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Purpose. The purpose of the article to assess and model the interrelation between the financial well-being of territorial communities (TCs) and regional economic growth in Ukraine under conditions of uncertainty. Methodology / approach. The empirics of assessment and modeling of a causal relationship between the financial well-being of TCs and economic growth of regions is based on: the construction of time series for empirical parameters of territorial communities’ financial well-being (substantiation of structural elements of financial well-being, TCs clusterization by the criteria of profitability, and calculation of integral coefficients); multidimensional estimation of regional economic growth (multiplicative approach, principal component analysis); detection of impact (“pressure” force) of TCs’ financial well-being on the paces of regional economic growth (index and regression methods). Results. Based on the results of the integral assessment with preliminary clusterization of TCs by their revenues, the article reveals that in 2020, the weighted average level of TCs’ financial well-being in Ukrainian regions was the highest in Zakarpattia (0.592), Kherson (0.534), Zaporizhzhia (0.513), and Chernivtsi (0.512) oblasts, while the lowest – in Ivano-Frankivsk (0.281) oblast. In 2010–2020, Ivano-Frankivsk (0.48 %), Poltava (0.06 %), Rivne (0.16 %), Ternopil (0.25 %), Khmelnytskyi (0.35 %), and Chernihiv (0.54 %) oblasts demonstrated higher annual average economic growth paces, while Dnipropetrovsk (-0.86 %) and Kherson (-0.94 %) oblasts – negative ones. Originality / scientific novelty. The article enhances the methodological approach to the complementary assessment of TCs’ financial well-being and regional economic growth, which has contributed to modeling the ability of territories’ economies to increase investment-economic capacity and the causal relationship between economic growth determinants and the financial capacity of territorial communities in regions. Practical value / implications. The article offers and substantiates the action-oriented approach to the assessment of regional economic development. Its implementation contributes to making the spatial breakdown of the system’s economic condition and building the architectonics of economic progress determinants to determine the “divergence areas” of regional development.

The article defines the major development problems of territorial communities established in the course of administrative-financial decentralization. On this basis, the relevance of the research of territorial communities’ social capital as a factor of securing their development and capacity in the long run is emphasized. The nature of the concept of social capital is defined, and its development factors and possible results of its use in a territorial community are outlined. The author defines conditions (qualitative institutional framework), perspectives (consideration of communication and informal relations when mapping the community development policy), and risks (the threat of social alienation of community members, development of xenophobia and intolerance, and unequal inclusion of social groups) that accompany the process of social capital intensification in a territorial community. The article focuses on the role of social values in the generation of social capital. Based on the conducted sociological survey, the low civil activity of the residents of territorial communities and low interest in the opportunities for personal participation in the community life are detected. The analysis of the role of social capital as a factor of securing the development of a territorial community in the long run gives the ground to substantiate the need to establish interaction between the community residents and local government and to involve residents in the territorial management. The principles of engaging the community members in its development (establishment of the objective and limits of engagement; equal access; inclusiveness; tolerance; interaction and decision-making consistency; feedback) and the engagement ways (raising awareness, consulting, interaction, cooperation, authorization) are determined. The possible consequences of efficient engagement of community members in the solution of certain development issues are substantiated.

SEZs play varied roles in facilitating national, regional, local economic development, and global economic connections, with some remarkably successful in doing so. Despite the prevalence of special economic zones worldwide, their performance and impact on the economy and structural transformation are quite mixed. Among the many lessons learned from successful special economic zone programmes, the key elements include a strategic location, integration of zone strategy with the overall development strategy, understanding the market and leveraging comparative advantage, and, most importantly, ensuring that zones are ‘special’ in terms of a business-friendly environment —especially a sound legal and regulatory framework and an embodiment of sustainability and resiliency towards various external shocks. This paper offers a systematic review of the international literature addressing the impact of the Special Economic Zone model on local economic development. By identifying, critically assessing, and compiling the most relevant and high-quality studies on the topic, the basic conditions for the success or failure of this industrial policy model come to light. As a result of the analysis of the effectiveness of SEZs in Poland, the article concludes that the impact of SEZs on the Polish economy is positive, and additionally they are the source of value added for the market. The analysis shows that SEZs had a strongly positive impact upon the development of the least developed regions in Poland, while the effect was weak or even negative in relatively richer ones. The research on Special Economic Zones as regional development enablers discusses the diverse and international track records in the implementation of SEZs, the interplay of SEZ models and local institutional infrastructure and stakeholders, and the SEZ models that can best fit certain development states and/or settings. As the locational advantages change, the emphasis and the objectives of the SEZ must also change. Reliance on “generic” locational advantages must necessarily diminish, and greater emphasis needs to be placed on developing “specialized” locational advantages. Another key finding is that the benefits of a SEZ must intentionally “leak” beyond the perimeter of the zone. The pervasiveness of the direct, indirect, and induced extra-SEZ effects beyond the geographically bounded space of the SEZ determines its success or failure.

It is shown that the pandemic in Ukraine has caused new challenges and increased the risks to the sustainable progress of territorial communities, and quarantine measures have deepened the negative trends in strengthening of their financial capacity. The processes of formation and use of financial resources of territorial communities of Ukraine in the conditions of a pandemic are analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the peculiarities of the COVID-19 crisis at the local level (asymmetric impact on the development of territories, negative financial and economic effects, uncertainty in financial and management decisions). The tendencies of pandemic influence on financial indicators of territorial communities in the context of selected groups (cities of regional significance, urban, settlement and rural territorial communities) are revealed: reduction of financial support of local budgets from the state budget, slowdown of growth of tax revenues on basic taxes; reduction of financial resources to ensure the economic development of territories, etc. Problems that negatively affect the strengthening of financial capacity of communities are identified, including: lack of vertical coordination and coordination of actions of public authorities and local governments in addressing the effects of the pandemic and ensuring the development of territories; unsystematic nature of the reaction of local authorities to the crisis; excessive orientation of local governments to finance social expenditures and delegated powers while reducing the amount of economic direction; low communication of local governments with residents of communities (especially rural) in the conditions of remote work. The influence of cognitive, social and psychological factors on decision-making is proved, which is peculiar both to individuals and groups of persons in the part of: substantiation of non-systemic character and short-term perspective of reaction of governing bodies of different levels to the crisis; underemployment of hired workers; establishing systematic communication between the authorities and residents; formation of effective mechanisms of interaction and support of citizens taking into account behavioral representations of people.

Purpose. The purpose of the article to assess and model the interrelation between the financial well-being of territorial communities (TCs) and regional economic growth in Ukraine under conditions of uncertainty. Methodology / approach. The empirics of assessment and modeling of a causal relationship between the financial well-being of TCs and economic growth of regions is based on: the construction of time series for empirical parameters of territorial communities’ financial well-being (substantiation of structural elements of financial well-being, TCs clusterization by the criteria of profitability, and calculation of integral coefficients); multidimensional estimation of regional economic growth (multiplicative approach, principal component analysis); detection of impact (“pressure” force) of TCs’ financial well-being on the paces of regional economic growth (index and regression methods). Results. Based on the results of the integral assessment with preliminary clusterization of TCs by their revenues, the article reveals that in 2020, the weighted average level of TCs’ financial well-being in Ukrainian regions was the highest in Zakarpattia (0.592), Kherson (0.534), Zaporizhzhia (0.513), and Chernivtsi (0.512) oblasts, while the lowest – in Ivano-Frankivsk (0.281) oblast. In 2010–2020, Ivano-Frankivsk (0.48 %), Poltava (0.06 %), Rivne (0.16 %), Ternopil (0.25 %), Khmelnytskyi (0.35 %), and Chernihiv (0.54 %) oblasts demonstrated higher annual average economic growth paces, while Dnipropetrovsk (-0.86 %) and Kherson (-0.94 %) oblasts – negative ones. Originality / scientific novelty. The article enhances the methodological approach to the complementary assessment of TCs’ financial well-being and regional economic growth, which has contributed to modeling the ability of territories’ economies to increase investment-economic capacity and the causal relationship between economic growth determinants and the financial capacity of territorial communities in regions. Practical value / implications. The article offers and substantiates the action-oriented approach to the assessment of regional economic development. Its implementation contributes to making the spatial breakdown of the system’s economic condition and building the architectonics of economic progress determinants to determine the “divergence areas” of regional development.

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to identify the spatial features of the social-economic development of territorial communities in the context of administrative and financial decentralization. Methodology / approach. The method of system analysis is used in the work – to research the spheres of central-peripheral interactions at the level of territorial communities; method of comparative analysis – to identify trends in the formation and development of interactions between the center and the periphery in communities and the factors that determine them; abstract-logical method – for the formation of theoretical generalizations and formulation of conclusions from the research; method of graphic visualization, which allows providing a clear presentation of the results of the analysis; sociological survey of chairmen of local councils of territorial communities of Lviv region – to determine the state of development of central-peripheral interactions in their communities. The key role of territorial and systemic approaches to the analysis of core-peripheral interactions in territorial communities is emphasized, which made it expedient to form a research method based on taking into account the conditions for the development of a particular environment and existing spatial restrictions. Results. The article identifies the features of the formation of core-peripheral interactions in the territorial communities of rural areas. It is focused on the formation of derivative core-peripheral interactions that arise in the territorial communities created during the implementation of administrative-territorial reform. On the basis of a systematic and comprehensive analysis, the existing and hidden core-peripheral dependencies were identified and the features of the mutual influence of the centers of the united territorial communities of the rural areas of the Lviv region on the socio-economic development of the community territory were revealed. The problems and risks of the development of the territory of the community are substantiated in the context of the mutual influence of a derivative nature. Originality / scientific novelty. A scientific approach to the identification of central-peripheral interactions in territorial communities was developed, which allows identifying the spatial effects of social, economic, managerial interactions of the center and the periphery within the community. A scientific-and-methodological approach to the assessment of central-peripheral interactions was developed, which provides for the selection of community groups according to certain criteria (community type (town / township / village), community composition, location in the region) and their diagnosis in areas: analysis of strategic documents of local council on the development of central-peripheral interactions in a community; analysis of the management structure of the local council, representation of peripheral communities, compliance of the composition and structure of the governing body with the goals of community development; analysis of budget support for infrastructure development; research of employment opportunities in the community. The application of the approach will reveal the patterns of formation of central-peripheral interactions at the level of territorial communities. Practical value / implications. The results of the study make it possible to have a more comprehensive assessment of the state of the formation of central-peripheral interactions in territorial communities, contribute to the identification of risks of social conflict between different groups in the community and to form recommendations for their activation. The results are recommended for consideration by local governments when preparing proposals for socio-economic development and ensuring the financial capacity of local communities.