CRITERIA AND INDICATORS FOR ASSESSING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTIVENESS OF STATE REGULATION OF NATURAL MONOPOLIES

This article examines the criteria and indicators used to assess the socio-economic effectiveness of state regulation of natural monopolies, emphasizing the multidimensional nature of regulatory outcomes in modern economic conditions. Natural monopolies operate in strategically important sectors where the absence of competition necessitates effective state intervention to balance consumer interests, ensure infrastructural sustainability, and promote long-term development. The study highlights that regulatory effectiveness is reflected not only in tariff dynamics and investment activity but also in productivity, quality and accessibility of services, social fairness, and institutional capacity of the regulatory environment. To provide a structured analytical framework, key economic, social, and institutional criteria of evaluation are systematized, accompanied by relevant quantitative, qualitative, and composite indicators. Special attention is given to the methodological integration of these indicators into a unified assessment system. The article outlines the logic of combining criteria and indicators, describes normalization procedures, and examines methods of aggregating results–including scoring, integral indices, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). These tools enable the transformation of heterogeneous data into comprehensive, comparable assessments of regulatory performance. Practical applications of the proposed system are considered in the context of regulatory monitoring, strategic planning, evaluation of tariff and investment policies, and cross-sectoral comparison of natural monopolies. The findings demonstrate that a comprehensive indicator-based approach enhances the transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of state regulation while supporting evidence-based decision-making and the identification of priority areas for regulatory improvement.