An Empirical View on the Determinants of Sustainable Economic Development: Evidence from EU(28) Member States

The article is aimed at developing a methodical approach to assessing the favorability of the business environment in the process of making managerial decisions under conditions of uncertainty. The necessity of making sound managerial decisions when an enterprise carries out international activities is proved. It is noted that from the point of view of studying the conditions of international business activity, the concept of uncertainty characterizes a situation in which there is no reliable information about the possible state and trends in the factors of the business environment of the host country. A thorough analysis of the current state and trends in the transformation of business environment factors in foreign markets contributes to minimizing uncertainty. It is underlined that the use of such common global analytical systems for rating economic processes as the Global Competitiveness Index, the Ease of Doing Business Index and the Index of Countries’ Involvement in International Trade to assess the business environment is currently impossible. The author proposes to use the KOF Globalization Index, the Index of Economic Freedom, the Global Innovation Index, and the Human Development Index, which are the result of global studies of the business environment of countries. The general characteristics of each of the indices are provided, development trends are determined, the five leading countries and Ukraine’s positions are presented according to the results of the published ratings for 2022–2023. To assess the country’s favorability in carrying out international activities in terms of uncertainty and instability of its business environment, an approach to calculating the aggregated indicator based on indicators of the KOF Globalisation Index, the Index of Economic Freedom, the Global Innovation Index, the Human Development Index, combined by the PEST analysis methodology, has been developed. The use of the proposed methodological approach will help to increase the thoroughness of managerial decision-making in the implementation of international activities by the enterprise.

The United Nations sustainable development goals aim to promote global industrialization and innovation and achieve sustainable and inclusive economic development by 2030. The sustainable growth of provincial economies has emerged as a critical component of the national plan as China’s economy transitions to a new normal. This article builds an assessment index system encompassing the four "economy–society–ecology–innovation" dimensions to better assess the degree of sustainable economic development in China’s regions. It then uses the gray correlation analysis method to measure and analyze the sustainable economic development of China’s regions from 2006 to 2017. Additionally, the spatial evolution characteristics of each region’s sustainable economic development and spatial pattern are investigated through exploratory spatial data analysis and GIS spatial analysis techniques. This essay seeks to support the region’s economy in achieving sustainable development by offering theoretical underpinnings and useful advice for the creation of successful regional development plans. The study’s findings indicate that in 2017, the assessed value of the level of economic sustainability of China’s regions averaged 0.7156, an increase of 7.3% compared to 2006 while the degree of sustainable economic development in the rest of China, except Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, and Xinjiang, has steadily increased between 2006 and 2017, the gap between the regions has also widened, with the eastern region having a much higher level of sustainable economic development than the central and western regions. An analysis of the spatial evolution reveals that the degree of sustainable economic development in every region of China generally increases in positive spatial correlation. Its spatial agglomeration is becoming increasingly apparent, with more regions becoming high-high-type and low-low-type agglomerations. Regional wealth disparities, ecological governance capabilities, and technological innovation levels were identified at the local level as essential factors for provincial economic sustainable development, with varying impacts across different regions.

It is proposed using certain indicators to assess the sustainable development of the EU countries and Ukraine: for the economic measuring - the global competitiveness index, the global innovation index and the index of economic freedom; for the social measuring - the social progress index, the human development index, quality of life index; for the environmental measuring - environmental performance index. The analysis of each selected indices of the EU countries and Ukraine is carried out. The methodology for calculating the ratio of the economic, social and environmental components of sustainable development for each EU country and Ukraine is presented. Attention is focused on the significant regional diversification of sustainable development and its components in the EU countries and Ukraine; the highest, middle and lowest levels of sustainable development of counties are identified. Impact: the methodology for the study of sustainable development, proposed by the authors on the example of the EU countries and Ukraine, is based on objective international ratings that have a transparent calculation methodology. These international ratings are constantly updated and cover most of the countries of the world. Therefore, the proposed methodology makes it possible to identify countries with the highest level of economic, social and environmental development; calculate the index of sustainable development of any country in the world.

The article analyses sustainable economic development of EU countries according to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), by using indices of integrated sustainable development and environmental footprint. Sustainable economic initiatives can be driven by economic, environmental and social aspects, applying principles of innovation and knowledge. However, development requires skills, human and financial resources; in turn, it increases productivity, efficiency, competitiveness, profit, and promotes a better working environment. In general, sustainable business initiatives contribute to SDGs and reduce the environmental footprint. The scientific problem is how to develop a sustainable economy while ensuring the achievement of SDGs and at the same time reducing the environmental footprint. The object of the scientific research is the evaluation of sustainable economic development through the analysis of integrated sustainable development indicators. The aim of the research is, upon the evaluation of SDGs and environmental footprint indices as well as the analysis of the integrated sustainable development indicator, to identify the opportunities for sustainable economic development in the EU countries. The research has been carried out by analysing the scientific literature, and applying SDGs and environmental footprint methodology to calculate individual and integrated sustainable development indices. The results have shown that despite the disparity of SDG indices, the overall value of the integrated sustainable development indicator is distributed quite evenly among the EU countries. The impacts from each of the SDG indices range from 11% to 31% but the environmental footprint index has the greatest impact on the sustainable development of a country—up to 31%.

The purpose of the article is to develop a new methodological approach to the analysis of innovative activity of enterprises of the agro-industrial complex in order to ensure their sustainable economic development, taking into account the factors of economic growth. Research methods. The scientific provisions on planning innovation activities and analysis of innovative processes (the essence and content of innovation activity of enterprises are justified), modeling and organization of innovation activity, forecasting its results in economic systems (modern trends in the development of methods for analyzing and assessing innovation activity of enterprises in the system activity), as well as general scientific methods of cognition: systemic (formulated the problems of assessing the innovative activity of enterprises from the standpoint of ensuring their sustainable development and determining potential ways to solve them), complex (analysis of the parameters of the innovative activity of domestic enterprises), abstract-logical (the influence of environmental factors on the innovative activity of the enterprise is analyzed), functional and structural-level research methods (the relationship of internal factors of the enterprise's innovative activity is considered), methods of analysis and synthesis (the relationship of the internal factors of the enterprise's innovative activity is analyzed), evolutionary and historical approaches (the relationship of the factors of the enterprise's innovative activity with the parameters of its sustainable development is considered). Research results. The methodological foundations of the innovative activity of agro-industrial complex enterprises have been theoretically substantiated as the degree of intensity of their actions on the creation and development (practical implementation) of innovations in the context of rapidly changing external conditions and tough market competition. Despite the high cost of mistakes in the innovative development of agricultural enterprises, the analysis of the innovative activity of an enterprise is an important tool for ensuring their sustainable economic development. Scientific novelty. The elements of scientific novelty lie in the theoretical substantiation and experimental confirmation of a new methodological approach to the analysis of the innovative activity of agricultural enterprises in order to ensure their sustainable economic development. This makes it possible to determine the tools for intensifying the activities of enterprises through building up and productive use of intellectual potential. The concept of “innovative activity of enterprises” is clarified and it is shown that this is one of the main characteristics of their innovative activity. The composition of the parameters of innovative activity of enterprises has been improved and a set of factors stimulating and restraining the innovative activity of agricultural enterprises has been determined. On the basis of the conducted analytical studies, the interrelation and power of the mutual influence of factors of innovative activity of enterprises, as well as the relationship of these factors with the parameters of sustainable economic development, were revealed. Practical significance of the article lies in the possibility of using its provisions and conclusions when analysing the relationship of internal factors of innovative activity of an enterprise, as well as when analysing the relationship between factors of innovative activity of agricultural enterprises with an assessment of the sustainability of their market development. The proposed set of methodological recommendations makes it possible to assess the innovative activity of an enterprise in the interests of its sustainable economic development. Tabl.: 2. Refs.: 22.

Sustainable development is the subject of many economic analyses, but so far no attempt has been made to identify the main mechanism of interdependence between sustainable energy development and sustainable economic development in the second decade of the 21st century. The particular role of energy in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is due to the fact that the production, supply and use of energy underpin economic growth. The article fills this research gap and spawns both a better understanding of the essence of sustainable development as well as practical conclusions. The aim is to assess sustainable energy development and sustainable economic development in EU member states and to determine the correlation between the two in the EU. Substantive and formal methods were used to select diagnostic variables, including: the parametric method, the standardized sums method, and correlation analysis. The analysis period covers the years 2014–2021. The conducted research demonstrated a significant variation in the level of sustainable energy development and sustainable economic development among EU countries.

Objective. The objective of the article is the analysis of the state and features of the development of special economic zones in the world.. Methods. The following methods and techniques of cognition are applied in the research process: theoretical generalization and comparison, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, grouping, correlation-regression analysis, clustering. Results. It is determined that among the wide list of indicators of investment attractiveness, the following indicators are most often used and are the most authoritative ones: Doing business Index, The Global Competitiveness Index, Global Innovation Index, Fragile States Index, Legatum Prosperity Index, Index of Economic Freedom, as well as credit ratings international rating agencies, including Moody's, Fitch, etc. Based on the analysis of the relationship between indicators of investment attractiveness and the actual volumes of FDI attraction of 101 countries of the world in 2015-2020, it is established that this relationship can be described as direct (Doing business Index, The Global Competitiveness Index, Global Innovation Index , Index of Economic Freedom) or the reverse (Fragile States index, Legatum Prosperity index); weak (Doing Business Index, Index of Economic Freedom, Fragile States Index) or moderate (Global Competitiveness Index, Legatum Prosperity (economy) Index).It is substantiated that despite the fact that the most representative indicators of investment attractiveness, according to the calculated values ​​of the correlation coefficients, are the Global Competitiveness Index and the Global Innovation Index, however, they do not have a significant impact on the actual volumes of FDI attraction of countries (the correlation coefficient varies within 0, 15-0.39), cannot be used as a dominant determinant for forecasting FDI volumes. It is substantiated that for forecasting the volume of FDI, it is advisable to use not one, but a set of indicators of investment attractiveness. It is established that the composite four-factor regression model based on individual regression equations of countries on indicators of investment attractiveness according to their cluster affiliation has the greatest predictive power.

Research background: Under the current conditions of increasing competitiveness and interdependence, national economies are more influenced by the global business environment and its development. Constantly changing economic, social, political aspects, and many other factors, cause the differences in the global competitiveness of economies, so the economies are forced to analyze their competitive level more complexly. Despite that, there is a lack of research studies analyzing the international competitiveness of EU-28 economies from the point of view various multi-criteria indices. Purpose of the article: The paper investigates the relations between the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and other selected multi-criteria indices, namely the Global Innovation Index (GII), the Doing Business Index (DBI), the Economic Freedom Index (EFI) and the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in the case of EU?28 economies. Methods: In order to investigate the relations between the global competitiveness and selected multi-criteria indices affecting the EU?28 economies, the multiple linear regression analyses were applied. The multiple regression model was quantified for every single year, as well as, the regression model using the average score of all analyzed indices. The secondary data concerning the scores of individual indices were collected based on annually published online reports over the period of 2014?2018. Findings & Value added: The research confirmed that there is a statistically significant dependence between the global competitiveness, corruption and the level of innovation potential within the EU?28 economies. Besides, we identified the worst results in the context of competitiveness evaluation especially in the area of corruption and innovation activities. In this regard, the issue of insufficient innovation development and inappropriate corruption perception is considered to be key determinants influencing the assessment of the global competitiveness of the EU?28 member states. In our opinion, to improve the competitiveness of these countries, targeted activities should be implemented in the frame of national competitive strategies, programs, and policies.

This study offers Sustainable Development Measurement using three variables, namely; The Human Development Index (HDI) represents Sustainable Social Economic Development, and the Environmental Quality (EQ) represents Environmental Sustainability, while the Exogenous Variable is Household Electrification (EoH). With Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling, the results showed; EoH positively and significantly correlated to HDI. EoH is negatively correlated and significant to EQ. HDI significantly negatively correlated with EQ. Electrification of Households causes the occurrence of Sustainable Social Economic Development, and vice versa, the electrification of households causes the occurrence of environmental sustainability, and the relationship of sustainable Social Economic Development causes the occurrence of environmental sustainability. Research Novelty is the Role of Moderation from EoH to the relationship between HDI and EQ so that provinces with low Household Electrification with Provinces with high Household Electrification will differ in environmental damage due to Sustainable Social Economic Development. Reference for Policy Makers to replace fossil fuel power plants that supply the electricity in households with environmentally friendly power plants. Keywords : Sustainable Development, Household Electrification, Structural Equation Modeling JEL Classifications : Q01, L94, C38 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10937

The evaluation of the current state of national security and the prospects for development in the field of defense capability is of great importance for any country in the world. Therefore, the aim of this research is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the methodological approaches to national security assessment used in countries over the world. The article identifies the features, advantages, and disadvantages of existing methodologies for assessing national security risks employed in Great Britain, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. As a result of the carried out research, it is found that the overwhelming majority of researchers and specialists attempt to assess the level of national security in countries worldwide using indices calculated by leading international organizations and rating agencies. Among such global indices and rankings, one can mention the following: the Global Peace Index, the Fragile States Index, the Composite National Power Index, the Military Strength Index, the Global Terrorism Index, the Corruption Perceptions Index, the Rule of Law Index, the Democracy Index, the Prosperity Index, the Global Food Security Index, the Global Hunger Index, the Global Competitiveness Index, the Human Development Index, the Global Innovation Index, the Sustainable Development Index, the Globalization Index, the Economic Freedom Index, as well as global indicators of governance. Some of the aforementioned indices directly characterize the state of national security of the surveyed countries, while others reflect the level of development of key security components. The work analyzes the dynamics of indicators that reflect the state of military security and defense capability of certain advanced countries in the world, namely: Great Britain, India, Italy, China, Germany, South Korea, the USA, Saudi Arabia, France, and Japan. Based on the conducted analysis of methods, instruments, and approaches to assessing the components of national security, it is found that a wide range of them is currently applied; however, there is no universally accepted standard. The various methods used in assessing the components of national security have their own specifics, advantages, and disadvantages, which makes it impossible to favor one over the others. It is proposed to pay special attention in the future to the development of a comprehensive methodology for assessing the state of national security, as well as the resilience of the State and society to various threats and challenges.

The non-profit sector plays a pivotal role in achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, where it represents a potential economic opportunity for development. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify ways non-profit organizations (NPOs) can support sustainable economic development through community activities, leading to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Saudi Vision 2030. The Ensan Association in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was chosen as a case study due to its importance and influence in this sector. The study also aimed to identify the impact of Ensan Association’s social responsibility activities on sustainable economic development in the local community, focusing on two indicators: raising the standard of living of individuals and reducing unemployment rates in Saudi Arabia. The study relied on a mixed methodology to collect data using questionnaires and interviews. Correlation analysis results showed a strong relationship between social responsibility activities and achieving the economic goals of sustainable development, namely raising the standard of living and reducing unemployment. Simple regression results also showed that a one-unit increase in social responsibility activities leads to a significant improvement in these economic goals, which positively impacts sustainable economic development. Furthermore, the results of the multiple linear regression demonstrated strong statistical significance for the model, and the study confirmed the importance of NPOs’ social responsibility activities in supporting sustainable economic development. Based on the study’s findings, it recommends empowering NPOs by developing specialized training programs for the most vulnerable groups and diversifying their funding sources to ensure sustainability. It also encourages decision-makers to adopt supportive policies and legislation that strengthen partnerships and secure investment to achieve sustainable development. The non-profit sector plays a pivotal role in achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, where it represents a potential economic opportunity for development. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify ways non-profit organizations (NPOs) can support sustainable economic development through community activities, leading to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Saudi Vision 2030. The Ensan Association in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was chosen as a case study due to its importance and influence in this sector. The study also aimed to identify the impact of Ensan Association’s social responsibility activities on sustainable economic development in the local community, focusing on two indicators: raising the standard of living of individuals and reducing unemployment rates in Saudi Arabia. The study relied on a mixed methodology to collect data using questionnaires and interviews. Correlation analysis results showed a strong relationship between social responsibility activities and achieving the economic goals of sustainable development, namely raising the standard of living and reducing unemployment. Simple regression results also showed that a one-unit increase in social responsibility activities leads to a significant improvement in these economic goals, which positively impacts sustainable economic development. Furthermore, the results of the multiple linear regression demonstrated strong statistical significance for the model, and the study confirmed the importance of NPOs’ social responsibility activities in supporting sustainable economic development. Based on the study’s findings, it recommends empowering NPOs by developing specialized training programs for the most vulnerable groups and diversifying their funding sources to ensure sustainability. It also encourages decision-makers to adopt supportive policies and legislation that strengthen partnerships and secure investment to achieve sustainable development.

The presented work is an attempt to compare the quality of governance in non-EU states in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe with which the EU Association Agreements have been concluded, and Ukraine, including aspects of the impact of the DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas). The most important issues are the interpretation of the results, the equality of countries, and the political consequences that may arise after the progression and the rapid pace of the member countries of the DCFTA towards the countries of the Balkan region. The identified countries seek full membership in the EU. Although the EU distinguishes between these countries, it recognizes “European prospects”, that is, membership in the EU, the commitments to adopt or approach EU laws and policies, made by both groups of countries, have much in common. This makes the comparison between the countries of the Balkan region and the member states of the DCFTA a sound and politically significant one. Such comparison is facilitated by numerous sources, qualitative assessments, and official ratings. Figuratively by analytical indicators, the countries can be divided into the first group of leading countries (Serbia and Montenegro) for which in February 2018 the European Commission proposed to consider 2025 as the possible date of accession to the EU. The second group (Albania and Macedonia), for which the date of accession negotiations is conditionally open in 2019. The third group includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, for which there are no dates, and Turkey, the negotiations with which are suspended. For comparison, if we take both political and economic indicators of Ukraine, it is approximately equal to the Balkan states of the second group and outstrips the states of the third group. The prospect of EU membership was recognized as the strongest external factor of internal political changes in the countries surrounding the EU. One of the most striking trends is the steady decline in the standards of political governance in all countries, for which the EU expands its membership perspective. One of the main manifestations of poor governance in the broader neighbourhood is the widespread corruption and impunity of officials. Weak rule of law and ineffective law enforcement bodies have become common practice in all different states and have allowed current officials to act impunity during their term of office. The identified results challenge the assumption dominating in political and scientific circles that a credible prospect of EU membership is steadily generating an internal environment conducive to democratic changes. The effectiveness of economic governance was assessed by the indicators of competitiveness of the national economy (Global Competitiveness Index, Corruption Perceptions Index, Human Development Index, Ease of Doing Business Index, Index of Economic Freedom, Index of Globalization, SEDA (Sustainable Economic Development Assessment)); GDP dynamics; the volume of foreign direct investment; economic activity of the population. In practice, the EU applies an increasing number of common economic policy instruments for the Balkans and member countries of the DCFTA, in spite of the political (or rhetorical) differentiation between countries, given the categorization of membership prospects. The convergence of the actual EU policy has taken place. The Association Agreements and the DCFTA have raised the level of political and economic governance in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine at the level of the Balkan countries while the expansion process for the Balkan countries has not advanced.

Recent studies focus on a new model of global process management formation and transformation. The purpose of this article is to reveal and analyze the level of economic security in Ukraine, argue the interdependence of socio‐economic development and economic security, and suggest possible ways to improve the state of things. The analysis is carried out on the basis of reliable statistical data and through the prism of the following global indices: Human Development Index, Social Progress Index, World Happiness Report, Global Innovation Index, Index of Economic Freedom, Corruption Perceptions Index. This article considers the impact of international indices of social‐economic status on economic security (the case study concerns the period of 2010–2018). The multifactor correlation‐regression analysis allows the assessment of the degree of social‐economic status indices' influence on the output results. The key findings of the study provide recommendations, the implementation of which will help Ukraine to strengthen its positions.Related ArticlesBochsler, Daniel. 2009. “Are Mixed Electoral Systems the Best Choice for Central and Eastern Europe or the Reason for Defective Party Systems?” Politics & Policy 37(4): 735–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2009.00196.x.Kilinç‐Pala, and Pinar Buket. 2021. “Approaches in Energy Exclusive Security: Theories of Energy Security and the Dominance of Realism.” Politics & Policy 49(3): 771–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12411.Kostadinova, Tatiana. 2009. “Abstain or Rebel: Corruption Perceptions and Voting in East European Elections.” Politics & Policy 37(4): 691–714. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2009.00194.x.

This research delves into the pivotal role of Financial Technology (FinTech) in advancing the financial sector, sustainable development, and financial inclusion. Employing a descriptive-qualitative approach and the systematic literature review (SLR) method, the study investigates FinTech's interplay with Sustainable Development, Financial Inclusion, and Economic Development globally. A meticulous Scopus search utilizing keywords like "Fintech," "SDGs," "Financial Inclusion," and "Economic Development" ensures a thorough review of pertinent literature. The results underscore FinTech's substantial impact on Sustainable Development, Financial Inclusion, and Economic Development, acting as a crucial catalyst for financial inclusion and mediating sustainable growth through financial literacy. Furthermore, FinTech exhibits the potential to underpin sustainable economic growth, financial inclusion, and Economic Development by enhancing financial service accessibility, reducing poverty, and fostering gender equality. Challenges persist, particularly in the Pacific region, where issues of accessibility, awareness, literacy, and trust impede FinTech adoption. The study advocates for awareness campaigns, financial education, and infrastructure development to surmount these obstacles. In conclusion, while FinTech significantly influences financial inclusion and economic growth, its broader impact on Sustainable Development, Financial Inclusion, and Economic Development necessitates careful consideration. The research emphasizes the imperative for interdisciplinary collaboration, global cooperation, and vigilant strategies to address challenges and leverage opportunities arising from the rapid integration of digital financial services for inclusive and sustainable Economic Development.

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) cover a wide range of issues important to society, such as health, education, climate change and environmental degradation. SDGs are the guidelines for the draft forecast and policy documents development, draft regulations in order to ensure the balance of economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The problem of ensuring sustainable development is considered by scientific environment, politics and economics environment. Ensuring sustainable development is a strenuous task that requires a systematic approach, timely response as well as concerted actions for prevention. The article examines the close interconnection between the innovation development and the ensuring of sustainable human development. The Global Innovation Index (GII) was chosen from among other indices that measure innovation due to a complex set of indicators. The index is calculated on the basis of 82 variables as a weighted sum of estimates of two groups of indicators. The first group includes the available resources and conditions for innovation implementation (Innovation Input). The second group includes the achieved practical results of innovation (Innovation Output).Therefore, the GII gives an opportunity to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to develop innovation in countries. The quantitative interconnection between the development of innovations and the SDGs achievement was analyzed: based on the construction of a one-factor regression model, the degree of correlation between the Human Development Index and the Global Innovation Index was investigated. The correlation coefficient (r = 0.834) indicates the closeness of the linear relationship, and the coefficient of determination according to this model is 0.6956. The adequacy of this model is proved in the article, and the connection between the features is not accidental.Innovative development is adopted as an integral part of the society development goals, and the introduction and development of innovations and technologies is seen as means and a necessary tool that contributes to the goals achievement. The development and implementation of innovations requires close cooperation between scientists, state and entrepreneurs. As a result of such interaction, new ideas are transformed into innovations that have not only economic benefits, but also determine the level of competitiveness of the state, the degree of national security and integration into the world economy.