The formation of social expenditures under martial law

Abstract

Introduction. Budget expenditures for social needs are an important tool for satisfying human interests, ensuring the well-being of citizens, and raising the standard of living of the population. Budget expenditures as an instrument of budget policy have a significant impact on the complete implementation of budget programs in the social sphere. Nationwide or global crises, shocks, etc. undermine the stability of financial and economic systems, including the full implementation of social policy. Problem Statement. The Russian-Ukrainian war undermined the foundations of the stability of the national economy. A significant number of business entities stopped their activities, at the same time the export of products almost completely stopped, budget revenues decreased significantly, which complicated the processes of budget implementation. This actualizes the efforts of politicians and practitioners to find optimal solutions for filling the budget, as well as strengthening the synergy of scientists in the context of conducting thorough research in the field of social expenditure formation in war conditions. Purpose. Assess the peculiarities of the formation of social budget expenditures under martial law in 2022. Methods. General scientific and special methods are used: analysis, synthesis, grouping, description, comparison, theoretical generalization and abstract-logical. Results. The conducted analysis showed that the financial and economic situation in the state significantly worsened with the beginning of the Russian invasion, which affected the ability to obtain basic services, the level of income and the quality of life of the population. The structure of budget expenditures has changed, because the defense of the country has become a priority task. At the same time, the amount of social spending should not decrease, as it is necessary to take into account the future social pressure associated with the consequences of the war. Budgeting processes are currently being transformed in a certain way, subject to priority, urgent measures aimed at protecting the country, as well as solving humanitarian and social issues. Therefore, it is necessary to search for additional sources of filling the budget, create reserve funds, redistribute budget expenditures, etc. Effective allocation and saving of limited budget funds will enable the government to maneuver financial resources, prevent associated risks, optimize expenditures, and concentrate them on strategic areas and other urgent tasks of a different nature. Conclusions. In the period of martial law, the tasks of budget policy remain essentially unchanged, in particular: effective management, distribution and use of budget expenditures for priority goals of both economic and social development. The structure of budget expenditures should take into account macroeconomic dynamics and adapt to military conditions, and therefore focus on the implementation of social priorities, primarily ensuring social benefits, providing medical and educational services, etc. The state must solve complex social tasks, which, in our opinion, is a promising direction for further scientific research.