Assessment of Innovative Activity of Ukrainian Enterprises in the Field of Technology Transfer

The article aims at clarifying the classification features of the forms and directions of technology transfer, and analyzing empirical data on technology transfer operations in Ukraine. The effectiveness, efficiency and immediacy of technology transfer depend on the choice of its rational forms and directions of technology transfer. The combined form of transfer is considered to be most promising, as it encompasses the advantages of both the vertical and horizontal transfer forms based on the open innovation business model. Ukraine has prerequisites for the implementation of this form of technology transfer, but it is necessary to increase the innovative activity of industrial enterprises and research organizations, and to increase funding for innovation. In the future the authors plan to suggest an organizational and economic mechanism to increase innovation activity at the enterprise level. In 2007-2019 research and development at industrial enterprises (R&D) accounted for about 15% in the total cost of innovation, in average. The lowest share of R&D in total expenditures on innovation was observed in 2011 (7.5%), and the highest share was observed in 2018, comprising 26.3%. The share of costs for vertical transfer is 69.6-89.5%, which is much higher than that for horizontal transfer, which is 10.5-30.4%. The main reason for the decrease in the level of technology transfer at Ukrainian enterprises is the limited funding from the state and the negative investment climate in the country. The share of non-commercial transfers has been lower than 1% since 2012. Combined transfer based on digital technology platforms is virtually absent.

Innovative Approaches to Develop «Smart» Cities: the Legal Framework in Ukraine and the European Experience

Over time, the role of cities as centers of economic, political and cultural life has increased significantly; they are major participants in the globalization process, affect economic growth and state policy. Cities are the main elements in many spheres of public life: they determine the education level and trends; the largest production facilities are placed in them or near them; city dwellers work as managers of different levels and shape state policy. Thus, the issues of urbanization, life and development of large cities, towns and areas around them are central to the consideration of self-government. Today, effective local governance and, consequently, effective development and promotion of the people’s well-being are viewed through the prism of achieving a balance between economic development, environmental protection and social development. Due to high population density, cities possess significant potential for creativity and innovation, energy conservation, environmental friendliness, socio-cultural diversity, etc., so it is the dynamic interaction of these features that drives European development. Setting sustainable development of cities and territories as a goal makes it important to take into account European experience not only in solving the existing problems of their functioning, but also in choosing priorities for the development of modern cities based on innovative approaches and the introduction of "smart" components. The significance of forming the required legal framework for an individual administrative and territorial unit (region, territory, city, community, etc.) to function, and of assessing its state for further use in public management of territorial development, determines the importance of developing and implementing an effective system of legal documents to address socio-economic problems and encourage sustainable regional (territorial) development in Ukraine.

Institutional Support for the Development of Public-Private Partnership in the Public Governance System

Theoretic aspects of the formation and development of public-private partnership (PPP) are studied. By using a systemic approach, it is determined that the most important factor in improving the efficiency of public-private partnership is its institutional support. It is substantiated that globally, the PPP is mostly initiated by public authorities, which can be explained by a number of reasons. Firstly, public authorities are responsible for the country's strategic development. Secondly, public authorities formulate "rules of the game" for businesses and individuals, plan capital investments, and select PPP entities that are a priority in terms of public interest. In fact, it is the state that undertakes to address objectives facing society. Therefore, nowadays the importance of creating a favorable institutional environment to develop PPPs is recognized at all the levels of economic management and is emphasized in the scientific community. It is proved that the interests of public authorities, private businesses and the community are reconciled through the complementation of political, legal, and socio-economic norms and rules of conduct. The functions of public authorities at the national and regional levels of government are systematized.

Transition to the Knowledge-Based Economy within the Modernization Paradigm for the States in the Core and Semi-Periphery of the Global Economic System

The article generalizes the features of modern transition from industrial to post-industrial (or knowledge-based) economy within the modernization paradigm for the states in the core and semi-periphery of the global economic system. It is proved that among the historical diversity of national modernization phenomena one can single out two alternative models: an innovative model and a catching-up one. It is substantiated that the innovative model is most typical for the countries forming the core of the world economic system, while the catching-up model is more typical for countries in the periphery of global development. It is revealed that modern intellectual production covers, first of all, economic sectors producing information and knowledge. At the same time, intellectual capital also functions in productive industries, influencing their indicators as well. That is why knowledge workers, who form the intellectual strata of society, are considered to be subjects of intangible intellectual production, the latter making up the core of knowledge economy. Their main function is to produce intellectual products (socially valuable knowledge), in contrast to groups, whose social function is to embody these values and knowledge. It should also be noted that concrete historical forms of knowledge objectivisation, ways of their reproduction and, accordingly, historical types of intellectual layers can differ considerably. It is concluded that knowledge-based economy is considered as a sphere of economic activity, which nowadays is characterized by intensive use of intellectual capital as the main economic resource, in the fields of material production as well.

Areas of Regional Policy Implementation with Reference to Ensuring Economic Security

The article is aimed at identifying the main areas of regional policy with reference to ensuring economic security. It is proved that the state regional policy is an integral part of the state policy aimed at providing the spatial organization of a region, maintaining balance, eliminating regional differentiation. The mechanism of regional policy provision is considered. The powers of regional policy actors in Ukraine are apecified. The global and local goals of regional policy are characterized, the goal hierarchy is created with respect to ensuring regional economic security. Estimates of the local goals of regional policy on achieving the strategic goal of regional policy are defined. The main global goals of regional policy are highlighted, in particular: territorial integrity, socio-economic integration and spatial development, sustainable development of the region’s diversified competitive economy, development of rural territories and territories adjacent to cities, development of human capital and life quality, effective regional development management. It is determined that the following local goals are estimated highest for achieving the strategic goal of regional policy: protection of regional interests, territorial unity, prevention of deepening imbalances in regional development, rationalization of agricultural production pattern aimed at increasing its productivity, development of a competitive industrial sector.

European Experience in Adapting Social and Economic Development to Crisis Situation: Programs and Financial Instruments

The paper presents analysis of European counter-crisis response programs: investment initiatives in response to the coronavirus; REACT-EU package of measures; a long-term recovery program (budget for 2021-2027) and Next Generation EU; and a banking package of measures titled “Supporting businesses and households amid COVID-19”. The sources of financial instruments for the recovery and adaptation of EU member states to the transcrisis state are described, and the most effective mechanisms for supporting entrepreneurship in the COVID-19 crisis are shown. The example of Slovakia and Poland is used to demonstrate the European experience in organizing the credit process, providing guarantees, intensifying social entrepreneurship in the face of the ongoing epidemic shock. The European investment trends and the participation of financial intermediaries in the post-crisis recovery are determined and used as a basis to characterize nationalization of the European long-term investment process. The special role of the state and the formation of state funds in the process of ensuring the effective adaptation of the Ukrainian financial and institutional environment to new challenges is substantiated; the importance of developing long-term programs for adapting the Ukrainian economy and society to the challenges of sanitary, humanitarian, climatic and political and economic nature, as well as forming appropriate institutions is shown. It is concluded that, given the peculiarities of the operational behavior of Ukrainian banking institutions, which are now focused on operations with government securities and commission activities, the adaptation investment process should be provided by public financial institutions.

Financial and Analytical Aspects of Making Decisions on Determining the Roles of Participants in Partnership Projects

The article is aimed at forming an analytical basis for making decisions on determining the optimal role played by participants in financing partnership projects for the economic development of a state. The paper outlines the importance of distributing financial support efficiently in order to address problems related to the lack of funding and low efficiency of socially important projects implemented on a partnership basis. Statistical data testifying to the development of projects implemented in Ukraine on a partnership basis are considered. The most common forms of partnership agreements and financial support mechanisms used in partnership projects in Ukraine are also identified. The regions of Ukraine that are leaders and outsiders as for the number of partnership agreements concluded and / or implemented on their territory are identified. The effectiveness of various financial participation forms used by various parties to partnership projects is analyzed. To fulfill the task, the participation of potential investors is generalized by three sources of funding: state budget funds, local budget funds and other sources that include all extrabudgetary financial resources (own resources of program participants, businesses and individuals related to project implementation results, international organizations, as well as sponsorship and charitable funds, borrowed funds, etc.). Regression models have been constructed to determine the impact of the funding sources involved on the successful implementation of partnership projects in different areas (programs in economic, social and environmental areas are considered separately). Based on the modelling results, the elasticity coefficient has been calculated, which shows the extent to which the attraction of an individual funding source influences the success of the program. Conclusions are made on the extent to which the increase (or decrease) of the share of funding from a single source affects the success of the program in a certain area

Energy Saving as an Important Factor in Ensuring Product Competitiveness

The article is aimed at studying the features of energy saving at a manufacturing enterprise and establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between energy saving and product competitiveness. Due to analyzing and generalizing the research results of domestic and foreign scientists the views of researchers on the process of energy saving at a manufacturing enterprise are systematized; the growing role of energy saving in ensuring energy efficiency and, consequently, product competitiveness is established. The research results show that energy saving at an enterprise is one of its most important assets, the impact of which on the level of product competitiveness is becoming increasingly important in the face of the exacerbating energy and environmental crises. Energy saving, basically focusing on the intensification of production processes and use of energy and energy resources, on the one hand, reduces the level of specific energy consumption and, consequently, the price of the released product while maintaining or increasing its quality; on the other hand, it reduces the carbon loading on the environment, thus contributes to the growth of the company's image among its consumers and partners. Both components are the most important factors in ensuring product competitiveness. The development and implementation of energy saving measures at industrial enterprises, with regard to the industry-specific character of economic entities, market conditions, and the requirements of environmental standards can serve as prospects for further research

Strategic Priorities of the Budget Policy on Ukraine’s Territorial Development in the Context of Implementing the Regional Development Strategy

The article aims at determining the strategic priorities of Ukraine’s budget development policy while implementing the regional development strategy for the years 2021–2027. The strategic priorities of the budget policy on territorial development are substantiated in the context of, first, creating the regional development strategy and territorial development strategies for the years 2021-2027, and second, shifting the focus from spatially oriented measures, i.e. stimulating the development of problematic areas, to the policy of territorial development through activating untapped potential, the policy being aimed at increasing regional and national competitiveness, with special attention paid to innovation. The necessity to observe both the vertical and horizontal integration of the formation and realization of budget policy on territorial development, and the necessity to implement it, combining the problem-oriented and general approaches to directing the territorial development budgeting (territorial development budgeting is based on the following: competitive advantages of the functional types of the regions; development of problematic regions; regional development in the context of smart specialization; border areas development in the context of cross-border cooperation). A prospect for further research in this field is seen in making an attempt to form the budget policy on territorial development in Ukraine on the basis of defining strategic priorities for regional development and the development of different level territories, aimed at: reducing interregional and intra-regional asymmetries; ensuring universal improvement of the quality of life; transferring the territories to development based on sustainability, inclusiveness, innovation, and the maximization of using and building up the existing potential.

Progressive Taxation of Individual Income in Islamic Countries

The economic results of the development of Muslim countries have raised the question of the existence of an increasingly focused Islamic financial and tax model. Taxes in the Islamic economic model provide an implicit link in the relations between the state and individuals, thus determining the limits of conditioned freedom and mutual obligations. The article is aimed at identifying the indicative features of progressive taxation of individual income in some Islamic countries. The research results show that Islamic countries are characterized by the unity of religion (faith) and such elements of the social system as the organization of power, as well as family, economic and other relations. The boundaries of the personal and the public, the individual and the national are transparent and strictly regulated. The peculiarities of the Tax Institute in Muslim countries, terms of taxation and tax usage rules are considered. It is proven that nowadays approaches to taxation in Islamic countries are diverse. It is determined that progressive taxation of individual income is widely used in Turkey, Pakistan, Tunisia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and other countries, and partly in Saudi Arabia; "tax heavens" are typical for the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Omani; proportional taxation is still used in Malaysia, Sudan, and Kazakhstan. The main types of taxes in Muslim countries are analyzed, their evolution is studied. Modern foci of progressive taxation of individual incomes in specific Muslim countries are revealed. The advantages of the Islamic financial model in terms of tax policy modernization and compliance with tax discipline, unconditional fulfillment of obligations and concluded agreements are identified. It is substantiated that using some elements of the progressive tax scale applied in the practice of Islamic finance can prove useful in a number of areas, providing budgetary and social balance in the "corridor of opportunities", bringing mutual responsibility of citizens and the state in fulfilling obligations, creating an annuity and mutually beneficial economic behavior pattern. It is proved that the progressive tax withdrawal of a part of large incomes will give a restrictive and restraining result of control over their redistribution in the public interest, as the socio-economic behavior of individuals, their powers and responsibilities must be balanced