MAIN DIRECTIONS OF THE FORMATION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS IN THE REGIONS OF UKRAINE

In this paper the need of increasing the number of the middle class as an indicator of the socio-economic development of the country's regions is considered. We draw our attention to the main directions of the formation of the middle class in the regions of Ukraine, namely, the mechanism for supporting and developing small and medium businesses as the basis for forming the middle class by ensuring unconditional compliance by all levels of government with the requirements of national legislation, with particular emphasis on anti-corruption and regulatory; leveling competition at the regional and local levels; financial assistance to business entities, reducing the tax burden; creation of a system of equal access of enterprises to economic resources, government procurement, state and municipal property; improving the institutional basis of entrepreneurship (including a significant simplification of the licensing system and licensing, reducing the level of monopolization of the economy, elimination of criminal encroachments and discriminatory actions against business entities). We give recommendations for improving the state mechanism to promote the formation of the middle class at the regional level based on the concept of the middle class, including: creating favorable conditions for the development of entrepreneurship, reducing tax pressure on business, detenisation of the economy and incomes, reforming income policies to ensure faster growth rates of real wages; ensuring the priority development of education as the main direction of investment in human capital and the introduction of the responsibility of officials for promoting the formation of the middle class in the regions of Ukraine. It is proposed to develop the State Concept for the Formation of the Middle Class, which is based on a comprehensive system of mechanisms for growing the middle class in Ukraine and covers employment policies, policies for reforming the employment system among low-income groups, employment self-sufficiency policies, income growth policies and SMB support policies.