The Journal of European Economy is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific periodical published since 2002. JEE is the only specialised economic journal in Ukraine to publish complete full-text issues in Ukrainian, English and Russian (untill 2015) languages. All archives untill 2017 are available at http://jee.tneu.edu.ua The journal aims to publish original manuscripts that analyse issues related to topical theories and concepts of international economics, peculiarities of economic development in transition economies, phenomena of global and European economic integration, as well as the place of the European countries in the world economy. The scope of the Journal covers the following topics: • Economic theory; • Macroeconomics; • Microeconomics; • International economics; • Economy of European countries; • European integration; • Regionalization in European economic area; • International economic relations of European countries; • Financial and banking services market. The Journal of European Economy is indexed by: «Ukrainika Naukova» database, «Dzherelo» abstracts journal, National Vernadskyi Library (Ukraine) Online scientometric database "Index Copernicus (IC)" (Poland) «Journal of Economic Literature» (JEL) American Economic Association (USA) <a href="https://doaj.org/toc/2519-4089?source=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22filtered%22%3A%7B%22filter%22%3A%7B%22bool%22%3A%7B%22must%22%3A%5B%7B%22terms%22%3A%7B%22index.issn.exact%22%3A%5B%222519-4070%22%2C%222519-4089%22%5D%7D%7D%5D%7D%7D%2C%22query%22%3A%7B%22match_all%22%3A%7B%7D%7D%7D%7D%2C%22size%22%3A100%2C%22sort%22%3A%5B%7B%22created_date%22%3A%7B%22order%22%3A%22desc%22%7D%7D%5D%2C%22_source%22%3A%7B%7D%7D">Scientometric database "DOAJ" <a href="https://doaj.org/toc/2519-4089?source=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22filtered%22%3A%7B%22filter%22%3A%7B%22bool%22%3A%7B%22must%22%3A%5B%7B%22terms%22%3A%7B%22index.issn.exact%22%3A%5B%222519-4070%22%2C%222519-4089%22%5D%7D%7D%5D%7D%7D%2C%22query%22%3A%7B%22match_all%22%3A%7B%7D%7D%7D%7D%2C%22size%22%3A100%2C%22sort%22%3A%5B%7B%22created_date%22%3A%7B%22order%22%3A%22desc%22%7D%7D%5D%2C%22_source%22%3A%7B%7D%7D">(Sweden) « The European Science Foundation » (Norway) «The Digital Object Identifier» Scientometric database “EBSCO” (USA) Academic Resource Index "ResearchBib" Publication of the journal is performed on a non-commercial basis. Manuscripts are subject to independent peer-review by three or more leading experts in the field. Please see “Guidelines for authors” for detailed description of the peer-review process and article submission details. Please see “Publishing Ethics” for detailed description of the duties of editors, reviewers and authors. The contents of each issue is subject to approval by the Scientific Council of West Ukrainian National University. «Journal of European Economy» is registered at the International Centre of Periodicals on November 10, 2016 (ISSN International Centre of. Paris) and received an ISSN 1684-90Ukrainian printed version), ISSN 2519-190X (Ukrainian electronic version), ISSN 2519-4070 (English printed version), ISSN 2519-4089 (English electronic version). Starting from September 2019, for English versions, the JEE received the DOI (The Digital Object Identifier) - a unique hyperlink that provides direct communication with the publication. https://doi.org/10.35774/jee Publishing partners: University of Western Macedonia (Kozani, Greece) Bratislava University of Economics and Management (Bratislava, Slovakia) The Journal is included in the List of Category B Professional Publications of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, i.e. periodicals recommended for publishing the results of candidate and doctoral dissertations in the field of economics in specialties 051, 072, 073, 075, 076, 292 (order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 886 of July 02, 2020). The journal is listed in the Supreme Attestation Commission’s register of specialized publications in economic sciences (Resolution №1-05/2 of 10.03.2010 of the SAC of Ukraine). The Journal of European Economy is registered with the State Committee for Information Policy, Television and Broadcasting (Certificate of state registration of the printed mass media КВ №24737-14677ПР of March 16, 2021, issued by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine). 2015 subscription index in the catalogue of “Ukrposhta” (Ukrainian State Enterprise of Posts): 23527 (Ukrainian version); 23528 (Russian version); 23529 (English version). Mailing address: Editorial office of the «Journal of European Economy», West Ukrainian National University, vul. Lvivska, 11 Ternopil 46020 Ukraine Tel.: +38 (0352) 47-58-75 (editor-in-chief), +38 (0352) 47-50-75 (editorial office). E-mail: Editor-in-chief: yev.savelyev@gmail.com Editorial office: jee.tneu09@gmail.com Publishing House «Economichna Dumka» (vul. Lvivska 11, Ternopil, 46000, Ukraine, tel (0352) 47 58 72).
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
THE ECONOMIC COST OF FINANCIAL FAKE NEWS IN EUROPEAN CAPITAL MARKETS
Financial news misinformation is a systemic risk that distorts price discovery and capital allocation by widening information asymmetry and weakening investor trust. This study develops a scalable NLP and machine-learning framework to detect deceptive financial narratives in large digital corpora through Big Data. After text normalization, lemmatization, and stopword elimination, the framework contrasts TF-IDF with Word2Vec embeddings and trains Logistic Regression, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting classifiers. Performance is assessed with Accuracy, Precision, Recall, F1-score, and ROC-AUC. Across models, TF-IDF provides stronger discrimination than Word2Vec; the TF-IDF Random Forest reaches near-perfect results (ROC-AUC 0.9999; Precision 0.9977). The emphasis on transparent, feature-based models supports auditability (for example, via feature importance) and helps limit harmful false positives that could suppress legitimate signals. The results indicate that high-precision, interpretable pipelines can reduce the verification gap in fast-moving information environments, mitigate macroeconomic costs of deceptive narratives, and inform DSA- and ESMAaligned market surveillance workflows. The framework is designed for deployment on streaming news feeds and large-scale platform archives. JEL: G14, D82, C55.
HUMAN CAPITAL ACCUMULATION AND SUB-REPLACEMENT FERTILITY IN AN EU-ADJACENT ECONOMY
This article examines sub-replacement fertility in Türkiye as an economic outcome of large-scale human capital accumulation under institutional constraints. Over the past two decades, Türkiye has experienced rapid growth in tertiary education participation, particularly among women, while simultaneously converging toward persistent sub-replacement fertility levels comparable to those observed in several European economies. Rather than treating education as an individual-level characteristic, the study conceptualizes human capital accumulation as a structural transformation that reshapes labor market incentives, household decision-making, and reproductive outcomes. Using a descriptive–analytical approach based on official statistical data, the article documents the changes in fertility levels, timing of childbearing, parity distribution, educational differentials, household structure, and regional variation. The results demonstrate that subreplacement fertility in Türkiye is structural rather than cyclical and is most pronounced among women with higher levels of education. The original scientific contribution of the study lies in demonstrating that sub-replacement fertility consti tutes an unintended demographic externality of human capital accumulation in an EU-adjacent economy where institutional arrangements insufficiently support the reconciliation of education, employment, and parenthood. The findings highlight the structural limitations of conventional pro-natalist policies and underscore the necessity of aligning education, labor market, and family policy frameworks. JEL: I23, J13, J18, J24.
INTERPLAY OF HUMAN CAPITAL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A NETWORK APPROACH
This paper reveals complex interdependencies between human capital and sustainable development using Bayesian Network Analysis (BNA). Human capital is proxied through the Social Progress Index (SPI) and its components – Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity – alongside the Human Capital Index (HCI) and Sustainable Development Goals metrics. The analysis identifies vital hubs, such as health (SDG 3), sustainable cities (SDG 11), and economic growth (SDG 8), which act as pivotal drivers of systemic progress. Additionally, critical trade-offs, such as the negative association between resource consumption (SDG 12) and human well-being, are uncovered, highlighting the complexity of balancing competing priorities. The findings emphasize the importance of focusing on health, education, and inclusivity to optimize synergies and mitigate trade-offs between human capital and sustainability outcomes. By employing Bayesian networks, this study provides a data-driven framework for understanding causal pathways and offers actionable insights for policymakers. These results advance the discourse on integrating human capital investments with sustainable development strategies, addressing gaps in prior linear and correlation-based analyses. JEL: O15, Q01, C11.
DIVERSIFICATION OF THE EU TOURISM MARKET AS A DRIVER OF TRANSFORMATION IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY CONSUMPTION MODEL
This study empirically assesses the impact of the European Union tourism market diversification on hotel service consumption. The hypothesis being tested is that diversification leads to a redistribution of market shares between traditional hotels and providers of flexible accommodation. The research methodology is based on quantitative methods applied to 2022 data from Eurostat, UNWTO, and Statista. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and linear regression were used to examine the influence of international tourist arrivals on hotel demand and revenue, and to identify structural market changes. The hypothesis is supported. However, a paradoxical trend was identified: although international tourist arrivals show a strong positive correlation with total overnight stays, they show a moderate negative correlation with hotel market revenue. This indicates revenue redistribution towards alternative formats, driven by shifting consumer preferences. A forecast up to 2031 suggests that the number of guests will grow faster than per-client revenue. The study provides evidence of the growing disconnect between tourist flows and hotel revenue in the EU, demonstrating that an increase in tourist numbers no longer guarantees proportional revenue growth for hotels due to competition from alternative formats of accommodation. JEL: Z32, D12, M31, O52, F15, L89.
ECONOMIC MECHANISMS OF STATE REGULATION OF DIGITAL OLIGOPOLIES IN EU COUNTRIES
This article examines the nature and specificity of digital oligopolies in the European Union, their economic characteristics, and the sources of their market power. It outlines the evolution of EU regulatory policy – from ex-post (retrospec tive) to ex-ante (preventive) approaches – with particular attention to the implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The study analyses the lobbying expenditures of EU digital platforms, the degree of market concentration in the EU digital ecosystem, and the resulting need for differentiated state regulation of platform services within the Union. The article proposes a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) scale suitable for modelling user behaviour, assessing economies of scale, and evaluating platform-to-platform interactions, as well as an analytical system of criteria for clustering digital platforms by market structure type, integrating both economic and structural parameters. JEL: L13, L40, L86, D72, K21, H11.
INSTITUTIONAL PATH OF CENTRAL BANK INDEPENDENCE STRENGTHENING IN EMERGING MARKETS: ROLE OF INFLATION TARGETING AND EU ACCESSION
Emerging market countries implemented a similar set of structural reforms. However, were there differences in the institutional paths of strengthening central bank independence (CBI)? Yes. The introduction of inflation targeting had a statistically significant impact on strengthening CBI in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, especially in the new EU member states. EU membership had a greater impact on the level of CBI than on the timing of its most significant strengthening. The inflation performance in the region indicates that the reforms were not merely formal, which is facilitated by the higher rule of law index in the new EU members compared to most emerging market countries. The institutional path of CBI strengthening in CEE countries is much more consistent with theoretical assumptions about the need for such independence to implement inflation targeting, as well as its positive impact on the ability to maintain price stability. This contrasts with the examples of many other inflation-targeting emerging market countries, where either central bank reforms have been formal in nature or price stability is maintained based on informalized institutional changes around monetary authorities. JEL: E02, E58, F15, F45.
MODELING TAX ADMINISTRATION EFFICIENCY IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITALIZATION OF PUBLIC FINANCES
The article explores the theoretical and methodological principles and applied aspects of assessing the efficiency of tax administration in the context of digital transformation of public finances. The feasibility of using a fuzzy multiplecriteria approach as a tool for integral assessment of tax administration effective ness, taking into account the multifactorial nature and uncertainty of fiscal processes, is substantiated. The dynamics of key indicators of the functioning of the tax system of Ukraine are analyzed. A fuzzy-multiple model for integral assessment of tax administration efficiency is developed using a system of linguistic variables, membership functions and a rule base, which allows formalizing the relationships between fiscal, technological and behavioral parameters of efficiency. It has been established that the use of digital technologies in the field of public finance, in the process of modeling the efficiency of the tax payment administration system for budgets at all levels, combined with innovative approaches to tax compliance, creates the institutional prerequisites for ensuring the stability and growth of budget revenues, thereby expanding the opportunities for socioeconomic development. JEL: H21, H26, H83, C44, C51.
MODELING DIFFERENTIATED RATES OF THE SINGLE TAX IN UKRAINE BASED ON THE POLISH EXPERIENCE
The study is devoted to the adaptation of the simplified taxation system for small businesses in Ukraine to European approaches in the context of the implementation of European integration commitments and the National Revenue Strategy until 2030. The purpose of the article is to develop and provide economic and mathematical justification for a model of differentiation of single tax rates by type of economic activity based on Polish experience, assessing its impact on equalizing the tax burden between sectors of the economy. Achieving this goal involved: (1) a comparative analysis of the Ukrainian and Polish simplified taxation models; (2) formalization of a multifactor model for setting rates, taking into account industry profitability indicators and value added structure; (3) calculation of changes in the tax burden coefficient by sector as a result of modeling. The research methodology combined a comparative analysis of the tax regimes of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland with economic and mathematical modeling based on official statistical data. The modeling results show that the proposed system of differentiated rates reduces inter-sectoral disparities in the tax burden, contributes to fiscal fairness, and increases the consistency of Ukraine’s simplified taxation system with European principles of tax neutrality. JEL: H21, H25, H26, K34.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE EUROZONE ENLARGEMENT MECHANISM
The subject of this study is the fulfilment by the EU member states of their obligations regarding the introduction of the common currency of the euro and accession to the Eurozone. The problem is that some countries are using all kinds of methods to evade joining the Eurozone or slow down this process, which contradicts the idea of common currency as the financial foundation of the European Union. The goal is to analyse the actions of the EU member states that are outside the Monetary Union and to determine ways to solve the above-mentioned problem. In this study, general scientific and special methods were used, including analysis, synthesis, description, comparison, theoretical generalization, and the abstract-logical method. As a result of the study, the author not only summarises the basic principles governing countries’ entry to the Eurozone, but also makes recommendations for changes to the procedure of countries joining the EU, aimed at accelerating their simultaneous accession to the Monetary Union and the introduction of the euro. JEL: E42; F33.
FORECASTING THE EXPORT OF GRAIN AND OILSEED CROPS THROUGH UKRAINIAN PORTS UNDER WAR CONDITIONS
The article examines the transformation of logistics channels and the forecasting of exports of grain and oilseed crops through Ukraine’s seaports under the conditions of the full-scale military invasion by the Russian Federation. The strategic importance of seaports as a key element of the logistics chain ensuring global food security is substantiated. It is established that the creation of the Ukrainian maritime corridor, despite continuous large-scale attacks on grain ter minals and port infrastructure, has made it possible to transport more than 138 million tons of cargo to various countries around the world. The results of the study reveal the presence of a four-year cycle in the dynamics of grain transshipment in Ukrainian seaports and confirm a pronounced seasonal inertia of the process. Forecast calculations indicate a possible decline in transshipment volumes in 2025–2026, followed by a recovery in 2027–2028 to a level close to the indicators of 2024. The obtained results also demonstrate significant variability in development scenarios, which is associated with a high level of military, infrastructural, and market risks. The practical significance of the research lies in forming an analytical basis for strategic planning of port infrastructure development and improving the mechanisms of export logistics of Ukrainian agricultural products under conditions of wartime and post-war economic transformation. JEL: Q17, Q18, L92, F42, F20.