HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE AND IN THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact of human capital development on the quality of life and economic development, provide a macroeconomic assessment of human capital development in Ukraine in comparison with European countries and to identify of government policies to improve the level of human capital in Ukraine. Human capital stimulates long-term economic growth and has a powerful impact on the labor market, in particular on the quality of employment as well as on structural unemployment, and plays a critical role in reducing poverty and inequality. Investment in human capital development provides economic and non-economic benefits such as better health, improved personal well-being, and increased social cohesion. Different approaches to measuring human capital have been considered. There are differences between the rating of Ukraine calculated by the World Economic Forum and the World Bank, which is explained by the fact that the latter takes into account health indicators. The health and mortality rates in Ukraine are among the worst in European countries. Therefore, the Ukrainian health care system needs urgent attention from the government in terms of providing structural and administrative reforms. At the same time, Ukraine is among the 25 countries in the world that utilize their human capital at 70 percent or more. It is also noted that in recent years labor migration has been increasing in Ukraine. Therefore, today Ukraine is among the largest recipient of remittances in the region. Such remittances directly and positively affect the quality of life and the level of human capital in the country. To improve the level of human capital in Ukraine, it is necessary to improve the health care system, improve the quality of general education and vocational training, improve infrastructure and create favorable conditions for small enterprise development and competitiveness in the market.