Purpose Despite an increasing volume of literature focussed on foreign direct investment (FDI) in transition economies, there has been little research into FDI in Ukraine. The relationship between the inflows of FDI (IFDI) and absorptive capacity (AC) has been under-researched in the peripheral transition countries like Ukraine. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the appropriateness of the Ukrainian economy’s AC to attract IFDI and facilitate economic growth with a particular focus on AC factors, such as the potential of human resources to absorb innovation and benefit from research and development (R&D) expenditure. Design/methodology/approach This study presents a thoughtful research design: there is an analysis of the AC framework for justification and selection factors that allows a measurement of the potential of Ukraine’s AC to attract and exploit IFDI. The study uses data from 25 regions in Ukraine for the 1996–2015 period. To estimate the effects of IFDI on Ukrainian economic growth, a Cobb–Douglas production function is used. As an appropriate instrumentation technique for dynamic panel data, the Generalised Method of Moments is used to provide unbiased and efficient estimates of the results. The application of the interactive term in this study allows the authors to indicate the existence of complementarities between IFDI and human capital, in particular with higher education, that afford opportunity to absorb new technologies and benefit from IFDI. Findings The resulting model indicates that R&D expenditure benefited very significantly in evolving country’s innovation system due to economic growth. Physical and human capital has not been used effectively in Ukraine to facilitate economic growth and attract IFDI. The number of patents is not significant in all of the regression models. Moreover, IFDI in Ukraine for the 1996–2015 period did not significantly impact on economic growth. However, the AC of human capital, in particular those with a higher education, is relatively relevant to benefit from IFDI. Practical implications The findings have important implications for governmental policy, which should be based on improving the business climate, a strategy for digital development, innovation, migration, institutional and regional policies aimed at the achievement of country’s sustainable economic growth. The government should increase R&D expenditure as an important factor of gross domestic product growth and introduce grants, loans and other financial supports for encouraging students to continue university education. Originality/value The originality and value of this paper is empirical and methodological. The empirical results of this study enable a conclusion about the appropriate level of the country’s absorptive capability required to benefit from IFDI. The paper also contributes to the existing academic debate and proves that despite the well-established theoretical framework for the IFDI–AC economic impact context, a new theorisation is needed to explore the full complexity of the country’s explicit relationship between AC and IFDI. Future research should be focussed on examining not only groups of countries but also distinctly the country’s explicit relationship between AC and IFDI with the particular attention for the under-researched countries: the peripheral transition economies to discover new research niches for theory building. This study presents an original methodological approach with a careful justification of the theoretical framework for hypothesis development, an appropriate sample and an original application of seminal research methods based on the Cobb–Douglas production function. This study proves that the interactive term, which allows indication of the existence of complementarities between IFDI and other variables, is appropriate for measuring AC in countries with smaller amounts of IFDI.

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Introduction. The article examines the trends in the levels of average wages, minimum wages and subsistence minimum, which are extremely important for the analysis of wealth and well-being of the population of Ukraine. The time trends of these indicators are constructed and the regularities of their change during 1996-2020 are established. The Keitz index is calculated and investigated. The dependences of the average wage, the minimum wage and the subsistence level on the gross domestic product are analyzed and established. The values of the values of the mutual correlation function are investigated. Purpose. The purpose of this article is a mathematical and statistical analysis of the dynamics of wages and living wage in Ukraine and the factors influencing them. The task is to study the impact of gross domestic product on the average wage, minimum wage, subsistence level and establish a causal relationship between them using mathematical, statistical and econometric models in order to further predict them and make recommendations on social indicators of living standards. Method. The article uses mathematical and statistical methods and regression-correlation analysis as the main methods of scientific research; time series theory; methods of mathematical modeling. Results. Analyzing the statistical data of indicators of average wages, minimum wages, subsistence level and gross domestic product in Ukraine for 1996-2020, their dynamics is studied. Trend models of wage levels and subsistence level have been built. The general tendency of their growth is noted. Emphasis is placed on the need to use mathematical modeling to study socio-economic indicators of living standards. The Keitz index, which reflects the fight against poverty, is calculated and analyzed. It is noted that during 1996-2009 the subsistence level exceeded the minimum wage. In 2010-2011, the values of the minimum wage slightly exceeded the subsistence level; and in subsequent years, small amounts were observed, until 2017 the minimum wage was not doubled. This positive trend has also been observed in recent years. Econometric models of dependence of average and minimum wage on gross domestic product are presented. The correlation-regression dependence of the subsistence minimum on the gross domestic product is constructed. It is shown that the growth of gross domestic product is accompanied by an increase in social indicators of living standards of the population of Ukraine. The values of the values of the mutual correlation function between the gross domestic product and the levels of wages and subsistence, respectively, are calculated and investigated.

Since the current state of the global financial system can be described as a crisis of excessive debt, Ukraine’s foreign debt is crucial for the present stage of stable development. Inefficient use of external borrowed funds results in a real loss of economic and political security of the state, particularly in a decline of living standards. The purpose of the article is to analyze Ukraine’s government-backed debt, subsistence minimum, minimum and averagewages, and to identify cause-effect relationships between the external debt, the cost of living, minimum and average wages using econometric models. The paper also analyzes dynamics of government-backed external debt and indicators of living standards in Ukraine over 1996- 2016 as well as interrelation between them. A number of trend models which show dynamics of Ukraine’s external debt, subsistence minimum, minimum and average wages are developed. These models are used to calculate their projected values. The authors have developed and justified economic and mathematical models of dependencies of subsistence minimum, minimum and average wages on the foreign state debt, and economic and mathematical models of dependencies of the government-backed external debt on subsistence minimum, minimum and average wages. It is noted that there is a strong dependency of subsistence minimum and minimum wage. Periods of dynamics of subsistence minimum, minimum and average wages, calculated in hryvnia and dollar equivalents, are defined. It is shown that the trends of the above-mentioned indicators have the same branches or periods. Moreover, it is proved that as compared with hryvnia, dollar plays a significant role in shaping indicators of living standards in Ukraine. Distributed lag models of dependencies of subsistence minimum, minimum and average wages on the foreign debt are calculated. The models show that the main impact of the government-backed external debt on subsistence minimum and minimum wage is four years overdue. The models with instrumental variables of direct and inverse dependencies of the external debt on subsistence minimum and of subsistence minimum on the external debt are developed and justified. These models are used to forecast the researched indicators.

Introduction. Education is an indicator of the country's intellectual potential. Higher education is a strategic resource through which the state is competitive in the global labour market.complete higher education attests to the professional and cultural level of a considerable number of the population, especially young people, and is not only an indicator of economic growth but also of social stability. The purpose of investigation was determined by the analysis of current state of higher education institutions and the main influencing factors for them. The coefficient of interest of graduates in receiving higher education in Ukraine is determined on the basis of regression analysis. Arima models were constructed using time series theory for prediction of the number of higher education institutions for future periods. Purpose. The purpose of the study is the construction the predictive models of the dynamics of the number of future students and the number of higher education institutions in Ukraine. Methodology. Regression analysis is used as one of the main methods of scientific research in the process of writing the article; time series theory, in particular Arima modeling of the Statistica application package; methods of mathematical modeling, in particular approximating polynomials in the process of modeling the dynamics of the institutions of higher education and the number of students, to determine the ‘coefficient of interest’. Results. The study found that the number of institutions of higher education depends on the one hand on the time factor, on the other – on the number of students. Given that the number of students and the amount higher education institutions can be characterized as a dynamic process, the theory of time series, in particular Arima modelling, was applied. Using Arima models, the number of students and the number of higher education institutions for the next two years is predicted. The relative errors for these models are 6% and 0. 4%, respectively. Based on statistics on the number of graduates of all secondary education institutions and the number of students admitted to higher education institutions of Ukraine, a ‘coefficient of interest’ in higher education was derived, which allows predicting the number of future entrants. The Arima model predicts the number of Ukrainian students in foreign educational institutions. The obtained forecast values regarding the number of students, the amount of higher education institutions of Ukraine, by various methods, adequately reflect the real situation today.