Public procurement as a tool for implementing the state investment policy in strategic sectors of the economy

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of public procurement as an important economic and legal instrument for implementing the state investment policy in strategic sectors of the economy. It is substantiated that, under current conditions, public procurement goes beyond its traditional understanding as a mechanism for meeting public needs and spending budgetary funds and acquires the functional significance of an instrument for targeted influence on economic processes, stimulation of investment activity, modernization of the production base, and development of national production. The economic and legal nature of public procurement is analyzed as an element of the organization and regulation of economic relations that contributes to the formation of public demand, determines the conditions of access of economic operators to relevant markets, and creates prerequisites for the implementation of long-term investment projects. Particular attention is paid to the potential of public procurement in strategic sectors of the economy, the development of which is directly related to ensuring economic resilience, technological modernization, and the post-war recovery of Ukraine. It is established that the state, acting as a major contracting authority, is capable of creating long-term investment incentives for economic operators through the formation of predictable demand. The main problems affecting the implementation of the investment function of public procurement are identified, including the excessive formalization of competitive procedures, insufficient integration of procurement into the system of strategic and investment planning, risks of anti-competitive practices, and insufficient effectiveness of institutional interaction. The need to move from a predominantly procedural perception of procurement towards a strategic model of its application and to integrate procurement policy into the system of state investment and industrial policy is substantiated. It is concluded that public procurement can serve as an effective instrument for attracting investment and ensuring the structural development of strategic sectors of the economy, provided that the economic and legal mechanisms for its implementation are improved, strategic planning is strengthened, and national legislation is further harmonized with European standards.