Investing assets of non-state pension funds in bonds

The study aims to identify the financial performance measures used as a proxy of the firm-level competitiveness dimensions of small and medium-sized enterprises and their competitiveness. By investigating the factors that affect competitiveness in general, those areas will be introduced, related to an identified competitiveness dimension. Financial and non-financial performance indicators will assess these areas. The paper considers competitiveness as an outcome variable, suggests a relationship between financial performance and the identified areas, and searches for the financial performance measures drivers.
A panel data model was tested on Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and US SMEs. The collected data cover the period between 2013 and 2017. As a result of the applied panel regression, those variables were successfully identified that drive and could predict financial performance measures related to competitiveness. The research found a significant difference between the two-sample dataset results, which differences can be connected to country, industry, and, in general, to economic development characteristics.
The results provide decision-making support and hint about the managerial tools and techniques aiming to control the firm characteristics, performance, and, eventually, firm-level competitiveness. Based on the results, further research can be dedicated to the development characteristics of firm-level competitiveness and the analysis of the relationship between the competitiveness dimensions and competitiveness itself.

Acknowledgment
The research was financed by the Higher Education Institutional Excellence Programme of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology in Hungary, within the framework of the 4th thematic programme „Enhancing the Role of Domestic Companies in the Reindustrialization of Hungary” of the University of Pécs.

To date, the promotion of local development of the territorial communities by means of the financial policy tools is one of the priority directions of scientific research not only in Ukraine, but also throughout the world. The article presents the results of the study of the impact of the participatory financing (attraction of the financial resources of community members, central and local budgets and the international donors) on the social capital of the territorial communities of Sumy region on the basis of the results of two phases of the project “Community-based Approach to Local Development”, which has been implemented in Ukraine by the United Nations Development Program since 2007. The main purpose of the article is to confirm the hypothesis that the participatory financing contributes to the social mobilization of the community residents, which leads to the activation of the “dormant” potential of collective actions and the desire of people to help themselves, as well as to improve some indicators of social capital. The difference-in-differences method and the multivariate regression analysis were used for the study. According to the results of the study, the characteristics of social capital, such as (anti)paternalism, the presence of traditions in community, involvement in social activities, collective action and cooperation are the most affected by the impact of participatory financing.

The current phase of Ukraine’s development characterizes by a complex of external and internal challenges, which provoked a deep economic crisis in the country, led to a serious deterioration of the living standards, exacerbated social tension. The way to overcome the economic crisis lies in the implementation of complex long-term economic reforms that require the support of the entire society based on national cohesion, unity and trust to the government. In this context, reliable social protection of the population is becoming one of the main factors of national security in Ukraine. This requires the government to rethink the fundamentals, ideology, strategy and tactics of financial policy in the field of social risk management as well as cardinal practical steps to increase the role and significance of the basic institution of social protection of the able-bodied population in market economy countries - the social insurance system. The balance of the state social insurance system depends on the financial equilibrium of the Pension Fund of Ukraine, which concentrates about 90% of its financial resources. The path to such an equilibrium lies in the transition to a three-pillar pension system. However, this is possible only if our country achieves economic stability. Premature forced state compulsory accumulative insurance (second pillar of the pension system) under the crisis conditions will create a threat of social tension aggravation. Thus, under current economic conditions, the introduction of the second pillar of the pension system, although it is an objective necessity, requires clear economic preconditions, the main are: restoration of GDP growth based on overcoming the crisis in the real sector of the economy; the hryvnia exchange rate stabilization; growth of the average monthly wage in the country etc. Actuality, practical significance as well as insufficient elaboration of this problem caused the choice of the topic of the article, determined its purpose, task, logic and content.