THE INSTITUTIONAL ROLE OF THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY IN ENSURING THE ECONOMIC SECURITY OF UKRAINE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63978/3083-6476.2026.1.4.03Keywords:
knowledge economy, economic security, intellectual potential, regionalization, human capital, institutional transformations, labor marketAbstract
The article examines the fundamental role of the knowledge economy as a strategic institution for ensuring Ukraine's economic security amidst global transformations and wartime challenges. Traditional factors of production are progressively losing their dominant significance, giving way to intellectual capital and innovative competencies. Under these conditions, a profound scientific need arises to redefine the category of "economic security" through the lens of knowledge reproduction and protection, which dictates the choice of the research topic.
The Objective of the article is to provide a theoretical and methodological substantiation of the institutional role of the knowledge economy within the state's economic security system and to develop strategic approaches to the regionalization of educational and scientific processes to minimize threats to human potential.
The study is based on institutional and systemic approaches. Methods of logical generalization (to clarify the categorical apparatus), matrix modeling (to illustrate systemic transformations at the regional level), and comparative analysis (to study exogenous and endogenous threats) were applied.
The author proves that the economic security of the knowledge sphere is characterized by the system's ability to respond adequately to destabilizing factors, ensuring the continuous adaptation of economic mechanisms to changing environments. Exogenous (external) and endogenous (internal) threats are identified, with technological dependence and interregional "brain drain" highlighted as the most critical.
Particular attention is paid to the concept of regionalization. It is substantiated that shifting the management center of reproductive processes to the regional level allows for the creation of flexible adaptive systems where the intellectual potential of higher education becomes a baseline resource for territorial development. A model of systemic transformations is proposed, based on changing the state's role from rigid administration to "soft" regulation through standardization and certification.
The article addresses the imperfections of the market mechanism for labor regulation, manifested in low resource mobility and information asymmetry. The author argues that the necessity for state forecasting of the workforce stems from the limited substitutability of specific intellectual qualifications. The study concludes that the economic security of regions directly depends on the development of postgraduate education and scientific training systems capable of reproducing new professional elites.
It is concluded that investments in the knowledge economy not only ensure technological advancement but also contribute to social stability by narrowing income gaps and increasing population mobility. The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of using the proposed models to develop regional economic security strategies and programs for the post-war recovery of Ukraine's intellectual capital.
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