Regional Economy -- Year 2019, Issue 1(91)

The scientific paper emphasizes the results of the first stage of administrative-financial decentralization in Ukraine that has been lasting for four years. The authors substantiate the reasonability of considering decentralization as the mechanism to achieve boosting of economic growth in the country according to the “upward” principle based on active use of own socio-economic resources of communities. The paper defines the major goals of the reform across the levels of public governance and the goal of the policy in the sphere of decentralization, which stipulates the shift from decentralized governance model, securing the capability of local governance and development of efficient system of authorities’ territorial organization in Ukraine. Possible risks of negative impact of fiscal decentralization on economic growth of the country are explained based on defining the peculiarities of the reform implementation in the western countries. Basic principles to be taken into account in forming of methodical approaches to evaluation of the efficiency of decentralization mechanisms in the context of their impact on socio-economic development of a territory are outlined. The institutional provision of decentralization reform in Ukraine is analyzed. The peculiarities of compliance with the stages of implementation of the local governance and authorities’ territorial organization reform in Ukraine are determined. Special attention is paid to the condition of legislative maintenance of the reform. The authors outline the dualistic approach to decentralization in Ukraine at conceptual level, which stipulates not only the securing of efficient local governance and capability of administrative-territorial units of basic level, but also the need to establish efficient regional policy. The paper defines the features of CTCs forming in Ukraine from the viewpoint of specifying of the number of consolidated local councils and the number of residents as well as the level of financial provision of budgets of such administrative-territorial groupings. Major problems of forming and development of CTCs in conditions of conclusion of the first reforming stage and possible risks caused by these problems are outlined. 

administrative-financial decentralization, goals of the reform, legislative provision of decentralization, consolidated territorial communities, capability 

Socio-economic implications of the voluntary association of territorial communities at the administrative and financial decentralization final stage and the expected reformatting of the administrative and territorial structure of Ukrainian regions create favorable conditions for the growth of cities’ economic power and their role in the development of regions and the country as a whole. It is worth noting that without strong regional centers it is difficult to develop strong regions. The main purpose of the article is to determine the features of the impact of administrative and financial decentralization on changing the cities’ positioning in the Carpathian region’s socio-economic system, as well as to outline the perspective directions of their development in the new administrative-territorial and financial system of Ukrainian regions. In particular, the article outlines the main reasons that cause the low activity of cities in the region during the implementation of administrative and financial decentralization in 2015-2017. The potential threats to the spatial development of the Carpathian region cities as a result of administrative-territorial and budgetary system reformatting are highlighted, as well as possible ways for their effective settlement are defined. The features of the cities’ positioning in the economy of regions and districts as administrative and financial decentralization result in 2015-2017 convincingly testify that the Carpathian region centers and cities of regional significance are those “centers of growth” that most actively influence the process of socio-economic development in their areas, including due to the benefits of fiscal decentralization. In the long run, uniting around the cities of regional significance and effective cooperation of regional centers with neighboring united territorial communities can intensify the process of urban development, open up opportunities for balancing the interests of these cities as growth centers and suburban territorial communities interested in improving the quality of their inhabitants’ life. 

administrative and financial decentralization, united territorial communities, cities of region significance, city positioning, financial capacity 

The paper investigates the strengthening of intraregional differentiation of the development of territorial communities in Ukraine under the influence of decentralization reform and administrative-territorial reform. The types of asymmetries of territorial communities’ development are identified, among them: organizational, functional, social, budgetary, institutional. The conducted analysis of organizational asymmetries related to the formation of territorial communities has made it possible to identify significant gaps by number and area of ??the united territorial communities (UTCs). The capacity and the size of the population of community are interrelated, because the large communities have greater opportunities for business development due to the availability of labor resources and the ability to hold infrastructure objects and institutions of communal property. Instead, small-scale UTCs are usually financially feasible only if they have budget-generating companies. Unfortunately, the creation of a significant part of UTCs has taken place without taking into account the capacity requirements and contrary to the requirements of the methodology in order to obtain additional authority and resources. As a result of violations, there were problems of the possibility of further functioning of newly formed territorial communities. Among the UTCs created during the years of reform, there is a strong differentiation by level of their financial capacity. The ratio between the minimum and maximum values of own revenues of UTCs’ budgets per inhabitant (asymmetric scale) is about 40 times. The distribution of UTCs’ revenues depending on the population size are analyzed and it is found out that with each subsequent year of power decentralization reforms the territorial communities with higher financial capacity were formed. The lack of sufficient economic potential for UTCs’ development is confirmed to be the reason of low level of financial capacity of their overwhelming majority. Attention is drawn to the necessity of leveling the risk of increasing differentiation and the gap between UTCs and territories that have not gone through the process of unification. The measures for overcoming intraregional development differentiations are proposed, among which is the necessity to adhere to certain criteria concerning population size, share of transfers in income, share of managerial expenses while the formation of a UTC; maximum use of endogenous factors of territorial communities’ development; elimination of conflict situations between the center and the periphery when planning the development of the territory, etc. 

differentiation of development, asymmetry, territorial community, financial capacity, economic potential, region 

The importance of cross-border cooperation in the socio-economic development of the border regions is emphasized and the need to develop its strategic directions is grounded. The authors confirm that the strategy of cross-border cooperation should be one of the sections of the state regional policy and policy of the border territorial entities, should contain key operational and thematic objectives, cover the financing mechanism and features of the instruments for its provision. The author’s approach to the definition of the main stages of the process of formation of the cross-border cooperation strategy at the regional level is proposed, their content, functional characteristics and key parameters for the implementation of the measures are disclosed. According to the author’s approach, the process of forming of cross-border cooperation strategy at the regional level should include the following steps: 1) identification of long-term goals of cross-border cooperation in the main functional areas: sustainable development, employment, tourism, transport, communications, environment, security, border infrastructure, etc.; 2) analysis of potential of transboundary regions in the retrospective and strategic aspects with specification of the matrix of SWOT analysis; 3) institutional and managerial support for cross-border cooperation; 4) determination of the most rational forms of CBC; 5) justification of volumes and sources of financial support of cross-border cooperation; 6) selection of CBC financing instruments; 7) definition of strategic alternatives and justification of the strategy of cross-border cooperation; 8) implementation, monitoring, control and evaluation of the impact and risks of cross-border cooperation. The process of forming of CBC strategy involves its implementation, monitoring, control, evaluation of performance and risks. This stage involves the study of the effectiveness of the CBC implementation, the degree of convergence and integration of transboundary regions in the context of risk management that accompanies this process. The strategy of cross-border cooperation should clearly define the overall long-term priorities of cooperation in terms of their specificity, time and financial dimension, flexibility and consistency. Strategic goals should reflect the basic European values and promote convergence of the regions of the countries on both sides of the border. 

cross-border cooperation strategy, thematic objectives, financial support, regional development policy, subjects and participants in cross-border cooperation 

The development of cross-border tourism markets can not be considered beyond the basic principles of EU development policy - smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The approach to the development of tourism based solely on the use of cultural and natural resources is unpredictable in modern conditions. European experience proves that it is important to consider tourism not as a sphere in the shadow of the industrial sector, but as an integral part of the regional innovation system and an element of the development of the knowledge economy in the region. At the same time, smart-development of tourism is based not only on the active use of the newest information and communication technologies, but also on managerial innovations, production of innovative types of tourist services, application of technologies related to the use of robotics, innovative medical equipment, renewable energy, etc. The purpose of the article is to determine strategic priorities of the development of cross-border tourism market on the basis of smart-specialization, definition of directions of joint actions of Ukraine and the EU countries (both at the level of authorities and local self-government, and business sector) in the development and promotion of new tourist products, substantiation of directions of effective the use of endogenous tourist potential of a cross-border region in conditions of activation of European integration processes. On the basis of the study, main development directions of Ukrainian-Polish cross-border tourism market on the basis of smart-specialization are defined as following: creation of a digital platform for the Ukrainian-Polish cross-border tourism market, active promotional campaign for tourist products of Ukrainian-Polish cross-border tourism market, development of cycling tourism and creation of an inter-state bicycle route, expansion of market by increasing the number of tourists aged 55+ and creation of tourist products for this age group as well as development of sentimental (nostalgic) tourism. 

cross-border tourism market, smart-specialization, tourist products, strategic development priorities 

The purpose of the article is to reveal methodological approaches to analysis of the development of rural territories in Ukraine. The authors note that the complex analysis and evaluation of the results of rural areas’ development is an integral part of formation and implementation of the strategy of diversification of rural territories’ development in Ukraine. The paper emphasizes that the availability of analytical information on the state of development of rural territories is a prerequisite for making grounded decisions on diversification of rural territories in the regions of Ukraine and improving the quality of life of rural population. The methodical approaches to the analysis of territories’ development have been considered. The paper proves that the definition of the peculiarities of social, economic and ecological development of rural territories makes it possible to elaborate effective practical recommendations for the diversification of the development of a separate rural consolidated community. A methodology for analyzing the development of rural territories in Ukraine has been developed. It covers the consistent implementation of the following stages: the assessment of the development of rural territories in Ukraine, the diagnosis of rural territories in the region, the characteristics of the preconditions for diversification of rural consolidated communities, the modeling and development of strategic directions of diversification of rural territories in conditions of decentralization, monitoring of changes in the development of rural territories and control over the implementation of the goals of diversification of rural territories in terms of decentralization. The application of the proposed methodological approaches to the analysis of the development of rural territories in the context of the implementation of the decentralization reform can serve as the basis for making informed decisions regarding the strategy of diversification of rural territories, increasing the competitiveness of rural consolidated communities. This is possible on the basis of the diagnosis of rural development and the identification of priority areas for economic activity for each of them, which should be the ground for implementation of modern regional policy in the context of decentralization of authorities. 

rural development analysis, decentralization, rural consolidated territorial community, diversification of rural areas development, quality of life of rural inhabitants 

The article analyzes the experience of reforming of industrial policy of the EU member states on the way to sustainable economic development. Based on the conducted analysis the priority areas of high added value in Ukraine are outlined: transport, aerospace, energy engineering, production of equipment for alternative energy, including new materials and energy storage devices; production of weapons, military and special equipment; information and communication technologies. The development of the diversified and high-tech industries, especially the processing industry, is the key to ensuring the economic growth in Ukraine. The de-industrialization in Ukraine in recent years has been slowing down the movement towards the stable and sustained growth. To estimate trends in the structure of Ukraine’s GDP and their impact on economic growth, the taxonomic indicator of development level has been calculated. The units of the statistical aggregate (data from Germany, Poland and Ukraine) were mapped. The relative position of the state was determined as the distance from the statistical aggregate unit to the selected reference base (reference point). The smaller the value of the taxonomic indicator of development is, the closer the country is to the standard. The indicators of GDP, GDP growth rate and the share of industrial production belong to stimulants; the level of inflation and the share of agriculture in GDP - to disincentives. The corresponding calculations permit to draw the following conclusions: - Poland was the closest to the standard in 2000 (index 0.650), although Ukraine demonstrated at that time the highest growth rates and the biggest share of industry in GDP; - in 2017 the gap was increasing - Ukraine was inferior to both countries (with indicators 0.325 and 0.336), due to lower rates of economic growth and a decrease in the share of industrial production against the backdrop of inflationary phenomena. Ukraine should take into account that no country focused on agricultural development has succeeded in economic development. Progressive foreign experience can highlight the criterion of positive changes - an increase in the proportion of technologically complex productions with high added value in the structure of reproduction. 

economic growth, industrial policy, industrialization, deindustrialization, EU countries, taxonomic development index 

The theoretical and methodological foundations of formation and development of clusters, which are the newest and effective tool for increasing the competitiveness of the national economy, are considered. The world experience in the formation and effective functioning of cluster formations is analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the development of clustering of the economy of European countries. The main branches of European countries, in which the largest number of clusters operates, are determined. The peculiarities of functioning of the cluster economy model in Scandinavian countries, Italy, Germany, countries of Central and Eastern Europe are analyzed. The clusters that work most effectively are listed. The advantages of combining enterprises into clusters and the influence of the latter on the development of technology transfer and the innovation and investment development of the country and its regions in the conditions of global competition are determined. The peculiarities of economy clustering and its new forms are studied. The expediency of using the clustering mechanism in Ukraine based on the experience of highly developed countries of the world is substantiated. The methodical approaches to comparative analysis of development stages and mechanisms of effective use of economic advantages of clusters on micro, meso and macro levels, as well as typology of clusters and the classification of types of cluster associations have been improved, which made it possible to identify the structure of economic interests of cluster participants in the process of implementing competitive relations. The transformational changes in the activity of clusters as a result of the evolution of global processes and the intensification of the use of information and communication technologies are considered. The expediency of creation and functioning of clusters in Ukraine as an important factor in ensuring the competitive advantages of its economy in the conditions of global development is substantiated. The current state and problems of the development of innovation-technological clusters in Ukraine are revealed. The identified areas of the economy and the sectors in which the clusters were created are the following: the construction industry, heavy and light industry, the agrarian sector and tourism. The prospective directions of clustering at the level of transport infrastructure, cross-border clusters and clusters with IT technologies are mentioned. The paper explores the mechanism of formation of cluster associations on the basis of identification of the main market trends and determines organizational principles and forms of interaction of cluster participants, as well as technologies of forming current competitive advantages in national sector clusters and increasing the competitiveness of the Ukrainian economy. The author suggests the directions of improvement of the state policy in terms of stimulation of creation and functioning of innovation-technological clusters in Ukraine and attraction of small and medium enterprises to their network. Proposals regarding the increase of cluster functioning efficiency and ensuring of their positive influence on the development of national economy are offered. Recommendations on the implementation of cluster strategies in Ukrainian economy are developed. 

clusters, clustering of economy, competitive advantages, global innovation space 

Slow transformations in socio-economic development of Ukrainian regions in the context of public authorities’ decentralization policy show poor efficiency of both state regional policy in general and regional policies of territories’ development in its former forms. This activates discussions and search for more efficient and adequate approaches to management of spatial development in the context of implementation of European integration course, taking into account the experience of European Union. The paper aims to outline the nature of modern role of regions in the context of regional policy and to reveal and explain the trends of practical implementation of new regional policy in the EU with further development of recommendations for authorities to be considered in strategic governance of territorial development in Ukraine. The nature of modern role of regions in the context of regional policy is outlined and conceptual foundations of new EU regional policy are defined. Special attention in paid to the increasing role of local actors and public authorities’ decentralization in the process of regional development governance. The trends of forming and implementation of new regional policy in the EU are revealed and specified, including the compliance with the established European values, interrelation between the goals of the policies of EU regions and cities with stimulation of economic growth and improvement of the quality of life based on strategic investment; structural changes in forming of European budget, innovative imperative of EU regional development and strengthening of external integration of regions. Based on the analysis of European experience, the lessons for authorities responsible for state regional policy of Ukraine are outlined. Targeted recommendations for state authorities are suggested to be taken into account in the process of forming and implementation of regional development strategy in conditions of decentralization of authorities and ongoing European integration processes. Special role is paid to the need to apply “soft” measures of regional policy that contribute to more extended attraction of informal institutes and creation of conditions for involvement of all regional actors into the process of making and accomplishment of management decisions. 

regions, new regional policy, trends, decentralization, regional development strategies