Socio-economic development of the South of Ukraine in the conditions of operation of the Odesa porto-franco regime

The subject of researchis: socio-economic prerequisites and significance of the introduction of the Odesa porto-franco regimein the context of developmentthe end of Southern Ukraine XVIII – the first half of the XIX century. The purpose of the scientific articleis to reveal and show the socio-economic development of the South of Ukraine at the end of the XVIII – the first half of the XIX century on the basis of sources. under the conditions of operation of the Odesa porto-franco regime. Research methods. All components of the research are based on the main principles – scientificity, historicism, objectivity, systematicity, development, the priority of concrete truth, pluralism, as well asmethods of learning socio-economic processes of social development- analysis, synthesis,problem-chronological, comparative-analytical, archeographic,retrospective, statistical,system andcomprehensive approach. Work methodology. In the process of researching the specified issues, we took as a basis the main provisions: the history of Ukraine, economic history and the history of economic thought, the work of domestic and foreign scientists and practitioners in the specified field. Work results. In the context of the mentioned problems, we investigatedsocio-economic development of the South of Ukraine at the end of the XVIII – the first half of the XIX century. under the conditions of operation of the Odesa porto-franco regime. Field of application of results.The results of this study can be applied in the field of studying the problems of economic history and the history of economic thought, the history of the development of the national economy, and the history of trade. Conclusions.Therefore, the porto-franco status played a key role in the development and formation of not only Odesa, but also the entire South of Ukraine. The rapid development of the port city was accompanied by the formation and development of the appropriate trade and transport infrastructure, the formation and establishment of market institutions in economic relations. The free harbor regime contributed to the integration of Southern Ukraine into the world economy through the development of high-product agriculture and grain trade. At the same time, the porto-franco system had certain negative consequences, in particular: it contributed to the outflow of capital from areas of productive use in favor of investing in real estate; growth of the share of intermediary and speculative operations; consolidation of raw material and agricultural specialization of Ukraine.