COVID-19 and Behavioral Economics: Certain Aspects of the Causes of Irrational Behaviour During a Pandemic

The aim of this article is to reveal the main reasons for the irrational behaviour of economic agents during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in terms of behavioural economics and opportunities for change such a behaviour.The article reveals the approaches that were used in 2020 and continue to be used today as the main ones to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection. Despite the existence of such prescriptions, the infection continues to spread and causes negative socio-economic consequences.Thus, the main reasons, the resistance of citizens to the measures recommended by governments around the world and the manifestation of deviant behaviour among the seemingly “rational” economic agents were analyzed.The main reasons and possible factors for changing such a behaviour are the postulates of behavioural economics, such as the effect of reinforcement effect, conservative bias, confirmation bias, conditional cooperation, the preference of beliefs consonance.In addition, this paper provides a brief overview of some post-material values of Ukrainian society based on global research and offers an assessment of the dependence of these values on the incidence of COVID-19 and an explanation in terms of behavioural economics.The article notes that the presence of certain established views on the “normality” of preventive antivirus measures may affect the propensity or the lack of propensity to adhere to the necessary protective behaviour by economic agents.The research methods are descriptive, analytical, methods of synthesis and comparison. As a result of the analysis, the article proposes a comprehensive approach to men’s behaviour during the pandemic according to behavioural economics.The study concludes that the main task to improve the effectiveness of preventive measures for the spread of COVID-19 today is to understand the causes of irrational behaviour in new circumstances in terms of behavioural economics and apply the theory of “pushing” or “nudging” to form positive social economic change. It is suggested to use this paper for further and deeper practical research of certain aspects of changing people`s behaviour for better work effectiveness and wellbeing. JEL classіfіcatіon: D03, A13

Involvement of Students in Participation in Research Processes During the Study of Economic Disciplines

The article considers the positive opportunities that are revealed by involving students in research processes during their studies. The analysis showed that the integrated combination of students’ acquisition of competencies such elements as individual and group approach to decision making, multicriteria assessment, creative research methods, behavioral economics, etc. allows students to better master the relevant areas of knowledge. The motivation is an important issue of students studying. Behavioral aspects are an effective tool for the formation and development of students’ interest in in-depth learning of economic disciplines.The purpose of the article is to determine the factors due to which the practical application of decisionmaking techniques affects learning outcomes. If the case studies address economic issues that students often meet in their daily lives, it gives the opportunity to maximize their creative participation in the learning process, because they are more interested in finding a “better” solution. Acquisition of knowledge is more effective not on abstract or detached examples, but on cases of solving students’ economic problems. Particular attention is paid to the development of appropriate case studies, as well as the procedure for further analysis of the results of solving such cases. The implementation of these studies in classes on economic disciplines contributes to the formation of a more active students’ attitude to learning. The article reveals the role of the application of behavioral economics models in the educational process. Involving students in research processes in the study should become one of the mandatory learning elements for more effective acquisition of the necessary competencies. The illustrative example testifies to the expediency and usefulness of wide implementation of the proposed approaches in the practice of teaching economic disciplines. JEL classification: А13, А22, D03, D81

Conceptual Frameworks of the Development of Banking and Insurance Interaction in Modern Conditions

The purpose of the article is to reveal conceptual frameworks for further development of the banking and insurance interaction in order to ensure the growth of the value of banking and insurance business on account of the more effective use of their potentials and opportunities.It is noted in the article that banking and insurance interaction is manifested as the provision of insurance services through banking institutions – Banсassurance, the provision of banking services through insurance companies – Assurbanking, the provision of integrated services within financial conglomerates – Allfinanz.In the course of the research, it was determined that the banking channel for the sale of insurance services is the most efficient, and Bancassurance is a system of insurance services sale through the extensive banking network. The necessity and importance of the Bancassurance development, which is actively used in all developed countries, but differs in scale, methods, organizational forms and final financial results, is revealed. This is especially relevant in the context of reforming the regulatory bodies of the state financial market.Within the study, the advantages and disadvantages of Bancassurance and the prerequisites for its development are revealed. Particular attention is paid to the requirements to insurance companies in the process of the Bancassurance implementation. It is noted within the article that the interaction of banks and insurance companies can be carried out at different levels, from the level of the cooperation agreement, agency agreement, banking and insurance cooperation, to the level of the corporate control through the mechanism of mergers and acquisitions and financial supermarket.Within the study the conclusions are made that further development of banking and insurance interaction is conceptually aimed at increasing the role of commercial banks and the formation of “financial supermarkets”, in which each customer can meet the needs of bank services, financial consulting, and insurance. JEL classіfіcatіon: G21, G22

Water Supply of the Population of Ukraine: Level, Problems and Directions of its Solutions

The article examines the level of water supply of the population of Ukraine in terms of administrative regions, considers the existing problems, and identifies ways to solve them. Regional differences in the annual water supply of the population of Ukraine per capita in terms of local and transit runoff, forecast resources and operational groundwater reserves, the size of their intake, including daily, and indicators of total water supply in the average water and low water (95 %) years. A comparison with the water supply indicators of other European countries is made. According to the indicated sources of water supply, groups of regions in which the state of water supply is critical have been identified. It is recognized as necessary when developing programs to improve water use, first of all to pay attention to areas that have not only lower indicators of total water supply, but also lower levels of operational reserves and projected groundwater resources, which should be used to meet drinking and sanitation. hygienic needs. The structure of fresh water use and pollution of water discharged together with wastewater are characterized. Particular attention is paid to the disclosure of the level of development, the dynamics of groundwater production, the structure of their use, the nature and causes of pollution. The ecological consequences and main problems caused by the natural shortage of water resources and significant regional differences in their provision, pollution of surface and groundwater and violations of the norms of their use are outlined. It is proposed, taking into account the unfavorable state of water supply in Ukraine as a whole and critical in some regions, to pay attention to the need for gradual introduction of economic methods of influence, through differentiation of prices for water supply of different quality, to water consumers and other economic entities. exploitation of water bodies, collection, preparation, transportation of water resources, which would stimulate the preservation and restoration of this valuable and unalternative natural product. JEL classіfіcatіon: Q25

International Experience of Agricultural Land Market Turnover Regulation

The land market in Ukraine is currently being formed. Therefore, it is now especially important to master the experience of using the mechanisms of regulation of this important market, which have undergone a long and successful testing in foreign countries. The article reveals the main directions of international experience in regulating the market of agricultural land.To ensure the optimal distribution of land among users and for the efficient functioning of the land market in most countries of the world, land policy is structured in such a way that agricultural land is cultivated by those who are able to ensure its most productive use. The article analyzes the possibility of applying this experience in Ukraine on the basis of generalization of modern foreign practice. The agricultural land, in contrast to the land for industry, transport and other industries, is the main means of production. The article notes that the current model of state regulation of the land market can lead to the monopolization of such markets and the acquisition of agricultural land by large corporations. There are considered the opinions of various authors on this issue, and has defined the need to form the main aspects necessary for the efficient use of land resources.The example of individual countries shows that the lack of active state intervention in market turnover has led to the monopolization of agricultural land by large corporations. It is concluded that at the present stage of implementation of the policy that ensures the efficiency of land use in agriculture, the state should strengthen the functions of regulating land use processes. There were some specific proposals for improving the system of regulation of land relations in agriculture, which should play a progressive role in the further development of the state. JEL classіfіcatіon: H3, H2

Ukrainian Innovation Policy: The Smart Specialization Problem

The aim of the article is to reveal the place and role of smart specialization strategy as one of the relevant and central areas of modern economic policy. It is shown that in Ukraine the issue of economic essence and main goal of smart specialization policy as a form of state innovation policy remains theoretically and practically unexplored, as well as the importance of involving universities in smart specialization strategy in the context of creating basic innovations that can become the basis of the regional smart specializations.The article substantiates that the Ukrainian expert community is dominated by the perception the smart specialization strategy is the traditional sectoral economic policy, which considers innovation as a factor of increasing the competitiveness of existing industries, i.e. without much change in the technological structure of the economy or region. The article argues that the main content of the smart specialization policy should be the priority development of new high-tech sectors of the economy, industries belonging to the current and future technological paradigms.The results of studying the main development directions of the Top European innovation Universities are presented. These results testify to the close connection between the innovation Universities and the creation of basic innovations for the development of new high-tech business. The analysis showed that Ukraine not only cannot enter the European ranking of innovation Universities, but also lags far behind the total number of European patents per country. This shows that the country has in fact abandoned basic innovation competitions with Europe. The policy of smart specialization should help to correct this situation. The positive effect of such policy largely depends on the active formation of modern innovation Universities, which can create and commercialize basic innovations of the Schumpeter’s type, leading to the emergence of new high technologies. JEL classіfіcatіon: O25, O38, R11

Management of Digital Transformation in Education: Modern Scientific Discourse

The article considers the scientific method of implementation and management of digital transformation of higher education, including technological, methodological and economic aspects. The problem field of introduction of new digital models and introduction of managerial experience is considered.Recent research proves the separation of digital transformation as a new area of scientific interest for management development researchers, as well as a new research paradigm. This transformation is undoubtedly interesting and promising, as it contains many aspects and components. The main reasons for slow implementation are the complexity of the problem, the lack of data for decision-making and the uncertainty of economic impact in the future. In the educational environment, this process is slower, perhaps due to fears that such transformation processes will disrupt the traditional academic model that has developed over many years and has been relevant and effective in an era of industrial growth for many years.The relevance of further research is confirmed by the fact that the process of forming a digital market for educational services is not complete. On the one hand, transformation significantly depends on the systematic process of education reform, the availability of clear institutional and public policies. On the other hand, the success of the continued existence and development of educational institutions in the post-pandemic environment will depend on changes in the standard academic paradigm and the introduction of new digital services in combination with quality academic education. Building and implementing new forms and models of education will require managers to take a comprehensive approach and rethink existing norms and standards of governance. JEL classification: O32, O33

Neuromarketing Research on Individual Responses to Artwork: Implications for Galleries

This paper reports the results of neuromarketing research for artworks. It was conducted among young people, students of non-art specialties, for nine different widely known art pieces with the help of eyetracking and emotional scanning equipment.The aim of the experiment is to determine (1) whether viewers concentrate more on the representational art compared to abstracts art, (2) whether any correlation between the viewing time and the evoked emotions exists, and (3) whether there is any difference between the monitored emotions and those people articulate (in other words, to what extend artwork viewers tell the truth).The result demonstrates a slightly higher preference in looking at the representational paintings. But we do not notice any correlation between the subjective liking of the painting and the time spent looking at it. An essential difference is recorded for the emotions fixed technically and those reported by the viewers.The paper also suggests several implications for gallery marketing. JEL сlassification: M31, Z11

Global Investment and Development Trends in the Fintech Secto

The article’s objectives are to reveal the general tendency in the global investment climate within the fintech industry and introduce the grouping approach for countries based on distinctive characteristics of local fintech and economic environments. Moreover, the paper results can be used as recommendations for local regulators in terms of the fintech industry development, which is a vital force for enhancing the competitiveness level of the countries in the context of world economic uncertainty.Statistics method is used to perform the investment activities and investment structure overview with a close look at three regions: Americas, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), and the Asia Pacific. The results indicate the largest role of the America region, the smallest – of the Asia-Pacific region, and two main trends in the investment structure by the nature of deals, the first with a predominance of M&A deals and the second with a high venture investments part.Another applied approach is clustering analysis. It is used to group the countries by the set of characteristics, which reflect the general economic conditions and innovation capacity in the financial sector of different countries from the general population. The clustering results give a snapshot of six groups of countries. The group with the highest results is called FinTech Olympus and consists of countries such as the USA, UK, and Singapore. The worst results were shown by the Fintech Jungle group represented by Kenya, Lebanon, Egypt, Uganda, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Ukraine. The other countries are grouped in four more clusters with research names – FinTech periphery, Asian-European, FinTech middle class, and Major players. Local regulators, for example, the National Bank of Ukraine, can further consider the results of clustering for maintaining fintech development policy to benefit the economy in general.In such conditions, the main tasks for the Ukrainian government are the improvement of business climate and fintech ecosystem development with the further discovery of their impact on the country’s competitiveness in an unstable economic environment in the short and long term. JEL classіfіcatіon: C40, G19, G20

Situational Analysis in Benchmarking Research of Regional Development

The purpose of the article is to reveal the directions of regional strategic development methodical bases’ formation on the basis of benchmarking.The article reveals the peculiarities of benchmarking methodology application in modern regional strategy. The study of regional development was conducted on the basis of a systematic approach and using situational analysis. The application of a systematic approach allows us to consider the region as a system with established goals and organized as a whole set of interacting elements. The situational approach most fully reflects the problems that arise in management activities and allows you to identify situational factors that affect the development of regions. It is proven that it is expedient to use the method of spatial benchmarking as a tool of situational analysis. The study of the methodological principles of benchmarking made it possible to formalize the stages of the benchmarking study of regional development.Studies of the strategies of different regions of Ukraine revealed the need and importance of applying a situational approach to management. This made it possible to formulate criteria for selecting a standardregion and to identify three groups of indicators of the study of specific regions, which allowed to form possible clusters using the method of hierarchical cluster analysis.As a result of research there are carried out calculations of the competitive analysis of regions of Ukraine and revealed strategic prospects concerning development of certain regions.According to the results of the study, it is concluded that the formation of regional development strategy requires detailed research, which is methodologically based on the principles of benchmarking analysis, there are opportunities to vary the list of indicators and criteria that determine the standard-region. The application of benchmarking in the management system allows you to systematically find and evaluate all the benefits of the best experience of the standard-region and create opportunities for their use in your own region. JEL classіfіcatіon: O12, R11, R12, R19