A Competitiveness Evaluation of the Ukrainian Regions

The article is devoted to the topic which deals with an empirical evaluation of regional competitiveness. The position of 27 Ukrainian regions was analyzed by the means of multivariate statistical methods respecting the multidimensional character of selected social economic variables. The current variables were obtained from the database of State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Chosen data sets are suitable for describing fields such as Industry, Investment, Household Income, Wages and Their payment, Labour Market, Demographic situation, Environment. By the factor analysis the data sets were reduced and authors of the article identified four regional competitiveness factors (Economic Development Factor, Industrial Production Factor, Migration and Employment Rate Factor, Labour Market Factor). Factor scores were obtained as an additional result of the factor analysis and consequently were used as input variables for the cluster analysis.  As the result of the multivariate classification the groups of regions with similar levels of regional competitiveness were found. The created regional clusters are discussed in the article regarding their current regional competitiveness and economic development. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.23.4.1296