Svitlana Laichuk

The full-scale russian invasion and war in Ukraine have inflicted substantial damage on the Ukrainian economy across various sectors. During crises, a common phenomenon is a decline in market competitiveness. This paper seeks to investigate whether the war in Ukraine has resulted in a reduction of competitiveness in the Ukrainian insurance market. To assess this, a range of traditional measures of market concentration, as well as various statistical tests, were applied to three crucial indicators from the Ukrainian insurance market, namely, assets, insurance premiums, and insurance payments for the period from January 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023. The findings suggest that, despite substantial losses incurred by the Ukrainian insurance market due to the invasion, the competition in the market did not experience significant degradation. However, the existing trends indicating a propensity for increased market concentration are cause for concern and demand immediate attention from regulators to prevent the deterioration of the market. To prevent market degradation stemming from current trends, regulatory bodies like the National Bank of Ukraine should carefully monitor adverse developments. They ought to integrate commitments to ensure market competitiveness, complemented by specific quantitative metrics for oversight, into their strategic plans and concepts for the development of the insurance market. Given the persistent threat of russian bombing in Ukraine, a viable and promising direction involves the proactive adoption of digital services and products.

Acknowledgments
Alex Plastun gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (0121U100473).

The article explores social capital and its impact on economic development. This paper aims to analyze the role of trust in the process of growth and economic development. The interdependence of GDP per capita and trust level as an element of social capital has been analyzed. The correlation between trust and GDP per capita in 43 countries has been reflected. World Values Survey (WVS) was used to obtain empirical trust data. To determine the relationship between confidence level and GDP per capita, the correlation model was built. The regression coefficient b = 0.834 shows the average change in the effective indicator. Thus, with an increase of 1 unit of trust, GDP per capita rises by an average of 0.834. The coefficient of determination indicates that 60.68% of cases of changes in trust lead to a change in GDP per capita. The result suggests that trust serves as a tool in assisting the economic growth and company’s value. The study examines the tools that help to build trust, as economic development as a whole depends on it.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The study provides a comparative empirical assessment of the financial stability of waste management companies in Ukraine and the EU under geopolitical fragmentation and war-induced shocks. The sample includes 2,371 firms from the Orbis database operating in waste collection, recycling, and disposal from 2019 to 2023. The methodology combines correlation analysis, K-means clustering, and robustness checks using hierarchical and DBSCAN algorithms. Financial stability is measured by liquidity, solvency, and profitability. Wartime data gaps are addressed using median and k-NN imputation. The results identify three financial profiles (resilient, balanced, at-risk) in both regions but reveal profound structural asymmetries. In the EU, even at-risk companies maintain positive solvency (13.9%) and marginal ROA (0.81%), reflecting stable institutional conditions. In contrast, Ukrainian at-risk firms exhibit critical financial distress, with near-zero solvency (0.09%) and deeply negative profitability (ROA (–11.2%), ROE (–15.9%)), indicating capital destruction due to war-related shocks. A key finding is the weakening of financial coherence in Ukraine, with a significantly lower correlation between ROA and liquidity (0.60) than in the EU (0.78), confirming a structural break after 2022. Additionally, resilient Ukrainian firms show abnormally high liquidity (Current Ratio 7.91 vs. 3.51 in the EU), indicating precautionary cash hoarding and investment paralysis under extreme uncertainty. The findings confirm that geopolitical shocks transform financial behavior, whereby EU companies maintain efficiency-driven models and Ukrainian firms shift toward survival-oriented strategies. The study offers micro-level evidence of war-induced disruption to financial stability and proposes policy measures for recapitalization, green finance, and alignment with EU sustainability frameworks.