The problem of gender wage differentiation was evaluated as one of the most important in a countries’ legal-political, economic and social life. The purpose of this article is to examine the external determinants that effects gender wage differentiation in the Baltic States. This article research methodology is based on the study and analysis of European Union legislation to define gender equality aspects in the labor market that enables equal payment for men’s and women’s work and the statistical analysis of Eurostat, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Statistics departments’ data to determine the gender pay gap in the Baltic States. After the research authors identified a wide variety of external (legal-political, economic and social) determinants that affect gender wage differentiation. This confirmed that gender wage differentiation in all three Baltic States is highly affected by external determinants.

Research into the differences between income-generating capacities of rural municipalities and the effectiveness of vertical and horizontal transfers in levelling these differences reflects the financial situation of municipalities and their ability to meet the needs of local communities. The conclusions of this study can be used in the implementation of the government's financial policy. The aim of this article is to analyse and assess the effectiveness of the general subsidy for rural municipalities in Poland. The income-generating capacities of municipalities are expressed in the amount of tax revenue per capita, and its primary and secondary diversity is measured by the coefficient of variation weighted by the number of inhabitants. The study found very significant discrepancies among income-generating capacities of rural municipalities in Poland. The effectiveness of the fiscal equalization mechanism is moderately high, as individual transfers vary with respect to their "equalising power".

Straipsnis yra skirtas aptarti racionalaus pasirinkimo prieigą religijos sociologijoje, jos propaguotojų teiginius dėl valstybės ir bažnyčios santykio įtakos religingumui visuomenėje bei implikacijas bažnyčios ir valstybės santykio tyrimams. Apžvelgus skirtingus požiūrius į modernizacijos įtaką religijai, straipsnyje analizuojamos diferenciacijos pasekmės bažnyčios ir valstybės santykiui visuomenėje, trumpai aptariami galimi valstybės ir religijos institucijos santykių tipai bei apžvelgiamos galimybės analizuoti valstybės ir bažnyčios santykį per diferenciacijos prizmę. Straipsnyje apžvelgiama racionalaus pasirinkimo prieiga religijos sociologijoje, išryškinant šios prieigos tezes dėl valstybės ir bažnyčios santykio įtakos religijai visuomenėje, bei nagrinėjami atlikti šios srities empiriniai tyrimai, numatomos galimybės racionalaus pasirinkimo prieigą panaudoti bažnyčios ir valstybės santykiui tirti.