EVALUATION OF THE INTEGRAL INDICATOR OF MACROECONOMIC STABILITY

Abstract

The article defines features of macroeconomic stability, its factors and approaches to assessment. This is the state of the national economy, in which aggregate demand and supply are balanced, production and consumption are balanced. The main goal of the article is to evaluate the integral indicator of macroeconomic stability as a general indicator of the state's economic development based on the financial statements of 35 European countries in 2010, 2015 and 2020. Solving the specified task contributes to the identification of the leading countries and their main socio-economic and anti-crisis policies, which can serve as guidelines for the adoption of balanced strategic decisions by other states. It was determined that the integral indicator of macroeconomic stability is a versatile assessment of the effectiveness of the national economy on the world market. The main indicators of the state's economic development are an increase in the volume of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Income (GNI), a decrease in the level of inflation and unemployment, the stability of the national monetary unit, the Gini index close to 0, etc. In the conditions of globalization, the list of indicators is constantly expanding. The following research tools were used in the article: methods of analysis and synthesis, grouping, bibliographic analysis, comparison method, factor analysis, calculation of the integral indicator, graphic method, etc. The use of the method of principal components confirmed the hypothesis that the first factor includes those indicators that exert a stronger influence on macroeconomic stability. Based on the visualization of the integral indicator of macroeconomic stability, the leading country – Switzerland – was determined. The socio-economic features and anti-crisis measures of the specified state can be a reference point for other countries. Among these characteristics, the following are highlighted: creation of compensation programs for companies in the post-crisis period; creation a flexible labour market; allocation of funds for research and development (in Switzerland – 3 % of GDP); combination of digitization processes with investment policy. The results of research can be useful for state bodies when developing elements of national economic policy.