DETERMINANTS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC SPACE DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINE: THE CONCEPT OF REGIONALIZATION IN FOCUS

Abstract

Purpose - This article aims to present the results of a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of the socio-economic space of Ukraine in the context of applying to them the concept of regionalization. Design/methodology/approach - In the article, author use a set of scientific methods that ensured the conceptual integrity of the study, in particular: system -- to study the structural development of the economy of the regions of Ukraine; methods of dialectical reasoning, induction, deduction - to justify strategic priorities; comparative and statistical analysis - to study the peculiarities of the development of the economy of the regions of Ukraine. Findings - The following factors of influence on the structural asymmetries and disproportions of the socio-economic development of individual regions have been identified: different adaptability of regions to the urgent requirements of economic development and conditions of competition; implementation of a regional policy to support progressive activities; the need to adapt to negative external and internal shock fluctuations in a pandemic; redistribution of resources and capital in favor of more developed regions; lack of systemic structural reforms at the macroeconomic level. A high level of openness of the Ukrainian economy was recorded due to a significant excess of exports over imports. Therefore, attention is paid to the structuring of regions by the level of exports and capital investments. It is concluded that exports have a significant impact on the economic growth of regions, and its dynamics is dominantly determined not so much by the devaluation of the hryvnia, but caused by external demand. Originality/value – The paper tested and confirmed the hypothesis about the positive impact of the rate of structural transformations and the assessment of the impact of capital investments on the growth of the GRP of the regions of Ukraine is carried out. This made it possible to structure the regions in terms of the ratio of the indicator to its average Ukrainian value. The distribution of regions into groups with a high, medium and low level of economic development was made, and the nature of the asymmetry of the territorial structure of the Ukrainian economy was assessed: • the asymmetry of the regions of the first and second groups gravitates (due to concentration) towards the central and eastern regions of the country (excluding the Lviv region). These regions are noted for high rates of human and social capital development and innovative activity, have the best prospects for the development of the entrepreneurial environment, the formation of a network of enterprises that can be combined into clusters; the development of a networked economy based on local growth points; • in the context of the regions' involvement in the intensity of foreign economic exchanges, the growth potential was recorded by the city of Kiev and a group of export-oriented regions (Dnipropetrivsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Poltava regions). These regions should become an impetus for the development of other regions and intensify their activity through interregional cooperation to enter the global market; • development of export-oriented regions is possible either due to increased expansion to foreign markets and higher prices or fundamental modernization of industry with a low degree of technological processing of products, and resource management. Regions that have exhausted their industrial resources should direct their development towards neo-industrialization, rehabilitation or revitalization of territories; • сompliance with global urbanization trends allows to quickly restore indicators of regional economic development in the winter period (due to the influence of internal and external shocks due to strict quarantine measures). These trends are demonstrated by the capital and individual large cities that perform the functions of world financial, innovation, information and cultural centers, as well as have developed connections with the periphery. Other regions (Lviv and others) demonstrate attempts at joint development with adjсacent territories. It is noted that the strength of the connection with other regions is more pronounced in relation to the connection with the periphery. The spread of the agglomeration effect of large cities with a population of one million produces innovative, technological and other components of the development of the potential of adjacent territories, which are characterized by an increase in the indicators of the economic efficiency of industrial production. It is expected that interregional competition will develop for the right to manage resources and determine the direction of socio-economic development of territories, the formation of new centers of economic growth, which are based on flexible networks (for example, following the virtual principle of distribution of territories). Practical consequences - the results of the study can be used by government agencies and other researchers to regulate the formation and development of regional socio-economic systems.