Comparative Analysis of Current Trends in Wage Dynamics in Ukraine and in the European Union

Abstract

The purpose of the current research is the systematic analysis of the current state of the labor market in Ukraine in the context of the regional wage formation. Detailed literature reviews indicated lack of research on wage dynamics in Ukraine, which determines the relevance of the conducted study. During the research, the following methods have been used: general scientific methods of system analysis and synthesis; generalization, systematization, and grouping of data; modern statistical and mathematical instruments, in particular, methods of the system dynamics. Study results. The comprehensive empirical assessment of the wage dynamics revealed the presence of the significant gap in the labor market development between Ukraine and European countries. Similar findings were also confirmed by the estimation and realization of the elaborated system dynamic model of the Ukrainian labor market. Overall, there are several possible explanations of the occurred regional wage divergence in the labor market. On the one hand, it may be caused by the huge variation in housing costs between regions. The cost of living in metropolitan areas, innovation centers and business areas are much higher than in the periphery in Ukraine. On the other hand, not all factors are appeared to be mobile across regions. Moreover, it was also interesting to analyze structural changes in employment across all Ukrainian regions. Calculation of the CSC correlation value indicated that Ukrainian regions have experienced different scale of structural shifts in employment affected by macroeconomic and financial instability. Conclusions. An empirical assessment of the wage dynamics over the years and testing of the wage convergence hypothesis showed that EU members demonstrate income converging pattern: those with the lowest initial net income level (Romania, Bulgaria, Baltic states, Hungary, etc.) demonstrated the highest growth rate in wages. In contrary, regional wage analysis revealed that in Ukraine the highest growth rates are presented in the most industrially developed regions, such as Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Luhansk (before ATO), Mykolaiv, etc. Such the pattern is called wage divergence and it is not a favorable phenomenon in the context of the sustainable regional development of the country. This trend only exacerbates existing internal imbalances in the regional development of Ukraine: highly developed regions and agglomeration continue to develop at a rapid pace, while the periphery is in a situation of economic and demographic stagnation. Consequently, the main goals of the state policy in the field of labor market stabilization should be enhancing wage bargaining by efficient activity of the trade unions; advanced revision of the tax legislation in order to formalize the shadow share of the labor market; the reduction of unemployment through the efficient use of labor resources and the creation of new jobs, which will favorably contribute to the country’s economic growth in the future.

Keywords

• labor market
• market equilibrium
• wage convergence
• structural changes
• employment
• system dynamics methods
• economics
• finance