The Business Environment of Georgia and Ukraine: Approaches to a Comparative Analysis

The formation of a favourable business environment and the intensification of entrepreneurial activity on this basis is one of the priorities of economic policy of governments around the world. The aim of this article is to conduct a comparative analysis of some of the characteristics of the business environment of Georgia and Ukraine. The theoretical basis of the study is the understanding of the business environment as a necessary prerequisite for the implementation of entrepreneurial initiatives in a particular country. In the process of our research, the following methods were used: comparative analysis, generalisation, content analysis, correlation, and regression analysis. The authors studied the business environment of Georgia and Ukraine on the basis of an analysis of the following components; that of general economic, political and legal, financial, and fiscal. The results of the study show that Georgia's business environment is more favourable than Ukraine's. It is noted that between 2011-2020, Georgia made significant progress in the fight against corruption, in simplifying the procedures for starting a business, and bettering access to finance. Both countries are reforming their tax systems towards liberalisation and democratisation, and they declare the functioning of special tax regimes. According to the Paying Taxes indicator, which is calculated within the Doing Business rating, Georgia improved its result from 61st position in the ranking in 2011 to 14th position in 2020, while Ukraine improved its result from 181st place in 2011 to 65th place in 2020. It is indicated that between 2011-2020, Ukraine showed significant positive dynamics in inflation targeting. The authors note that the weakest elements of the business environment in Ukraine are its efforts to ensure the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. In conclusion, the authors note that the policy of the governments of Georgia and Ukraine should be aimed at the further democratisation of relations with businesses in order to increase the level of a favourable business environment.