Socio-economic outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic for Ukraine

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the causes and consequences of both human and socio-economic losses incurred by Ukraine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions introduced by the government in order to prevent its spread. The author's attention is primarily focused on exploring the population's social well-being, as well as examining changes in the quality of Ukrainians' lives during the pandemic. The study of the above-mentioned issues is complemented by a sociological inquiry into public views on the coronavirus problem, efficacy of the authorities' actions aimed at combating the pandemic, as well as the essence and real effectiveness of socio-economic policy pursued by the Ukrainian government in present-day conditions. Drawing upon a systemic analysis, the author argues that the ongoing socio-economic crisis in Ukraine, along with vaccine crunch, stems mainly from neoliberal policies implemented by the national government over the past three decades. The article argues the thesis about the transformation of the crisis of confidence, which has been fixed for a long time in Ukraine, into a crisis of vaccination, which today threatens with large humanitarian, economic and geopolitical losses. The research findings allow concluding that the COVID-19 pandemic acted as another trigger for the crisis, thereby intensifying and exacerbating the problems that had already existed in the national economy. The author's arguments are bolstered by a vast array of domestic and foreign statistical data, along with the results of surveys conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1994–2020), «Research & Branding Group» (2020–2021), as well as other Ukrainian sociological centers.