Oleksandra Karintseva

Rapid economic reforms and proper GDP growth in China has affected the regional development of Chinese provinces. This study aims to estimate the degree of economic and environmental disparities within Chinese provinces for developing policy recommendations of regional transformation. The reduced log-linear specification of endogenous growth model is used for the estimation of convergence rates within Chinese provinces. The empirical results prove that an increase of 1% in GDP per capita basic year reduces the economic growth rate by 0.1% in the reference year. Thus, the ratio of the average per capita income in the wealthiest group to poorest provinces accounted for the factor 9.6 in 1995 and factor 4.1 in the year 2015, which means a reduction of disproportionate development. Environmental convergence trends were also found and less polluted provinces eventually increase emissions at higher rates than the initially polluted ones. With the pass of time, all provinces do move to the same steady state in environmental parameters. The speed of the economic and environmental convergence in China provinces is rather slow, and the economic growth was achieved by great sacrifices of an environment, since all provinces are striving to the same steady state in terms of pollution increase. The industrialized regions due to the presence of significant financial resources should pay more attention to the protection of the environment using all the available economic potential. At the same time, both initially poor provinces and rich have to develop more profoundly agriculture, tourism, recreation, and other environmentally friendly industries to improve economic performance.

Due to the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine in 2022, extreme danger and vulnerability have caused changes in the social and economic stability of a person both on the individual and at the family level, in various social groups, as well as in territorial communities. Thus, the study aims to investigate the sources of social and economic resilience of Ukraine’s population during the war in the context of developing a social solidarity economy in Ukrainian society to maintain fragile stability. The paper investigates the main reasons for the displacement of Ukrainians, explores the living conditions in communities where they moved, and identifies the main socioeconomic factors for ensuring the resistance of the individual and the community in wartime. The paper applies the sociological survey involving 1,200 respondents. The results show that Ukrainians recognize the authority’s right to make authoritarian decisions. The analysis gives empirical evidence on the sources of social and economic resistance and sustainability in Ukraine. This includes quantifying the role of social and financial payments, examining the intensification of social and solidarity ties, and evaluating the importance of a social solidarity economy for resilience. The study revealed the directions of supporting stability within the social solidarity economy in Ukraine under war conditions. They include incentive programs for returning qualified personnel, powerful tools of social support, encouraging socially-oriented small businesses, remote employment, state and local programs to support public organizations, and financing local initiatives.

Acknowledgments
The publication was prepared within the project Jean Monnet Module “Social Solidarity Economy: implementing EU experience for Sustainable Development” (SSExpEU-101047518-GAP-101047518) (2022–2025), funded by the European Union.

Policymakers, educators, and businesses must develop artificial intelligence-related initiatives and strategies to effectively engage and benefit the population. The study aims to evaluate awareness and readiness to utilize artificial intelligence by the adult population of Ukraine in 2022. The paper employed a questionnaire consisting of two sets of questions: 1) awareness of artificial intelligence and 2) readiness to use artificial intelligence. A total of 806 respondents were interviewed via an online survey. The margin of error does not exceed 5%. The results indicate that while Ukrainians have a generally positive view of artificial intelligence, they remain skeptical about the prospect of robots functioning as workplace partners. The majority find it difficult to envision collaborating with a robot in a professional setting (only 36.9% of Ukrainians are ready to work with a robot). The survey highlights that the primary benefits of AI products and services valued by Ukrainians include timesaving, increased comfort, and enhanced service accessibility. Ukrainian men demonstrate a greater degree of commitment and awareness of artificial intelligence products/services than Ukrainian women. Young people are the most informed age group about artificial intelligence products/services. Residents of the western regions indicate a more significant impact of artificial intelligence on the present, unlike respondents from the eastern regions of Ukraine.

Acknowledgment
This research was funded by a grant “Restructuring of the national economy in the direction of digital transformations for sustainable development” (№0122U001232) from National Research Foundation.