COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE AND EU

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the development of the circular economy in Ukraine and the EU countries. A comparative analysis of the methods of research on the circular economy in the scientific literature showed that scientists use various sets of indicators and different methods of their generalization to study the circular economy. Due to incomplete comparability, partial absence of Ukrainian statistical data and Eurostat data, the question arises of choosing a methodology for studying indicators and constructing an integral indicator based on them. Based on the entire set of research methods, it was decided to use the Gray relational coefficient for such analysis. The Gray coefficient is part of the Gray relational analysis, developed for use in the decision-making process when data are uncertain, scarce and/or incomplete. The main idea of this study was to include the maximum possible number of variables defined by the EU, as this will allow for a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of achieving the goals of the circular economy in Ukraine and the EU member states. Thus, 16 variables were included in the study. For comparative analysis, European countries with the highest and lowest levels of development and implementation of circular economy practices were selected. The study showed that it is worth using a dynamic approach due to structural and other changes in the economy that occur over time. Thus, it was found that there is a certain synchronous change in the relational Gray coefficient in dynamics for both the countries with the best and worst indicators, as well as for Ukraine and the EU as a whole. This indicates that they have improved their circular economy measures through changes in the entire system. Among the recommendations, it is worth highlighting increasing awareness of circular economy issues; minimizing dependence on raw materials from other countries; attracting private investment in the circular economy, including foreign direct investment; unifying the regulatory framework for waste sorting with the EU; developing a coordinated approach to monitoring circular economy statistics; strengthening actions and players that measure and monitor whether the set goals of the circular economy are being achieved.