Assessment of the Technological Level of Enterprises and Branches of the Processing Industry of the Ukrainian

Topicality. Today, the technological level of enterprises and branches of the processing industry is the main factor in the economic development of the country's economy, as it determines the level of material and energy intensity of production, labour productivity, investment attractiveness, competitiveness of the state and living standards of the population. A lot of scientific research by foreign and domestic scholars has been devoted to assessing the technological level of enterprises and industries. Assessment of the technological level of enterprises and industries based on the indicator «share of expenditures on R&D in gross value added» does not provide a comprehensive assessment, since the technological level is determined by many factors. Aim and tasks. To carry out a comprehensive assessment of the technological level of enterprises and branches of the processing industry of Ukraine based on indicators of output, gross value added, employment and labour productivity. Materials and methods. General scientific and special research methods were used in the study: comparison, generalisation, synthesis, system analysis, logical and dialectical analysis, etc. The information base of the study includes monographs, special literature, information and analytical materials, domestic and foreign periodicals, and data from the State Statistics Committee. Research results. In assessing the technological level of enterprises and industries in the manufacturing industry, the most widely recognised approach is based on the indicator «share of expenditures on R&D in gross value added» has proposed a classification of manufacturing industries. Along with the indicator, it is proposed to use other indicators of the technological level of enterprises and industries, since the level of knowledge intensity is only one of the factors that determine the technological level. In addition, this indicator has disadvantages compared to the "intangible assets" indicator, as it reflects the level of research and development expenditures for the year, while intangible assets are the total research and development expenditures for the entire previous period. Accordingly, this indicator is more likely to be determined by the technological level of manufacturing industries. The technological level of enterprises and industries also depends on the amount of fixed assets per employee, the level of employees' qualifications, the level of production and management organisation, and other factors. The article considers two methodological approaches to assessment of the technological level of the processing industry: resource and result-based. The first approach assesses the technological level of the manufacturing industry based on the availability of various types of resources: intangible assets, fixed assets, level of education and qualification of employees, level of production and management organisation, etc. The second approach assesses the technological level of manufacturing industries based on performance indicators, such as output, gross value added, employment, and labour productivity. Assessment of the technological level of industries based on performance indicators is more adequate. In 2013-2020, the share of machine building and the high-tech sector in gross value added decreased from 25. 7% to 15. 8% and from 35. 6% to 24. 6%, respectively, while the share of the low-tech sector (low-tech and medium-tech industries) increased from 64. 4% to 75. 4%. The leading manufacturing industry in gross value added was food production, with a share of 23-25%, which is a low-tech industry. The share of metallurgical production (a medium-low-tech industry) was more than 10%. Between 2013 and 2020, the share of machine building and the high-tech sector in manufacturing employment decreased from 24. 0% to 20. 6% and from 30. 7% to 27. 2%, respectively, while the share of the low-tech sector increased from 69. 3% to 72. 8%. The manufacturing sector with the highest employment rate was food production, which increased from 19% to 21. 3%. An analysis of labour productivity in manufacturing industries revealed an anomaly. The production of tobacco products (a low-tech industry) and the production of coke and petroleum products (a medium-low-tech industry) are significantly ahead of high-tech industries in terms of labour productivity. Between 2013 and 2020, labour productivity in high-tech and medium-high-tech manufacturing industries decreased from USD 66. 7 thousand (purchasing power parity, constant 2017 prices in thousands of international dollars) to USD 50. 1 thousand and from USD 42. 0 thousand to USD 37. 5 thousand, respectively. And in medium- and low-tech industries, it increased from USD 37. 8 thousand to USD 52. 8 thousand and from USD 39. 5 thousand to USD 41. 5 thousand. Thus, there was an inversion: while medium-low-tech industries had the lowest labour productivity in 2013 (37. 8 thousand), in 2020 they had the highest labour productivity (52. 8 thousand). Conclusion. A comprehensive assessment of the technological level of enterprises and branches of the processing industry of Ukraine is carried out on the basis of indicators of output, gross value added, employment and labour productivity. The results obtained show that in 2013-2020, Ukraine continued the process of deindustrialisation of the country's economy and a decrease in the technological level of the processing industry.