their impact on household financial decisions. Firstly, the results of an analysis of selected demographic data for Poland in comparison to other European countries are presented. Secondly, the main areas of household financial management sensitive to demographic risk are considered. Taking into account the current financial situation of households in Poland, we focused on the potential effects of demographic trends on borrowing decisions and decisions concerning private healthcare financing. In order to examine statistical interdependences between demographic factors and the value of loans granted to households as well as the variables measuring private healthcare expenditure, a correlation analysis and a simple linear regression were applied. The obtained results indicate that the old‐age dependency ratio and migration flows significantly influence both the value of loans granted to households and their expenditure on pharmaceuticals and outpatient care.