Background. The dual nature of modern foreign trade relations is determined by the priority of protecting national interests in the multipolar world geopolitical system. As a result of the dominance of foreign policy goals over foreign economic activity, the intensification of interstate trade conflicts with possible intensification of them to the stage of trade and economic wars has become a thing of the past. The analysis of recent researches and publications. Mostly researchers identify any interstate trade conflict with trade war, which in general is defined as a process of opposing economic or political interests in order to achieve the desired results using various protectionist regulative tools. However, the differences in the process of this confrontation are evident in view of the different intensity of interstate tension. The level of the tension has different consequences for the foreign trade and foreign policy relations of the countries, and provides for regulatory measures of varying rigidity. The aim of the article is to systematize the terminology in the field of study of interstate trade conflicts and to identify the stages of contradictory foreign trade relations between the states in view of its intensity. Materials and methods. Methods of analysis and synthesis are used to systematize the stages of contradictory foreign trade relations between states in view of the intensity of tension; methods of comparison and generalization – to substantiate the key features of the trade war as a trade-off conflict of maximum intensity. The research based on scientific publications and materials of the World Trade Organization. Results. The article systematizes the terminological apparatus in the field of study of interstate trade conflicts, which includes the concepts: controversial situation in trade, trade disputes, trade conflict, and trade war. The stages of contradictory interstate foreign trade relations between states entities are described in accordance with characteristics such as the deterioration of trade conditions, the intensity of interstate tension, the type of relations, economic losses, and the impact on other states, implementation tools, political subtext, and settlement instruments. The expediency of considering the intensity of tension as the determinant of foreign trade conflicts is substantiated. The key features of the trade war as a foreign trade conflict of maximum intensity are systematized. The trade war is determined as a systemic dynamic trade-off conflict of maximum intensity of tension, which has a political background and needs the complex application of restrictive foreign trade policy instruments such as trade economic sanctions. Other contradictions in foreign trade (depending on the intensity of interstate tension and other criteria) may be attributing to the previous successive stages of the contradictory foreign trade relations, namely: the contradictory situation in trade, trade dispute, and trade conflict. Conclusion. The efficiency of resolving foreign trade conflicts directly depends on the willingness of the parties to the conflict to resolve or further intensify it. The absence of action to resolve conflicts leads to its escalation to the stage of trade wars, which means significant economic losses both for the parties to the conflict and for the global economy as a whole.

Background. Throughout the history of economic thought, structural changes were considered a key catalyst for economic growth and development. The world practice as well has accumulated a considerable empirical evidence of structural transformations in national economies. Despite the different specifics of structural reforms implementation, the common feature of successful experience in this field is the active participation of government in transformation processes. After all, only market forces themselves cannot always direct the processes of structural shifts in an effective way. This determines the topicality of revealing the most effective structural policies applied to provide outstripping economic development. Analysis of recent research and publications. A number of Ukrainian scientists studied the international experience of structural changes in various economies. While paying tribute to their work, it should be noted that experience of providing structural shifts in the new industrialized countries of Eastern and Southeast Asia, Latin America and a number of other countries still lacks proper attention. This particular experience may be more relevant to Ukraine in the context of achieved development level and available resources for structural policy implementation. The aim of article is to summarize and substantiate the most effective world practices and approaches to formation and implementation of policies to ensure structural and sectoral transformations in national economy. Results. The international experience of forming and implementing economic policy aimed at optimizing the structure of national economies is revealed. The main directions of government economic regulation, which proved to have most considerable impact in achieving the goals of outstripping development through structural and sectoral shifts, are determined. The process of structural policy transformation in the countries throughout the world according to development level of productive forces is researched. Conclusion. According to the results of empirical analysis, the most effective areas of government support in structural reforms implementation are following: a) financial support of structural shifts through state development banks and venture funds; b) establishment of state enterprises in strategic industries, demand boost for promising products through public procurements; c) promoting innovation activity of enterprises through subsidizing R&D, launching state research programs, opening technological parks and business incubators to attract knowledge intensive FDI; d) active development of market infrastructure, competitive environment and education system.

Background. The existence and compliance of international rules for trade in goods suggested by the World Trade Organization (WTO) ensure the confidence and stability for international trade. Barriers for trading countries are pressing issues of the last decades at the global level, and the focus on tariff issues is no longer put today. Analysis of recent researches and publications. Both politicians and scientists from all over the world have always been engaged in and continue to study the relevant and discussed in the framework of the WTO issues of international trade. At the same time, given the importance and breadth of this problem, the issues of the modern development of international trade, the main directions of such development, require further comprehensive study and analysis. The aim of the article is the analysis of the innovative aspects of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), as a new vector for the development of international trade in goods suggested by the WTO. Materials and methods. The study was conducted using general scientific methods: a systematic approach, theoretical generalization and comparison, analysis and synthesis. The information base was the current regulatory legal acts of Ukraine, incl. Trade Facilitation Agreement, WTO working materials, scientific articles and dictionaries. Results. The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (entered into force on 22 February 2017) has become one of the consequences of clarification and improvement of existing articles V, VIII and X of the GATT 1947 and the result of lengthy multilateral negotiations on the rules in the field of trade facilitation. The Agreement on Trade Facilitation within the WTO sets a new vector for the development of international trade in the direction of unification and simplification of the procedural issues of administering world trade in goods, in particular, the procedures available to the entry / exit of goods, the cooperation of border control authorities, the movement of goods under customs control, release and customs clearance of goods, transparency, appeal of decisions, payments and fines, customs formalities and documentation. Conclusion. A chronological analysis of multilateral trade negotiations within the WTO, an assessment of the content of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, which is an integral part of the WTO legal framework, as well as the structure of this agreement, outlined in the article, allow us to state that the issues of regulation at the international level of tariff control measures have been exhausted. As we can see, the emphasis in the international plane has shifted from tariff regulation methods to procedural measures, therefore the procedural issues, the control of compliance with formalities when moving goods through customs borders, should be given priority attention at the national levels. At the same time, the understanding and research of the unified provisions of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation should be continued in order to correlate them with other international agreements and conventions, which define the key provisions on behalf of procedures carried out in the course of international trade in goods.

Background. The study of the process of evolution of the subject of economic theory is primarily due to the need to identify the subject of the contemporary economic theory, which requires correction in connection with the rising problems of the modern economy and the need for their adequate assessment and analysis. The aim of the article is to study the evolution of the subject of economic theory and its coverage in contemporary economic studies of domestic and foreign scientists. Materials and methods. The research is based on the works of domestic and foreign scientists on theoretical analysis of changes in the modern economy and its reflection in the scientific economic literature. The methods of analysis and synthesis, the system approach and historical approach in the study of changes in the economy and the economic theory of modernity have been applied. Results. The article analyzes the evolution of the subject of the study of economic theory on the basis of the historical method, and outlines three main directions of contemporary economic thought: neoclassicism, Keynesianism, and institutionalism. Subject of the study of the contemporary economic theory has been proposed, which is the process of development of open dynamic economic systems, which are based on network links between economic subjects operating in an adaptive way, combining limited economic resources. The distinctions of modern knowledge economy from the economy of industrial society are distinguished. The modern researches of domestic and foreign economists on changes in the economy of the XXI century and its reflection in economic science are analyzed and systematized. The crisis of economic theory and the neoclassical paradigm of economic researches are stated, and the causes of such a crisis are determined. Conclusion. It is established that the dominant neoclassical paradigm is obsolete and does not correspond to the modern knowledge economy. Today’s economy is a complex adaptive system that is constantly changing, which differs significantly from the model analyzed within the neoclassical paradigm, by the following parameters: the economy is an open dynamic system, that is not in equilibrium; the economy consists of heterogeneous economic subjects who do not make optimal decisions, but are able to learn and adapt over time; economic subjects interact using different networks; macro models arise from the interaction of economic entities in the micro level, which in turn influence the construction of macro model; information and knowledge change the production process, becoming one of its main factors.

Background. The development of technological innovations, the needs of consumers in terms of speed and convenience of calculations and business in relation to the growth of volumes of sales of goods and services led to the proliferation of cashless payments. FinTech has caused the emergence of alternative payment services and their new providers, increasing competition in the payment services market. Analysis of recent researches and publications revealed that, despite the high level of existing theoretical developments, the problems of institutional transformations in the payment services market in the context of the intensification of the development of financial technologies needs further study. Theaim of the article is to determine the priorities of technological innovations in the field of payment services in the conditions of activation of globalization processes. Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis for writing the article was the works of domestic and foreign scholars on alternative payment services and the use of FinTech tools in the payment industry. The research was conducted using the methods of theoretical generalization, comparative analysis, analysis and synthesis, which made it possible to clarify the definition of alternative payment services, to identify the factors influencing the development of alternative payment services, to substantiate the prospects of using FinTech tools in the payment industry. Results. In recent years, the payment industry has been actively adapting to the changing needs of consumers through the emergence and development of alternative payment services based on FinTech tools. Alternative payments are methods of cashless settlements using financial technology tools offered by banks, FinTech companies or social networks in the context of the development of the consumption economy. The development of alternative payments is influenced by economic, technological and socio-psychological factors. FinTech tools such as large data, artificial intelligence, biometrics, block chain, mobile access, and the Internet can be used in the area of providing payment services. The threat to FinTech’s use in the payment industry is a breach of the confidentiality of client’s personal data, fraudulent actions in the course of transactions and the receipt of critical sales volumes for traders and violation of transaction security. The ability to use FinTech in the payment industry includes sales growth for merchants, reducing the seller’s time for customer request processing, fast access by consumers to products sold in geographically distant markets, and increase in cross-border trade volumes. Conclusion. Thanks to the introduction of financial technology tools, on the one hand, there is an expansion of alternative payments, and on the other – the introduction of certain financial technology tools in traditional cashless settlements. This occurs against the backdrop of significant institutional transformations in the payment industry. If at the initial stage of the introduction of financial technology tools into the payment industry there was an intensification of competition between banks and non-bank service providers, now banks are actively upgrading their services based on FinTech’s achievements.

Background. In the context of improving the domestic fiscal system, it is expedient to systematize, analyze and adapt foreign experience to improve the efficiency of local budgets and provide economic growth on this basis. The processes of decentralization in view of its many years of experience in implementing it deserve attention, in particular the quality of institutional support for resource-sharing processes, which affects the result of social production. The aim of the article is to systematize approaches to the formation of local budgets in European countries, taking into account the peculiarities of socio-economic development and the configuration of the model of inter-budgetary relations. Materials and methods. Theoretical and methodological basis of work is the scientific works on selected topics. Its character has necessitated application of specific and general scientific methods, in particular: a system approach, comparative and statistical analysis, synthesis, generalization and systematization, scientific abstractions. Results. The experience of forming local budgets in the countries of Europe with developed and transformational economies has been systematized and generalized. The state of decentralization of its budgetary systems by expenditures and incomes is investigated in view of the achieved level of economic development. The role of innovative financial practices, in particular, the formation of budgets of participation and the program-target method at the level of administrative-territorial units has been characterized. Conclusion. The systematization and use of foreign experience in the formation of local budgets, taking into account national specifics, ensures its effectiveness. Fiscal decentralization with rational constraints contributes to the growth of the quality of public services. In Europe, the development of the local budget project is carried out with the orientation of the costs for the result and the strengthening of its productive component, the consolidation of the connection of operational and long-term planning. Budget policy is characterized by innovative methods: private-public partnership, participation of the territorial community, general quality management, budgeting with zero bases, program-target method.

Background. The improvement of monetary policy is relevant to each country, and this issue becomes a matter of particular importance for the transformational economy. The combinative use of tools and methods should not contradict the goals of establishing price and financial stability in the country. The severance of the main goal of politics, the hierarchical subordination of other goals to it, and the definition of the spectrum of instruments for its achievement contribute to increasing the efficiency of monetary regulation. Analysis of recent research and publications. The works of O. Baranovsky, S. Bukovynsky, T. Unkovska and M. Dzhus, O. Dziubliuk, V. Mischenko, S. Naumenkova, S. Mischenko, V. Ivanov and I. Lyon, K. Sims, S. Henson and J. Shtein, N. Shulga are devoted to the issues of improving the basic principles of monetary policy development. The scientific researches, which are devoted to certain peculiarities of the implementation of monetary policy in countries with a transformational economy, in particular E. Gosh, J. Ostri and M. Chemon, V. Koziuk and L. Menkoff are of considerable interest. The aim of the article is to determine the provisions on the formation and implementation of monetary policy in the transformational economy, taking into account institutional features and restrictions when using monetary instruments. Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists on the problem under consideration. The dialectical, systemic and structural approaches, methods of analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, scientific abstraction are applied. Results. The peculiarities of the formation and realization of monetary policy in the transformational economy are considered. The expediency of the development of institutes in order to increase the effectiveness of monetary regulation is substantiated. It has been determined that the independence and transparency of the central bank play a significant role in achieving price and financial stability. The degree of transparency of the National Bank of Ukraine has been assessed. Conclusion. In the transformational economy, the monetary policy objectives are shifted from declared quite often, and several monetary regimes co-exist – de facto and de jure. The development of the basic principles of monetary policy to counteract the intentions of returning to the trajectory of targeting the exchange rate, concentration of efforts of the central bank on achievement of price stability is necessary. The central bank must have a high level of independence, which will accelerate the speed of adoption and effectiveness of management decisions. The activities of the central bank should be timely, sound, openly taken and accompanied by appropriate verbal interventions.

Background. The modern concept of the development of economy and society embodies the Fourth Industrial Revolution («Industry 4.0»), which is characterized by the transition from the usual automation of the production and use of information technology in production to the network of resources, information flows, objects and human.This increases the cost of research and innovation development processes that stimulate innovation in enterprises of all spheres and industries, promote the development of the intellectual property market, and increase the rates of export and import of royalties and other services related to the use of intellectual property. Analysis of recent research and publications. Analyzing the work of scientists on the problems of the formation and development of intellectual property, it has been established that globalization factors have a significant impact on the dynamics and vector of processes associated with the development and use of objects, which is the result of creative activity. Problems of the formation and development of intellectual property in the context of globalization processes are investigated in the scientific works of such Ukrainian and foreign scientists as V. Heyets, O. Grytsenko, T. Deineka, M. Boyko, V. Budanov, R. Buritt, T. Kvasha, K. Christie, A. Mazaraki, T. Melnyk, S. Melnichenko, A. Ohrimenko, T. Pisarenko, I. Repina, O. Fomina. Taking into account the constant transformation processes and the rapid development of the intellectual property sector, there is a need for constant research of the main tendencies of both world and domestic intellectual property markets, the place of indicators of global indices of Ukraine in the world rating, issues of financing innovative projects, capitalization of the results of intellectual activity in the intangible assets of enterprises, main indicators of commercialization of intellectual property objects. The aim of the article is to study the main trends in the development of the intellectual property market in the global space. Results. The analysis makes it possible to conclude that today the global trend is to increase the cost of research and development in order to create and further commercialization of scientific knowledge.There is an increase in not only absolute costs of research and development, but also relative, that is, their share in GDP.Based on the generalization and systematization of the results of the research of the Association «IT Ukraine» and the Office of Effective Regulation, the article concludes that Ukraine`s information technology sector is the second largest export service sector, which accounts for 20 % of the total exports of services. There is a positive dynamics in the number of industrial designs, the volume of exports of knowledge-rich services and the growth of the number of international joint publications in Ukraine. One of the ways to use intellectual property objects is licensing, which involves the full or partial transfer of property rights to intellectual property objects.The number of registered licensing agreements that make such relationships between business entities is also one of the indicators that reflects the situation on the intellectual property market.It was found that trade in intellectual property objects in the EU was resistant to economic crisis and showed growth. Conclusion. The analysis makes it possible to conclude that Ukraine is actively integrating into the world intellectual property market.On the basis of the study of the peculiarities of the development of the field of intellectual property in our country, we can note a number of positive aspects in this area.These include, in particular, the growth of the indicator of the efficiency of higher education in Ukraine by the Bloomberg Innovation Index rating, raising the position of Ukraine on the criterion «Availability of scientists and engineers» in the Global Competitiveness Index, the positive dynamics of the number of industrial designs, the volume of exports of knowledgeable services and the growth of the number of international joint publications, increase in the number of trademark certificates issued to residents, increase of patent activity, and the Ukrainian sphere of information technologies demonstrates positive dynamics for many years.

Background. At the beginning of the XXI century the new megatrends of the development of the world economy, which are connected with global economic transformations, are quite clearly outlined. The world economy is increasingly turning into arena of fundamental transformational processes that actually lead to a change in its nature, spontaneously generating future economic forms that go beyond the usual perceptions of the world order. The influence of civilizational and institutional factors on the transformational processes taking place in the world economy becomes fundamentally important and decisive. Analysis of recent research and publications. The works of many foreign and domestic researchers are devoted to the issues of theory, methodology and practice of global economic transformation. However, many issues of the transformation of the world economy remain controversial (civilizational aspects of formation of new contours of the world economic order, formation of new institutional forms of interaction of subjects of the global economy, challenges and threats associated with future directions of global transformational shifts). Theaim of the article is to reveal theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis of civilizational and institutional factors of future global economic transformations. Materials and methods. In the course of the research, a collection of traditional and the newest scientific methods of civilizational and institutional analysis was used: systematic and structural-functional methods, scientific abstraction and logical approach, methodological methods of economic futurology. Results. XXI century will create new opportunities, open up new perspectives for the transformation of the world economic order. The world economy is constantly experiencing the impact of acute challenges, as socio-economic and political problems and risks are constantly occurring. The main centers of the global economy are formed by the United States and the EU, and their external management strategies are the basis of the policy of development of peripheral countries. Although, of course, there are boundaries in which the centers of power are able to influence the financial and economic processes and phenomena in the periphery and semi-periphery countries. The process of global economic transformation can be considered in the context of the rules of the game, which are used by the centers of power. Under current conditions, these rules are most consistent with non-dismissive institutional norms. A model of polycentric world economic order, based on deepening the mutually agreed policy of the countries-leaders, can be considered as alternative to transit of global leadership. The countries of the periphery as small open economies essentially depend on the state of a globalized economy. Any troubles and problems of the globalized world directly and immediately negatively affect the state of the national market of these countries. The future of Ukraine, primarily because of geopolitical factors, is integration into the EU. In this regard, it is important not only the external extension of the European institutional rules to Ukraine, but also the active domestic desire of our civil society to implement the standards of interaction between government and citizens commonly accepted in Europe. Conclusion. Among the civilizational and institutional factors that have a significant impact on global economic transformations in the 21st century first of all, are as follows: the aggravation of problems and contradictions in the implementation of the liberal (neo-liberal) ideology; contradictory effects of technological innovations and new socio-economic institutions; the expansion of the phenomena of separatism and «new nationalism» in many countries of the world; strengthening the financial and economic potential of Chinese civilization; the migration crisis in the EU and the US.

Background. The problems of economic and trade disputes and conflicts cannot be considered outside the understanding of geo-economic strategies of key players in the world policy and economy, whose actions are caused not only by conflicts among themselves, but also by their allies, that is, international conflicts become geo-economic and global. Analysis of recent research and publications. The leading politicians and economists of the world are actively engaged in the problems of the interconnection of the world economy, international trade, geo-economy and geo-policy with the emergence and development of international conflicts. There are the following Ukrainian experts among them: O. Bilorus, O. Vlasiuk, A. Halchynskiy, V. Horbulin, D. Lukyanchenko, Iu. Pakhomov, A. Poruchnyk, V. Sidenko, A. Filipenko and others. However today a new outline of international problems around Ukraine has been formed, it is involved in a number of geo-economic conflicts, which needs an adequate response to real and possible threats. The aim of the article is to clarify the nature of international conflicts in the methodological discourse of geo-economy. Materials and methods. Research materials were provided by the works of domestic and foreign specialists. Results. It has been determined that: the international conflicts are the natural state of international relations, including economic ones; the basis of the conflicts emergence and development is the asymmetry of international relations, as their objective, stable characteristic; the majority of conflicts are of geo-economic nature and are produced by leading players in the world economy and politics. It has been alleged that, in addition to the economic war, the geo-economic conflict may be reduced to a cooperative game model with a positive sum. It has been determined that the human capital and innovations are the strategic geo-economic resource of the international relations subject. The assessment of geo-economic strategies of the USA, the EU, China, Russia and Ukraine has been made. Conclusion. The economic policy of Ukraine should be as balanced as possible, multivariate, with a broad horizon for predicting the possible consequences at different variants of the European and Eurasian geopolitical and geo-economic situation.