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Due to the growing use of ICTs in all areas of life, the means to access these technologies and skills to operate them are regarded as important prerequisites for social inclusion or, more specifically, e-inclusion. In developing states, mobile connectivity has become an important way for people to access the internet since smartphones are more affordable than computers and break down such access barriers as costs of infrastructure, equipment and required skills. The aim of the article is to present the benefits and limitations of digital inclusion through mobile access from a gender perspective and to investigate the barriers to this process. The research is undertaken from an Indian perspective. The theses verified are: 1) mobile access can represent a pragmatic solution to the digital divide, including the digital gender divide, even if mobile-only internet use does not necessarily lead to complete e-inclusion, 2) due to the nature of barriers to access, the digital gender divide remains a persistent problem in India. The research methods used were literature review, analysis of statistical data, online sources and elements of a case study. Access to mobile devices and the internet are not gender-neutral in India. There are a number of root causes of the digital gender divide, including financial constraints, technological illiteracy, as well as socio-cultural norms. Therefore, government and business activities should focus on these areas. ; Ze względu na rosnące wykorzystanie ICTs we wszystkich dziedzinach życia, posiadanie urządzeń umożliwiających dostęp do tych technologii i umiejętności ich obsługi są uważane za warunki wstępne włączenia społecznego, a dokładniej e-inkluzji. W krajach rozwijających się ważnym sposobem uzyskiwania dostępu do Internetu stała się telefonia komórkowa, ponieważ smartfony są tańsze niż komputery i wydają się znosić bariery dostępu, takie jak koszty infrastruktury, sprzętu i wymaganych umiejętności. W tym kontekście celem artykułu jest przedstawienie korzyści i ograniczeń integracji cyfrowej poprzez dostęp mobilny z perspektywy płci oraz zbadanie barier tego procesu z perspektywy Indii. Podjęto się weryfikacji dwóch hipotez: 1) dostęp mobilny może stanowić pragmatyczne rozwiązanie problemu luki cyfrowej (w tym ze względu na płeć), nawet jeśli korzystanie wyłącznie z urządzeń mobilnych niekoniecznie prowadzi do pełnej e-integracji, 2) ze względu na specyfikę barier w dostępie, cyfrowa luka między płciami pozostaje aktualnym problemem w Indiach. Zastosowane metody badawcze to krytyka literatury, analiza danych statystycznych, analiza źródeł internetowych oraz elementy studium przypadku. Stwierdzono, że w Indiach dostęp zarówno do urządzeń mobilnych, jak i do Internetu, nie jest neutralny pod względem płci. Wśród ważnych przyczyn tej sytuacji można wskazać ograniczenia finansowe, brak umiejętności, a także normy społeczno-kulturowe. Działania rządu i biznesu powinny zatem koncentrować się na tych obszarach.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to document the performance of the EU and its Member States in the light of the Europe 2020 strategy, while also painting a broader picture of the context. Its purpose is not to strictly predict whether the 2020 targets will be reached, but also to consider the consequent circumstances.THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The problem of this publication is the analysis of competitiveness of the EU and its Member States. The article uses traditional literature studies, as well as an analysis of documents, reports and statistics.THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The line of reasoning consists of four sections. The opening one provides a concise overview of the key definitions. Subsequently, the post-crisis instruments of building competitiveness are discussed. The third section juxtaposes the Europe 2020 targets and reality. The last part includes a reflection on the current challenges concerned mainly existing division in the UE.RESEARCH RESULTS: Despite of having new post-crisis competitiveness tools, some of the targets will not be achieved by 2020. Moreover, there are countries which have already over-performed, whereas some of the Member States significantly fall behind their targets.CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The capacity to deal effectively with the implementation of necessary policies and reforms in the EU is not enough. Heterogeneity of the Member States involves not only the level of competitiveness, but can be considered in many aspects. The failures seem to be a result not only weak economic performances, but are also determined by the crisis of solidarity. Working on this challenge ought to involve a larger reflection on psychological aspects and how to bring citizens along on the next stages of the European (economic) integration process.

In this paper we trace the relation between economic growth, public debt and social spending treated as a proxy for welfare state spending in the context of 2008+ crisis in advanced capitalist economies. We focus on the alleged causality between high welfare spending and growing public debt which is often said to have contributed to the current debt crisis experienced by many countries and we elaborate on the often heralded thesis that high social spending leads to low growth levels. By doing so we intend to find out if welfare states can indeed be identified as a source of current fiscal problems and prosperity issues. We perform our analysis on a group of 21 highly developed countries in 1991–2014 period basing on OECD data. Our findings suggest that evidence to support such theses are mixed and rather weak and do not allow for drawing firm conclusions about harmful impact of welfare state on economic performance. On this background we also comment on the usability of statistics and case studies in social sciences.

In this paper we trace the relation between economic growth, public debt and social spending treated as a proxy for welfare state spending in the context of 2008+ crisis in advanced capitalist economies. We focus on the alleged causality between high welfare spending and growing public debt which is often said to have contributed to the current debt crisis experienced by many countries and we elaborate on the often heralded thesis that high social spending leads to low growth levels. By doing so we intend to find out if welfare states can indeed be identified as a source of current fiscal problems and prosperity issues. We perform our analysis on a group of 21 highly developed countries in 1991–2014 period basing on OECD data. Our findings suggest that evidence to support such theses are mixed and rather weak and do not allow for drawing firm conclusions about harmful impact of welfare state on economic performance. On this background we also comment on the usability of statistics and case studies in social sciences.