The dissertation is dedicated to the solution of an important scientific problem – the analysis and optimization of the level of capital-labor ratio at the enterprises of the domestic industry.
The most important production factors at the enterprises of Ukraine are researched. It is proved that for the industry in which the III and IV technological systems are dominant, the main production factors, as before, remain labor and fixed capital. The essence, components of the capital-labor ratio indicator, its dual nature and place in the system of technical and economic parameters of industrial production are considered. The duality of the capital-labor ratio indicator appears in the fact that, on the one hand, it is a measure of the provision of employees with fixed assets of the enterprise, and on the other hand is a relative value of coordination. The last one characterizes the ratio of two important production resources of the modern enterprise – fixed capital (in the form of fixed assets) and labor.
The classification of factors that determine the level of capital-labor ratio at industrial enterprises is formed. Analysis of the mobility of the components of the formula of this indicator showed that both the numerator and denominator of capital-labor ratio vary in time and space under the influence of various internal and external factors. As for the external factors of capital-labor ratio, it should be borne in mind that the number of production staff to a much greater extent than the size of fixed assets is sensitive to conjuncture fluctuations in demand in the market of certain products (works, services). At the stage of economic crisis and depression, first of all, the number of employees of the enterprise is reducing (dismissal, part-time employment, week employment, month employment).
The author proposes a systematization of internal factors of capital-labor ratio, as well as methods for evaluation of their influence on the level of the studied indicator of industrial enterprises using deterministic index models.
The concept of optimal capital-labor ratio has been developed, which means the ratio of fixed assets and labor costs, which maximizes output of the producer or minimizes labor costs and fixed capital at a given volume of production. Methods of analytical and graphical search of optimal capital-labor ratio the basis of two-factor production functions are determined. Possibilities of calculation of reserves of growth of efficiency of economic activity of the industrial enterprises in condition of complete absence of inflationary processes in economy are researched. Positive and negative variants of combination of series of dynamics of capital-labor ratio, labor productivity and capital return of separate commodity producer are revealed.
The level of capital-labor ratio in the industry as a whole, at the enterprises of the metallurgical complex, in machine building, at the enterprises of the food industry is analyzed. The calculations carried out with the help of the corresponding production functions allowed us to conclude that all the studied industrial enterprises have non-optimal capital-labor ratio, as the "fixed assets" factor is in a very large surplus relative to the "salary" factor of full-time employees.
Analysis of the causes of non-optimal capital-labor ratio in industrial enterprises showed that a significant role in the formation of this economic phenomenon is played by overestimation of fixed assets of enterprises, as the numerator of capital-labor ratio is expressed in units of value, which are significantly influenced by inflation in the country. Instead, its denominator (average number of workers) usually does not change over time or has a downward trend. Considering the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues in Ukraine in the form of second, third, etc. waves of disease, the decline in industrial production and the reduction in the number of employees will be even more significant.
The study of the degree of ensuring the intended use of the depreciation fund of industrial enterprises showed that it is at the level of 20-25%. It should be noted that in Ukraine, in contrast to developed countries with market economies, the depreciation fund has not become the main source of reproduction of fixed capital. They are rather poorly used as a source of investment for enterprises in modernization and expansion of production.
The ways of approaching the actual capital-labor ratio at the industrial enterprises of Ukraine to the optimal level are offered. Among them is the elimination of the negative increasing influence of the revaluation of fixed assets on the level of capital-labor ratio of enterprises. The developed procedure is based on the application of the cost indicator of capital-labor ratio of enterprises in combination with the mathematical and statistical apparatus of production functions.
