Savings and Migration Capital of Households: World Experience and Domestic Realities

Abstract

Summary Subject and purpose of work: The subject of the paper is the formation of household savings in Ukraine and their sources of aggregate household incomes, with particular attention to the Ukrainian labor migration. It is an important source of foreign exchange earnings in the form of remittances, which help improve the welfare of population and ensure economic growth in the country. The purpose of the paper is to research and determine major trends of the development of households’ financial resources, to examine the foreign experience of forming and use of residents’ savings and to determine the ways it can be applied in Ukraine, and to analyze the main trends of state policy in the regulation of labor migrants’ remittances. Materials and methods: The author of this paper analyzed the literature on the subject and performed desk research using data from reports and studies published by EU statistics (Euro stat Statistics) and GUS (Statistics Poland), statistical yearbooks of Europe; WDR reports (Global Financial Development Report 2019/2020) and NBU (Official website of the National Bank of Ukraine). Results: The author’s research has shown that the process of saving is quite popular for European people is quite popular. Accordingly, in 2019, the residents of Poland, Hungary and Romania were the most frugal – 82%, 84% and 85%. Further attitudes towards savings are the following: Turks (77%), Ukrainians (76%), Croats (75%), Serbs (72%), Germans (73%), while savings are slightly less important for Austrians (70%), Slovaks (67%), Czechs (66%), and Montenegrins (59%). This savings situation has clearly demonstrated the power of effective household decisions for overall political and economic activity in Europe. Finally, the migration capital of Ukraine has a “shadow character” due to, first of all, the desire to minimize the costs of transferring funds home through official channels, as well as distrust of the banking sector in Ukraine. Conclusions: To increase the efficiency of the formation and use of household savings in Ukraine, it is necessary to increase the interest of citizens in savings by partially or completely exempting from taxation the income directed to accumulation and create the conditions necessary for the implementation of new banking, insurance, and other types of financial services.