Sectoral Transformation of the Economic System during Crisis and Stable Growth Periods (A Case Study of the European Countries)

Sectoral structures are one of the critical and dynamic components of any social system subjected to either external or internal factors. The purpose of the paper is to reveal and validate characteristic features of transformation regarding economic sectoral structures during the crisis of the socio-economic system and the period of its coordinated development in order to determine the most stable industry sectors. This paper reveals the specificity of sectoral transformations in European countries during the crisis of 2008–2009 and the stable growth of 2010–2019. The analysis is premised on Robert B. Reich’s sectoral structure, comprising production, in-person, intellectual, and communication services sectors. To conduct the research, statistical data analysis using the Gatev coefficient, and correlation and comparative analysis are applied. It is concluded that the mutable nature of sectoral dynamics depends on the planned changes resulting either from business expectations and interests, or state intervention. Yet, transformation is likely due to external and internal shocks (economic upheavals and wars), and unexpected events (natural disasters, epidemics, and pandemics). Over the last 15 years, the sectoral structure has been subjected to most of the above collisions. In-person, intellectual, and communication services sectors are least affected during the economic crisis. In the European countries, the period of economic growth is characterized by the growing dominance of intellectual and communication services sectors. There is a trend of decreasing the share of mining and quarrying in the sectoral production structure in favor of manufacturing industries and services.