THE POTENTIAL OF ECONOMIC SOCIALIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE TO IMPROVE POPULATION WELFARE

Анотація

The article is devoted to the study of the potential for socialization of the economies of Eastern Europe to improve population welfare. General scientific methods of data analysis and synthesis, systematization, and comparison are used in the research. Kohonen Maps (Deductor Studio package) were applied to cluster the Eastern European countries according to their potential for economic socialization. The information base of the article includes scientific articles and monographs, data from the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Development Programme, the Legatum Institute, and other sources, as well as the author’s own empirical research. The article presents the main characteristics and tools of socialization in Eastern European countries aimed at ensuring population well-being. The study shows that the key features of socialization in Eastern European economies include the transition from socialist to market systems, European integration processes, and persistent economic inequality. In Eastern Europe, social programs remain an important element of public policy, but they are less developed than in Western Europe due to limited budgetary resources. The clustering was carried out using global indicators (Human Development Index, Social Progress Index, Index of Economic Freedom, Social Capital Index, Global Gender Gap Index, Happy Planet Index, and Legatum Prosperity Index) and local indicators (GDP per capita, inflation rate, unemployment rate, average monthly net salary, population growth, life expectancy at birth, and government spending on education) of economic socialization. As a result of the cluster analysis, the Eastern European countries were grouped into four clusters with high, medium, and low potential for economic socialization. The article describes the characteristics of these clusters and presents proposals for each group to improve population welfare. As a result of the clustering, Ukraine and Moldova are grouped into one cluster with the lowest potential for economic socialization, as both are conflict and post-conflict territories (the Transnistrian conflict and Russia’s war against Ukraine). The Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and Poland – countries with a high level of economic socialization potential to ensure population welfare – can serve as examples of effective socio-economic policy implementation for Ukraine, Moldova, and Bulgaria, which currently exhibit a low potential for socialization of their economies. The theoretical significance of the article lies in the clustering of selected European countries according to their potential for socialization of the economy to ensure population welfare. The practical significance of the article lies in the proposed recommendations for countries with a low potential for socialization of the economy (Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria), which can be used by public authorities.

Класифікація

Ідентифікатори

Схожі роботи