Professor, Dr. Sc.in Economics,
Vice-Rector for Research and International Activity,
International University of Finance, National Technical University of Ukraine the “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Kyiv, Ukraine
37 Victory avenue, building 1, Kyiv, 03056, Ukraine
MARIANA BIL : “POPULATION SPATIAL MOBILITY: THEORY, METHODOLOGY, PRACTICE.”
The high mobility is a phenomenon of modern society. The rapidly mobility growing of all resources is a clear sign of globalization. A person becomes an active subject of mobile processes, which can affect both his/her spatial movements and personal development (educational, vocational, status).
The situation with the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the mobility right is very important for modern person. She/he is not limited in the right to seek better living conditions by internal administrative or state borders. The intensification of the mobility of society increases the study relevance of this phenomenon in space and time.
The monograph of Mariana Bil has a high importance for economics. When effective migration policy is based on high-quality information and analytical support in developed countries, migration statistics in Ukraine are very limited. In this regard, the results of monographic study of Mariana Bil can solve a topical applied problem – identification of priorities for improving the monitoring and practice of regulating the population spatial mobility in Ukraine as a condition for ensuring human development at various institutional levels (human, society, state).
The monograph consists of four parts. Part 1 «Theoretical and methodological foundations of the spatial mobility study» developed scientific discussions on the mobility content in an interdisciplinary context and the classification of mobility types. The author proposes to consider spatial mobility as a basic property of population movement speed, which reflects the desire, readiness and ability to change the location in certain spatio-temporal coordinates and in the process of implementation is accompanied by processes of human potential capitalization. Mariana Bil offers a three-dimensional model of spatial mobility to deepen methodological approaches to its evaluation, which emphasizes the need to take into account the spatial movements of time, space and human potential capitalization (as a process of accumulation and growth of human capital).
Since the category of spatial mobility is complex in its content, the author specifies its main characteristics, which also outline the depth of analysis. Such characteristics are subjectivity, level, scale, speed, time, transformation, goal orientation, potential, functionality, controllability, measurability (subject of research).
Part 2 «Architecture of the population spatial mobility: global, national and regional dimensions» developed methodological approaches to the analysis of the population spatial mobility – the prerequisites (factors) of its formation, potential, boundaries and forms of implementation (migration, tourism). The author determines the list of indicators of mobility analysis, substantiates that the desire forms the mobility potential, readiness and opportunities – its level. The practice of mobility assessment is more developed and tested in developed countries. Such assessments acquire selective features of the poll in Ukraine. Therefore, proposals for countries developing methods for assessing the migration potential are very relevant, in particular for Ukraine. Interesting are the proposals on the main directions of sociological assessment of the population spatial mobility. These should include: assessing the level of deprivation of the population (income, employment, education, health, environment, security, comfort); finding out the spatial and temporal dimensionality of mobility (desire, readiness, ability to change the location in certain coordinates of space and time); assessment of human potential capitalization of active-mobile persons with experience of movements (physiological, psychological, intellectual, educational, qualification, social, cultural components).
The analysis of the main trends of the population spatial mobility in Ukraine is carried out. It includes a study of trends in labor, educational mobility, their infrastructure and regional specifics in Ukraine.
Part 3 «Factors and models of the population spatial mobility in terms of human development» systematizes the mobility factors. Features of virtual mobility, including with the prospect of replacing real spatial movements, are revealed.
Particular attention is paid to mobility in EU countries, which is important for Ukraine’s European integration. It was found that the socio-economic polarization in comparison with neighboring EU countries (especially in terms of wages, GDP per capita) creates additional challenges for Ukrainian society. Ukraine’s European Choice is reflected in the vector of realization of spatial mobility. The share of the pro-European vector is becoming increasingly important.
The peculiarities of formation and realization of the population cross-border mobility between Ukraine and Poland is found, which becomes the undisputed leader among the countries-recipients of human potential of our state.
The rating positions of Ukraine according to the indicators of the human development index are analyzed. The author proposes a method of calculating the integrated indicator of the population spatial mobility regime and performs its approbation for the regions of Ukraine taking into account the human development indicators.
Part 4 «Mechanisms for regulating the population spatial mobility of Ukraine in the implementation of human development policy» is devoted to the applied principles of regulating spatial mobility. The author proposes a system of mechanisms for regulating the population spatial mobility. Mariana Bil emphasizes the norms of international law on the rights and freedom of choice and movement in her study of the legal framework for regulating the population spatial mobility of Ukraine.
The conceptual bases of formation and realization of the human development state policy in the conditions of highly mobile society are substantiated. The purpose of such a policy, according to the author, has a double meaning: on the one hand, it is focused on creating and expanding human capabilities; on the other hand, freedom of choice risks transforming into excessive migration losses for any state in the modern globalized world, so human development policy obliges to implement measures aimed at counteracting the loss of human potential. The human development policy should be implemented with the specification of measures for «basic» and «related» areas: basic areas – demographic policy, policy in the areas of health, education, employment, income; related areas – policy in the areas of social protection, culture, civil society development, gender and environmental policy.
The human development policy tasks in a highly mobile society are proposed to be divided into conceptual (stimulation of investment in human development, institutionalization of responsibility for the implementation of choice freedom, departure from paternalism, social protection, control of dependence on external resources) and in terms of areas of human development policy.
In general, the monograph of Mariana Bil makes a significant contribution to the development of migration science, spatial science, science of social economy and demography. It develops a methodology for analyzing the migration potential. The approbation of recommendations is the basis for the implementation of preventive migration policy, a guideline for the development of a competitive environment for the human resources use. Human development is an imperative of modern progress. Taking into account environmental goals and human development goals is the key to further progressive changes to balance the interests of different systems.
The monograph results «Population spatial mobility: theory, methodology, practice» are important for three reasons: first, the study comprehensively discloses the content of the current scientific concept of «spatial mobility»; second, the author’s approach to estimating the mobility level using the methods of statistical and sociological analysis is proposed; thirdly, a new concept of the human development state policy of the society with a high level of spatial mobility is formulated. The main idea of the study is to respect the rights and freedoms of modern person to choose and move. The priority in the migration processes regulation should be to improve the internal environment of human development, ensuring its competitiveness in the context of global competition for human resources.
The monograph of Mariana Bil «Population spatial mobility: theory, methodology, practice» is a relevant scientific study, the results of which can be used by specialists and experts in migration, social economy, state and regional government.