ASSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTH-WEST REGION AT THE EXPENSE OF CONSOLIDATED LOCAL BUDGETS

Abstract

Local budgets in the context of administrative reform are an important tool for influencing the socio-economic development of the regions, in particular, can largely determine the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals at the regional level. The purpose of the study is to assess the financial support of sustainable development of the North-West region at the expense of consolidated local budgets.

To a large extent, the success of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals depends on the state of funding in the economic, social and environmental spheres, as well as the level of socio-economic development of the region as a whole. According to the indicator of the share of own revenues in the total revenues of the consolidated budget during the whole period, Volyn region prevailed over Rivne region, which indicates an even greater opportunity for local budgets to generate own revenues for further financing of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Local authorities in Volyn region provide greater economic return from the redistribution of local budgets (which is manifested in changes in the gross regional product), ie in general have a greater impact on the level of socio-economic development of the region than in Rivne. Although in general the difference between these indicators in these regions is insignificant. Local budgets in the North-West region are already becoming not only social budgets, but are increasingly beginning to play a role in stimulating economic development. However, during the analyzed period there was no increase in funding for the environmental component of sustainable development, ie the cost of environmental measures and restoration of ecosystems, the share of which in total expenditures is less than 1%. That is, the local budgets of the region, which is characterized by a strong natural resource potential, are practically separated from the solution of urgent environmental problems. Local budgets in the region are forced to rely mainly on the growth of tax revenues, the share of which has been constantly increasing - from 78.8% to 89.8%. However, little use is made of opportunities to raise funds from European funds and international grant projects.

Thus, the generalized assessment showed that local budgets have not become an important source of funding for the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in the North-West region. In general, the inability of local budgets in the region to generate sufficient revenues to finance areas related to the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Whereas only about 10% of funds are spent on financing economic activities. The main problem is the very low level of funding (up to 1%) from local environmental budgets, ie the environmental component of sustainable development of the North-West region. Therefore, given the region's proximity to the European Union, it is important to significantly expand the sources of revenue for local budgets through grants, international financial assistance, etc., especially to increase funding for the environmental component of sustainable development.