Department for the Study of the Population’s Quality of Life

Department for Research on the Quality of Life of the Population

Staff of the Department:

	Cherenko Liudmyla Mykolaivna, Head of the Department for Research on the Quality of Life of the Population, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Senior Research Fellow
	Zaiats Viacheslav Serhiiovych, Leading Research Fellow, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Senior Research Fellow
	Kohatko Yurii Leonidovych, Leading Research Fellow, Candidate of Geographical Sciences, Senior Research Fellow
	Poliakova Svitlana Volodymyrivna, Leading Research Fellow, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Senior Research Fellow
	Khmelevska Oksana Mykhailivna, Leading Research Fellow, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Senior Research Fellow
	Shyshkin Vladyslav Serhiiovych, Leading Research Fellow, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Senior Research Fellow
	Klymenko Yuliia Anatoliivna, Senior Research Fellow, Candidate of Economic Sciences
	Krykun Olha Ihorivna, Senior Research Fellow, Candidate of Economic Sciences
	Reut Anna Heorhiivna, Senior Research Fellow, Candidate of Economic Sciences
	Novosilska Tetiana Volodymyrivna, Chief Economist
	Derevianko Iryna Vitaliivna, Chief Economist

Main Areas and Results of the Department’s Research

Components and trends in the quality of life of the population:

development of the theoretical and methodological foundations and conceptual framework of the research; identification of the factors shaping quality of life;
development of an assessment methodology based on a multilevel approach and substantiation of a system of indicators;
study of current trends in the quality of life of the population and identification of the main transformations that have occurred at the household level under the influence of events of the past decade, above all the full-scale war.

Household income: level and structure; sources of formation and areas of use:

construction of time series of household income and identification of the dependence of its level on settlement type and on the demographic and socio-economic composition of households;
identification of the specific features of the structure and principal sources of household income formation.

Income inequality and inequality in living conditions: main components and manifestations; formation factors; decomposition of inequality by income sources:

definition of the essence and socio-economic nature of inequality, as well as the specific features of its formation and manifestation in Ukraine;
components of economic inequality; dynamic shifts in the contribution of individual income sources to overall population inequality;
general trends and regularities in the development of population differentiation by income and living conditions;
specific features of the formation and reproduction of educational inequality, its impact on well-being and professional careers; socio-economic compensatory measures to equalise educational opportunities.

Household expenditure and consumption characteristics:

theoretical foundations for the study of consumption among the population of Ukraine;
consumption structure of different socio-demographic groups and family types;
factors influencing the consumption capacity and consumption structure of households;
time series of consumption of staple food products depending on household type, place of residence, and income level.

Social stratification and the problems of middle-class formation in Ukraine:

income distribution and social stratification of society;
the scale of middle-income status;
criteria for defining the middle class.

Household living conditions:

housing provision, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of housing, and the level of overcrowding in residential premises;
time series of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the existing housing stock by type of locality and region of residence;
accessibility of social infrastructure facilities and services depending on place of residence;
assessment of opportunities for improving housing conditions for different socio-economic groups of the population.

Property characteristics and financial assets of households:

availability of movable and immovable property; assets and credit obligations; investment potential of the population;
trends in the formation of household property characteristics and their transformational changes;
impact of household financial assets and credit obligations on the quality of life of the population.

Poverty and social exclusion:

monetary and non-monetary aspects, profiles, and factors of formation;
methodological foundations for defining and measuring poverty;
specific features of poverty in Ukraine; main profiles and groups at increased risk of poverty;
new forms of poverty; sudden poverty;
socially vulnerable population groups and risks of social exclusion.

The social protection system and its impact on poverty and the living conditions of socially vulnerable groups:

development of a methodology for determining the impact of the social assistance system on poverty; assessment of the main social support programmes for the population;
development and substantiation of scenarios for reforming individual social programmes and the social support system as a whole;
modelling the impact of different scenarios for reforming social programmes on poverty and the situation of vulnerable population groups.

Settlement and regional aspects of the quality of life of the population, and the causes and consequences of disproportionality in the socio-economic development of territories.

Education as a factor in shaping new parameters and standards of quality of life. The socio-economic advantages of quality education: impact on subjective well-being and satisfaction with life achievements. Social and emotional skills for a better life.

Modelling and forecasting poverty and selected aspects of the quality of life of the population:

forecasting the distribution of the population of Ukraine by income on the basis of microsimulation modelling;
short-term forecasting of monetary poverty;
microsimulation modelling and forecasting of the impact of social programmes on income and poverty;
a model of the influence of demographic and socio-economic factors on poverty risks among Ukrainian households.

Behavioural strategies of households and behavioural aspects of quality-of-life formation:

behavioural strategies of Ukrainian households within the framework of behavioural economics;
factors shaping behavioural strategies in economic decision-making;
the most widespread household strategies in key areas related to economic behaviour;
models of consumer behaviour;
financial behaviour in ensuring sustainable development and household quality of life; the role of financial assets and financial attitudes;
behavioural models for generating income from economic activity;
housing choice strategies and models for resolving housing issues;
planning of educational trajectories, including parental expectations, individual preferences and motivation, household investment capacity, determinants of academic achievement and lifelong learning, and changes in gender attitudes;
study of the theoretical provisions of behavioural economics in the context of social protection and examination of different behavioural models existing within Ukraine’s system of social support for the population;
development of mechanisms for minimising paternalistic attitudes among the population and substantiation of the application of behavioural approaches in designing social support models;
modelling scenarios for social programmes with account taken of the transformation of behavioural strategies;
demographic and settlement-related aspects of behavioural strategies.