The picture in this post shows how volunteers decorated the shell-damaged centre of Kharkiv using traditional Petrykivka painting. It is moving to see how people from my homeland lift each other’s spirits through culture, even in such tough wartimes. These actions, which may not be easily explained by mainstream economics, are a big part of what inspires me for this research.

I will investigate how Ukrainian culture relates to the practice of allocating resources, and how it possibly challenges mainstream economic principles. Examples of questions that might be asked are: 

• What principles guide resource allocation between different functions and different members of the community? 
• How is the level of resource use established? 
• What are the goals of the community and how does resource allocation contribute to the achievement of these goals? 
• Do these goals and principles differ from the economic principles learnt at school or university, and if so, what reflections can be drawn from this?

I am going to conduct online interviews with relevant community members, as well as representatives of Ukrainian culture and environmental/social/cultural/economic initiatives taken in Ukraine. The data collected will then be analysed qualitatively.

As the outcome, I hope to contribute to the valorisation of Ukrainian culture, as well as an interdisciplinary and intercultural contribution to heterodox economic literature and practice. 

I am looking forward to collaborating with my research supervisor, Dr. Alice Damiano. I am extremely grateful to become a part of the Laidlaw community and for the opportunity to do this research! Thank you for reading—this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for more, and feel free to share your thoughts!