Migration processes and revenues of townships in selected metropolitan areas in Southern Poland

Abstract

The paper compares net rates of migration in the Krakow Metropolitan Area and the Rzeszów Potential Metropolitan Area. Two basic administrative units are analyzed: urban townships and rural townships. Other issues analyzed in the paper include changes in tax revenue and total township revenue; however; the analytical unit is limited to the township without differentiating between urban and rural townships due to data availability. The data was multiplied by an inflation index for the period between 1995 and 2009, in order to make it more comparable. The research has shown significant differences in the analyzed trends related to the size of the central city and its impact on its surroundings. The paper summarizes the research study by proposing a typology based on net migration rates and total township revenue. The Krakow area experienced strong suburbanization, while the same cannot be said about the Rzeszów area. The negligible impact the city of Rzeszów has on its surroundings is unlikely to facilitate its rise into the status of a metropolitan area. Other research studies, both Polish and non-Polish, have shown the same to be true.