A systematic approach to the study of the public sector of the economy

Abstract

Subject. Many international and Russian researchers study the public sector in terms of the operating conditions of a mixed economy, its role and place in the society, the component composition, and the formation of its organisational structure. However, most relevant issues have not been thoroughly studied yet and many of them have been debated a lot. The economic theory offers very few works on the study of the public sector as a complex social and economic system that operates as part of the national economy of the country. Therefore, the study of the public sector using a systematic approach allows isolating it from the external environment and conducting a comprehensive study. The systematic approach allows determining the properties of a system, its basic elements, functions performed, and structural components in the form of subsystems and it also helps to identify the institutional structure and the economic mechanism of the public sector. Objectives. The goal of this study was to generalise theoretical concepts of the public sector of the economy and develop them using a systematic approach that allows identifying it as a social and economic system. Methodology. The research involved using general scientific methods, including dialectical method, the cognition objective reality, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, and abstraction. To justify the obtained results, we used systematic, institutional, and structural approaches. The research was conducted using relevant publications. Conclusions. As a result of the conducted study, we discovered that the public sector of the economy is an independent, specific, open, and complex social and economic system. This system operates as a part of the mixed national economy. The component structure of the social and economic system of the public sector contains material, social, process, institutional, and regulatory subsystems. Each of them has a specific composition of subjects and objects which are interrelated in a certain way. The operation of the system of the public sector of the economy causes a social and economic effect that enhances the inclusive component of economic growth and improves public welfare. The scientific novelty is due to the study of the public sector as a complex social and economic system. The systematic approach allows conducting a comprehensive study of the public sector, its functions, the formation of its elemental structure, actions of the economic mechanism, etc.

Keywords

• socio-economic system
• material subsystem
• social subsystem
• process subsystem
• regulatory subsystem