The importance of biogas in the energy mix in Poland and Latvia is very low. In Poland, 306 million m3 of biogas is produced annually, and in Latvia, 56 million m3. The share of energy from agricultural biogas in Latvia is 1.6%, and in Poland, only 0.12%. This study analyzed the impact of the structure on CO2 emissions from agricultural biogas production in Latvia and Poland. The emission was determined in accordance with the EU directive. The structure of substrates was dominated by those from the second generation, i.e., manure and food waste. In Latvia, it was 70%, and in Poland, 78%. The manure share was 45% and 24%, respectively. The anaerobic digestion of manure guarantees high GHG savings thanks to the avoided emissions from the traditional storage and management of raw manure as organic fertilizer. The level of emissions from the production of agricultural biogas was calculated for the variant with the use of closed digestate tanks, and it was about 10–11 g CO2/MJ, which is comparable to the emissions from solar photovoltaic sources. When using open tanks, the emission level was twice as high, but it was still many times less than from the Polish or Latvian energy mix. Such a low level of emissions resulted from the high share of manure. The level of emission reduction reached 90% compared to fossil fuels. The use of second-generation feedstock in biogas production provides environmental benefits. Therefore, if wastes are used in biogas generation, and the influence on the local environment and overall GHG emissions is positive, authorities should support such activity.

Farming is a risky business. Every farmer has to cope with various kinds of natural, technological, personnel-and market-related risks. The most important strategies in risk management in farming include diversification of production and income, entering into contracts, vertical integration and insurance. Production insurance allows for transfer of risk outside individual farms, allowing them to stabilize their income. Since 2006, insurance is obligatory in Poland for crops and is partially subsidized by the state. Popularization of insurance is still lower than assumed in the programmes devised to provide support for agriculture. The aim of this study is to assess the functioning of compulsory crop insurance subsidized by the state budget in Poland and the reasons limiting its development. The analysed period included years 2006-2016, and for quantitative data-years 2009-2015. The author used statistical data from Central Statistical Office and governmental institutions. It was found that compulsory crop insurance developed dynamically in the early years after introduction of the concept. Each year, about PLN 200 million was paid by the state budget to subsidize crop insurance (ca. EUR 50 million). After year 2010, the area of crops insured reached 3 million hectares and it stopped to increase despite the incentives. Farmers were most eager to secure those crops, which are susceptible to natural risks, as well as those with high shares in the sowing structure. Rapeseed production was insured almost entirely, production of sugar beets and corn-in about 30 %, and cereals-in 20 %. The most significant barriers preventing popularization of crop insurance in Poland included: fragmentation of farms and low workforce productivity, low income in farming, high diversification of production and income of farms, high significance of direct subsidies in agricultural income, as well as high policy prices and low compensation amounts. In addition, for insurance companies, crop insurance was not profitable. The planned increase in the level of insurance subsidies to PLN 1.4 billion, increase in the level of subsidies to 65 % and the maximum level of subsidized premium to 9 % should contribute to elimination of the barriers observed and achievement of the planned level of crop insurance of 70 % of the area by year 2025.

The aim of the paper was the evaluation of subsidized crop insurance during the years 2010-2019. Crop production is highly exposed to the effects of unfavourable weather conditions leading to significant fluctuations in yield. Farmers are not able to fully cope with these phenomena. They may use the available risk reduction techniques, e.g. diversifying production, but these actions might not be sufficient. In addition, there is a need to transfer risk outside the farm for a reasonable price. Such an effect can be achieved by offering crop insurance in Poland with state subsidies. In the description, data from the Central Statistical Office were used. For change evaluation, structure indicators of insured crop surface and dynamics indicators were used to determine the relative change in the importance of particular types of crop covered by the insurance. Also, the sum insured per 1 ha of insured crops and its trend were calculated. The authors still emphasize that there is an unsatisfactory level of universality of crop insurance among farmers. Despite the modification of legal regulations concerning them, it is estimated that only approximately 20% of cultivated area is protected. In the analysed years, the insured area of cereal crops constituted over 50% of the share in total insured area. The highest percentage of insurance area was observed for oilseed rape with the highest production risk.

Britain were finally qualified for further analysis. It is an international comparative study conducted on a large group of respondents on a very important and topical topic. Findings: It was found that there are differences in the way Poles and British people use the Internet, but the majority of respondents in each country watched the appearing advertisements. Over 60% of respondents from Great Britain and about 50% from Poland found the advertisements interesting. In addition, in Poland, lower-income respondents were more likely to be interested in viewing advertisements and found them interesting more often. Among UK respondents, this was not income related. Practical Implications: The outcomes have given detailed and valuable information on the impact of online advertising on the purchasing decisions of Polish and UK households with different income levels. Originality/value: International comparative research conducted on a large group of respondents, on a very important and topical subject.

Streszczenie: Celem artykułu jest określenie czynników wpływających na zakup ubezpieczeń w świetle osiągnięć ekonomii behawioralnej. Podjęto próbę wskazania, które z czynników wpływających na zakup ubezpieczeń, opisywanych w wynikach dotychczas przeprowadzonych badań, przemawiają za racjonalnością podejmowanych decyzji, a które za uwzględnianiem przy decyzjach zakupowych innych przesłanek. Stwierdzono, że w analizie czynników wpływających na popyt na ubezpieczenia należy uwzględniać nie tylko te racjonalne, ale również emocjonalne, które przedstawione są w teorii perspektywy i behawioralnej hipotezie cyklu życia. Umożliwia to dokonanie bardziej wiarygodnych badań i pozwala na stworzenie wiarygodnego modelu zachowań konsumentów. Słowa kluczowe: ekonomia behawioralna, emocje, ubezpieczenia WprowadzeniePodstawową rolą ubezpieczeń jest zaspokojenie jednej z najważniejszych potrzeb czło-wieka, jaką jest potrzeba bezpieczeństwa. Zgodnie z hierarchią potrzeb stworzoną przez A. Maslowa jest ona umieszczona na drugim poziomie piramidy potrzeb, zaraz po potrzebach fizjologicznych. Może się zatem wydawać, że każdy, bez względu na to, czy jest klientem indywidualnym, czy przedsiębiorcą powinien być zainteresowany zakupem różnych ubezpieczeń jako narzędzi umożliwiających mu zarządzanie określonymi ryzykami, które mu zagrażają. Realizacja ryzyka może przecież przynieść negatywne skutki wpływające zarówno na stan majątku, jak i na przyszłe funkcjonowanie rodziny czy firmy.W praktyce sytuacja wygląda inaczej. Zarówno podmioty gospodarcze, jak i klienci indywidualni w głównej mierze zakupują te ubezpieczenia, które są obowiązkowe (np. ubezpieczenie odpowiedzialności cywilnej posiadaczy pojazdów mechanicznych, tzw. OC kierowcy). Produkty te kupowane są powszechnie w związku z istnieniem przymusu ubezpieczeniowego i mają najwyższy udział w wydatkach klientów na zakup ubezpieczeń w Polsce (Wicka, 2015, s. 607-617).