THE ROLE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ENSURING THE STATE'S ECONOMIC SECURITY

Abstract

Background. In the context of current challenges related to Ukraine's post-war recovery, ensuring the state's economic security becomes particularly relevant. Social entrepreneurship is viewed as a potential tool for stabilizing the socio-economic system, which can help address issues such as employment for vulnerable populations, reintegration of internally displaced persons and veterans, and restoration of regions affected by military actions. However, empirical research on the impact of social entrepreneurship on state economic security remains limited. In particular, there are no quantitative assessments of the relationship between social entrepreneurship sector development and economic security indicators. The Ukrainian methodology for assessing economic security does not include indicators related to social entrepreneurship, making it difficult to understand its real contribution to strengthening the state's economic resilience. Therefore, this research aims to fill this gap by conducting correlation analysis between the number of social enterprises in Ukraine and economic security sub-indices, which will empirically evaluate the nature and strength of this relationship. Research object. Social entrepreneurship in the context of ensuring the state's economic security.

Methods. A comprehensive approach was applied to analyze Ukraine's economic security in the context of social entrepreneurship development. Theoretical research methods included analysis and synthesis of scientific literature to systematize the main approaches to evaluating economic security and social entrepreneurship. The logical method was used to construct the research sequence, structure the main analysis stages, and summarize the obtained results. The systematic approach helped identify relationships between economic security components and evaluate the integrating role of social entrepreneurship in ensuring it. The empirical part of the research was based on statistical methods of data processing and analysis. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used to assess the dynamics and structure of economic security.

Results. The historical evolution of methodological approaches to economic security assessment was analyzed, which evolved from military-centric models to integrative concepts that consider socio-economic aspects. It was established that modern approaches increasingly emphasize the role of economic systems' resilience in ensuring state security, making research into innovative tools such as social entrepreneurship relevant. The impact of social entrepreneurship on Ukraine's economic security was evaluated. It was found that this sector contributes to the stability of the social component of the economy and has a positive effect on regional development, particularly through job creation for vulnerable populations. Correlation analysis confirmed the relationship between social entrepreneurship development and investment innovation processes, as well as the importance of integrating social initiatives into economic security strategies.

Сonclusion. The ability of social entrepreneurship to address key socio-economic issues, such as creating jobs for vulnerable populations and supporting sustainable regional development, has been proven. However, the level of social entrepreneurship development in Ukraine significantly lags behind EU countries, highlighting the need for state support, legislation improvement, and creation of a favorable regulatory environment. Social entrepreneurship has strong potential and serves as a stabilizing factor during periods of economic instability, but requires integration into economic security strategies to maximize its impact on economic system resilience. Correlation analysis of data demonstrated the relationship between social entrepreneurship and investment-innovation processes, and showed the need for integrating social initiatives into economic security strategies.