Industrial development in decentralized conditions: experience of leading industrial countries and conclusions for Ukraine

The article investigates the reasons for the significant difference in the dynamics of Ukraine's GDP in 2000-2008 and the last decade. It has been shown that large-scale reforms in developed countries in the 1980s and 1990s contributed to the relatively stable development of the economies of most of these countries for almost a quarter of a century. Later, the emphasis in economic policy was on stimulating demand. This largely caused the depth of the 2008-2009 crisis and the slow GDP growth of most developed countries afterwards. At the same time, GDP dynamics in some countries differed markedly from global trends. Australia last experienced an output decline in 1991. Such a long crisis-free development of this country is largely the result of a set of reforms aimed at developing competition. The most important areas of Australia's National Competition Policy, its economic and social implications, are analyzed. It is substantiated that radical reforms aimed at deregulating the economy and developing competition became a major factor of the upswing that began in Ukraine in 2000. However, the cessation of reforms, and subsequently, measures aimed at restricting competition, led to a stagnation of Ukraine’s economy, despite the relatively favorable external economic conditions. The relationship between the intensity of internal competition and the dynamics of Ukraine's GDP is shown. Survey data suggest that competition grew rapidly, peaking in 2006-2007, but then substantially declined. It is noted that the economic reforms carried out in Ukraine over recent 5 years have been generally less radical and consistent than those implemented 20 years ago. The necessity of a national competition policy in Ukraine is substantiated, its main directions are defined.