| Popis: |
Rural territories of Ukraine are locked in a “circle of decline” by two mutually reinforcing trends: firstly, the lack of jobs and sustainable business activity, and secondly, the lack of positive changes in the service sector for the rural population. This is often conditioned upon the low development of infrastructural facilities. This causes the need to finance modern, efficient and environmentally friendly rural infrastructure, which will increase the comfort and quality of living, stop the outflow of the working-age population to cities, improve the demographic situation in rural areas, and contribute to the development of the rural economy. Therefore, the research is aimed at diagnosing the current state of infrastructure support for rural areas and finding effective tools to eliminate the causes of their socio-economic decline. The research methodology is based on the use of such general scientific research methods as economic analysis and synthesis in the interpretation of statistical data sets, comparison in determining dynamic changes in the socio-demographic characteristics of rural areas, logical method in making generalisations and conclusions, graphical and computational-constructive for constructing a Lorentz curve, etc. The essence, definition and types of infrastructure are established. The current level of socio-economic development of rural areas of Ukraine is clarified and its interdependence with infrastructure support is discovered. The level of transport, housing and communal services, medical, cultural and educational, trade, and business infrastructure development is described. The paper highlights the experience of stimulating rural development in the EU countries, in particular, outlines financial instruments and the scope of support and comprehensive assistance to rural businesses, environmental protection, competitiveness, and social integration. European investment funds and their role in the development of EU rural infrastructure are described |
