IMPORT-DEPENDENCE OF UKRAINE’S ECONOMY AND PRIORITIES OF SELECTIVE IMPORT SUBSTITUTION

Abstract

The actual question about the formation of an efficient system of regulation of the import of goods on the basis of the study and the analysis of the import-dependence and priorities of a selective import substitution in Ukraine’s economy is clarified. Some scientists are discussing about possibilities and consequences of the import substitution for country’s economy. Mostly, the questions of choice of the vectors of import substitution are considered exclusively with regard for the resource possibilities of a production of goods. At the same time, the consequences of the increasing import-dependence of Ukraine’s economy and priorities of a selective import substitution in separate kinds of economic activity require a further investigation. The goal of the present work is to estimate a level of the import-dependence of Ukraine’s economy and to determine the perspectives of a selective import substitution in separate kinds of economic activity. The analysis of the scientific literature concerning the interpretation of the notion “import substitution” is made. The indicators of import-dependence and import-capacity of Ukraine’s economy are analyzed on the basis of the “expenditures – output” tables, and the reasons for and the consequences of an excess of import volumes over the internal production are determined. The perspectives of a selective import substitution in separate kinds of economic activity are studied. It is concluded that the increase in volumes of import-consumption has caused the gradual displacement of domestic producers from Ukraine’s internal market. The increase in a share of the import in the intermediate consumption enhances the dependence of the industry on import completing units, details, and the equipment. The variation in the exchange rate affects directly the cost of imported commodities, and the devaluation of the national currency under such conditions can become a factor stimulating the price competitiveness of domestic products for separate goods in such kinds of economic activity as the production of food products, drinks, and tobacco goods, textile production, production of chemical substances, and machine-building. The practical value of obtained theoretical and practical results consists in the possibility to use them for the improvement of Ukraine’s system of regulation of the import of goods.