SUBSISTENCE MINIMUM AS A FINANCIAL ECONOMIC INDICATOR OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT OF THE POPULATION OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article analyzes socio-economic features of determining subsistence level for main social and demographic groups of population: children under 6; children aged 6 to 18 years old; able-bodied persons; persons who have lost their ability to work. It is substantiated that subsistence level as the basic social standard must correspond to actual needs of the population, which means calculating the cost of consumption of food and other goods and services, reflecting the value sufficient to ensure the normal functioning of the human body, preserving its health, and of a set of food, as well as a minimum set of other goods and a minimum set of services needed to meet the basic social and cultural needs of a person. It is emphasized that the law-determined subsistence level should indeed reflect the cost of a minimum level actual for a state and be the basis for social benefits and pensions calculation. It is concluded that there is an urgent need to update the set of food and non-food items and services for the needs of pensioners, disabled people, people with special needs, in medical products, specific medical equipment and necessary medical services, and the needs of children aged 6 to 18 years in access to educational and other services. It has been proved there is a need to improve the procedure for establishing and approving a subsistence level at the level corresponding to actual needs of people, rather than to financial capabilities of the state. It is concluded that to determine the subsistence level for main social and demographic groups of the population, it is necessary to systematically calculate the values of the sets of food, sets of non-food items and sets of services based on average consumer prices (tariffs) in the country covering the month preceding the month of calculation. This is going to help increase the state social standards in Ukraine and increase wages and social benefits. In addition, it is going to help further improve functioning of the mechanisms that realize and introduce the legal basis for the formation and application of state social standards and norms, aimed at the realization of main social guarantees stated in the Constitution of Ukraine.

Keywords

• living standard
• minimum subsistence level
• commodity bundle
• basic social and demographic groups
• adequate living standard.