Garkusha N.N., professor, Candidate of Economics
Polevaya T.V., associate
professor, Candidate of Economics
Kharkiv
State University of Food Technology and Trade
The Estimation Ukrainian Population Quality of life
World social and demographic progress tendencies
stipulate the optimization of population quantity and demographic load.
Economically developed European countries achieved such level of population
recreation which is characterized by the low indices of birthrate; however low
indices of the death rate. The economic crisis and
political instability in Ukraine caused the reduction of average life duration
and population life quality. That is why the elaboration of the scientifically
grounded program of the demographic crisis overcoming is needed for the social
problems decision-making.
Such scientists and economists as Vovkanich
C.I., Golub L.A., Esinova N.I., Jidchenko N.V., Malytus T., Merzlyak A.v.,
Prokopova O.V., Tzapok S.O. examined the state and problems of Ukrainian
demographic development in their scientific works [1-2]. In the researches they
accented attention on the population laws action, quantitative and qualitative
changes of population.
Such scientists and economists as Gorbatov
V.M., Jerebin V.M., Kremlyov I.D., Nozdrina L.V., Romanov A.N., Charina V.O.
examined the problems of the life quality and living standards estimation [4]. At the same time, adequate
government social programs development requires the systematic watching of
demographic situation and complex estimation of population life quality, and it
is the aim of this scientific research.
The availability of authentic demographic
information is the necessary element of providing normal society vital
functions. Ukraine is characterized by the features of demographic development:
the level of death rate doesn’t decrease, and expected life-span shorter than
in the developed countries. The
modern demographic situation is characterized by the maintenance of tendencies
of Ukraine population quantity reduction. For the last 18 years of diminishing
of Ukraine population quantity is approximately 11% from the amount of country
habitants. Thus this diminishing is permanent, beginning from 1994 years.
The important display of demographic crisis
is swift increase of death rate and unfavorable changes in the structure of its
reasons. According to
the statistical data, the first place of death rate growth was «conquered» by
the system of blood circulation disturbance and infectious diseases. Second are
accidents, murders, suicides and other negative factors. Third are ecological
problems.
The lifespan decreases together with reduction of
population amount in Ukraine. For years of independence middle age of
Ukrainians increased from 35 to 37 years. Men’s’ lifespan in Ukraine on 8-12
years (women’s on 4-7 years) is shorter than in the developed countries.
According to the lifespan index Ukraine take the 78-th place in the world. The
amount of people of senior age group grows; moreover
every third man doesn’t live till 60 years.
Ukraine is the state with high-density of
population. Middle concentration of population on the territory is about 77
persons on 1 km2 [1, р.371]. Thus the division of population on urban and rural is determinative
factor. For today specific gravity of urban
population in the general structure is 67,5%. In Ukraine the growth of the
urban population part in the structure of population takes place together with
growth of senior age group population part at the absolute outweighing in this
structure of women.
By statistical researches such principal reasons of
demographic changes are set in Ukraine:
a) falling of birth-rate level, which for today is
almost on 40% below registered at the beginning of 90th. In 2008 it was 7,8
persons on 1000 habitants of Ukraine;
b) intensification of death rate of
population (from 1994 years the level of death rate grew almost on 30% and in
2008 it was 15,3‰). On the end of 2009 year quantity of dead persons exceeded
the quantity of born persons on 194,2 thousands. There is the especially high death
rate of men of working age, which exceeds the death rate of women in similar
age almost four in four times;
c) deterioration of
population: for today the part of advanced aged persons in Ukraine is about
30%. In 2009 part of advanced aged persons in the villages of Ukraine was 32,5%
(15 million persons), that answers the regressive
type of model age structure with the slow change of generations and reduction
of population;
d) depopulation as a result of exceeding amount of
dead persons comparatively with the amount of persons were borne (on the end of
2008 the quantity of present population of Ukraine was 46143,7 thousands of
persons, and on the end of 2009 – already 45962,9 thousands of persons, that
testifies about declining of its amount on 0,39%);
e) instability of marriages and sharp diminishing
of their amount for the last ten years from 9,3‰ to 5,5‰ (on 41%) at the
increasing of the divorce level from 3,7‰ to 4,0‰. The orientation on the
informal marriage-domestic relations and the part of one child families and
childless families is increasing. There are the liberalization of domestic and
marriage moral, change of marriage and family functions on the modern stage.
The low level of children usually has adaptive and forced character that is
stipulated by economic factors, and family with one child is the model of
marriage and reproductive behavior of the big population part;
f) the loss of large family traditions. The
dynamics of total procreation index (the modern state is one child on one woman
in childbearing age) testifies that the level of birth-rate is insufficient for
the substitution of ancestor generation. The statistic
confirms that more than 20% of childbearing age
women can not give birth on the state of health;
g) Ukraine is mainly the
exporter of labour force. The amount of drop-outs for 2009 was 629372 persons;
h) the absence of middle class population
(quick increase of poverty rates of Ukrainian citizens and reality of prospects
of mass unemployment). The development of the social and
oriented economy of Ukraine connects with the decision of such problem as
middle class formation which is basis of social stability. The middle class
plays an important role for the country, because it is the strongest economic «donor». It forms the state and
local budgets, finances important social transfers, creates possibilities for
financing of science, education, health protection, culture expansion as basic
taxpayer. Paying taxes, a middle class is able to support the social and
passive population and the same to be the guarantor of the government social
programs realization.
The state in relation to
society carries responsibility for improving of population life quality,
providing of social guarantees and safety. The research of quality of life at
the end of XX century was on the first plan at most developed countries. The
social policy is the basic instrument of quality of life regulation; it is the
system of tasks, aims, principles, methods, institutes and priorities of
relations development which provide the proper quality of life [5, p.68].
However and until now the
generally accepted scientific determinations of concepts «quality of life» and «standard of living» don’t exist. So, the authors of the Modern
economic dictionary [6, p.410] consider that the terms of life testify about
the level of population welfare and consumption of goods and services. Aggregate of
terms and indices which characterize the degree of satisfaction of basic vital
necessities of people are usually concerned by level of GDP per capita, by the
average family profits comparatively with living wage in the country, by the
consumer family budget. Thus noted authors mark that quality of life is
averaging social and economic category, which includes not only the level of
consumption of material goods and services (standard of living), but also
satisfaction of spiritual necessities, health, life-span, terms of environment,
moral and psychological climate, emotional comfort [6, p.172-173].
Osovska G.V., Ushkevich
О.О. and Zavadskiy I.S. in the Economic dictionary [7, p.273] give
determination of standard of living, as the aggregate of terms of population
life of the country with a summarizing index which characterizes economic state
of population.
Economists Luginin О.E.,
Bilousova S.V. consider that the standard of living of population is
combination of material, social and spiritual levels of population welfare of
which is dictated by the modern requirements of humanity development [8,
p.525].
After the method of UNO
quality of life refers as the aggregate of such indexes as health, at thereby
demographic terms, meal, clothes, funds of consumption and savings, face-lift,
condition of labour, education, public welfare and so on [4, p.90].
On
determination of World wide organization of health protection, quality of life
is perception by the individual of his position in life in the context of
culture and system of values which an individual lives in, in connection with
his aims, expectations, standards and interests [5, p.67].
Consequently,
in afore-mentioned determinations attention is accented only on the certain
constituents of population quality of life, but the mixing of concepts «quality of life» and «standard of living» takes place. We consider that the difference
consists in that the standard of living represents the economic constituent of
population state only, and quality of life engulfs social and spiritual level
of welfare.
We mark
that the concept of quality of life differs from the standard of living,
including and the most non-typical determinations, for example, such, as living
standards, as the varied economic indicators of profits only partly
characterize the criteria of quality of life which must be not less than four.
We analyzed existent determinations of
concept «quality of life» and determined that in the structure of these interpretations it was
possible to select the substantial and operational parts. The degree of
satisfaction of financial, cultural and spiritual necessities of individual is
considered in substantial part of all determinations. The procedure of
comparison of actual level of necessities satisfaction with base level is
concretized in the operational component.
For today the problem of introduction of the unique complex system of measuring of population
quality of life stands sharply. The first attempt of creation of the estimation system of living
standard was connected with the wage index (the
nominal wage index and the prices index ratio), later with the cost of living
indices and consumer price
indices on goods and services of certain set. Thus every separate index didn’t
give possibility to describe the population
standard of living in
detail.
The international
statistical practice uses the «index of social development», which was offered by the Experimental
institute of social development of UNO. This index includes 16 interdependent
indices (9 social and 7 economic). More contradictory attempt of measuring of
quality of life and standard of living of population in developing countries
was related to the elaboration of international «trouble index» (Index Suffering Human), which must
determine the difference in the life conditions of people in different
countries.
There are few different
methods of measuring of quality of life and living standard in which from three
to twelve parameters are used. David Morris offered the simplest and the most
debatable method; he developed the index of physical quality of life. The
essence of the noted method consists of determination of three indices: the level
of child's death rate, expected life-span after achievement the age of one year
and distribution of literacy. However the economic constituent of population
quality of life was absent in this system of evaluation.
Four parameters were
selected in the estimation system of UNO: life-span from the moment birth;
literacy of adult population; scope of people by all types of studies and GDP
per capita.
Two systems of measuring of quality of life are more difficult, these systems use nine parameters which are not identical. The first system, which was offered by the London research group of magazine «The Economist», contains: GDP per capita; expected life-span; political stability and safety of country; domestic life; public life; unemployment rate; civil liberties; climate of country [5, p.68].
The second system with nine
indices, was offered by International Living organization, includes:
cost-of-living, rest and entertainments, health level, civil liberties, level
of the economy, development of the infrastructure, personal safety, state of
environment, climatic conditions. Each of the noted parameters is estimated
from 0 to 100, then the general averaging amount of points is counted up, and
this result determines the position of the country. This method of quality of
life measuring is used in 193-th countries.
In 1990 UNO offered the
last and the most considerable attempt of complex estimation of population
quality of life. This attempt connects with the use of «index of human
potential development». Its
construction bases on such substantive positions of conception of human
development [2, p.75-76], as: equality, productivity, firmness, expansion of
possibilities. The index of development of human potential includes: expected
life-span, attained level of education, volume GDP per capita. This index is
concerned as arithmetic average from the indexes of three afore-mentioned
indicators.
Separate indexes which enter to the index of
development of human potential are converted in comparative aspect by the
formula:
where хі – the actual value of index;
хmіn та хmax – accordingly maximal and minimum value of the proper
index, accepted as standard in international practice.
In the international
practice the index of development of human potential includes:
–
life-span of population –
from 25 to 85 years;
– scope of people by all types of studies – from 0 to
100%;
–
volume of GDP per capita –
from 200 to 4000 dollars of the USA;
–
degree of satisfaction of
material and social necessities of individual.
The value of index of development of human
potential is in scopes from 0 to 1. Ukraine enters to the group of countries
with the middle level of this index (less than 0,8 and more than 0,5) (it is
characterized by the middle indices of life-span, by the level of availability
of education and level of GDP on 1 habitant). It occupies 35-th place after the
index of life-span among the European countries and thirty-second place – after
a level GDP on a 1 habitant [3, p.398]. In
2009 from data of UNO Ukraine occupied 85 place among 177 countries of world after the index of human development.
Among the row of reasons of
incongruous quality of life of population of Ukraine the basic are: absence of
the well-paid job for the part of capable for work population (on one working
person is one unemployment person); low payment of labour and disproportion in the wage; heavy
terms of labour; expenditures of population on services of education sphere,
health protection, culture.
Because
of, absence of the unique complex
system of measuring of quality of life of population, we suggest to use the
method of its measuring through determination of nine parameters: volume of GDP per capita; expected life-span; health level,
political stability and safety of the country; unemployment rate; civil liberties;
development of infrastructure; state of environment. Such approach will allow
to cover the different types of public life and avoid the lacks of the separate
measuring systems.
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