Assessment of Labour Productivity and the Factors of Its Increase in European Union 27 and Ukrainian Economies

Abstract

The article is devoted to identifying the impact of factors on the increasing labour productivity in the economies of the European Union-27 (EU-27) and Ukraine. The system of influencing factors that must be taken into account in the assessment of the labour productivity indicator was substantiated. The factors are based on the most significant indicators of innovative development (innovative activity; formation and the use of personnel; the state of use of fixed capital; the composition of the payroll budget; investment activity; and the use of working time). Based on the use of the method of linearization of the labour productivity model, the rating coefficients of the influence of factors for the economies of the EU-27 and Ukraine were determined. It has been proven that the following factors have a significant positive impact on labour productivity: an increase in the costs of scientific research and development; the growth of enterprises expenditures on research and development (R&D) in high-tech sectors; the increase in the share of scientific research personnel and researchers in the total number of the employed population; the growth of costs for the innovation of industrial enterprises; an introduction to the production of new technological processes and innovative types of products; the purchase of machinery, equipment, and software; an increase in the share of the employed population that has a basic higher education (bachelor’s degree); the growth in the share of the employed population that has a full higher education (master’s degree); the increase in the share of enterprises providing training; the increase in the capital–labour ratio; the technological equipment of labour; the machine equipment of labour; the renewal of fixed capital; and the increase in the level of intellectualization of fixed capital. The available reserves for increasing the labour productivity in EU-27 economies and Ukraine were clarified, and recommendations for managing the labour productivity in the conditions of innovative development have been provided. This study gains relevance when Ukraine has assumed the official status of an EU candidate country and the advantages and potential difficulties in the membership process should be evaluated. Labour productivity will be one of the key factors in the post-conflict recovery of the economy.