Social Policy: Issues of the Modern Conceptualization of Institutionalism
Authors: ROMANIUK S. A. 
Published: December 2020

Th e article is devoted to the systematization of modern theoretical views on the role of institutions in social development. Th e relevance of the topic is determined by the need for a thorough analysis of modern views on the role and place of institutions in social development in the conceptualization of diff erent approaches to the development of institutional theory. Th e novelty of the work lies in the substantiation of the directions of use in domestic science and practice of modern approaches to institutionalism in general and various institutions in particular in order to improve the economic and social development of the country, its regions and communities. Th e purpose of the article is to summarize the main latest theoretical views on institutional theory and the practical use of its components in the formation of state development policy in various spheres of public life. Іn the process of preparing the article, such basic research methods as systematic and multidisciplinary, as well as comparative analysis were used, the joint application of which allowed to fully explore and generalize the multifaceted and complex nature of the components of institutional theory and its use. Scientifi c approaches to key components of institutional theory are considered. Th e main characteristics of the concept of institutions as a common phenomenon in the social, political and economic spheres are highlighted. Emphasis is placed on the coordinating role of institutions, the importance of studying the impact on public policy-making of both formal and informal institutions. Th e approach to the analysis of institutions from the point of view of rational and sociological behavioral models is systematized. Various scientifi c interpretations of institutional theory on an interdisciplinary basis — from the point of view of organizational institutionalism, institutional economics and comparative institutionalism — are characterized and analyzed. Th e author identifi ed provisions of these theoretical approaches, which seem relevant and are of greatest interest to scientists, politicians, practitioners in the framework of institutional analysis. In particular, the importance of socially responsible investment in the development of person, separate territory, country as a whole, as interconnected and interdependent processes that characterize the development of self-regulation of the business environment as a form of informal institutions. It is found that from the point of view of formation and implementation of public policy by authorities of diff erent territorial levels, it is important to use the ideas of comparative institutionalism, in particular on the mutual conditionality and interdependence of institutions in diff erent spheres of public life. Th e generalization of research on the implementation by countries of various institutional forms for the improvement of development policy is out, on the basis of which the importance of complementarity of institutions, dialectically interconnected, is determined. In this context, the key functions of institutions that are critical for the formation and implementation of development policy are described. Th e introduction of such an approach to evaluating the eff ectiveness of institutions as “institutional distance” is analyzed.