Department of Economic Sociology

Digitalisation of the economic life of Ukrainian society: state, social consequences and prospects

Principal investigator — Smakota Viktoria Vitaliivna

Findings

The study focused on digital transformation in the contemporary world as a global social phenomenon; it analysed the socioeconomic and human-related consequences of introducing digital technologies into the economic sphere (particularly employment), examined the results of sociological surveys of populations worldwide and in Ukraine concerning attitudes towards digital change and artificial intelligence, and, ultimately, assessed Ukrainian society’s potential for adaptation and further development under these new realities.

The study demonstrated that Ukraine, as part of the global economic sphere, has sufficient capacity to develop in the digital world (it can create and apply cutting-edge technologies and has a high level of digital skills among its population and of integration of high-tech products and services), but is also exposed to all the risks accompanying this process (primarily in employment, namely the emergence of new forms of work that are often vulnerable and unprotected and that, under weak government regulation, can significantly undermine the quality of a substantial number of jobs).

Empirical evidence demonstrated that the digitalisation of economic life (particularly the sphere of work) in Ukrainian society is generally progressing at a pace similar to that in Europe. Several stages of comparative research showed that, although Ukraine’s results in 2024 still lagged behind the EU’s 2022 results on almost all measures, a comparison of Ukrainian data for 2023 and 2024 reveals a marked increase in the use of most types of digital devices and technologies in the workplace. The 2024 data also reveal a clear relationship between the use of digital devices and technologies and respondents’ level of material well-being: the highest rate of use of digital devices and technologies is observed among respondents with low or no material deprivation. The proportion of respondents with sufficient skills and knowledge to use modern tools in their daily work is highest among young people, declining with age and reaching its lowest level in the oldest group of respondents. Accordingly, insufficient knowledge is most prevalent among respondents aged 55+, demonstrating the need to implement the concept of “lifelong learning” in the country through additional courses, professional development classes, and training in new technologies.

The study concluded that, provided the state and society are sufficiently prepared (in terms of well-designed economic policy and the development of education and science), the digital transition has every chance of becoming a progressive step towards a more technologically advanced yet human-centred era. Raising social standards, investing in human potential, and expanding the range of human choices and opportunities that ensure a dignified and fulfilling life and work can minimise risks in a world where digital technologies are an integral part of reality.

Social structures of non-standard employment in modern Ukrainian society

Principal investigator — Smakota Viktoria Vitaliivna, T. O. Petrushyna

Findings

The analysis of the modern labour market showed that non-standard work in its various types and forms is taking a dominant place in the structure of world and Ukrainian employment; at the same time traditional, standard forms are being destroyed and transformed into non-standard varieties and forms of labour activity. The main catalyst of these processes has been the rapid development of information and communication technologies and of digital platforms.

Non-standard employment opens up new opportunities for participation in economic, labour and social life. The level of education of the Ukrainian population makes it possible for Ukrainian IT specialists to develop employment on digital platforms and compete internationally. Digital technologies expand opportunities for employment, education and self-development, which allowed a significant part of the Ukrainian population to keep or change their work during the COVID-19 pandemic and the large-scale war. Workers in this field are mostly satisfied with their work, since it allows them to have employment and a livelihood in extreme conditions.

However, non-standard employment acquires features of vulnerability because of the reduced social protection of employees: it is often marked by a high degree of uncertainty due to short-term contracts and the absence of social guarantees. The risks of job loss, forced unemployment, retraining and the defence of one's rights at the workplace fall directly on the employees themselves.

Social change in Ukrainian society in the context of economic globalisation

Principal investigator — T. O. Petrushyna

Findings

The economic development of recent years makes it obvious that Ukraine has not been able to integrate into the international production system. Its lag behind most developed countries in labour productivity is due to a focus on a raw-material model of economic development, which causes a fall in GDP and large-scale deindustrialisation. On the whole this state of affairs excludes economic development and, with it, human development.

The adverse effects of globalisation have exceeded positive expectations, affecting both the economic and the social spheres of society: the significant spread of the 'working poor' phenomenon, the cumulative deterioration of job security and the intensification of labour migration have directly affected the qualification potential of the population. One respondent in two finds it difficult to obtain work matching their qualifications, and difficulties prevail even when looking for any job at all. Among those in work, one in five has a job in another locality of Ukraine.

A growing number of migrant workers reduces tension in the domestic labour market to some extent and improves the financial position of households receiving transfers from abroad. Yet the domestic economy is short of highly qualified workers and specialists in a number of fields; the quality of available labour resources is declining, the social potential for economic development is weakening, and growing migration sentiment, especially among young people, poses a serious threat to the viability of the country.

The role of science in the modernisation of Ukrainian society

Principal investigator — T. O. Petrushyna

Findings

Monitoring of public opinion revealed that, against a background of actual disinterest in science on the part of the Ukrainian state and business, there is public demand for the development of domestic science. Ukrainian citizens' trust in domestic scientists remains the highest among the main social institutions. A survey of experts produced competent assessments of the general state of science in modern Ukraine and substantial proposals on the essence, principles, directions and conditions of effective reform of the scientific sphere. The vast majority of experts predict further deterioration and stress that science can fulfil its key role in the modernisation of society only given normal funding and a radical change of attitude on the part of the authorities.

The state, problems and prospects of the working class in the system of socio-economic relations of Ukrainian society

Principal investigator — Arseienko Anatoliy Grigorovich

Findings

The influence of neoliberal globalisation on the evolution of labour relations in the modern world, including Ukraine, was established. The propagandistic character of modern myths about the 'disappearance' of the working class was demonstrated, as was the worsening of its position following capitalism's social revanche after the collapse of the world socialist system. The destructive nature of the 'economic reforms' in Ukraine was established: they led to the plundering of public property, the deindustrialisation and primitivisation of the economy, the deprivation of working people and growing inequality. World experience of collective bargaining was summarised and recommendations for Ukrainian trade unions developed. The state of class consciousness and the prospects of the Ukrainian working class were analysed.

The social potential of innovative development of Ukraine's economy

Principal investigator — T. O. Petrushyna

Researchers — Reznik Volodymyr Stanislavovich

Findings

The structural components of this potential were identified — socio-political, socio-economic, institutional, socio-cultural, scientific and educational sub-potentials — and their level and importance for the innovative development of the domestic economy assessed. The main social barriers that make innovative economic development impossible in Ukraine were established: the system of family-clan oligarchic capitalism, the socio-political system, the socio-economic differentiation of the population, corruption, the monopolisation and shadowing of the economy, and the low standard of living.

The quality of life of Ukraine's population under conditions of a differentiated socio-economic space

Principal investigator — Ye. I. Suimenko

Researchers — Reznik Volodymyr Stanislavovich

Findings

The concept of 'standard of living' is central to an economic-sociological approach to the quality of life. Quality of life can be viewed as a social (societal) and socio-psychological (individual) assessment of the standard of living, an indicator of the social and personal comfort of everyday life. The financial situation and quality of working life of Ukrainian citizens, public health, the ecological environment, the spiritual life of society and other components were analysed. According to opinion polls, over the years of market reform — despite the population's increasing adaptation to capitalist relations — life in the country has been deteriorating: overall consumption is very low, and in important respects the needs of a significant part of the population (from a third to a half) go unmet.

The state and prospects of Ukraine's entry into the global socio-economic space

Principal investigator — Ye. I. Suimenko

Researchers — Reznik Volodymyr Stanislavovich

Findings

Noticeable differences were revealed in the orientation of Ukrainian citizens towards joining the EU, NATO and the Common Economic Space, in favour of the last of these blocs; significant uncertainty was recorded in the population's attitude to the prospects of Ukraine's entry into the EU.

The economic culture of Ukrainian society

Principal investigator — Ye. I. Suimenko

Researchers — Reznik Volodymyr Stanislavovich

Findings

The polymorphic character of economic culture was established: it shows in a complex internal structure, a multifactorial sociogenesis, varied forms of manifestation and a multiplicity of functions performed. On the basis of an expert survey, the value-normative content of economic culture, its innovative components and its development prospects were examined. The economic culture of the main actors of economic activity was analysed: heads of enterprises and public authorities, entrepreneurs and employees. The level of economic culture of the population as a whole is assessed as below average.

A study of the types of socio-economic behaviour of Ukraine's working-age population

Principal investigator — Ye. I. Suimenko

Findings

The dynamics of various behavioural formations were traced; significant changes in the structure of socio-economic behaviour were recorded, in particular of its entrepreneurial and adaptive types over the period 1998–2003; the priorities of the behavioural strategies of different age groups of Ukraine's population were identified.

Socio-economic behaviour of the actors of production at industrial enterprises

Principal investigator — Ye. I. Suimenko

Findings

A typology of the socio-economic behaviour of industrial workers was developed; the main trends in the socio-economic behaviour of employees, owners, managers and entrepreneurs were identified.

The social mechanisms of privatisation processes

Principal investigator — Ye. I. Suimenko

Findings

A discrepancy was revealed between the 'standard' model of privatisation and the possibilities and directions of the socio-institutional and socio-personal mechanisms of its implementation; an alternative option for privatisation in Ukraine was considered.

Socio-economic conditions and the motivation of entrepreneurial activity in Ukraine

Principal investigator — Vorona Valerii Mykhailovych

Findings

It was concluded that the fundamental qualities of entrepreneurs as social catalysts of the economy — innovativeness and risk — have been pushed to the periphery of the motivational structure of their activity, while the dominant motive of self-actualisation merely camouflages the pursuit of profit.