Issue #1 (Volume 9 2020)

Global financial transformations provoke shifts in financial systems that can threaten countries’ economic security. Further integration of the CEE states to the global economy will be accompanied by the increasing dependence of their financial markets and economic security on global financial challenges. The study aims to identify the relationship between global and regional financial trends that shape CEE countries’ economic security and reveal the shifts in the CEE region’s economic security under the influence of global financial transformation. The global financial transformations are the object of the study. Comparative analysis of the dynamics of financial transformations in the world and the CEE countries is made using structural analysis and methods of economic and mathematical modeling of trends. Given the heterogeneity of the CEE states’ financial development, global financial transformations have different manifestations in these countries. The relationship between global and regional indicators of financial transformation proved to be ambiguous. The regional dynamics of stock market capitalization, debt securities, and external debt fit corresponding world indicators’ dynamics. The indicators of global and regional official reserves and bank assets are moving in different directions. The region’s economic security challenges are great volatility of stock market capitalization, growth of external debt burden, and uneven distribution of official reserves. The obtained results should be considered when identifying financial threats affecting the CEE countries’ security and developing relevant policies for shaping the region’s efficient financial system.

Capital cities of the world are usually characterized by a concentration of the majority of the population and most of the public administration and economic life. Therefore, the efficiency and quality of public service delivery in their administrative territories make a difference. The study examines public service companies in Budapest, Hungary’s capital, with the focus on their sectors of activity to describe their system, which may provide good foundations for a prospective international comparison.
This study explores sector-oriented reports of state- and municipally-owned public utility companies providing services within the administrative territory of Budapest and evaluates them in terms of total assets, finance, profitability and efficiency. The study looked for an answer to the question of how the tighter state regulation and control adopted after 2010 affected their management, and what influence the price regulation of consumer public utility charges, imposed since 2013, had on companies’ activities.

Nowadays, it is necessary to consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the state of the national economy, in particular on the budget system. This paper examines the essence of budget security and identifies the key threats to budget security in the current context. The methodological aspects of calculating Ukraine’s budget security key indicators (their list, criteria for the use of weighting factors, range of characteristic values of budget security levels) are investigated and their state in 2015–2019 is assessed. The influence of quarantine measures on the level of budget security in Ukraine is determined. Analysis of the current state of budget security and development prospects of Ukraine, determined by the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, made it possible to predict Ukraine’s budget security indicators for 2020–2021 and define prospects for changing budget security of Ukraine until 2024. Based on the results of forecasting, the need was identified for planning and implementing urgent anti-crisis measures in the field of managing the country’s budget security, as well as ensuring the consistency of the norms of budget and tax legislation in integration with effective measures to support the socio-economic environment of Ukraine.

Further improvement of financial relations at the local level and the development of local budgets take place in the context of financial decentralization. This implies strengthening the role of local governments in attracting necessary financial resources to ensure socio-economic development of territories. The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of decentralization on the state of local budgets and to develop a scientific and methodological approach to assessing the level of financial decentralization of local budgets using the example of Ukraine for 2010–2019. The developed methodology consists of six successive stages. A comparative analysis of the dynamics of indicators of local budget execution in Ukraine in terms of revenues, expenditures and transfers using an integrated index obtained through taxonomic analysis is conducted. As a result of evaluating the effectiveness of the basic principles of financial decentralization, the expediency of calculating the integrated index of local budget financial decentralization is substantiated. This index is formed using intermediate indicators of autonomy to cover expenses and generate income both on the basis of own sources and taking into account the received state transfers for the implementation of their own and delegated powers of local governments. The implementation of the proposed method allow one to assess the levels of financial decentralization of local budgets to establish the degree of financial autonomy and financial self-sufficiency of the territories. The results obtained should be considered when determining the effectiveness of financial support for local budgets in the process of socio-economic development of regions.

With the deepening of global financial and economic instability, the search for ways to increase fiscal sustainability becomes relevant in the crisis regulation system. This problem is compounded by the emergence of new global challenges, including the COVID pandemic. Timely and complex analysis of the local budget financial sustainability allows one to comprehensively assess financial and economic risks, identify social and other problems, consider planning deficiencies and, on this basis, form a sound and effective regional budget policy. The purpose of the study is to summarize theoretical and practical principles of assessing the financial sustainability of local budgets and to outline the directions for its improvement in Ukraine considering international practices.
The study revealed the lack of a unified system for assessing the financial sustainability of local budgets in Ukraine. On the basis of generalization of theoretical and methodological approaches, a system of indicators for estimating the financial sustainability of local budgets has been identified. The indicators were grouped and calculated. Based on the study of practical experience, measures have been specified that would contribute to a systematic approach to assessing the financial sustainability of local budgets in Ukraine.
It was concluded that a systematic assessment of the financial sustainability of local budgets is a prerequisite for making informed management decisions about necessary adjustments to the budget, improving the quality of budget planning and the effectiveness of budget policy.

The article presents a comparative analysis of state funding of higher education as a factor of its effectiveness in European countries. The analysis is conducted on the example of countries where the share of state budget expenditures on education no less than 11%.
The assumption that education is the main factor in the formation of a responsible citizens capable to provide the job themselves, and to provide qualified professionals for the country, that means to promote economic and cultural growth, is taken as a basis of the article.
The structure of state expenditures on education in general and the amount of higher education funding in countries under consideration is analyzed.
The correlation between the amount of expenditures on higher education and the indicators of the quality index of the higher education system QS World University Rankings is analyzed. Also the correlation analysis between other indexes, that characterize the general level of human development and quality of business as a result of public investment in training of highly qualified specialists, is done.

This paper theoretically underpins the idea of greater involvement of local governments in the overall development of India explained through the theory of Fiscal Federalism. The theory outlines the dynamics of decentralization of power and functions through a multi-layered governance system leading to a new structure and added functions, finance, and accountability to local government. The paper also provides an overview of the increasing role of urban local governments in India and investigates whether the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Gujarat – a state in India, are efficient to perform the functions and responsibilities assigned to them by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA). It scrutinizes the financial health of local governments in the urban regions of India. The results based on the application of MANOVA indicate that the 74th CAA empowered ULBs with a strong economic base that these ULBs are capable of mobilizing their own resources. This means that smaller municipalities must develop and convergence must be supported by a proportionate level of grants. This will ensure that with the development of social infrastructure, economic activities will increase, and, as a result, the conversion will occur.