Organizational and financial instruments of decentralization and development of united territorial communities in Ukraine: Poland’s experience

Abstract

The formation of balanced budgets and increasing the financial potential of communities, a clear division of powers on the principle of subsidiarity, improving the efficiency of financial resources and stimulating community development have determined the relevance of Ukraine's implementation of best practices in decentralization. The aim of the paper is to analyse the effectiveness of the decentralization process in Ukraine and assess the possibilities of financing the development of united territorial communities, identify the benefits of the Polish experience and determine the areas for their implementation in Ukraine. During the research, the methods of logical generalization and synthesis, comparative analysis, rating and integrated assessment of the financial capacity of the communities in Lviv region of Ukraine were used. Based on the study of foreign, in particular Polish, experience of decentralization, the key reasons for its insufficient effectiveness in Ukraine have been identified. The priority directions of the state policy are proposed and substantiated, and their implementation will allow to increase the efficiency of decentralization in Ukraine.