Social Objectives and Functions of the “Family 500 (800)+” Programme as a Financial Policy and Financial Law Instrument in Poland

Abstract

The research area of the paper is the “Family 500(800)+” programme, which is the most expensive family policy instrument in the history of the Third Republic of Poland. Initially, that is, from 1 April 2016, the program consisted of the payment of a child-rearing benefit of PLN 500 for the second and each subsequent child. Over time, the benefit was extended to cover all children, and its amount was increased to PLN 800. The aim of the article is to analyse the “Family 500(800)+” programme as an instrument of financial policy. The paper is constructed around two research questions, i.e. “What were and are the social objectives of the “Family 500 (800+)” program me?” and “Does the programme actually achieve these objectives?” The paper concludes that while the “Family 500(800+)” programme has an impact on reducing poverty among Polish families, its effectiveness in improving the country’s demographic situation is limited.