SOCIAL SPHERE AS AN ECONOMIC CATEGORY AND BASIS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Verkhovod Iryna 
Published: June 2023

The article examines the influence of the development of the social sphere in improving the well-being of every individual in society. It was determined that a simplified understanding of the development of the social sphere is based on investments in people and the formation of powerful human potential. These factors have been identified as contributing to community economic prosperity and include youth programs and services, post-secondary education, job creation, promoting healthy, active lifestyles, and safe and secure communities. It has been found that social development uses and/or changes the processes of social institutions and systems through policies and programs to strengthen the capabilities and capacities of individuals, families and communities, which is envisaged by the concept of social capital. It was determined that for Ukraine the social sphere occupies an important place in the socio-economic system of the country today. Three approaches to defining the concept of the social sphere are presented, namely: procedural, substantive and institutional. It was determined that economic growth and social development are closely related, because the economic growth of a country directly affects the ability of the government to improve the social development of its citizens. At the same time, social development should improve in parallel with the improvement of the country's financial capabilities. The article also conducts a study of Ukraine's place in the World Good Country Index and the ranking of countries by the level of happiness of the population. An analysis of the dynamics of the Gini Index of Ukraine was conducted, which indicates a high level of equality and a decrease in inequality in Ukraine. The analysis of GDP per capita made it possible to verify the existence of prerequisites for the social development of Ukraine. The dynamics of the Human Development Index were analyzed. Therefore, according to this indicator, Ukraine is a country with a high level of development compared to other countries. The conducted research made it possible to find out that the social development of Ukraine has positive and negative factors that determine the vectors of further growth. Among the positive ones, the following are highlighted: implementation of European norms and standards of social policy; formation of trends for the development of intellectual and personnel and educational and innovative potential of the social sphere; increasing the quality and efficiency of educational and research activities, increasing the level of intellectualization of the economy and the social sphere; development of social standards in the field of social and labor relations; development of family medicine, development of physical culture and sports facilities; digitization of the social sphere. And among the negative ones, the following were noted: a decrease in the number and deterioration of the quality of institutional support for the functioning of the social sphere; further decline of the material, technical and technological base of institutions in the social and housing and communal spheres; increase in the cost of social services and social security in the conditions of European integration; complication of the situation with global diseases; decrease in the volume of housing put into operation; deterioration of the ecological situation; Russian-Ukrainian war and its consequences. It was determined that Ukraine is currently actively implementing a digital strategy for the transformation of the social sphere. It is concluded that Ukraine has a powerful social capital, and social initiatives have a huge potential for economic recovery in Ukraine and overcoming the social costs of the war. The social economy has all the prerequisites to become the basis for the economic recovery of the entire country.