INTEGRATED MODEL FOR REDUCING WEALTH INEQUALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF URBAN POLICY, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This article examines the theoretical and methodological foundations for developing an integrated model to address disparities in wealth inequality in the context of urbanization policy, digital transformation, and sustainable development. It is determined that modern urbanization processes and the digitalization of the economy, alongside new opportunities for economic growth, lead to a deepening of socioeconomic differentiation, manifested in unequal access to resources, infrastructure, digital technologies, and economic opportunities. Scientific approaches to the study of wealth inequality, urbanization, and digitalization have been synthesized, allowing for the identification of the economic, institutional, spatial, and technological factors driving its formation. A comprehensive mechanism for eliminating wealth inequality has been substantiated, which includes institutional-regulatory, economic, urban, digital, and socio-educational components. An integrated model of the interaction between urbanization, digitalization, and wealth inequality has been developed; this model is cyclical in nature and allows for the assessment of both the direct and indirect effects of these factors on the level of socioeconomic differentiation. An integrated index for assessing socio-economic differentiation and an econometric model are proposed, enabling quantitative analysis and forecasting of changes in the level of inequality. It has been demonstrated that the implementation of the proposed model will contribute to improving the effectiveness of public policy, reducing wealth inequality, developing an inclusive economy, and ensuring the sustainable development of regions. The research aims to develop and provide a scientific rationale for an integrated model for addressing wealth inequality disparities within the context of urbanization policy, digital transformation, and sustainable development, which allows for a comprehensive assessment of the interaction between urbanization, digital, and socio-economic factors, and determines their impact on the level of socio-economic differentiation. The methodological basis of the study consists of a combination of general scientific and specialized methods: methods of analysis and synthesis; a systems approach; the method of comparative analysis; economic and statistical methods; the method of integral assessment; artificial intelligence tools; and the tabular-graphical method. The research substantiates the feasibility of applying an integrated model that combines urbanization, digital, and socioeconomic components, thereby allowing for the complex nature of inequality formation to be taken into account and the interrelationships between key factors to be assessed. The developed integrated model for assessing socio-economic differentiation, based on the aggregation of urbanization, digital, and property indicators, allows for the quantitative determination of the strength of each factor’s influence and the identification of key drivers of inequality. The proposed econometric model enables empirical analysis and forecasting of changes in the level of socio-economic differentiation depending on the transformation of the relevant parameters. It has been demonstrated that effectively addressing wealth inequality requires the implementation of a comprehensive mechanism that includes institutional-regulatory, economic, urban, digital, and socio-educational tools. It has been determined that the development of inclusive urbanization policies, ensuring equal access to digital resources, modernizing the education system, and improving state socio-economic policies play a key role in reducing inequality. Further research should focus on empirically testing the proposed model using regional and international data, developing comprehensive indicators to assess the level of wealth inequality, and refining methods for forecasting the impact of digitalization and urbanization processes on socioeconomic development