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Lecture notes, cheat sheets
World economy. Lecture notes: briefly, the most important
Directory / Lecture notes, cheat sheets Table of contents
LECTURE No. 1. The concept and essence of the world economy and international economic relations The concept of "world economy" is equivalent to the terms "world economy" and "world economy". Economists separate them into one and give several definitions. It can be considered both in a generalized and in a particular sense. According to a generalized definition, the world economy is defined as the sum of all the national economies of the world, in a particular sense, it is the totality of those components of national economies that interact with the outside world. However, the difference between the two definitions is becoming less noticeable, since in any country there are fewer and fewer industries and sub-sectors that would not interact with the outside world directly or indirectly. The world economy is a complex system. The whole set of various national economies (or their foreign economic parts, in a narrow definition) is united by the movement of goods, services and factors of production (economic resources). On this basis, international economic relations (foreign economic relations) are established between countries. There are economic relations between residents and non-residents (legal entities and individuals from different countries). They can be grouped by shape. International (world) trade in goods and services is usually distinguished into a separate form. The movement of factors of production is based on such forms of international economic relations as the international movement of capital, international migration of labor, international trade in knowledge (international transfer of technology). When considering other factors of production, in addition to capital, labor, and knowledge (technology), we can say that, for example, natural resources are immobile and participate in foreign economic relations almost always indirectly, through international trade in products made on their basis, etc. Other factors of production are entrepreneurial abilities (entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial experience). They move mainly together with capital, labor and knowledge (technology) and therefore usually do not appear as an independent form of international economic relations. International monetary and settlement relations can be distinguished in a special form. Although they are derivatives of international trade and the movement of factors of production (especially capital), they managed to acquire quite a lot of independence in the world economy. LECTURE № 2. Stages of development of the modern world economy. The development trend of the world economy 1. Stages of development of the modern world economy The world economy was finally formed about a hundred years ago, although it began to take shape a very long time ago. It all started with international (world) trade, which is defined as the movement of goods and services between countries. Import from abroad is called import, and export is called export. International (world) trade is a set of foreign trade of all countries of the world, and has a long history. The population of the world's first state - Egypt - about 5 thousand years ago had a trade relationship with neighboring tribes, acquiring wood, metals, livestock from them in exchange for products of Egyptian crafts and agriculture. The Egyptians also organized expeditions for the economic development of new lands. At the same time, the tribes inhabiting the territory of modern Russia were already exchanging goods with neighboring and even distant regions of the world. Thus, copper and bronze items from the Caucasus, the Southern Urals and Siberia spread throughout Eurasia, being resold by one tribe to another. Traders in services began to join the international trade in goods. Phoenician and Greek merchants were engaged in trade throughout the Mediterranean with their own and purchased goods in other countries. In addition, they also provided services by transporting foreign cargo and foreign passengers. The region of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, together with the adjacent countries of Western Asia, is the zone of the world where the core of the world economy was born in ancient times. Gradually, other economic regions of the world began to join it - first South Asia, then Southeast and East Asia, Russia, America, Australia and Oceania. Last but not least, hard-to-reach areas of Tropical Africa and East Asia. Particularly active distribution in modern times is market relations (first in Western Europe, and then in other regions of the world), the great geographical discoveries of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, the appearance in the XNUMXth century. the machine industry and modern means of transport and communications played a large role in the development of world trade in goods and services. The rapidly growing wealthy European merchants of modern times often, together with the monarchs of their countries (their strength was also strengthened compared to the times of medieval fragmentation), tried to break through to new markets and new sources of capital. The desire for gold, new lands, overseas goods caused one of the greatest enterprises of mankind - a wave of expeditions from Europe in search of new lands and trade routes. The discoveries of Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Magellan, Yermak pushed the boundaries of the world market many times over, adding to it many new regions. Economic relations with these regions strengthened after the start of mass factory production of finished products in the XNUMXth century. first in Western Europe, and only then in North America, Russia and Japan. For the most part, these were simple and cheap consumer goods available to everyone; they were produced not only for the domestic, but also for the foreign market. Their implementation was greatly facilitated by steamships, railways, telegraph, which appeared in previously inaccessible corners of the world. As a result, by the end of the XIX century. a world (worldwide) market for goods and services has developed, that is, a set of national markets for goods and services. At that time, the world market, as now, was dominated by goods, as well as simultaneously widely sold and some types of services - freight, banking, exchange. It should be noted that Russia in the world market was primarily an exporter of grain and other agricultural products, as well as timber to Western Europe, a supplier of products to neighboring countries (mainly Asian), as well as an importer of Western European finished products, materials and semi-finished products. At the same time, the movement of almost all factors of production - capital, labor, entrepreneurial abilities, technology - increased in the world. Thus, our country began to resort to the use of foreign loan capital. The first external loan was made in 1769 by Catherine II from Dutch bankers. The first foreign company, the German Continental Gas Society, appeared. She started her business in 1855. And then from the end of the XNUMXth century. Russia has started exporting capital, mainly to neighboring Asian countries. Foreign labor force has been used in Russia since the end of the XNUMXth century. (Iranian workers worked at the Baku oil fields, Chinese workers participated in the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway). Foreign entrepreneurial experience and foreign technology have been actively introduced into Russia, often accompanied by foreign capital. The aviation industry in pre-revolutionary Russia arose largely on the basis of subsidiaries of French aircraft and engine companies, hence the focus of pre-revolutionary aviation enterprises was mainly based on the production of aircraft of foreign design. Already in the last 100 years, Russia itself (USSR) has also actively introduced its technology and management experience to both neighboring and distant countries. The flows of economic resources (factors of production) at first went in one direction - from a small group of the most developed countries to all the rest, the least developed countries. British, French, Belgian, Dutch and German capital was a conspicuous feature of the accumulation of capital in America and Russia. Emigrants from Europe have economically studied the vast expanses of North America, South Africa, Australia and other regions of the world, and Western entrepreneurs have brought to all corners of the world the landmark achievements of Western science (electricity, internal combustion engine, mechanical vehicles). Further, the process of moving economic resources became more complex. Capital, entrepreneurial skills and technology began not only to be imported, but also to be exported by moderately developed countries (including Russia). Underdeveloped countries also began to take an active part in the export of labor. As a result, the international movement of factors of production becomes mutual, but by no means symmetrical. As a result, national economies turned out to be an integral part not only of the world market for goods and services, but became participants in the movement of economic resources between countries and regions. Under such conditions, it is advisable to talk about a broader concept of the world (world) economy, which covers the movement of goods, services, and factors of production. The final formation of the world economy took place at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. 2. Trends in the development of the world economy at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries In the last decade of the XX century. quite clearly stood out a number of trends in the world economy, which determine the development of the economy of the XXI century. The essence of these trends is as follows: 1) the formation of a global network of production and marketing of products, etc.; 2) liberalization of world economic relations; 3) post-industrialization of the economies of the countries of the world economy; 4) overcoming the gap in the level of development of the countries of the world; 5) regrouping of the countries of the world and a change in the balance of power; 6) regionalism in the world economy, i.e., the predominance of a regional integrated grouping; 7) integration in the world economy; 8) the growth of international exchange of goods and services; 9) strengthening the influence of the activities of the world trade organization. LECTURE № 3. Subjects of the world economy. Selection criteria: level of economic development, social structure of the economy, type of economic development, level and nature of foreign economic relations 1. Three groups of countries: developed, developing and with economies in transition Based on various criteria in the world economy, a certain number of subsystems are distinguished. The largest subsystems, or megasystems, are three groups of national economies: 1) industrialized countries; 2) countries in transition; 3) developing countries. 2. Group of developed countries The group of developed (industrialized countries, industrial) includes states with a high level of socio-economic development, the predominant predominance of a market economy. GDP per capita PPP is at least $12 PPP. The number of developed countries and territories, according to the International Monetary Fund, includes the United States, all countries of Western Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Israel. The UN joins them with the Republic of South Africa. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development adds Turkey and Mexico to their number, although these are most likely developing countries, but they are included in this number on a territorial basis. Thus, about 30 countries and territories are included in the number of developed countries. Perhaps, after the official accession to the European Union of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Estonia, these countries will also be included in the number of developed countries. There is an opinion that Russia will also join the group of developed countries in the near future. But to do this, it needs to go a long way to transform its economy into a market one, to increase its GDP at least to the pre-reform level. Developed countries are the main group of countries in the world economy. In this group of countries, the "seven" with the largest GDP (USA, Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada) are singled out. More than 44% of world GDP is accounted for by these countries, including the USA - 21, Japan - 7, Germany - 5%. Most developed countries are members of integration associations, of which the most powerful are the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). 3. Group of developing countries The group of developing countries (less developed, underdeveloped) is the largest group (about 140 states located in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania). These are states with a low level of economic development, but with a market economy. Despite the rather significant number of these countries, and many of them are characterized by a large population and a large territory, they account for only 28% of world GDP. The group of developing countries is often referred to as the third world, and it is not homogeneous. The basis of developing countries are states with a relatively modern economic structure (for example, some countries in Asia, especially Southeast, and countries in Latin America), high GDP per capita, and a high human development index. Of these, a subgroup of newly industrialized countries is singled out, which have recently demonstrated very high rates of economic growth. They were able to greatly reduce their backlog from developed countries. Today's new industrial countries include: in Asia - Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and others, in Latin America - Chile and other South and Central American countries. In a special subgroup allocate countries that are exporters of oil. The backbone of this group is made up of 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Underdevelopment, lack of rich mineral resources, and in some countries even access to the sea, unfavorable internal political and social situation, military actions and simply arid climate determine the growth in the number of countries classified as the least developed subgroup in recent decades. Currently, there are 47 of them, including 32 located in Tropical Africa, 10 - in Asia, 4 - in Oceania, 1 - in Latin America (Haiti). The main problem of these countries is not so much backwardness and poverty, but the lack of tangible economic resources to overcome them. 4. Group of countries with economies in transition This group includes states that are transitioning from an administrative-command (socialist) economy to a market economy (which is why they are often called post-socialist). This transition has been taking place since the 1980s and 1990s. These are 12 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, 15 countries of the former Soviet republics, as well as Mongolia, China and Vietnam (the last two countries formally continue to build socialism) The countries with economies in transition account for about 17-18% of world GDP, including the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (without the Baltics) - less than 2%, the former Soviet republics - more than 4% (including Russia - about 3%) , China - about 12%. Within this youngest group of countries, subgroups can be distinguished. One subgroup can include the former Soviet republics, which are now united in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Thus, such an association leads to reforming the economies of these countries. In another subgroup, you can combine the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic countries. These countries are characterized by a radical approach to reforms, a desire to join the EU, and a relatively high level of development for most of them. But due to the strong lag behind the leaders of this subgroup of Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and the republics of the former Yugoslavia, it is advisable to include them in the first subgroup. China and Vietnam can be identified as a separate subgroup. The low level of socio-economic development is currently rising rapidly. Of the large group of countries with administrative-command economies, by the end of the 1990s. only two countries remained: North Korea and Cuba. LECTURE No. 4. Newly industrialized countries, oil-producing countries, least developed countries. A special place for a group of leaders in the developing world: newly industrialized countries and countries - members of OPEC In the structure of developing countries 1960-80s. XNUMXth century are a period of global change. The so-called "new industrial countries (NIS)" stand out from their midst. NIS on the basis of certain features are distinguished from the bulk of developing countries. The features that distinguish "new industrial countries" from developing countries allow us to speak of the emergence of a special "new industrial model" of development. These countries are unique examples of development for many states, both in terms of the internal dynamics of the national economy and in terms of external economic expansion. The NIS includes four Asian countries, the so-called "small dragons of Asia" - South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, as well as the NIS of Latin America - Argentina, Brazil, Mexico. All these countries are NIS of the first wave or first generation. Then they are followed by NIS of the next generations: 1) Malaysia, Thailand, India, Chile - second generation; 2) Cyprus, Tunisia, Turkey, Indonesia - the third generation; 3) Philippines, southern provinces of China - the fourth generation. As a result, entire zones of new industrialization, poles of economic growth, are emerging, extending their influence primarily to nearby regions. The United Nations identifies the criteria by which certain states belong to the NIS: 1) the size of GDP per capita; 2) average annual growth rates; 3) the share of the manufacturing industry in GDP (it should be more than 20%); 4) the volume of exports of industrial products and their share in total exports; 5) volume of direct investments abroad. For all these indicators, NIS not only stand out from other developing countries, but often surpass those of a number of industrialized countries. A significant increase in the well-being of the population determines the high growth rates of NIS. Low unemployment is one of the achievement of NIS Southeast Asia. In the mid-1990s, the four "little dragons", as well as Thailand and Malaysia, were the countries with the lowest unemployment in the world. They showed a lagging level of labor productivity in comparison with industrialized countries. In the 1960s, some countries of East Asia and Latin America - NIS - took this path. These countries actively used external sources of economic growth. These include, first of all, the free attraction of foreign capital, equipment and technology from industrialized countries. The main reasons for the selection of NIS from other countries: 1) due to a number of reasons, some NIS ended up in the sphere of special political and economic interests of industrialized countries; 2) the development of the modern structure of the NIS economy was greatly influenced by direct investment. Direct investments in the economy of the NIS account for 42% of direct capitalist investments in developing countries. The main investor is the United States, and then Japan. Japanese investment has contributed to the industrialization of NIS and increased the competitiveness of their exports. They played a particularly prominent role in the metamorphosis of NIS into large exporters of manufacturing products. For the NIS of Asia, it is characteristic that capital rushed mainly to the manufacturing industry and the raw materials industries. In turn, the capital of Latin American NIS was directed to trade, the service sector, and the manufacturing industry. The free expansion of foreign private capital has led to the fact that in the NIS, in fact, there is not a single sector of the economy where there would be no foreign capital. The return on investment in Asian NIS significantly exceeds similar opportunities in Latin American countries; 3) "Asian" dragons were determined to accept these changes in the international economic situation and use them for their own purposes. The following factors played a significant role in attracting transnational corporations: 1) convenient geographical location of the NIS; 2) the formation in almost all NIS of autocratic or similar political regimes loyal to industrialized countries. Foreign investors were provided with a high degree of security guarantees for their investments; 3) such non-economic factors as diligence, diligence, discipline of the population of NIS Asia played a significant role. All countries according to the level of economic development can be divided into three categories. Oil importers and exporters stand out in particular. The group of countries with high per capita incomes, which are typical for industrialized countries, includes Brunei, Qatar, Kuwait, and the Emirates. The group of countries with average GDP per capita includes mainly oil-exporting countries and newly industrialized countries (these include countries whose share of manufacturing in GDP is at least 20%) The group of oil exporters has a subgroup consisting of 19 states whose export of oil products exceeds 50%. In these countries, the material foundation was initially created, and only then was scope given for the development of capitalist production relations. They formed the so-called rental capitalism. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in September 1960 at a conference in Baghdad (Iraq). OPEC established five oil-rich developing countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela. These countries were subsequently joined by eight others: Qatar (1961), Indonesia and Libya (1962), United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973). ), and Gabon (1975). However, two minor producers - Ecuador and Gabon - refused membership in this organization in 1992 and 1994. respectively. Thus, this OPEC unites 11 member countries. The headquarters of OPEC is located in Vienna. The Charter of the Organization was adopted in 1961 at the January conference in Caracas (Venezuela). In accordance with the 1st and 2nd articles of the Charter, Opec is a "permanent intergovernmental organization", the main tasks of which are: 1) coordination and unification of the oil policy of the participating countries and determination of the best ways (individual and collective) to protect their interests; 2) finding ways and means to ensure price stability on the world oil markets in order to eliminate harmful and undesirable price fluctuations; 3) observance of the interests of producing countries and providing them with sustainable income; 4) efficient, economically expedient and regular supply of oil to consumer countries; 5) providing investors directing their funds to the oil industry with a fair return on invested capital. OPEC controls about half of the world's oil trade, sets the official price for crude oil, which largely determines the world price level. The conference is the supreme body of OPEC and consists of delegations, usually headed by ministers. It usually meets in regular sessions twice a year (in March and September) and in extraordinary sessions as needed. At the Conference, the general political line of the Organization is formed, appropriate measures are determined for its implementation; decisions are made on the admission of new members; checks and coordinates the activities of the Board of Governors, appoints members of the Board, including the Chairman of the Board of Governors and his deputy, as well as the Secretary General of OPEC; approves the budget and changes in the Charter, etc. The Secretary General of the Organization is also the Secretary of the Conference. All decisions, with the exception of procedural matters, are taken unanimously. The conference in its activities relies on several committees and commissions, the most important of which is the economic commission. It is designed to assist the Organization in maintaining stability in the world oil market. The Board of Governors is the governing body of OPEC and, in terms of the nature of its functions, is comparable to the board of directors of a commercial organization. It consists of Governors appointed by the Member States and approved by the Conference for a two-year term. The Council manages the Organization, implements the decisions of the supreme body of OPEC, forms the annual budget and submits it for approval by the Conference. He also analyzes the reports submitted by the Secretary General, draws up reports and recommendations of the Conference on current affairs and prepares the agenda of the Conferences. The OPEC Secretariat acts as the headquarters of the Organization and (in fact) is the executive body responsible for its functioning in accordance with the provisions of the Charter and the directives of the Board of Governors. The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary General and consists of the Research Division, directed by the Director, the Information and Public Relations Department, the Administration and Personnel Department, and the Office of the Secretary General. The Charter defines three categories of membership in the Organization: 1) founding member; 2) full member; 3) an associative participant. The founding members are the five countries that founded OPEC in September 1960 in Baghdad. Full members are founding countries plus those countries whose membership has been approved by the Conference. Associate participants are those countries that, for one reason or another, do not meet the criteria for full participation, but nevertheless have been accepted by the Conference on special, separately agreed conditions. Maximizing profits from oil exports for participants is the main goal of OPEC. Basically, reaching this goal is coupled with a choice between increasing production in the hope of selling more oil, or reducing it in order to benefit from higher prices. OPEC has periodically changed these strategies, but its share of the world market has increased since the 1970s. dropped quite a bit. At that time, on average, real prices did not change significantly. At the same time, other tasks have appeared in recent years, sometimes contradicting the above. For example, Saudi Arabia has strongly lobbied for the idea of maintaining a long-term and stable level of oil prices, which would not be too high to encourage developed countries to develop and introduce alternative fuels. The objectives of a tactical nature, solved at OPEC meetings, are to regulate oil production. And yet, at the moment, OPEC countries have not been able to develop an effective mechanism for regulating production, mainly because the members of this organization are sovereign states that have the right to pursue an independent policy in the field of oil production and its export. Another tactical goal of the Organization in recent years has been the desire not to “frighten away” the oil markets, that is, concern for their stability and sustainability. For example, before announcing the results of their meetings, OPEC ministers wait for the end of the trading session on oil futures in New York. And they also pay special attention to once again assuring the countries of the West and Asian NISs of OPEC's intention to conduct a constructive dialogue. At its core, OPEC is nothing more than an international cartel of oil-rich developing countries. This follows both from the tasks formulated in its Charter (for example, observing the interests of producing countries and providing them with sustainable income; coordinating and unifying the oil policy of the participating countries and determining the best ways (individual and collective) to protect their interests), and from specifics of membership in the Organization. According to the OPEC Charter, “any other country with a significant net export of crude oil, which has fundamentally similar interests with the participating countries, can become a full member of the organization if it receives consent to join from XNUMX/XNUMX of its full members, including the unanimous consent of the founding members. LECTURE No. 5. Openness of the national economy. economic security A characteristic feature of globalization is the openness of the economy. One of the leading trends in the world economic development of the post-war decades was the transition from closed national economies to an open economy. For the first time, the definition of openness was given by the French economist M. Perbo. In his opinion, "openness, freedom of trade is the most favorable rule of the game for a leading economy." For the normal functioning of the world economy, it is necessary in the final analysis to achieve complete freedom of trade between countries, such as is now characteristic of trade relations within each state. Economy open - an economic system focused on maximum participation in world economic relations and in the international division of labor. Opposes autarkic economic systems that develop in isolation on the basis of self-sufficiency. The degree of openness of the economy is characterized by such indicators as the export quota - the ratio of the value of exports to the value of gross domestic product (GDP), the volume of exports per capita, etc. A distinctive feature of modern economic development is the faster growth of world trade in relation to world production. International specialization is not only beneficial to the national economy, but also contributes to an increase in world production. At the same time, the openness of the economy does not eliminate two trends in the development of the world economy: the strengthening of the orientation of national-state economic entities towards free trade (free trade), on the one hand, and the desire to protect the domestic market (protectionism), on the other. Their combination in one proportion or another underlies the foreign economic policy of the state. A society that recognizes both the interests of consumers and its responsibility for those it harms in its pursuit of a more open trade policy must work out a compromise that avoids costly protectionism. The advantages of an open economy are: 1) deepening the specialization and cooperation of production; 2) rational distribution of resources depending on the degree of efficiency; 3) dissemination of world experience through the system of international economic relations; 4) the growth of competition between domestic producers, stimulated by competition in the world market. An open economy is the elimination by the state of the monopoly of foreign trade, the effective application of the principle of comparative advantages and the international division of labor, the active use of various forms of joint venture, the organization of free enterprise zones. One of the important criteria for an open economy is a country's favorable investment climate, which stimulates the inflow of capital investments, technology, and information within the framework determined by economic feasibility and international competitiveness. An open economy presupposes a reasonable accessibility of the domestic market for the inflow of foreign capital, information and labor. An open economy requires significant state intervention in the formation of a mechanism for its implementation at the level of reasonable sufficiency. There is no absolute openness of the economy in any country. To characterize the degree of participation of a country in the system of international economic relations or the degree of openness of the national economy, a number of indicators are used. Among them, we should first of all name the export (Kexp) and import (Kimp) quotas, the share of the value of exports (imports) in the value of GDP (GNP):  where Qexp.- the value of exports; Qimp. are the value of exports and imports, respectively. Another indicator is the volume of exports per capita (Qexp./ d.n.):  where HMr. - the population of the country. The export potential of a country is estimated by the share of manufactured products that a country can sell on the world market without harming its own economy, domestic consumption:  where en - export potential (the coefficient has only positive values, zero value indicates the border of export potential); Дd.n. - the maximum allowable per capita income. The entire set of foreign trade export operations was called the "foreign trade balance of the country", in which export operations are classified as active items, and import operations - as passive ones. The total amount of exports and imports will create a balance of the country's foreign trade turnover. The balance of foreign trade turnover forms the difference between the amount of exports and the amount of imports. The trade balance is positive if exports exceed imports and, conversely, negative if imports exceed exports. In the economic literature of the West, instead of the balance of foreign trade turnover, another term is used - "export". It can also be positive or negative, depending on whether exports dominate or vice versa. LECTURE No. 6. The international division of labor is the basis for the development of the modern world economy The international division of labor is the most important basic category that expresses the essence and content of international relations. Since all the countries of the world are included in one way or another in this division, its deepening is determined by the development of the productive forces, which are influenced by the latest technological revolution. Participation in the international division of labor brings additional economic benefits to countries, allowing them to meet their needs more fully and at the lowest cost. International division of labor (MRI) - this is a stable concentration of production for certain countries of certain types of goods, works, services. MRI determines: 1) exchange of goods and services between countries; 2) the movement of capital between countries; 3) labor force migration; 4) integration. Specialization associated with the production of goods and services increases competitiveness. For the development of MRI are important: 1) comparative advantage - the ability to produce goods at a lower cost; 2) public policy, depending on which not only the nature of production, but also the nature of consumption can change; 3) concentration of production - the creation of a large-scale industry, the development of mass production (orientation to the foreign market when creating production); 4) growing imports of the country - formation of mass consumption of raw materials, fuel. Usually mass production does not coincide with resource deposits - countries organize resource imports; 5) development of transport infrastructure. The international division of labor is an important stage in the development of the social territorial division of labor between countries. It is based on the economically advantageous specialization of the production of countries in certain types of products, leading to the mutual exchange of the results of production between them in certain ratios (quantitative and qualitative). In the modern era, the international division of labor contributes to the development of world integration processes. MRI plays an ever-increasing role in the implementation of the processes of expanded reproduction in the countries of the world, ensures the interconnection of these processes, forms the appropriate international proportions in the sectoral and territorial-country aspects. MRI does not exist without exchange, which has a special place in the internationalization of social production. The documents adopted by the UN recognize that the international division of labor and international economic relations cannot develop spontaneously, only under the influence of the laws of competition. The market mechanism cannot automatically ensure the rational development and use of resources on the scale of the global economy. LECTURE No. 7. International labor migration 1. International migration of labor resources: concept, types International labor migration - a complex, ambiguous phenomenon that requires close study in the context of current trends in the development of the world economy, in conjunction with other processes and phenomena of the economic life of modern society. The scope of the flows and the dramatic nature of the situation of both voluntary migrants and forced migrants in certain historical epochs and years are turning into global problems. Broad international cooperation is required to resolve these problems. Therefore, in modern conditions, especially great attention is paid to the problems of international labor migration and its regulation. Population migration is the movement of people across the borders of certain territories with a change of permanent residence or return to it. Cross-country migration of the population and labor resources appears when there is a significant contrast in the levels of economic and social development and the rate of natural demographic growth of countries that receive and give labor. World experience shows that labor migration provides undoubted advantages to countries (both receiving and supplying labor). Despite this, it requires a solution and can give rise to acute socio-economic problems. By the beginning of the XXI century. international migration of the population has become a global process that has engulfed almost all countries and continents, all social strata of civil society. In a wave of large-scale cross-country movements of population and labor resources, the flows of emigrants leaving for other countries permanently, temporary labor migrants, specialists, scientists and students, refugees and asylum seekers, illegal immigrants and tourists have mixed. About 20 million people move from country to country every year. In modern conditions, the migration of the population and labor resources has become a permanent, inevitable and very complex process. Along with the movement of goods, services, capital and technology, it is one of the leading factors of production on an international scale. International labor migration - this is the resettlement of the able-bodied population from one state to another in search of work for a period of more than one year, which can be caused primarily by economic reasons. In addition to economic motives, the process of international labor migration is also determined by political, ethnic, cultural, family and other reasons. All population movements relative to each territory are made up of emigration and immigration flows of labor migration. The setting motive is the desire to earn more than at home, and the desire to find the best application of one's qualifications. In this regard, international labor migration is usually defined as a paid professional activity abroad. All movements of the population relative to each territory are made up of two flows: emigration and immigration. Emigration is a departure abroad, and immigration - arrival from abroad. In other words, international labor migration is the export and import of wage laborers. The difference between immigration (from a country) and emigration (to another country) is migration balance. However, there is a more specific type of international migration - re-emigration, i.e., the return to the homeland of the previously emigrated population. The international migration of highly qualified personnel is called the "brain drain". It is today a serious problem for most developing countries. According to UN classification permanent migrant workers persons arriving in the country in order to find paid employment for a period exceeding one year are considered. There is also a special category of legal migrants - frontline workers, i.e. workers who cross the border every day to work in a neighboring state. A prime example of this are the Mexican workers who work daily in the US. In accordance with the classification developed by the International Labor Organization (ILO), modern international labor migration is divided into 5 main types: 1) working under a contract that clearly establishes the period of stay in the host country. These are, first of all, seasonal workers who come to harvest, as well as unskilled or low-skilled workers; 2) professionals who are distinguished by a high level of training, the availability of relevant education and practical work experience; 3) illegal immigrants are foreigners with an expired or tourist visa engaged in labor activities; 4) refugees - persons who have emigrated from their countries because of any threat to their lives and activities; 5) migrants are those who move to permanent residence. This group of migrants is focused primarily on leaving for industrialized countries. International labor migration is a complex and ambiguous phenomenon. This is due to the fact that, unlike the exchange of goods or the movement of capital and information, migration processes involve people with their personal destinies and problems. The causes of labor force migration are determined by the influence of a number of economic and non-economic factors. Non-economic factors include political and legal, national, religious, racial, family. In recent decades, environmental, educational, cultural, psychological and ethnic factors have also begun to have a serious impact on the development of migration processes. The reasons for the economic nature are hidden in the diverse economic level of the formation of individual countries. There is a movement of labor from countries with a low standard of living to countries with a higher level. The impartial possibility of migration appears due to national differences in the conditions of wages for one or another professional activity. The economic factors that determine labor migration include the following: 1) different levels of economic development of countries, which entails both different labor costs and the search for higher earnings. For example, in Mexico, a worker's hourly wage is $1,5, while in the United States, a similarly skilled worker is paid $5 an hour; 2) the state of the national labor market. In underdeveloped and densely populated countries, the national market develops in conditions of chronic unemployment, which pushes people to look for work in other countries; 3) structural restructuring of the economy. Thus, Russia's transition to a market economy was accompanied by the liberalization of foreign economic activity, which led to an increase in the international migration turnover in Russia in 1990 by 6 times compared to 1980; 4) the development of scientific and technological progress, which is accompanied by an increase in the need for skilled labor; 5) the export of capital, the functioning of transnational corporations (TNCs). Corporations contribute to the connection of labor with capital, either by moving labor to capital, or by moving their capital to labor-abundant regions. In world practice, a certain classification of forms of labor migration has now been formed. They are as follows: 1) in the directions: a) migration from developing and post-socialist countries to industrialized ones; b) migration within industrialized countries; c) labor force migration between developing countries; d) migration of highly skilled labor from industrialized to developing countries; 2) by territorial coverage: a) intercontinental; b) inland; 3) according to the skill level of migrants: a) a highly skilled workforce; b) low-skilled labor force; 4) by time: a) irrevocable (as a rule, intercontinental); b) temporary (as a rule, inland); c) seasonal (associated with annual trips to earn money); d) pendulum (providing for daily trips to the place of work outside your locality, country); 5) according to the degree of legality: a) legal; b) illegal. If in 1960 the number of migrant workers was 3,2 million people, then in 1995 it increased more than 10 times and amounted to 35 million people, and in 1997 - already 40 million people; in 2003 - 50 million people. At the same time, if we assume that there are 3 dependents for every migrant worker, then the number of migrants already exceeds 150 million people. The basis of migration flows are workers, to a lesser extent - employees. The overall global implications of labor migration are twofold. On the one hand, it provides for the redistribution of labor resources in accordance with the needs of countries, makes it possible to explore new regions, sends huge masses of the most active and energetic population to economic centers, promotes a change in the economic, social and cultural situation of people, breaking the routine traditions of life forms. On the other hand, the migration of labor resources contributes to the rapid growth of large cities, the aggravation of the ecological situation, the depopulation of the countryside, and raises problems associated with the difficulty of adapting migrants to new living conditions. Consequently, international labor migration reveals both positive and negative impacts on the economic and social development of donor countries (labor exporters) and recipient countries (labor importers). Positive consequences for the economy as a whole: 1) due to the influx of highly mobile foreign workers, structural, sectoral and other changes in the economy are facilitated. Immigrants contribute to the rejuvenation of the nation, since it is usually the most mobile part of the population at the most able-bodied age that emigrates; 2) significant savings are achieved on the training of hired workers and specialists. For example, the United States for the period from 1965 to 1990. at least $15 billion was saved in education and science; 3) immigrants expand the capacity of the domestic market, and the money collected in their accounts is used to develop the economy; 4) temporarily free funds of immigrants kept in bank accounts can be used to finance the economy of the host country; 5) immigrants improve the demographic situation, especially in the industrialized countries of Western Europe, which are characterized by an aging indigenous population; 6) foreign workers often play the role of a shock absorber in the event of crises and unemployment, as they may be the first to be fired from their jobs. They are not provided with pensions, medical insurance and are not taken into account in the implementation of social programs. Positive Consequences for an individual firm: labor imports increase the competitiveness of the host country's goods by reducing production costs associated with lower wages for foreign workers. Negative consequences: 1) entire sectors of the economy (services, trade, construction), with long-term employment of foreign workers, become dependent on their labor. This leads to a reduction in the number of jobs among the indigenous population, increases unemployment, and generally worsens the situation on the national labor market; 2) there is a decrease in the price of the national labor force, as the supply of workers in the labor market is growing, who fill vacancies for low-paid, unskilled work; 3) conflicts are provoked between the indigenous population and immigrants; 4) immigrants take a long time and painfully adapt to the new conditions of life and work in the host country. Consequences for the countries of labor emigration. Positive for the economy as a whole: 1) emigration facilitates the situation in the national labor market, since the export of labor reduces the pressure of excess labor resources; 2) the export of labor is free for the donor country training of emigrant workers in new professional skills, improving their skills, introducing new technologies, advanced labor organization; 3) the export of labor is an important source of foreign exchange in the countries of emigration through the transfer of foreign currency by migrants from abroad to support their families and relatives, which generally improves their economic situation; 4) when returning to their homeland, migrants bring with them material values and savings, which are approximately the same amount as their remittances. Negative consequences: 1) the country loses part of its labor resources at the most able-bodied age, resulting in the aging of labor resources; 2) funds associated with the general education and professional training of emigrants are lost. Thus, the presence of positive and negative consequences of international labor migration leads to the need to develop measures to ensure the normal functioning of the national economy of these countries, i.e., the state migration policy. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has defined the goals of the emigration policy of exporting countries as follows: the emigration of labor resources should help reduce unemployment, the flow of foreign exchange from emigrant workers, which are used to balance export-import operations; emigrants abroad must be provided with an appropriate standard of living; the demand for the return of emigrants to their homeland is combined with the acquisition by the latter of professions and education in foreign countries. Modern international labor migration is influenced by the activation and growth of labor exporting countries that use various methods and means to achieve the goals of emigration. At the international level, several organizations have been created whose work is aimed at streamlining migration processes. International Labor Organization (ILO) was established in 1919. In 1946, the ILO was formed as a specialized agency of the UN. As of January 1, 1990, the ILO included 150 states. The ILO is unique among world organizations. This is manifested in the fact that, in formulating its policies, the representatives of employers and workers have an equal number of votes with representatives of governments. One of its most important functions is the adoption of conventions and recommendations that establish international labor standards in such areas as wages, working hours and working conditions, remuneration of workers for work, social security, paid leave, labor protection. Since the founding of the ILO, 172 conventions and 181 recommendations have been adopted. 2. International Organization for Migration (IOM) The International Organization for Migration (IOM) was founded in 1949 as the International Organization for Refugees (IOB), later its powers were expanded, and since 1989 it has been renamed. The IOM includes 81 states, of which 46 are members and 35 are observers. Within the framework of this organization, long-term programs are being developed in the field of regulating migration flows, providing assistance in organizing migration, technical cooperation, preventing "brain drain", remigration, providing expert services, etc. The main functions of the IOM at the moment, according to the charter, are: 1) implementation of orderly and planned migration of citizens; 2) the movement of skilled labor, including family members, who can contribute to the development of host countries; 3) organizing the movement of refugees; 4) providing states with a forum for the exchange of views, experience and cooperation. At present, the IOM regulates to a greater extent not the quantitative side of migration, but the qualitative one (for example, the recruitment of qualified personnel, the return of qualified personnel to their homeland). IOM also provides assistance to refugees from Eastern Europe to Western Europe, and in the 1970s in Latin America, Africa, and Asia considered the problem of potential refugees. IOM recognizes the following as the main goals of international migration: recruitment; family reunification; getting an education; short tourist, family, business visits (up to 3 months); seeking political asylum (according to the Geneva Convention); the return of citizens to their homeland, to their ethnic roots; departure for permanent residence. IOM is the only organization with a global mandate; however, it is not part of the UN agencies, but closely cooperates with them. The Russian Federation has been an observer in the IOM since 1992. The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the UN deals with the protection of refugees, the implementation of durable solutions, primarily repatriation. The OECD Permanent Monitoring System for Migration (SOPEMI) coordinates the activities of national immigration offices. In Western Europe, activities related to ensuring and protecting the rights of migrant workers are carried out by Intergovernmental Committee on Migration (CIME). The documents developed by these international organizations are of greater importance in relation to national legislation, since the requirements of international conventions should be taken into account when formulating a policy in the field of external labor migration. International conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in December 1948, promulgate free choice of residence and work as fundamental human rights. The main idea of the ILO convention on migrant workers is the recognition by states that ratify this document of equality in relation to migrants, regardless of their nationality, race, religion, gender. The main centers of attraction for migrants. In practice, it is possible to single out certain geographical regions that are the places of the most massive attraction of foreign workers. These regions are called centers of attraction. At present, 8 world centers of labor force attraction have been formed and are functioning in the world. Allocate old, or traditional, centers of gravity, established in the XVIII-XIX centuries, and new ones. 3. Traditional centers of attraction for the labor force The traditional centers include the countries of Western Europe. There are 13 million migrants and their families here; USA. Since 1995, the annual access of immigrants to the United States has been set at 650 people. Australia employs approximately 200 foreign workers. Migrants from East and Southeast Asia, as well as from Eastern and Central Europe predominate. Since 1982, Australia has been pursuing a migration policy, on the basis of which, first of all, immigrants are accepted into the country who invest in the country's economy, for example, in the early 90s, 1,2 billion dollars flowed into the Australian economy; 9 thousand investors and 28 thousand members of their families received visas. 4. Non-traditional centers of attraction for the labor force Since the late 1960s and 70s, new non-traditional centers of attraction for the labor force began to appear. In these centers, there are high rates of economic growth, the development of the manufacturing industry, significant amounts of attracted foreign capital, up to the creation of branches of TNCs, and, accordingly, there is a high need for additional labor resources. These include: the countries of the Asia-Pacific region; oil-producing countries of the Middle East; countries of Latin America; African countries; Russia. Currently, the Russian Federation, which is experiencing a demographic crisis associated with a decrease in the birth rate and an increase in mortality, is forced to counter it by entering the world labor market and increasing the influx of immigrants into the country. In the future, Russia could export 1-1,5 million people abroad, receiving $10-20 billion annually. LECTURE No. 8. World market and international trade 1. General characteristics The emergence of a large machine industry determines the sharp growth of world foreign trade relations. More and more raw materials, fuel, materials, capacious commodity markets are necessary for industry. In the economy, due to the influence of the technological revolution, in the specialization and cooperation of industrial production of industrial countries, structural changes are taking place that enhance the interaction of national economies. Transnational corporations began to play a significant role in the world economy. They capture an increasing share of the world market, which accounts for an increasing part of the trade flows. The enterprises of the countries are now orienting the production of their goods not only to local and national markets, but also to world ones, they carry out large-scale, mass production, reducing costs and on constant capital. In order for international trade to be beneficial for all its participants, the most effective structure of exports and imports for each country must be developed. Such efficiency is determined primarily by an adequate system of world prices and international settlements. It can be noted that export-import operations dominate in international trade. The foreign trade turnover of a single country collects the sum of exports and imports. The value of exports on a global scale is comparable to the turnover of world trade. Export - this is the export of goods, services, technologies abroad in order to sell them on the foreign market. Exports are not only goods produced in the country, but also goods imported into the country and processed in it. A peculiar form of export is re-export, i.e., the export of previously imported goods that have not been processed in a given country. Import - this, on the contrary, is the import of goods, services, technologies for their sale on the domestic market and, in addition, for transit to third countries. The form of import is re-import - the volume of imports, including the return import from abroad of domestic goods that have not been processed. International trade can be represented as a form of relationship between commodity producers of different farms, which is established on the basis of the international division of labor. In other words, international trade is the total paid trade turnover between all the countries of the world. But the term "international trade" is also used in a more limited sense. This, for example, is the total trade turnover of developing countries, the total trade turnover of industrialized countries, the total trade turnover of countries in a region, etc. In foreign economic activity, each country pursues its own foreign trade policy, which is one of the components of the economic policy of the state. Foreign trade policy is mainly aimed at regulating and developing trade relations with other countries, groups of countries to assert the country's position in the world market, it solves a number of economic problems. The structure of foreign trade policy includes a strategy and tools for its implementation. The foreign trade policy of the state should take into account the trends in the formation of world trade, the situation in the domestic market of the country. As a result, it includes two trends: protectionism and liberalization. Protectionism is a policy aimed at protecting national producers in the domestic and foreign markets from foreign competition, and encouraging them. Liberalization is a policy, the essence of which is that countries implement the principle of free trade (states refuse to directly influence foreign trade). Such a policy is implemented in accordance with the international division of labor and the comparative advantages of the country. A variety of foreign trade activities are divided according to commodity specialization into: trade in finished products, trade in raw materials, trade in machinery and equipment, trade in services. In international practice, the following basic concepts are defined. Commodities - products of agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, or any minerals, the value of which depends only to a small extent on processing. Semi-finished products - products that require further processing or are included in other goods before they become an instrument of production or an object of consumption. Finished goods - all industrial products intended for consumption and use in the household, as well as capital equipment for industry, agriculture and transport, industrial non-durable goods used in industry as materials and fuels. Finished industrial non-durable goods intended for industry - goods with a useful life of 1 year or less. Finished durable goods - products with a consumption period of more than 1 year, intended for industry, public and private institutions, which are classified as capital equipment, except for weapons classified as goods n.e.c. Non-durable consumer goods (non-food) - goods with a consumption period of one year or less, including goods used by public and private institutions. Medium-term goods - goods with a useful life of 1 to 3 years and with a relatively low cost. Durable goods - goods with a useful life of more than 3 years, as well as goods with a useful life of 1 to 3 years, but with a high cost. World trade turnover is defined as the joint export of all countries of the world. The trade balance is the difference between the value of imports and exports. In the event that the ratio is formed in favor of exports, the trade balance is active, and the balance is positive. And if the value of imports exceeds the value of exports, then the trade balance is passive, and its balance is negative (with a "-" sign). The world market has developed by the beginning of the XXI century. This was the result of a long-term deployment of internationalization processes of economic life based on the aggravation of the international division of labor. The modern world market has developed in the process of long historical development on the basis of the domestic markets of some (mostly) leading states. The market relations of these countries gradually went beyond the national-state framework. World market - this is the field of activity of stable commodity-money relations in the general composition of the world economy, which are based on the deepening and development of the international division of labor and the process of interaction of factors of production between countries. The world market unites all national markets. In the world market there is a certain classification of goods: 1) by types of raw materials from which the goods are made; 2) according to the degree of processing of the goods; 3) according to the purpose of the goods; 4) according to the place of the goods in international trade. International organizations are trying to systematize and classify goods that are the subject of international trade. An example is the third edition of the UN Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), adopted in 1986. It determined the following classifications of the ten-digit coding system for goods: "the first digit of the code corresponds to the product section, the next two - to the product group, the next two - to the product subgroup according to the degree of processing of the goods, the three penultimate ones - to the heading according to the purpose of the goods, the last three - subheadings to the place of the goods in international trade". Markets for mineral commodities, markets for finished products, markets for agricultural and food products, and markets for international services are the most significant for world trade. In 2005, world trade developed at a rapid pace (Table 1), although compared to the previous year, they declined. For example, one can compare: if in 2004 the world exchange of goods in comparable prices increased by 10,3%, then in 2005 its growth was 7,0%. This figure is higher than the average annual growth of world trade predicted by the IMF for the decade 1997-2006. It is 6,6%. World trade in 2005 is growing at a faster rate than the GNP for the world as a whole (according to the IMF - 4,3%). Imports and exports of developing countries, at the same time, are growing at a faster pace than the foreign trade of developed countries. Table 1 World trade in goods and services (growth rate in %)  World trade at current prices in 2005, according to IMF experts, amounted to 12589 billion US dollars (in 2004 - 11 billion dollars), having increased in value by 150%. At the same time, international trade accounts for 80,6% (10153 billion US dollars), and trade in services amounted to 2436 billion US dollars. The growth rates of world prices for raw materials in 2005, as in previous years, significantly exceed the growth rates of prices for industrial products. For the period from January to August 2005, the price index for raw materials and foodstuffs in international trade, expressed in US dollars, amounted to 29%. At the same time, prices for energy products increased by 41%. The continuing rise in prices for oil and oil products - the average spot price (APSP) for oil increased by 44% and exceeded $65 in early September 2005 - is primarily due to increased demand and the expectation of insufficient supply of this energy resource on the world market . In such a situation, world prices for oil and oil products became extremely sensitive to short-term changes, which was, in particular, demonstrated by the impact of Hurricane Katrina, the consequences of which - damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico - caused a sharp jump in prices. Due to the continued high demand for oil on the world market and limited supply, many analysts, including IMF experts, have significantly changed their estimates and forecasts of liquid fuel price growth upwards. The IMF APSP estimate for 2005 is $54,23/bbl (up from $46,50 in the April forecast) and the projected average price for 2006 is $61,75/bbl ($43,75 respectively) . On the contrary, prices for other types of commodities (excluding energy) increased by only 9% over the first 2005 months of 5. In this group, prices for metals rose most significantly - by 9%, which was caused by an increase in world demand for them associated with the expansion of global economic activity. 2. Foreign economic relations of Russia In the first half of 2006, there was an improvement in the favorable situation on the world markets for Russia's main export commodities. This factor is the main one for accompanying high rates of increase in state budget revenues, as well as real incomes of the population, investments and many other indicators. Estimating in value terms the scale of Russia's foreign economic activity, it can be noted that they reached their maximum level in the post-reform period. Considering the methodology of the balance of payments, one can understand that the foreign trade turnover in the first half of 2006 exceeded $166,2 billion, which is 35% higher compared to January-June 2004. The export of goods increased by 39% (up to $112,0 billion compared to $80,5 billion), while the import of goods increased by 28% to $54,3 billion from $42,4 billion, respectively. Consequently, in the first half of 2006, the trade surplus continued to grow by 51%, and the volume of net exports of goods and services (51980 million dollars) exceeded by 60% the corresponding figure for the same period in 2005. The stabilization of the domestic foreign exchange market and the increase in the stability of the national currency were facilitated by a further increase in high prices for the main Russian export commodities. The country's gold and foreign exchange reserves increased by 21,7% - from $124,5 billion as of January 1, 2006 to $151,6 billion by July 1, 2006, in conditions of financial stability. The accumulated volume of gold and foreign exchange reserves would be enough to finance the import of goods and non-factorial services for 12,8 months compared to 11,5 months on January 1, 2006. An increase in the profitability of the fundamental export-oriented industries led to the expansion of investment activity. The increase in investments in fixed assets amounted to 9,4% in the first half of 2006 compared to 12,6% in the same period of 2005 and was higher than the increase in the production of goods and services during this period. The growth of capital investments was not accompanied by impressive shifts in the movement of structural restructuring of the true sector of the domestic economy (55,2% of all industrial investments in the fixed capital of large and medium-sized enterprises in the first half of 2005 were directed to the formation of three primary export industries - fuel, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy according to compared to 59,2% a year earlier) Capital investments for the purchase of imported equipment by Russian companies in January-June 2005 amounted to 22,4% of the total investment in machinery, equipment, tools and vehicles (23,5% in the first half of 2004 G.). The increase in investment demand of export-oriented industries contributed to the growth in the production of engineering products and building materials, as well as the growth in the volume of construction work. The impact of foreign economic factors on the state budget had a generally favorable outcome. Thus, for the reduction of customs tariffs, the total amount of collection of customs payments reached 859,6 billion rubles in the first half of 2005 against 524 billion rubles in January June 2004, amounting to 38,7% of all tax revenues to the federal budget. Contributions on external public debt increased in January-March 2005 by more than 38% (up to $7,97 billion compared to $5,76 billion in the same period of 2004). The external debt service ratio (the ratio of the volume of debt payments to the export of goods and services) practically did not change and amounted to 14,1% in January-March 2005 against 14,0% in the first quarter of 2004, and the balance between actual payments on the state external debt and consolidated budget revenues fell from 15,8% to 12,9%. The increase in the GDP of the Russian Federation (5,7% in the first half of 2006) occurred against the backdrop of an increase in the physical volume of exports of goods by 3,6%, while in January-June 2004 GDP grew by 7,6% with an increase in exports goods in physical terms by 5,5%. The reduction in the growth of the physical volume of exports initiates a slowdown in Russia's economic development, despite the high level of world prices for the main export commodities. There is no doubt that for further growth in the export of fuel and other raw materials, an impressive increase in capital investments in their production and transportation is necessary. The increase in production in the real sector in the first half of 2006 was mainly due to mechanical engineering - 11,5%, production of coke and petroleum products - 5,0%, and construction - 5,8%. However, at the same time, in many large export-oriented industries, it lagged behind the general industry (4,0%), - mainly in the fuel industry - 2,1%, the chemical industry - 2,3%, in metallurgy - 1,9% , in the forestry, woodworking and pulp and paper industries - 3,4%. As a result, the export of goods according to the balance of payments methodology rose to $112,0 billion from $80,5 billion. At the same time, the tendency of the country's one-sided dependence on the export of oil, oil products and natural gas is increasing. Their share in the total export of goods reached 59,6% against 55,2% in the first half of 2005. As of July 01.07.06, 100,2, the external debt of the government, including the monetary authorities, was estimated at $105,6 billion (against $01.01.05 billion as of January 43,5, 89,7), or 95,7% of the total external debt of the Russian Federation . The federal government's debt was $1.01.05 billion against $6,9 billion as of January 42,8, XNUMX. XNUMX% of the Russian government's foreign liabilities are owed by the former USSR, including XNUMX% by its debts to the Paris Club. In conclusion, consideration of this issue, it can be noted that for Russia, along with trade, one of the main forms of world economic relations is the international movement of capital. Since the 1990s Russia is actively pursuing a policy of extensive cooperation in the international financial sphere, attracting and using external resources. The use of foreign investment is an impartial need, due to the system of participation of the country's economy in MRI and the flow of capital into free business sectors. As practice confirms, the world economy cannot effectively develop on a global scale without the overflow of capital, without its steady migration. This is an objective necessity and one of the most important distinguishing features of the modern world economy. Russia has set itself the goal of integrating into the world market. However, there is "non-bias" in the processes of imports into Russia and exports of capital from Russia. Russia, like other countries, considers foreign investment as factors: 1) forcing economic and technical progress; 2) "refreshment" and modernization of the apparatus of production; 3) the assimilation of advanced methods of organizing production; 4) training of personnel that meet the requirements of the economic market. According to the American company Ernst & Young, in the first 5-7 years the Russian economy needs to attract $200-300 billion to normalize. Russia will need about 100-140 billion dollars. Only for one fuel and energy complex in order to overcome the crisis. In order to replace the active part of production assets with modernized ones, it is necessary to attract 15-18 billion dollars annually. According to some Russian experts, at present Russia will have to rely on a more modest amount of foreign capital, about $10 billion. It is necessary to note the forms in which capital participates in Russia. Foreign capital in Russia is dominated by: 1) in state form; 2) in private form; 3) in mixed form; 4) as capital of international organizations. Foreign investments enter the Russian economy as direct private investments and in the form of loans (as loan capital). LECTURE No. 9. International movement of capital 1. The essence and forms of the international movement of capital international capital migration can be defined as the movement of value in monetary and (or) commodity form from one country in order to obtain a higher profit in the capital-importing country. Otherwise, it can be expressed as a counter movement of capital between countries, bringing their owners the corresponding income. The movement of capital differs significantly from the movement of goods. Foreign trade is reduced to the exchange of goods as use values. The export of capital is the process of withdrawing part of the capital from the national circulation in a given country and moving it in commodity or monetary form into the production process and circulation of another country. At first, the export of capital was peculiar to a small number of industrialized countries. Now the process of export of capital is becoming a function of any successfully developing country. Capital is exported by the leading countries, and the middle-developed countries, and developing ones. Especially NIS. The reason for the export of capital is the relative excess of capital in a given country, its overaccumulation. The most important of them are: 1) the discrepancy between the demand for capital and its supply in various parts of the world economy; 2) the possibility of developing local commodity markets; 3) the presence in the countries where the capital is exported, cheaper raw materials and labor; 4) stable political environment and generally favorable investment climate in the host country, preferential investment regime in special economic zones; 5) lower environmental standards in the host country than in the capital donor country; 6) the desire to penetrate in a roundabout way into the markets of third countries that have established high tariff or non-tariff restrictions on the products of one or another international corporation. Factors contributing to the export of capital and stimulating it: 1) the growing interconnection and interconnection of national economies; 2) international industrial cooperation; 3) the economic policy of industrialized countries, which seek to give a significant impetus to their economic development by attracting foreign capital; 4) important stimulators are international financial organizations that direct and regulate the flow of capital; 5) an international agreement on the avoidance of double taxation of income and capital between countries promotes the development of trade, scientific and technical cooperation. The subjects of the movement of capital in the world economy and the sources of its origin are: 1) private commercial structures; 2) state, international economic and financial organizations. The movement of capital, its use is carried out in the following forms: 1) direct investments in industrial, trade and other enterprises; 2) portfolio investments; 3) medium-term and long-term international loans of loan capital to industrial and commercial corporations, banks and other financial institutions; 4) economic assistance; 5) free (soft) loans. In world practice, the movement of capital differs significantly from foreign investment. Movement of capital contains: payment receipts for transactions with foreign partners, provision of loans, etc. Under foreign investment is understood as the movement of capital, pursuing the goal of establishing control and participation in the management of a company in the country receiving the capital. The main forms of direct investment are: 1) opening enterprises abroad, including the creation of subsidiaries or the opening of branches; 2) creation of joint ventures on a contract basis; 3) creation of joint developments of natural resources; 4) purchase or annexation (privatization) of enterprises of the country receiving foreign capital. The international movement of capital occupies a leading place in the International Economic Relations, has a huge impact on the world economy: 1) contributes to the growth of the world economy; 2) deepens the international division of labor and international cooperation; 3) increases the volume of mutual trade between countries, including intermediate products, between branches of international corporations, stimulating the development of world trade. The consequence for countries exporting capital is the export of capital abroad without adequate attraction of foreign investment, which leads to a slowdown in the economic development of the exporting countries. The export of capital negatively affects the level of employment in the exporting country, and the movement of capital abroad adversely affects the country's balance of payments. For countries that import capital, the positive consequences can be the following: 1) regulated import of capital (contributes to the economic growth of the recipient country of capital); 2) attracted capital (creates new jobs); 3) foreign capital (brings new technologies); 4) effective management (contributes to the acceleration of scientific and technological progress in the country); 5) capital inflow (helps to improve the balance of payments of the recipient country). There are also negative consequences of attracting foreign capital: 1) the influx of foreign capital displaces local capital or takes advantage of its inactivity and forces it out of profitable industries; 2) uncontrolled import of capital may be accompanied by environmental pollution; 3) the import of capital is often associated with the pushing into the market of the recipient country of goods that have already passed their life cycle, as well as discontinued due to identified poor quality properties; 4) the import of loan capital leads to an increase in the country's external debt; 5) the use of transfer prices by international corporations leads to losses of the recipient country in tax revenues and customs fees. Macro level of capital flow - interstate transfer of capital. Statistically, it is reflected in the balance of payments of countries. Micro level of capital movement - the movement of capital within international companies through intra-corporate channels. 2. World capital market. Concept. Essence Financial resources of the world is a set of financial resources of all countries, international organizations and international financial centers of the world. Financial resources are only those that are used in international economic relations, i.e. relations between residents and non-residents. The global financial market is a set of financial and credit organizations that, as intermediaries, redistribute financial assets between creditors and borrowers, sellers and buyers of financial resources. If the global financial market is considered from a functional point of view, then it can be divided into such markets as foreign exchange, derivatives, insurance services, shares, credit, and these markets, in turn, are divided into even narrower ones, such as the credit market - to the market of long-term securities and the market of bank loans. Often all transactions with financial assets in the form of securities are combined into the stock market as a market for all securities, but more often it means only the stock market. According to the terms of circulation of financial assets, the global financial market can be divided into two parts: the money market (short-term) and the capital market (long-term). The short-term nature of a significant part of the global financial market makes it subject to the inflow and outflow of funds. Moreover, there are financial assets that are aimed at staying in the money market with only one goal - to maximize profits, including through targeted speculative operations in the money market. Such funds are often referred to as "hot money". During a financial boom, they are especially actively flowing between financial centers, as well as between these centers and the periphery, and during periods of financial crises and on the eve of them, they quickly return back. The boundaries between different segments of the global financial market are not clear, and it is possible to reorient an impressive part of the world's financial resources from one part of it to another without much difficulty. As a result, for example, the relationship between exchange rates (determined primarily by the situation in the foreign exchange market), bank interest (determined by the situation in the debt securities market) and stock prices in different countries of the world increases. All this leads to the fact that the financial market of the world is unstable. Many economists believe that this instability is increasing. The globalization of financial resources is growing, and shocks in some financial markets are increasingly affecting the financial markets of other countries. 3. Euros and dollars (Eurodollars) The world market for bank loans in most cases is based on financial resources that came from one country to the banks of other countries. International economic relations serve exclusively the market and therefore have lost their national identity. These are mainly funds in dollars and European currency, which are on deposits, mainly in Europe. For this reason, they are also called Eurocurrency or after the name of the main currency of such financial assets - Eurodollars. However, a significant amount of these foreign exchange resources that have lost their nationality circulates in financial centers not only in Europe, but also in other regions of the world. Eurodollars also include those 40-60 billion dollars circulating in Russia (and banks or in the hands of the population and entrepreneurs). In other words, Eurodollars are deposits in one currency or another located outside their countries of origin. The scale of the Eurodollar market is close to 10 trillion, it turns out that US dollars make up about 2/3 of this value. The segment of the bank loan market in which eurodollars are operated is called the euromarket (eurodollar market), and active creditors in this market are called eurobanks, loans taken on it are called euroloans, securities issued on this market are called eurobonds (eurobonds, euronotes), etc. d. The main reasons for the emergence and rapid growth of the Eurodollar market are as follows: 1) some owners of funds prefer to keep them abroad and in the most reliable currencies of the world, mainly because of the political, social and economic instability of their countries, the illegality of the origin of their funds, and also the intention to avoid high national taxes; 2) the concentration of large financial resources in key currencies makes it possible to quickly and without fear transfer huge funds to various parts of the world. Eurocurrency - this is a currency that is placed in one of the European countries, but at the same time is not the national currency of this country. For example, dollars deposited in a Swiss bank are called Eurodollars; yen deposited in Germany are called euro yen, and so on. Eurocurrencies are used to secure loans and borrowings, and the Eurocurrency market often provides an opportunity to acquire a cheap and convenient form of liquidity to finance international trade and foreign investment. Commercial banks, large companies and central banks are the main borrowers and lenders. By attracting funds in the euro currency, it is possible to achieve more favorable conditions and interest rates, and sometimes - to avoid national regulation and taxation. Most of the deposits and loans are short-term, however, the growth of the Eurocurrency has resulted in medium-term loans, especially in the form of Eurobonds. To a certain extent, the eurocurrency market has replaced the syndicated loan capital market, where banks, seeking to share the risk, united in groups to carry out credit operations. 1950 - the period of the emergence of the European market. 4. Main participants of the global financial market The main participants in the global financial market are transnational banks, transnational companies and the so-called institutional investors. But a significant role is played by government agencies and international organizations that place or provide their loans abroad. Individuals also operate on world capital markets, but mostly indirectly, mainly through institutional investors. Institutional investors include such financial institutions as pension funds and insurance companies (due to the significant amount of temporarily free funds, they are very active in buying securities), as well as investment funds, especially mutual funds. The value of the assets of institutional investors is evidenced by the fact that in the United States it significantly exceeds the value of the entire GDP (approaching the value of the total GDP). The vast majority of these assets are invested in various securities, including those of foreign origin. One of the main institutional investors in the world are joint (mutual) funds, especially American ones. By accumulating contributions from their shareholders, mostly middle-class individuals, such funds in the United States have reached colossal proportions. By the beginning of 1998, the estimated value of assets was close to $4 trillion, and about half of this amount was placed in shares, including foreign companies. The rapid growth of joint funds is due to the transition of small depositors from keeping their savings mainly in a bank to placing them in a more profitable financial institution - a joint fund. The latter also combines the advantages of a savings bank and investment banks (investment companies), which invest their clients' funds in a variety of securities. Some investment funds have been created to work with foreign securities in general or with securities of certain countries and regions of the world. 5. World financial centers The most active flow of financial resources is carried out in world financial centers. These include those places in the world where trading in financial assets between residents of different countries is especially large. This is in America - New York and Chicago; in Europe - London, Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich, Geneva, Luxembourg; in Asia - Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bahrain. In the future, the current regional centers - Cape Town, São Paulo, Shanghai, etc., may also become world financial centers. Some offshore centers have already turned into world financial centers, primarily in the Caribbean Sea - Panama, Bermuda, Bahamas, Cayman, Antilles, etc.). The bulk of the assets of the world financial market is concentrated in the world financial centers. This is not only the capital of the country where the financial center is based, but also the capital attracted here from other regions of the world. This is especially true for those financial centers located in small countries. Having often lost its national coloring, this cosmopolitan capital considers international financial centers "its home". From here, in the years of a favorable world economic situation, it rushes not only to the countries where such centers are based, but also to the periphery of the world financial market. 6. International credit. Essence, main functions and forms of international credit International credit - the movement of loan capital in the field of international economic relations, associated with the provision of foreign exchange and commodity resources on the terms of repayment, urgency and payment of interest. Principles of international credit: 1) return; 2) urgency; 3) payment; 4) material security; 5) target character. The principles of international credit express its connection with the economic laws of the market and are used to achieve the current and strategic objectives of market entities and the state. The functions of international credit recreate the features of the movement of loan capital in the field of world economic relations. Firstly, this is the redistribution of loan capital between countries to meet the needs of expanded reproduction. Thus, the credit helps to equalize the national profit in the average profit and increase its mass. Secondly, it is the saving of circulation costs in the field of international settlements by replacing real money with credit, as well as by developing and accelerating non-cash payments, replacing cash foreign exchange turnover with international credit operations. Thirdly, it is forcing the concentration and centralization of capital. The role of the functions of international credit is heterogeneous and changes with the development of the national and world economy. In modern conditions, international credit performs the function of regulating the economy and is itself an object of regulation. International credit contributes to the acceleration of the reproduction process in the following areas: 1) the loan stimulates the foreign economic activity of the country. International credit serves as a means of increasing the competitiveness of firms in the creditor country; 2) international credit creates favorable conditions for foreign private investment, since. usually associated with the requirement to provide incentives to investors of the creditor country; 3) the loan ensures the continuity of international settlement and currency transactions serving the country's foreign economic relations; 4) credit increases the economic efficiency of foreign trade and other types of foreign economic activity of the country. International credit activates the overproduction of goods, redistributing loan capital between countries and contributing to the spasmodic expansion of production during periods of growth, increases the disproportions in social reproduction, facilitating the formation of the most profitable industries and delaying the development of industries in which foreign capital is attracted. The credit policy of the countries is intended as a means of strengthening the position of the creditor country in the world market. LECTURE No. 10. The potential of the world economy 1. Natural resource potential of the world economy. Essence On economic resources - natural, labor, capital - national economies and the entire world economy function. Economic resources in their totality form the potential of the national economy, a region of the world or the entire world economy. The natural resource potential of the world economy is diverse. It contains energy, land and soil, water, forest, biological (flora and fauna), mineral (minerals), climatic and recreational resources. All natural resources are a necessary condition for economic development. The influence of the natural resource factor on the economy of developed countries is noticeably weakening. Achievements of scientific and technical progress lead to this. All natural resources are interconnected. Thus, land resources (agricultural lands), as a rule, give a greater volume of production, if they are processed by machinery driven by fuel (mineral resources), as well as using artificial fertilizers (made on the basis of also mineral resources). Most often, natural resources are identified with mineral resources (such minerals as coal, oil, natural gas, metal ores, non-metal raw materials - phosphates, potassium salts, asbestos, etc.). 2. Land resources The share of land accounts for 149 million km² of the total surface area of the Earth - 510 million km². The rest is occupied by the seas and oceans. The land area minus the icy deserts of the Arctic and Antarctic, i.e. the total area of the world's land fund is 134 million km². The World Land Fund in the structure: 1) 11% is cultivated land (arable land, orchards, vineyards); 2) 23% - to meadows and pastures; 3) 30% - for forests; 4) 3% - for anthropogenic landscapes (settlements, industrial zones, transport lines); 5) 33% - on unproductive lands (deserts, swamps and extreme areas with low temperatures or in the mountains). Farmland are lands that are used for food production, including arable land, perennial plantations (gardens, plantations), natural meadows and pastures. At the moment, the total area of agricultural land is 48,1 million km² (4810 million hectares), including arable land (cultivated land) - 1340 million hectares, meadows and pastures - 3365 million hectares. The USA (185 million ha), India (160), Russia (134), China (95), Canada (46), Kazakhstan (36), Ukraine (34) stand out for the largest arable land. The share of cultivated land in the total land fund is (%): 1) in India - 57,1; 2) in Poland - 46,9; 3) in Italy - 40,3; 4) in France - 35,3; 5) in Germany - 33,9; 6) in the USA - 19,6; 7) in China and Russia - 7,8; 8) in Australia - 6; 9) in Canada - 4,9; 10) in Egypt - 2,8. In these countries, as well as in the world as a whole, there are very few reserves for agricultural development: forests and unproductive lands. In addition, in many countries, agricultural land is rapidly declining, as it is allocated for construction, etc. It can be noted that in recent decades there has been an expansion of agricultural land due to the development of virgin lands in Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and Canada. In the world there is a deterioration, or degradation, of lands. Every year, about 6-7 million hectares are taken out due to erosion. Waterlogging and salinization are throwing another 1,5 million hectares out of land use. A particular threat to the land fund in 60 countries of the world is caused by desertification, primarily of cultivated lands, covering an area of 9 million kmXNUMX. This roughly corresponds to the area of countries such as the United States or China. The transformation of lands into anthropogenic landscapes also causes degradation. 3. Water resources The total water reserve on Earth is 1386 million km³, 96,5% of the planet's water resources are in the salt waters of the oceans, 1% in salty groundwater. And only 2,5% of the total volume of the hydrosphere is for fresh water. If we exclude from the calculation molar ices, which are still practically not used, then only 0,3% of the total amount of water on earth remains at the disposal of mankind. In recent years, as a result of resource conservation measures, the growth of water consumption in the world has slowed down, and the total water withdrawal in 2006 should be 4780 km³. Only in the USA about 550 km³ of fresh water is used annually, and in Russia - about 100 km³. Rivers remain the main source of fresh water, with an annual resource of 47 km³, and less than half of this amount can actually be used. Thus, the volume of world water consumption has approached ¼ of the planet's water resources that can be used. In the United States, water consumption reaches almost 30% of the average annual surface runoff of rivers (with 20% of water needs covered by groundwater), and in Russia - about 2,5% of river runoff. Agriculture (69%) is the main consumer of water in the world economy. Then come industry (21%) and utilities (6%). In Russia, the structure of water consumption differs markedly from the world average. The first place is occupied by industry - 55% of total consumption, the second - by agriculture, including irrigation - 20%, and the third - utilities - 19%. The differences between the Russian structure of water consumption and the global average are due to the rather significant weight in the Russian industry of industries characterized by increased water consumption (metallurgical, chemical, pulp and paper); a relatively small share of irrigated land; wasteful consumption of water in the home. In global agriculture, there is a significant upward trend in demand for water. The level of use of water resources for the needs of industry, agriculture and everyday life is from the total volume of water resources (%): 1) in Egypt - 97,1; 2) in Israel - 84; 3) in Ukraine - 40; 4) in Italy - 33,7; 5) in Germany - 27,1; 6) in Poland - 21,9; 7) in the USA - 18,9; 8) in Turkey - 17,3; 9) in Russia - 2,7. The main reserves for increasing the efficiency of water resources use: 1) reducing water consumption primarily through the introduction of water-saving technologies and recycling water supply (circulating water is such a water supply when water taken from a natural source is reused without being discharged into a reservoir or sewer); 2) elimination of water losses during its transportation due to leaks, evaporation, etc.; 3) elimination of irrational consumption of water in everyday life. 4. Forest resources Forest cover, forest area and growing stock are indicators of the world's forest resources. The forest area indicator reflects the size of the area covered by forests, including per capita. Forest cover is the ratio of forest area to the total area of the country. Standing timber stock is usually determined by multiplying the average amount of timber (in cubic meters) per m² by the area covered by forests. Forested areas around the world reach 1 million km² (including the area with forests suitable for exploitation is 40,1-25 million km²), Russia - 28, Brazil - 8,1, Canada - 3,2, USA - 2,6 million km². Over the past 200 years, the area of forests on earth has almost halved. Russia holds the first place in the world in terms of wood reserves - 23% of world reserves. The main reserves of standing wood in all forests of the world are 340-370 billion m³. The annual current growth of timber, which determines the possibilities of exploiting forests without undermining their reproduction, ranges from 3,6 to 5,5 billion m³. However, in accessible developed forests it is only 1,8 billion m³. It turns out that the volume of harvesting has approached the annual increase in wood. The development of logging depends not only on the available timber resources, but also on the quality and skill of forest management. It seems that timber resources in Russia, North America, Northern Europe and South America are huge, and extensive exploitation of forest resources is possible. But at present this is not the case. They are close to exhaustion. Therefore, in order to meet both the needs of the economy and the requirements for nature protection, it is necessary to switch to resource-saving technologies in the forest complex of the world economy. 5. Labor resources of the world economy. Essence. Population. Economically active population. Employment issues At present, the labor force in Russia includes people of working age (women from 15 to 54 years old, men from 15 to 59 years old inclusive) and working people of retirement age, with the exception of the disabled population (disabled people). Due to the demographic aging of the Russian population from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. there was a tendency to reduce the proportion of the population younger than working age and increase the proportion of the population of retirement age. In Russia, there is a noticeable decrease in the total number and share of the population younger than working age, stabilization of the share of the population of retirement age and a slight increase in the share of the working age population. This is due to the low birth rate in the 1990s, the entry into working age of a relatively large generation born in the late 1970s-1980s, as well as the retirement of a small generation of "children of war". An important role is also played by the migration of the Russian and Russian-speaking population from the CIS and Baltic countries, a significant part of which falls on the able-bodied age groups. The level of education of the able-bodied population of Russia is high: in the main working ages (from 25 to 50 years) in the mid-1990s. more than 50% had higher, incomplete higher and secondary specialized education. In connection with what happened in the 1990s. changes in the sectoral structure of the Russian economy, there have been significant shifts in the distribution of the employed population: 1) the share of the employed population in industry, construction, and science has decreased; 2) the share of the employed population in trade, public catering, crediting, finance and insurance, etc. has increased; 3) in service industries. LECTURE No. 11. International currency relations 1. World monetary system. Her essence In the process of historical development and intensification of world economic relations, the modern structure of the world economy and international economic relations has been formed. From about the second half of the XNUMXth century, when an increasing number of banks began to be involved in international trade and investment, a more formal mechanism for regulating international monetary relations and the imbalance of payments between countries was required to continue industrial development in Europe and the United States. It was during this period that the concept of the world monetary system was born and officially took shape. Traditionally, the world monetary system is understood as the historically established form of organization and regulation of international monetary relations, enshrined in national legislation or interstate agreements. Thus, the international monetary system is a form of organization of monetary relations that can both function independently and serve the international exchange of goods, services and factors of production. After a series of financial crises in Latin American, Asian and Russian emerging markets, the focus has shifted towards international financial relations and the set of rules and agreements that govern international financial flows. The fact is that over the years there has been a shift from public to private capital. Paying attention to the fact that a huge number of small investors, and not a limited number of investment banks, are currently involved in international private financial transactions, huge flows of international private capital make the task of managing and regulating only currency relations very difficult, almost impossible. Therefore, when considering the world monetary system, one should not be limited to the actual currency relations between countries, it is necessary to take into account various aspects of financial cooperation. The world monetary system appeared in the process of the historical formation of the national monetary systems of individual states of the world as economic ties between them developed and strengthened. Together with national currency systems and the world currency system, there are also regional currency systems, that is, stable systems of monetary and financial relations between groups of countries operating within the framework of a single world currency system. National currency systems, although relatively autonomous, are still part of the national monetary systems of various countries. The main features of national monetary systems and the degree of their interaction with the world monetary system are determined by the level of development of the economies of these countries and the vastness of their foreign economic relations. The world monetary system, for all its close relationship with national currency systems, has more global goals of maintaining relative stability in the world monetary and financial markets, and also differs in features in the mechanism of functioning and regulation. The specificity of the world monetary system is manifested in its elements. The world monetary system as a set of methods, tools and interstate bodies that regulate the implementation of monetary and financial relations within the world economy, includes three groups of elements: 1) currency elements - foreign currencies, international monetary units, international currency liquidity, conditions for mutual convertibility of currencies and regulation of exchange rate regimes, currency parities and currency restrictions, interstate regulation of currency markets; 2) financial elements - world financial markets and regulation of the circulation of specific types of financial instruments in the world money markets, capital and credit markets; 3) organizational elements - international organizations whose tasks include the implementation of interstate regulation of the currency and financial aspects of the functioning of the world monetary system. Currency elements have a number of features that economic entities do not encounter at the level of the national economy. In addition, currency elements are of a priority nature for the functioning of the world monetary system. As a result, the main components of the world monetary system (hereinafter referred to as MVS) were formed: 1) functional forms of world money (leading freely convertible currencies, in an emergency - gold); 2) regulation of the conditions of currency convertibility; 3) unification of the regime of currency parities and exchange rates; 4) regulation of the volume of currency restrictions (the requirement of the IMF for member countries to cancel restrictions on operations with currency values in a certain period); 5) regulation of the composition of the components of international monetary liquidity (for example, since 1970, the IMF introduced into circulation a new international currency unit - the SDR, since 1979 the European Monetary Cooperation Fund - the European currency unit - ecu, which since January 1999 has been replaced by a single collective currency - euro); 6) unification of the rules for the use of international credit instruments of circulation (bills, checks, etc.) and forms of international payments; 7) regimes of world currency markets and gold markets; 8) the status of the institution of interstate regulation. 2. Basic concepts of the world monetary system: currency, exchange rate, currency parities, currency convertibility, currency markets, currency exchanges Currency - the country's currency. An important element of international monetary relations is the exchange rate. It is considered as a measure of the cost content of currencies, which is the ratio between the monetary units of different countries and is determined by their purchasing power and a number of other factors. The exchange rate is necessary for international currency, settlement, credit and financial transactions. For example, an exporter exchanges the proceeds of foreign currency for national currency, since under normal conditions, the currencies of other countries do not circulate on the territory of this state. The importer, on the other hand, acquires foreign currency to pay for goods purchased abroad. Exchange rate - is the "price" of the monetary unit of a given country, expressed in foreign currency or international currency units. It is a technical conversion factor. The average national levels of prices for goods, services, investments are expressed by purchasing power, which is the cost basis of exchange rates. The factors affecting the exchange rate include the following: the state of the economy (macroeconomic indicators, inflation rate, interest rates, activity of foreign exchange markets, currency speculation, foreign exchange policy, balance of payments, international capital migration, the degree of use of the national currency in international settlements, acceleration or delay in international settlements), the political situation in the country, the degree of confidence in the currency in the national and world markets. There are the following types of currencies: 1) base currency - serving in a given country as the basis for quoting others. currencies; 2) a closed, non-convertible currency - used within one country; 3) convertible, reversible currency - freely exchangeable for any other currency; 4) soft currency - unstable in relation to its own face value and to the exchange rates of another currency); 5) national currency - issued by a given state (the Central Bank of the state) and circulating primarily on the territory of the country; 6) currency of payment - the currency in which goods are paid for in a foreign trade operation. If it does not match the transaction currency, the conversion rate is used to convert the transaction currency into the payment currency; 7) transaction currency - the currency in which the price of goods is set in a foreign trade contract or in which the amount of the granted foreign credit is expressed; 8) hard currency, strong - a stable currency with a stable exchange rate; 9) currency of the price - the monetary unit in which the price of the goods is expressed in the contract. Currency parities - the balance between currencies, established by law and at the intergovernmental level. Until 1978, the currency parity was determined by the gold content of currencies, then, according to the IMF Charter, on the basis of the SDR, in 1979 the European Monetary Union began to operate, fixing the obligations of the EEC member countries to maintain the currency parity of national currencies within the established limits and not allow mutual deviations of market exchange rates of national currencies from the agreed borders. Currency Convertibility - free exchange in the process of foreign economic activity of national banknotes for foreign monetary units in accordance with the official exchange rate. The legally fixed convertibility of the national currency is the ability to exchange it for foreign currencies (and vice versa) for everyone. Accordingly, without direct state intervention in the exchange process. The convertibility of the monetary unit is an important factor in the country's effective participation in the international division of labor, world trade and settlements. Currency Convertibility - this is the ability of a currency to perform the functions of a means of payment in any country. In 1986, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) classified the US dollar as such a currency. More than 150 countries are currently members of the IMF. And only ten of the most developed countries in the world have fully convertible currencies - these are the USA, Canada, Japan and a number of European countries. About 50 states have a currency with limited convertibility. Since 1976, the IMF has introduced an additional special concept of "freely usable currency", which includes fully convertible currencies actually used in international currency transactions, operations of international currency markets and accumulated in the foreign exchange reserves of countries around the world. Currency markets - the sphere of economic relations, where operations are carried out for the purchase, sale and exchange of foreign currency and payment documents denominated in foreign currencies. Initially, the foreign exchange market played an auxiliary role in relation to the markets for goods and capital. It served the international movement of capital and goods. However, since the 1970s the foreign exchange market has acquired independent significance as a special area of capital investment. In institutional terms, the foreign exchange market is a collection of commercial banks and other financial institutions linked to each other by a complex network of communication tools. The foreign exchange market is not a specific gathering place for sellers and buyers of currencies. The transaction time ranges from several tens of seconds to 2-3 minutes; as a rule, 2 working banking days are spent on bank account transactions. This form of organization of currency trading is called the interbank foreign exchange market. The main part of transactions in the foreign exchange market is carried out in a non-cash form, on current and urgent bank accounts, and only a small part of the market is accounted for by trading in banknotes and cash exchange. Transactions in the foreign exchange market have two forms: cash (spot) and urgent (forward). A cash transaction is carried out at the current exchange rate, executed immediately (in 2 business banking days). It is used to immediately receive currency for foreign trade settlements or to avoid possible currency losses from exchange rate changes. A futures currency transaction is used to insure payments, investments abroad, and also for the purpose of making a profit from currency transactions (currency options, currency arbitrage). Currency Exchanges - legal entities organized in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. The organization of exchange trading in foreign currency in the manner and on the terms established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is one of the types of activities. 3. Formation and development of the MVS The world monetary system appeared in the 4th century and went through XNUMX stages of evolution: 1) "Gold Standard" or the Paris Monetary System since 1867; 2) Genoese monetary system since 1922; 3) the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates since 1944; 4) Jamaican floating exchange rate system since 1976 The axial stages of the evolution of the world monetary system are presented in Table 2. Table 2. The main stages of the evolution of the world monetary system  4. Balance of payments. The structure of the balance of payments. Disequilibrium of the balance of payments, causes and problems of settlement Payment balance - the balance sheet of a country's international operations in the form of a ratio of foreign exchange receipts from abroad and payments made by this country to other countries. The balance of payments are compiled according to the IMF methodology and include not only receipts and payments that are actually realized or must be made immediately, but also future payments for international claims and obligations, i.e., elements of the estimated balance. The estimated balance - the ratio of foreign exchange requirements and obligations of a given country to other countries - is practically not compiled, with the exception of some analytical studies, since with the modern accounting system it is difficult to separate actually made payments from future ones. However, in addition to the balance of payments, a balance sheet of the country's international assets and liabilities is drawn up, which characterizes its international monetary and financial positions. They differ: the balance of payments for a certain date (in the form of a daily changing ratio of receipts and payments) and the balance for a certain period (based on statistical indicators of transactions, for example, for a month, quarter, year). The balance of payments includes two main sections: 1) current transactions (trade balance - the ratio between exports and imports of goods; the balance of "invisible" transactions, including services and non-commercial payments); 2) transactions with capital and financial instruments (shows the import and export of public and private capital, the receipt and provision of international loans). The balance of payments occupies a significant place in the system of macroeconomic indicators. When determining GDP and national income, the net balance of international claims and liabilities is taken into account. The principle of double entry. The balance of payments table is based on the principle of double entry. It means that any foreign economic operation is reflected in it twice: the first entry defines the operation itself, and the second shows the financing of the operation. Since the balance of payments is always balanced from the accounting position, both entries have the same value expression, but one is carried out with a positive sign - on the credit side of the balance sheet, and the other - with a negative sign - on the debit side. To determine which side to attribute a particular foreign economic transaction to - credit (with "+") or debit (with "-"), you can follow the following rules: 1) the credit of the balance of payments reflects a potential source of foreign currency for the country and corresponds to the concept of "receipts", the debit reflects the expenditure of the currency and corresponds to the concept of "payments"; 2) credit of the balance of payments means the outflow of material resources from the country, debit - their inflow; 3) the credit of the balance of payments shows a decrease in international claims or an increase in the country's international obligations, a debit - an increase in claims or a decrease in obligations. It follows that the export of goods and services, the receipt of income on foreign investment, the receipt of foreign credits and loans, the implementation by non-residents of direct investment in a given country - all this is recorded on a loan. The import of goods and services, the transfer of income of foreign investors abroad, the provision of loans to foreign borrowers, the implementation of investment activities by residents abroad - all this is recorded in debit. The decisive method of covering the passive balance of payments is the use of the country's official gold and foreign exchange reserves. An auxiliary means of covering the passive balance of payments is the sale of foreign and national securities abroad. Official development assistance in the form of subsidies, gifts, and loans is also carried out in this way. The state of the country's balance of payments depends on the rate of economic growth, inflation, exchange rate dynamics, the country's place in the world economy, world market conditions, the political situation, and emergency circumstances. In turn, the state of the balance of payments affects the dynamics of the exchange rate, gold and foreign exchange reserves, foreign debt, and the monetary and economic situation of the country as a whole. In this regard, the balance of payments is the object of not only market, but also state regulation. The balance of payments has a direct and inverse relationship with reproduction. It not only develops under the influence of the processes taking place in reproduction, but also affects the exchange rate ratios of currencies, gold and foreign exchange reserves, the foreign exchange position, external debt, the direction of economic, including monetary, policy, the state of the world monetary system. With the help of the balance of payments, one can get an idea of the country's participation in the world economy, the scale, structure and nature of its foreign economic relations. It also reflects the structural dispositions of the economy, which determine the different export opportunities and import needs of goods, capital and services; changes in the ratio of market and state regulation of the economy and market factors (the degree of international competition, inflation, changes in the exchange rate, etc.). The state of the balance of payments is affected by a number of factors: 1) uneven economic and political development of countries, international competition; 2) cyclical fluctuations in the economy; 3) the growth of foreign government spending. A heavy burden on the balance of payments is external government spending, which pursues a variety of economic and political goals; 4) militarization of the economy and military spending; 5) strengthening of international financial interdependence; 6) changes in international trade. Scientific and technological revolution, the growth of the intensification of the economy, the transition to a new energy base cause structural shifts in international economic relations. Trade in finished products, including science-intensive goods, as well as oil and energy resources, has become more intensive; 7) the impact of monetary and financial factors on the balance of payments; 8) the negative impact of inflation on the balance of payments; 9) emergency circumstances - crop failure, natural disasters, catastrophes - etc. negatively affect the balance of payments. Methods of regulating the balance of payments Balance of payments is characterized by imbalance, manifested in long and large deficits in some countries and excessive surpluses in others. The balance of payments is one of the objects of state regulation. The set of economic measures of the state, which are aimed at the formation of the main items of the balance of payments, as well as to cover the existing balance, is the state regulation of the balance of payments. The state has at its disposal a diverse set of means of regulating the balance of payments, aimed either at stimulating or restricting foreign economic operations, depending on the monetary and economic situation and the state of the country's international settlements. Countries experiencing a deficit in the balance of payments seek to implement measures to stimulate exports, curb imports, attract foreign and limit the export of national capital. These activities include: 1) limiting inflation in order to reduce domestic demand by reducing the budget deficit, changing the discount rate, setting limits for the growth of the money supply; 2) devaluation of the national currency. The effectiveness of this method in increasing the competitiveness of national goods in foreign markets depends on the specific conditions for its implementation and the accompanying general economic and financial policies. Devaluation stimulates exports only if the country has an export potential and if the situation on the world market is favorable; 3) currency restrictions in the form of blocking foreign exchange earnings of exporters, licensing the sale of foreign currency to importers, concentrating foreign exchange transactions in authorized banks; 4) manipulation of the discount rate; 5) customs and tariff regulation of export-import operations; 6) special measures of influence on the formation of the main components of the balance of payments. Formally, the balance of payments, like any balance, is balanced; this means that the totals of the principal and balancing items cancel each other out. If the current account balance is negative, then the deficit can be financed by selling part of the assets to non-residents or by using foreign loans from foreign banks, governments or international organizations, as well as by reducing official foreign exchange reserves. However, the financing of the balance of payments has a limit. If a balance of payments crisis results in delinquency, strained creditor relations, and a depletion of reserve assets, a country is forced to turn to emergency financing. Emergency financing operations are usually coordinated with foreign partners and formalized by special agreements. The most significant transactions include: debt write-off, exchange of debt for shares, debt restructuring, delay in payments on debt (denial of payments on external obligations). 5. External debt problems External debt is defined as the totality of all financial obligations of the country in relation to foreign creditors on a certain date, subject to repayment at a certain time. Distinguish between long-term, short-term debt, state and state-guaranteed debt, as well as private non-state-guaranteed debt. Long-term external debt is defined primarily as debt with a maturity of more than one year, which is borrowed from another country and must be repaid in foreign currency, goods and services. It includes IMF loans, debts paid in the currency of the debtor country, direct investment. Short-term debt is debt with a maturity of less than one year. Public debt and publicly guaranteed debt are all external obligations that a public institution has assumed as a debtor or guarantor. Private non-publicly guaranteed debt is defined as an external liability of a private individual not guaranteed by a public institution. The growing debt burden can lead to the fact that the country will find itself in the so-called debt loop, when new external borrowings are mainly used to repay loans, credits and loans. A similar situation has developed in many developing countries and threatens a number of post-socialist states, in which a growing part of their GDP and export earnings is spent not on their own development, but on servicing their external debt. This is the case if they have enough funds for this service at all. As a result, such countries have a debt crisis, such as Russia. In order to prevent external debt from becoming an acute economic problem for the country, it needs to actively manage its external debt. This term is used to refer to a set of measures to prevent or mitigate a debt crisis. Among them are economic measures (minimizing the amount of external borrowings, restructuring accumulated debt, increasing the efficiency of using attracted financial resources, increasing the state budget's ability to service external debt), political measures (maintaining political stability in the country and good relations with external creditors), social measures (ensuring social stability), as well as to ensure national security (first of all, maintaining an independent foreign and domestic policy from creditors). The key condition for pursuing an external debt management policy is the country's ability to use external borrowing in such a way that it ensures both the achievement of its own goals and the reduction of external debt. This policy proved effective in the late XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries. from the United States (the rapid economic development of the country at that time was largely based on large external borrowings), and in the postwar years - from South Korea. 6. Monetary policy of the state. Forms and instruments of monetary policy The main instruments of monetary policy are foreign exchange intervention, foreign exchange restrictions, foreign exchange reserves, foreign exchange subsidies, foreign exchange parities. The country's monetary policy is carried out by its government, the central bank, and central financial authorities. In the global scope, monetary policy provides for international monetary and financial organizations (International Monetary Fund, international banks). On the scale of the current monetary policy, they implement operational regulation of the foreign exchange market situation with the help of foreign exchange intervention, foreign exchange restrictions, foreign exchange subsidies, diversification of foreign exchange reserves, etc. A protracted monetary policy implies long-term measures to consistently change the monetary mechanism through interstate negotiations and agreements, primarily within the framework of the International Monetary Fund, as well as currency reforms. Monetary motto policy is defined as a system of regulating the exchange rate by buying and selling foreign currency with the promotion of foreign exchange intervention and foreign exchange restrictions. LECTURE No. 12. Integration processes in the world economy 1. The essence of international economic integration The term "integration" is used in various spheres of life - politics, biology, mathematics, etc. Basically, integration refers to various associations. In economics, this term also has a place. But here we are talking about the further development of the social character of international production. Integration involves the unification of the production and scientific potentials of several countries to bring them to fundamentally new production, technical and socio-economic frontiers, to raise their economic cooperation to a higher level of development. As a result of the course of countries towards integration, there should be a gradual convergence of their national economies and the emergence of joint international production. In this way, economic integration represents a genuine socialization of production at the international level with the help of conscious regulation by the governments of the countries participating in it of the mutual division of labor and international industrial cooperation. This kind of socialization is expressed in an increase in the efficiency of production of each country to an approximately average level on the scale of the regional community of states and in the formation of the optimal structure of their national economy. The main factor that encourages countries to join their efforts is the consideration of economic integration as a means of overcoming the contradiction between the need for the effective development of the economy of each country participating in the mutual international division of labor and the unlimited possibilities that individual countries of the region had to implement this urgent economic task. The integrating countries plan to increase the efficiency of the functioning of their national economies due to a number of factors that arise in the course of the development of regional international socialization of production: 1) the economic space is expanding, within which economic entities operate. Competition between the enterprises of the integrating countries is intensifying, which stimulates them to actively search for more advanced technical means and new technologies, leading to an increase in production efficiency. This applies to all integration countries, but especially to countries with a lower level of development. More developed countries, by connecting their neighbors to integration, contribute to their rapid economic growth and thus the creation of more capacious markets there; 2) regional economic associations of countries make it possible to create a more stable and predictable situation for the development of mutual trade in comparison with traditional bilateral or multilateral negotiations, the interests of the participants of which are very different from each other; 3) integration blocs not only improve the mutual trade of their participants, but also strengthen their coordinated position in the framework of trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization. Speeches on behalf of the bloc are more weighty and produce better results in the field of international politics; 4) integration associations that arise in the modern world economy provide an opportunity for their countries to use the advantages of economies of scale. In particular, these advantages make it possible to expand the scale of the sales market, support local producers, especially among new national industries, reduce cross-country trade costs, and extract other trade benefits based on the theory of economies of scale. In addition, an expanded economic space creates better conditions for attracting foreign direct investment to large markets where it makes sense to create independent production; 5) regional integration associations form a favorable foreign policy environment for their members. Indeed, one of the most important tasks of all currently existing integration blocs is to strengthen the cooperation of their members not only in the economic, but also in the political, military, cultural and other non-economic spheres. According to E. R. Molchanov (candidate of historical sciences), integration processes are implemented with the help of a number of prerequisites. First, the levels of economic development of the integrating countries are the same or similar. As a rule, international economic integration occurs either between industrialized countries or between developing countries. Moreover, integration processes are noticeably more active between states that are at a similar level of economic development. Attempts at integration associations between industrialized and developing states, although they take place, are at an early stage of formation, which does not yet allow us to draw unambiguous conclusions about the degree of their effectiveness. Secondly, the territorial proximity of the integrating countries, the presence in many cases of a common border. Most integration groupings of the world began with several neighboring countries located in close geographical proximity and having common transport communications. Then other neighboring states joined the initial group of countries. Thirdly, the so-called demonstration effect is a prerequisite for the emergence of new integration blocs. The fact is that in countries participating in international economic integration, there is usually an acceleration of economic growth, a decrease in inflation, an increase in employment and other positive economic shifts, which has a certain stimulating effect on other countries. For example, the demonstration effect manifested itself most clearly in the desire of some Eastern European countries to become members of the European Union as soon as possible, even without any serious economic prerequisites for this. International economic integration cannot be spontaneous. Experience has shown that for the real socialization of production between any countries, it is necessary to consciously carry out the process of developing an international regional division of labor and international industrial cooperation, while relying on certain economic guidelines. Thus, an important fundamental specificity of the integration stage in the development of economic cooperation between the countries concerned is that it necessarily provides for a political decision of the parties to transfer the mutual division of labor to a new level and the free development of international industrial cooperation. Such a transition of the international regional division of labor to the integration stage necessarily leads to the conscious collective regulation by the governments of the countries concerned of many foreign economic actions and the change in national processes of reproduction in accordance with these actions. The attitude of the merging countries towards third countries is the problem of economic integration. Each international economic integration is formed precisely as a regional socialization of production. However, very often in the economic literature, and especially in the periodical press, one can come across the assertion that this integration is not isolated from third countries, is not fenced off from them by insurmountable barriers. Naturally, there is no complete isolation of integrating partners from third countries. Still, ordinary economic relations cannot be equated with integration. This is because any integration has some economic edge that separates its participants from third countries. Participants in international economic integration set the task of increasing the efficiency of functioning enterprises to a high level not only on their territory, but throughout the integrating community, and non-integrating, but cooperating with them states, first of all, take care of their individual interests and are not allied or contractual partners to increase efficiency across the group of cooperating states. This is the fundamental difference between them. Third countries do not undertake any obligations to restructure the entire structure of their economy, to bring the expenditure of resources and other economic indicators to a certain agreed level, which are a sign of an integrating collective of states. That is why, although the uniting countries do not represent an isolated organization, but, having embarked on the path of integration, they must act separately in a certain sense of the word. It is planned that these states will cooperate not only on the basis of the development of the international division of labor and international industrial cooperation, but on the basis of the formation of these cardinal ways of socializing international production in the direction of the speediest increase in labor productivity and production efficiency in all countries of the community. There is no isolation from the world, but a certain economic isolation is evident. Thus, the integration processes bring closer to the development of economic regionalism, as a result of which certain groups of countries create for themselves more favorable conditions for trade, for the movement of capital and labor than for all other countries. Even without paying attention to the obvious protectionist features, economic regionalism is not a negative factor for the development of the world economy, if a group of integrating countries, simplifying mutual economic ties, does not establish less favorable conditions for trade with third countries than before the start of integration. It turns out that economic regionalism, while liberalizing economic ties between countries of the same group, should not lead to their complication with all other countries. As long as regionalism does not worsen the conditions for trade with the rest of the world, it is considered a positive factor in the development of the world economy. Currently, there are about 20 international economic associations of integration type located in different parts of the globe. 2. Forms of international economic integration International economic integration in its development goes through a number of stages: 1) a free trade zone; 2) customs union; 3) common market; 4) economic union and political union. All these stages have a characteristic feature, which lies in the fact that certain economic barriers are eliminated between countries that have entered into one or another type of integration. As a result, a common market space is formed within the integration association, where free competition unfolds, and under the influence of market regulators (prices, interest, etc.), a more efficient territorial and sectoral structure of production arises. Because of this, all countries only benefit, as labor productivity increases and customs control costs are saved. At the same time, each stage of integration has specific features. Free trade zone - countries participating in it voluntarily renounce the protection of their national markets only in relations with their partners in this association. With third countries, each participant in the free trade area determines its own tariffs. This type of integration is used by EFTA countries, NAFTA and other integration groups. Customs Union. The members of the union jointly establish a single customs tariff for third countries, which makes it possible to more reliably protect the emerging single regional market space and is presented on the international arena as a united trade bloc. But at the same time, the participants in this integration association are deprived of part of their foreign economic sovereignty. A similar integration option was carried out within the framework of the European Union. Common Market. Here all the conditions of the customs union remain significant. In addition, within the framework of the common market, restrictions on the movement of various factors of production are eliminated, which enhances the economic interdependence of the member countries of this integration association. At the same time, freedom of intercountry movement requires a higher organizational level of interstate coordination of economic policy. The common market is not the final stage in the development of international economic integration. To form a mature market space, the following steps must be taken: 1) make the same levels of taxes; 2) eliminate budget subsidies to individual enterprises and industries; 3) overcome differences in national labor and economic legislation; 4) unify national technical and sanitary standards; 5) to coordinate national credit and financial structures and systems of social protection. The implementation of these measures and further coordination of the national tax, anti-inflationary, currency, industrial, agricultural and social policies of the participants in this integration bloc will entail the creation of a single intra-regional market. This stage of integration is usually called an economic union. At this stage, the uniting countries are creating management structures capable of not only observing and coordinating economic actions, but also making operational decisions on behalf of the entire international bloc. The prerequisites for the highest stage of regional integration of a political union are formed with the development of an economic union in countries. This type of regional integration provides for the transformation of a mature single market space into a single economic and political organism. As a result of the transition from an economic union to a political one, the mutual foreign economic relations of the countries participating in it are being reorganized into intrastate ones. The problem of international economic relations within the boundaries of this region ceases to exist. 3. Development of integration processes in Western Europe The basis of what is called the European Union should be considered the Paris statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, R. Schuman, dated May 9, 1950, who proposed to place the entire production of coal and steel in France and Germany under a common supreme leadership. As a result, in April 1951, the Paris Treaty was signed establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which included six states - Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, and Italy. The treaty entered into force in 1953. Striving in the 1950s and 1960s creating separate political structures within the existing economic structures did not succeed, because they were premature. The signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957 creating the European Economic Community (EEC) turned all attention to solving economic problems. The European Economic Community was approved, formed on the customs union and common policy, especially in agriculture, as well as the European Atomic Energy Community - Euratom. The Treaty of Rome, which entered into force, thus united the ECSC and the EEC. In December 1969, a decision was made in The Hague to expand the communities and deepen integration. On January 1, 1973, Denmark, Ireland and Great Britain joined the "six", in 1981 - Greece, in 1986 - Spain and Portugal, in 1995 - Austria, Finland and Sweden, in 2004 - Poland , Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Cyprus, Malta. The EU currently has 25 member states. About two decades later, the European Community began to show different approaches to interpreting the priorities and nature of the driving forces inside and outside the grouping. But the Treaty of Rome prioritized the principles of free trade and market liberalization. There was a need to resolve certain contradictions, largely ensued as a result of the evolution of world economic life: 1) between the political and economic objectives of the Community; 2) between the priority political and economic tasks of individual member countries; between political supporters of maintaining national priorities; 3) between those who actively advocated giving European institutions greater autonomy in the decision-making process. Preparations for the adoption of cardinal decisions were intensified in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After the signing of the Single European Act (EEA) in 1986, changes took place in the Regulations in the community, namely: 1) decisions were made to gradually move away from the dominance of the Common Agricultural Policy in favor of solving other economic and social problems; 2) tasks were set for the large-scale development of scientific and technological research; 3) significant changes have been made to the budgetary policy of the Communities; 4) the task was set to introduce a single currency by the end of the 1990s; 5) in connection with the completion of the Uruguay Round, a new situation arose in the system of international economic relations, which set the task of adjusting foreign economic priorities. European integration has traditionally been based on two main elements - the liberalization of trade and market relations. Still, in the future, a situation developed in the space of the European Communities in which the member countries were forced (due to various circumstances) to make decisions to remove a number of barriers to expand trade between the countries of the grouping. The success achieved by the Six in terms of eliminating internal trade barriers contributed to the decision to deepen integration and expand the community. (The Hague, 1969) And in 1980 it turned out that the decision to create an Economic and Monetary Union was premature. The introduction of four more countries into the European Communities a few years later "unexpectedly revealed" new difficulties. This led to the expansion of markets, the emergence of completely new additional factors that, as it turned out, were not thoroughly calculated. In addition, such an expansion has pushed back the construction of a real single market to a "not very near future." In the 1970s-1980s, the technological lag of the EU from the USA and Japan became apparent. At the state level, the goals have been adjusted. Economic policy had to be based on the theory of endogenous growth, in which scientific and technological progress (investments in human capital, education, science) acquired great importance. EU experts have taken the problem of the relationship between intra-bloc trade volumes, market size, scale of production at the level of the national economy and the competitiveness of companies very seriously. It was found that in a limited market, private companies can achieve significant cost reductions only by increasing the scale of production. In a number of industries, foreign capital has so infiltrated the economy of the European Communities that it began to displace local companies and divide the market in its own way. However, the EU was able to achieve a turning point. As one of the main elements for an intensified move towards a single market, it was decided in 1979 to create the European Monetary System (EMS). The main idea was to form a so-called "zone of currency stability" within the EU. The European Monetary System came into effect in March 1979. Initially, four goals were set: achieving monetary stability within the EU; simplification of convergence of economic development processes; giving the system the status of the main element of the growth strategy in conditions of stability; providing a stabilizing effect on international monetary and economic relations. The main element of the EMU was the unit of account - the ecu, determined on the basis of a basket of currencies, reflecting the relative share of member countries in the EU's gross national product, in trade within the EU, as well as their contribution to foreign exchange support mechanisms. By the mid-1980s, for various reasons (both internal and external), the countries of Western Europe clearly realized that without the adoption of new decisive political measures, the necessary pace to create a single market would not be achieved. On July 1, 1987, the Single European Act came into force. The first part of the document confirms the desire of the member countries to consistently move towards the creation of a genuine European Union. The second part of the act contains provisions on the procedure for interaction between the Council, the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) and the European Parliament and on the decision-making procedure. The main thing is the rejection of the principle of unanimity in the development of communitarian legislation, which hampered the integration process. The date of transition to a single market, which implies the freedom of movement of capital, goods, services and labor, was set on December 31, 1992. The third part deals with cooperation in the field of foreign policy. The task of developing a common foreign policy of the EU countries was set, and a scheme of political cooperation was fixed. The final part of the document contains general provisions on the application of the articles of the Act. To highlight the fundamental essence of the creation of a single market, the CES created a special action plan. It consists of 300 points on the elimination of various obstacles in the trade and economic sphere. In other words, the White Paper. The fruits of the implementation of this plan to a greater or lesser extent determine the current level of integration. The first group of provisions of the "White Paper" is the dismantling of physical barriers to cooperation. Firstly, this is the elimination of the mechanism of national import control (depriving the governments of the member countries of the formal possibility of acting contrary to the common foreign trade policy). Secondly, the operation of cargo clearance in the framework of international trade has been significantly facilitated. Of considerable importance is also the Schengen Agreement on the absolute elimination of control over the movement of all citizens who live in the countries and have signed this document. It established a unified visa control. An impressive step forward has been made in the implementation of the second group of tasks - the elimination of technical obstacles and the alignment of norms and standards. Financial services occupy a special place. Since 1993, any resident bank may well perform all banking operations in any country that is a member of the integration group. The sale of shares of the authorized capital to citizens and companies is allowed, insurance activities, the service market, etc. are liberalized. Tax issues are the most difficult. They arose as a result of the implementation of the third group of tasks. The document clarifies that the single market mechanism does not call for a quick and hard equalization of national indirect tax rates. The basis of the problem is the structure of taxation. Such "supranationalization" has certain peculiarities both for the EU states and for their economic operators. Firstly, a single budget discipline and the unification of the money markets of the EU countries at the macroeconomic level under the monitoring of supranational financial institutions makes it possible to more reliably fight inflation and lower interest rates. Secondly, a single monetary policy and a currency for economic operators determine the unity of monetary and foreign exchange regulation, including stock regulation, throughout the EU, a significant reduction in comparison with a multicurrency environment of overhead costs for settlement servicing operations, price and currency risks, the timing of funds transfers and, as a result, a noticeable decrease in the needs of these operators in working capital. Thirdly, it becomes cheaper for individuals to maintain accounts and travel within the EU, because when they exchange banknotes, their initial cost is reduced due to differences in sales and commission rates. Fourth, the single currency is much more stable against the dollar and the yen. Financial requirements for newly joining the EU, and especially Eastern European countries, are becoming tougher, which, in turn, reduces the burden on the EU associated with its potential expansion. The structure of the EMU is a two-tier system of banks. It includes the newly established European Central Bank (ECB) and the central banks of member countries. The ECB is the head of this system. Since 1994, the European Monetary Institute (EMI) began its work. The EMI was modified by the ECB at the end of the EMU (January 1, 1999). The advance to the EMU went through 3 stages. The first - preparatory - until January 1, 1996, the second - organizational - until December 31, 1998 and the final - until 2002). The last stage, in turn, is divided into three more specific stages ("A", "B" and "C"). During the first stage, the participants threw off all or almost all restrictions on the mutual movement of capital. The implementation of the programs began with the stabilization of budgets, prices and other indicators of financial policy, the observance of which became mandatory for participation in the Union. The second stage was devoted to the completion of these financial stabilization programs and the formation of the legal and institutional framework of the Union. At stage "C" (January 1, 2002 - July 1, 2002), all types of transactions and settlements within the Union were transferred to the Euro, national banknotes are being exchanged and withdrawn from circulation. Foreign trade and other contracts are converted into "euro". The Supranational Institutions of the Union carry out their activities in full. 4. North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) On December 17, 1992, an agreement was signed between the United States, Canada and Mexico to establish the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA). On January 1, 1994, the implementation of this agreement began. This agreement was a continuation and development of a bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Canada, signed in 1988. NAFTA creates the conditions for building an integral market space on the American continent. The creation of NAFTA made it possible to remove trade barriers between the participating countries, led to the liberalization of the foreign investment regime, and the migration of labor between them. Certainly, NAFTA has had an impact on the entire Western Hemisphere, causing huge political and economic shifts there. Chile and other South American countries were ready to enter NAFTA. The creation of NAFTA is considered a new chapter in the history of international integration. It originated in Western Europe in the 1950s and then "passed" to the American continent. However, informal integration between the US and Canada began as early as the interwar period and has evolved over the years. In the 1970s integration began between the United States and Mexico. Now all this has received institutional and legal registration. Integration process in the 1960s widespread in developing countries. More than 30 free trade zones, customs or economic unions have emerged in Africa, Latin America and Asia. But most of them were not prepared either economically or politically and failed. The United States played a decisive role in the development of North American integration. They supported Western European integration for a long time (the "Marshall Plan"). On the one hand, because for a long time the United States was at the zenith of its economic and scientific and technological power, the competitiveness of American goods was very high, and the dollar was stable and "omnipotent". The US did not need special trade liberalization agreements with any country in the Western Hemisphere. However, Canada and Mexico were not ready to integrate with the "big brother". They were afraid of losing the economic independence and sovereignty of the state in such cooperation. The level of development of the northern and southern partners of the United States is many times lower. And only over time, the national economies of Canada and Mexico have reached such a level of development and openness, when economic priorities began to outweigh the political stereotypes of mistrust. Negotiations on the creation of NAFTA went on for quite a long time. They began in the summer of 1990 between George Bush and S. de Gortari. In January 1991, Prime Minister of Canada B. Mulroney joined them. The text of the treaty was developed by February 1992, signed on December 17, 1992. In Canada, it was ratified by the House of Commons on May 27, 1993 (140 votes in favor, 124 against), and by the Senate on June 23, 1993. (142:30). In the US, the House of Commons passed the treaty on November 17, 1993 (ratified) (234:200), and the Senate (61:38) soon after. It was ratified by Mexico on November 22, 1993. Basic provisions of the agreement. Within 15 years, the complete abolition of trade barriers between the three participants was carried out. The most resolutely freed from restrictions was the exchange of finished goods; since the beginning of 1994 - duties on trade in food and industrial goods have been reduced by 65%. In the next 5 years, they were reduced by another 15%, and most of the remaining ones were eliminated by 2003. Gradual liberalization is envisaged for the markets of energy resources, agricultural goods, automobiles, and textiles. Thus, with respect to agricultural products, Mexico has concluded bilateral agreements with each of the partners. But it immediately abolished the licensing of imports of such goods from the United States by 25%. Other quantitative and tariff restrictions were canceled within 10-15 years. Mexico has completely abolished the former 20% duty on American and Canadian computers, while the duty on similar goods from third countries is gradually being reduced to 3,9%. For 10 years, Mexico has lifted most of the restrictions on car imports. The regime of capital migration between Canada and the USA has been sufficiently liberalized. Mexico has relaxed restrictions on the share of US and Canadian investors in the share capital of their companies. In the future, participation in those areas where it is limited, it was planned to expand: from December 18, 1995 - up to 49%, from January 1, 2001 - up to 51%, from January 1, 2004 - up to 100%. 100% participation in car assembly enterprises, production of components and parts for them, in construction companies is allowed from January 1999. In addition, Mexico pledged to remove restrictions on foreign participation in banks and insurance companies. This allowed American and Canadian financial capital to take over 1/3 of the Mexican insurance market. A special part of the NAFTA agreements are parallel agreements to protect the environment and labor markets. The "maquiladora economy" in the border regions did not adhere to environmental standards. Therefore, it is envisaged to tighten environmental standards. This also applies to labor protection. Bilateral and trilateral arbitration commissions may be created as needed to resolve disputed issues. The party found guilty is not required to immediately change its national standards or labor laws, but other partners may impose sanctions against it, including fines of up to $20 million. In 1994, decisions were made to admit new members to NAFTA. Together with individual applicants, whole blocs of countries were included. Thus, the ambitious South American common market consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (MERCOSUR) announced its readiness to join NAFTA. The island states of the Caribbean have joined NAFTA. The Bush administration entered into a framework agreement with the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM), which unites six English-speaking countries that have created a real common market with a single currency, but numbering only 5 million people. 5. Integration processes in Asia The role of international integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region is great. MPEI contributed to the economic development of the countries of the region, the growth of consumption and production, etc. An "Asian quadrangle" was formed in the region: Japan - China - NIS - ASEAN. ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations, established in 1967, a sub-regional organization. It included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, and later - Brunei and Vietnam. In economic publications, in a number of UNCTAD and IBRD materials, the concept of ASEAN-4 is encountered, meaning the first four countries. A significant factor in the development of economic ties in the Asia-Pacific region is the growing sentiment in favor of Asian solidarity and the search for common Asian values. Consideration of intra-regional interaction and, in particular, relations within the framework of the "Asian quadrangle" takes place primarily in such areas as trade, direct investment, inter-firm partnerships, as well as at the inter-regional level. Three most important areas of regional integration based on and within ASEAN have been developed. The first one is market. The choice is given to a free trade zone, there is a gradual reduction in tariffs in mutual trade in order to ultimately, along with the theory of comparative advantages and for a more efficient use of resources, provide complete freedom to locate production in one of the ASEAN countries. Liberalization of intra-regional trade is carried out either by commodity tariff reduction or by means of their general reductions. This is supposed to speed up the process. Singapore adhered to such a scheme. Market-institutional - the second direction of regional integration. Its distinctive feature is the combination of selective trade liberalization with the use of some forms of interstate regulation. This path was used by the supporters of purposefully regulated industrialization. Such a strategy is based on regional industrial cooperation, as well as the coordination of development plans of ASEAN countries at the international level, the implementation of joint projects, and is supported by administrative and political measures. This direction was developed in Indonesia, which believes that the integration process and the introduction of a market regime within the grouping should be preceded by the industrialization of all its members, the development of compensation mechanisms. The third direction intends to implement individual projects of a regional scale and. oppose complex economic schemes. The driving force behind regional integration is the private sector, which provided for the favorable growth of large multinational companies that would be able to borrow the main place in regional business. In January 1991, at the Singapore Summit of the ASEAN countries, the parties once again spoke in favor of developing cooperation. The task was set to organize a free trade zone by 2007, gradually lowering domestic tariffs. At present, quite active efforts are being made in the Asia-Pacific region to develop cooperation within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Organization (APEC), established in 1989. The first APEC ministerial conference was held in December 1989 in Canberra (Australia). It was attended by 12 founding countries (Australia, the USA, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea and six ASEAN countries. Subsequently, a number of new member states entered APEC. In 1998, Russia joined this organization. By its nature, goals, concepts, even by the composition of its members, APEC looks like a rather atypical regional grouping for today's world. Such an economic association was founded by states with very different conditions and levels of economic development, economic structures, traditions, and psychology. But developed and developing countries act as equal partners. In Osaka, in November 1995, the APEC Action Program was adopted. This program of action aims to achieve the long-term goal of free and open trade and investment no later than 2010 for industrialized countries and 2020 for developing countries. According to the adopted document, the process of liberalization and assistance within the framework of APEC will be comprehensive and comply with WTO standards. This document contains provisions on the gradual reduction of tariffs, on the reduction of non-tariff measures, on the need to develop cooperation in the field of energy, transport, etc. It follows from this that APEC is an organization at the beginning of its journey. So far, only declarative, non-mandatory measures have been taken. At present, this economic grouping is not connected by close interaction, interpenetration, mutual influence. It takes time for this association to become an integration one from an economic point of view. In its activities, APEC relies on existing formations, such as ASEAN, as well as on groups that may arise or are still working sluggishly, for example, the Pacific Cooperation Council (PTEC) is a non-governmental organization that attracts scientists, businessmen, etc. In 1989-1992 The supreme governing body of APEC held annual meetings of the ministers of foreign affairs and the economy of the participating countries. Since 1993, the heads of states and heads of governments of the member countries of this organization have become the supreme body of the meeting. However, the annual ministerial meetings have been preserved; at them, the reports of the working bodies of APEC are heard, and the annual budget of the organization is approved. The current management of APEC is carried out by a group of authorized representatives of the member countries of this organization, who meet quarterly. They form the Board of Directors, the leadership of the APEC Secretariat and the working groups of this organization. The Chairman of the Board of Directors is elected alternately from among ASEAN members and non-ASEAN members. He appoints the Executive Director of APEC for a period of 1 year. The APEC Secretariat (headquartered in Singapore since 1992) deals with operational issues, maintains correspondence, publishes APEC materials and documentation, and coordinates the activities of APEC working groups. There are ten working groups within APEC: on trade; investment and industrial technologies; development of human resources; energy; sea resources; telecommunications; transport; tourism; fisheries; information and statistics. APEC maintains active business relations with private business. In a number of working groups, private business circles have their representatives. Observer status in APEC was given to the Pacific Economic Council (TPC). In 1993, the Australian and Indonesian chambers of commerce created another international organization - the Asia-Pacific Business, which deals with the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises and joined the APEC activities. 6. Integration processes in South America Integration processes in South America are of impressive interest and are instructive for many countries of the world. Serious problems in the development of integration in the region are the lack of good transport links between countries, natural conditions (Cordillera, equatorial forests) also make it difficult to exchange between neighbors. All this is significantly different from the conditions of Western Europe, whose territory easily allows you to create an extensive transport system. Such a past did not promote integration due to the weak complement of national economies, so they were oriented towards the export of goods that coincided in their characteristics. The transition of most Latin American countries to an open economy model, with the help of which they hoped to overcome the economic crisis and adapt to the new conditions of the world economy, as well as to modernize their production potential, did not bring them significant success in the 80s. The desire to increase the physical volumes of exports was not accompanied by an increase foreign exchange earnings due to lower world prices for raw materials, the negative impact of protectionist barriers, the presence of external debt. In connection with the world experience of development, the countries of Latin America put forward a new theory of regional integration, which is not an alternative to integration into the world economy, but, in their opinion, the optimal basis for the development of relations between Latin America and other regions of the world. As a result, the problem of changing the old style of integration was posed, aimed first at replacing imports within the framework of regional markets, which did not correspond to the latest development model of Latin American countries. A clearly formulated theory of "open regionalism" began to be developed, that is, integration formed on low customs barriers and more open to the world market. The development of subregional cooperation gained an additional impetus after the creation in the early 1990s of NAFTA and the proclamation by George W. Bush of the so-called "Initiative for the Americas", according to which the formation of a free trade zone "from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego" was envisaged. Naturally, George Bush's initiative was intended to strengthen the position of the United States in Latin America, to give a kind of response to the strengthening of integration trends and processes in other regions of the world. An analysis of economic processes in South America allows us to present the following reasons that led to the acceleration of integration in the region. The first reason is the increasing competition in trade, on the one hand, and the increase in income from the use of new technologies and investments, on the other. All this has led to the formation of larger and more open markets. Second reason integration processes were accelerated by the liberalization of foreign trade undertaken by the South American countries in the late 1980s. Third reason lies in a decisive review of the mechanisms of integration in the region. In the ongoing intensification of integration processes in South America, MERCOSUR, the Aggregate Market of the countries of the Southern Cone, formed in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, is becoming increasingly important and in a short time has become one of the main participants in real regional integration. Today, MERCOSUR is a large integrated market in Latin America, where 45% of the population (more than 200 million people), 50% of the total GDP (over 1 trillion dollars), 40% of foreign direct investment, more than 60% of the total volume of trade and 33% volume of foreign trade of the continent. The contract on the formation of MERCOSUR provided for the abolition of all duties and tariffs in mutual trade between 4 countries, i.e., the organization of an FTA in the subregion by December 31, 1994. During the transitional period at the end of 1994, the Common Market Council (composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs), the Common Market Group, an executive body that operates permanently and has an administrative secretariat headquartered in Montevideo and 10 technical commissions, were created to guide the integration process, which report to the Common Market Group and deal with issues of trade, customs regulation, technical regulations, monetary policy, industrial technology, macroeconomic policy, land and sea transport, agriculture and energy. The rise of MERCOSUR is not without its challenges. Despite the goals set, the member countries of this grouping failed to agree on the appointed date (January 1, 1995) on the absolute abolition of tariffs in intraregional trade. The MERCOSUR members agreed temporarily for a transitional period (until 2000) to maintain a significant number of exemptions from the general order, which vary for each of the four countries. For example, Uruguay received the right to the widest list of temporary exemptions from duty-free trade between MERCOSUR member countries - 950 positions of the united customs nomenclature of the bloc for a period up to 2000, Argentina - 221 positions until 1999, Brazil - 28 positions until 1999 ., Paraguay - 272 positions until 2000. It was not possible to coordinate in the planned time frame and uniform external tariffs for the import of goods from countries that are not part of MERCOSUR. However, the parties have coordinated a schedule in accordance with which it is planned to reduce these tariffs in equal shares every year up to their complete abolition within the newly agreed upon terms. The MERCOSUR Treaty establishes the abolition of non-tariff restrictions, with the exception of not only measures regulating the trade in weapons, military equipment, ammunition, radioactive materials, precious metals, but also restrictive measures aimed at protecting the health and morals of citizens, national and cultural heritage. There are also non-tariff regulatory measures that are not restrictive and are subject to streamlining and harmonization. Still, this very voluminous and complex work, carried out by the special committee of MERCOSUR on non-tariff restrictions, has not yet been completed. To date, a general regulation on protection against dumping is being developed by the Trade Commission. 7. Integration processes in Africa Integration processes in Africa began in the early 1960s. The countries of this continent had different levels of economic development. If we compare it with the world, then it was and remains low. Both then and now there is a wide variation in income, in terms of financial potential, transport opportunities, etc. By the beginning of the 1990s. of the four dozen countries that belong to the category of so-called underdeveloped countries, 25 are located on the African continent. At the same time, GDP per capita ranges from $80 in Mozambique to $500 in Mauritania. After 1960, about 40 different international organizations of an economic and financial profile arose on the continent, which advocated the development of integration both in a wide range of economic spheres of activity and within individual industries, although the definitions of "integration" or " international division of labor. The former metropolises had a great influence on the development of integration processes in Africa, but, as a rule, such influence was used to achieve well-known goals - not to let them out of the sphere of interests, etc. Various groupings of French-speaking, English-speaking countries, etc. can serve as an example. At the initial stage, there were organizations inherent in African conditions, for example, seven organizations of the so-called "river profile": OMWG (Organization for the Development of the Gambia River Basin), OMVS (Organization for the Development of the Senegal River Basin), the Organization for the Exploitation and Development of the Katera River Basin, etc. The emergence of these organizations is a natural process inherent in this continent, the specific and economic conditions that existed at that time in Africa. Structures were also created that, according to African researchers, could well become some kind of centers for "concentrating processes and turning them into integration ones": the African Timber Organization, the International Union of Cocoa Producing Countries, the Association for the Development of Rice Growing in West Africa, etc. It was this process that could continue, since the countries generally had a monocultural structure of production, while other economic components that could in some way hinder convergence, cooperation, and the expansion of trade did not prevail. However, due to a number of reasons, both objective and subjective, the development was rather sluggish. It should not be forgotten that in the 1960s and 1970s Africa had a very strong influence of TNCs. Thus, in 1977, the East African Community (EAC) ceased to exist. The EAC is a group that gave great promise to the apologists for integration. Nevertheless, the activities of the TNC, which controlled the flow of goods from marketing to sale, at a certain stage disrupted the programs of regional cooperation. Due to the vigorous activity of the economic diplomacy of developing countries, including African ones, the world community has regulated certain approaches of TNCs to cooperation. Through a series of Lomé conventions, conditions were developed for cooperation between EU member states (and, consequently, their former metropolitan countries) with developing countries. From the point of view of some specialists in Africa, regional integration processes are becoming more and more subject to economic logic. In connection with priority needs, more and more efforts are directed to the implementation of the Treaty on the phased creation of the African Economic Community (AfEC), acting as a common market based on existing regional organizations. The agreement on it entered into force in May 1994. The plan for the gradual creation of AfES, which consists of six stages, must be implemented within 34 years. The main elements of the AfEC are already existing sub-regional groupings: ECOWAS, COMESA, SADC, SAMESGCA, UDEAC. In this regard, priority attention was paid to them, to their comprehensive strengthening and strengthening the coordination of their activities. The transformation of the AfEC largely depends on the further "well-being" of sub-regional African groups, which currently leaves much to be desired. Perhaps the practical effect of AfES is a process of a rather distant future. However, the Community development process itself can give impetus to the modernization and unification of the structures of economic interaction between African countries, increase the intensity and volume of their cooperation, which should eventually lead to the expansion of African markets, the emergence of relatively large needs in connection with the equipment of new enterprises and other facilities created in Africa on a collective basis. In West Africa, the most visible is some revitalization of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which aims to gradually create a common market in the region. ECOWAS was founded in 1975 and consists of 16 states. In July 1995, at the 18th ECOWAS summit, the updated Community Treaty (signed in Cotonou in 1993) was officially announced to be in force, with which a number of states of this subregion are cooperating. The implementation of the Community's plans encounters significant difficulties due to the difference in the levels of economic development of states, their unequal approaches to the use of power and market levers to solve economic, financial, trade and other problems. An increase in the effectiveness of ECOWAS is largely hampered by the rivalry between the French and English-speaking countries of the subregion and their closer attachment to the former mother countries than in other regions, as well as internal problems in Nigeria, which, according to a number of states, is the "locomotive" of integration processes in West Africa. There is an agreement to transform the Eastern and Southern African Preferential Trade Area (PTA) into the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which was signed in November 1993 in Kampala (Uganda). The plans of this agreement include the formation of a common market, a monetary union by 2020, cooperation in the economic, legal and administrative spheres. The idea for the Common Market was to merge the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the PTA into COMESA. At the SADC summit (August 1994) in Gaborone (Botswana), a decision was approved on the separate existence of 2 organizations - in southern and eastern Africa, respectively. At a meeting of the COMESA Council of Ministers with the participation of 16 member countries, which was held in April 1996, in addition to considering the results of activities in 1995, tasks were set for the development of integration: the need to increase industrial production in the region, remove tariff barriers to trade, introduce common external tariff. The following positive facts were noted: a constant increase in the volume of intra-regional trade (an average of 10,1% per year), a partial reduction in customs tariffs, and the abolition of almost all non-tariff barriers by countries. At the same time, the creation of a Common Market in this African region is hampered by the fact that there is a significant stratification in economic development between countries, the political situation and the monetary and financial sphere are unstable. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a political and economic regional bloc formed in 1992 on the basis of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADC), which has existed since 1980. Now SADC consists of 12 states. The founders of SADC conceived that the development of cooperation should proceed along the lines of "flexible geometry" and the different pace of integration processes both between individual countries and groups of countries within the Community. The current Community Action Program is valued at $8,5 billion and contains 446 joint projects. Only 10-15% of the program can be financed from its own resources. At a consultative conference with the participation of external donors on the mobilization of financial and labor resources (Lilongwe, February 1995), a resolution was adopted to establish special bodies on the topics of finance and investment and on the topics of labor and employment. Within SADC, such bodies still have advisory status. In August of the same year, the formation of a unified energy system of the countries of South Africa was established. A corresponding Memorandum and Protocol on the joint use of water resources was also signed. At the same time, they decided to intensify efforts to form a Free Trade Zone in South Africa by the year 2000. The main "donors" ("cooperating partners") of SADC were formed - the Scandinavian countries, which provided up to 50% of external funding, the European Union and the United States. In September 1994, the Berlin Declaration was signed with the EU, which provides for the exchange of integration experience, collective planning and implementation of development programs. In February 1996, a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding in the trade and economic field was signed with the United States, which provides for agribusiness, energy, finance, infrastructure development, etc. as priority areas of cooperation. The United States directs African partners mainly to the development of interaction through private entrepreneurship with the gradual curtailment of state programs. In our time, the Community is taking measures to gradually unify approaches to the formation of an investment climate acceptable to all, tax and customs legislation. Integration processes in Southern Africa are taking place with some difficulties, encountering obstacles of an objective and subjective nature. Even in this region, where relatively prosperous countries are located, serious differences remain between them in economic and social development, alignment and personal ambitions of some state leaders. Of course, the nature of subregional development is largely determined by the position of South Africa, an economically strong country in the region. The transformation of the SADC into a truly strong integration group requires a certain amount of time. In Central Africa, in terms of economic integration, the Customs and Economic Union of Central Asia (UDEAC), which consists of six countries, has developed somewhat dynamically. Over the entire period of its existence, intra-regional trade has increased 25 times. As a result, a single external customs tariff was introduced, on the basis of the joint participation of the UDEAC countries in the "French franc zone", the Monetary Union of Central Africa was formed with a central institution called the Bank of Central African States. It issues means of payment that are the same for all participants. Within UDEAC, there are also credit cooperation bodies: the Central African Development Bank and the Solidarity Fund. The development problems of this economic grouping include different levels of economic development of countries, homogeneity and poor diversification of national economies, underdeveloped infrastructure, and political instability in a number of countries. The members of the Union decided to gradually modify the UDEAC into the Economic and Monetary Community (EMUCA), i.e., to reach a higher level of integration. This decision was made in March 1994. LECTURE No. 13. Instruments of foreign trade policy. Tariff and non-tariff restrictions Foreign economic policy is an activity that regulates the economic relations of a country with other states. It plays a significant role in ensuring the effective use of the external factor in the national economy. As a result of the evolution of international economic relations, an extensive toolkit of foreign economic policy has developed. It should be emphasized that it was formed on the basis of the theory and practice of a market economy, and not the principles of foreign economic activity of states with an economy planned from the center. The formation of tools for regulating foreign economic relations proceeded both at the national and interstate levels. International coordination in this area intends to establish international regimes (development of agreements defining norms, rules and procedures). International regimes, which contain generally accepted standards and rules, may in turn have an impact on national regulation. They can be used as a guideline in reforming the national economy, its laws and norms. This is especially true for Russia, which is going through a painful process of adapting to the universal system of rights and obligations that has developed in the world economy. The set of tools that are at the disposal of the state for regulating foreign economic activity can be divided into three groups: 1) tariff restrictions (customs tariffs); 2) non-tariff restrictions; 3) forms of export promotion. All of them have a primordially protectionist orientation. Depending on external and internal circumstances, ideas about national interests prevailing in a given period and existing international rules, the state increases or decreases this focus. This also applies to such an important component of state regulation of the foreign economic sphere as tariff regulation. The most common type of regulation of foreign trade activity is the customs duty on imports. It is a state levy on imported goods that are passed through the border of the country under the control of the customs department. When a tariff is included, the domestic price of an imported good rises above the world price. There are two main types of customs duties: 1) specific (in the form of a fixed amount per unit of measurement); 2) ad valorem (established as a percentage of the customs value of the goods). A customs tariff in a limited sense is a list of goods subject to customs duties applied by a given country to imported goods, systematized in accordance with the commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity. The use of customs duties, like all trade instruments, requires consideration of their multilateral impact on the economic situation. From the point of view of the target orientation, one can single out the protectionist or fiscal nature of tariffs. The protectionist nature of tariffs is applied when the state, by raising customs duties, thereby increases national prices for imported goods, reduces its competitiveness and protects the domestic market. The purpose of fiscal duties is to primarily provide the state budget with tax revenues. This function is usually carried out by duties on goods that are not produced in a given country. Usually they are not very high. Customs tariffs usually combine three types of duties: 1) maximum (used in trade with countries with which there are no trade agreements); 2) minimum (used when there are trade agreements with an agreement on the introduction of the most favored nation); 3) preferential (preferential) - a kind of trade duties - are usually used when importing goods from developing countries. Export tariff The introduction of a customs tariff on exports can be rational if the price of any product is under the administrative control of the state and is kept below the world level, as well as by paying appropriate subsidies to producers. Export restrictions are considered by the state as a necessary measure to maintain sufficient supply in the domestic market and prevent excess exports of the subsidized product. The state may be interested in determining the export tariff in terms of the growth of budget revenues. Export tariffs are mainly used in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Industrialized countries do not use export tariffs, and in the US export taxation is prohibited by the constitution. Customs Union One of the directions for the development of tariff methods for regulating foreign trade activity is the coordination of customs policy between countries through the creation of free trade zones or customs unions. When creating a free trade zone, the countries participating in it eliminate customs duties in trade between themselves. However, each country maintains its own level of customs protection in relation to third countries. The customs union offers not only duty-free trade between member countries of the union, but also the establishment of a single external customs tariff. To date, there are about 30 different integration associations in the world in all parts of the world, the vast majority of which use tariff policy coordination to one degree or another. The most developed integration association is the European Union (EU), one of the first stages of which was the creation of a customs union by Western European countries. Non-tariff methods of regulation Non-tariff restrictions are the most extended forms and methods of regulation of foreign trade activity in comparison with tariff methods. They pose the same threat to trade liberalization. Non-tariff instruments include a variety of economic, political and administrative methods of direct or indirect restriction of foreign economic activity. Quota The most common form of non-tariff restriction is a quota, or contingent. Quoting (counting) is a limitation in quantitative or value terms of the volume of products allowed to be imported into the country (import quota) or exported from the country (export quota) for a certain period. The quota is mainly for imports of goods. It (quotas) plays a role similar to a protectionist duty, that is, it helps to reduce competition in the domestic market. Non-tariff barriers also include state monopoly (as the exclusive right of the state to carry out certain types of foreign economic activity, national tax systems, national standards, etc.). State influence also affects the regulation of the import and export of capital. The state, on the one hand, must ensure a favorable investment climate with a guarantee against the nationalization of foreign property, on the other hand, it must protect its own interests, for example, by establishing the maximum share of foreign capital in joint ventures, establishing lists of industries available to foreign investors, and the participation of national personnel in management , availability of information, etc. Foreign trade quotas should be enforced through licensing, whereby the state issues licenses for the import or export of a limited amount of products and at the same time imposes a ban on unlicensed trade. Licensing also has independent significance as an instrument of foreign trade policy, when, for example, the state gives the right to any importer to import goods without restriction or only from specified countries (the so-called general license). There is also the practice of automatic licensing. This is when a license is required to import or export certain goods, which allows the state to monitor the trade in these goods and, if necessary, quickly introduce restrictive measures. Currently, the provisions of the GATT and the WTO allow the introduction of complete restrictions on imports as a result of a sharp imbalance. Voluntary export restrictions A form of quantitative restriction of imports has become especially widespread - these are voluntary export restrictions, when the importing country introduces a quota, and the exporting countries themselves undertake obligations to restrict exports to this country. Such export restrictions are not considered voluntary, but forced: they are included either as a result of political pressure from the importing country, or under the influence of threats to apply harsh protectionist measures. Currently, within the framework of the GATT and the WTO, the task of abolishing voluntary export restrictions has been set. Export subsidies A special group of measures used by the state to regulate the country's relations with the world economy includes the so-called active protectionism or various forms of export promotion. The state can not only restrict imports, but also encourage exports to protect national producers. One of the forms of stimulation of domestic export industries are export subsidies. Export subsidies - These are financial benefits that are provided by the state to exporters to expand the export of goods abroad. As a result of such subsidies, exporters acquire the opportunity to sell goods on the foreign market at a price lower than on the domestic one. Export subsidies are either direct or indirect. Direct export subsidies - the payment of subsidies to the manufacturer when he enters the foreign market. Indirect - through preferential taxation, lending, insurance, etc. In accordance with GATT and WTO rules, the use of export subsidies is prohibited. But if they do apply, importing countries are allowed to retaliate by collecting countervailing import duties. Dumping Dumping is a common form of competition in the world market. The exporter sells his goods on the foreign market at a price below normal. Dumping is, firstly, a consequence of state foreign policy (the exporter receives a subsidy); secondly, dumping can result from a typically monopolistic practice of price discrimination (an exporting firm that occupies a monopoly position in the domestic market with inelastic demand maximizes revenue by raising prices, while in a competitive foreign market with sufficiently elastic demand it maximizes revenue by reducing prices and expansion of sales). Price discrimination is possible if the market is segmented, i.e., it is difficult to equalize the prices of the domestic and foreign markets by reselling the goods due to high transport costs or state-imposed trade restrictions. International cartels Another form of foreign trade policy, which is associated with the monopolization of the market, is international cartels. ЭThese are monopolistic associations of exporters, which, by ensuring control over production volumes, limit competition between sellers in order to establish favorable prices. Such cartels have been created many times in commodity and agricultural markets characterized by low price elasticity of demand with a limited number of sellers. Economic sanctions Economic sanctions are a form of state restriction of foreign trade activity. An example would be a trade embargo - a state prohibition of the import into or export from any country of goods. The introduction of an embargo on trade with another country is established mainly for political reasons. In relation to any country, economic sanctions can also be collective in nature, for example, by decision of the UN. The methods and forms of state regulation discussed above are only the main instruments of foreign trade policy. In practice, there are many more. Recently, technical barriers have become widespread, which are administrative regulations that result in discrimination of imported goods in favor of domestic ones with the help of specific quality standards, safety standards, sanitary restrictions, etc. LECTURE No. 14. The system of international economic organizations 1. Essence and concepts of international economic organizations Increasingly expanding economic relations and interdependence of countries (economy) require an increase in the role of versatile regulation of world economic relations, contributing to a wider use of the advantages of MRT (international division of labor). But the scope and orientation of the development of multilateral regulation to a greater extent depend on certain interests of states and their policies. On issues of trade and economic international relations, multifaceted regulation affects government decisions without affecting the national sovereignty of its participants. In the field of state policy in this area, not only regulation intervenes, but also the promotion of world economic relations, the provision of support to participants in the foreign economic sphere of activity at the intergovernmental level and in the field of economic international organizations. International economic organizations are an institution of versatile interstate relations that have goals, competences and other "specific" political and organizational norms coordinated by its participants. Such norms (decrees) are the procedure for making decisions, the charter, membership, procedure, as well as conferences, meetings, congresses that operate for a limited period of time. The ways of interaction in international regulation are: 1) directives and resolutions adopted and developed by international organizations. They are binding on their members; 2) multilateral agreements that are concluded at the intergovernmental level; 3) arrangements and agreements; 4) consultations and cooperation at the regional level. The regulation of the economic policy of states takes place both in the regional and international aspects and is based on the norms of international private and public law. These rights are influenced by economic relations between states, legal entities and individuals, and economic associations. Established norms are divided into ordinary and conventional. Compliance with the norms is ensured both by the states themselves and by international regional organizations that exercise collective control over the observance of the norms of international law. Economic interrelations nevertheless become more complicated, therefore, between certain states, the relevant international rules and norms change. Organizations included in the UN system play a special role in the system of international economic organizations. At present, regional intergovernmental organizations have gained importance. Their number is increasing, and they cover all continents. In the scope of their activities, regional organizations include not only the economy, but also the tasks of social development, political interests, issues of ideology, security and culture. Non-governmental organizations play a significant role in the regulation of world economic relations and assistance in their development. Basically, these are associations of entrepreneurs: 1) International Chamber of Commerce; 2) association of exporters and producers of raw materials; 3) development funds created by non-governmental organizations; 4) conferences and round tables held by entrepreneurs from different countries to coordinate economic policy; development of international business rules. At the present stage, the main tasks of international regulation are: 1) supply of stability in the development of the world economy and in the monetary and financial sphere; 2) the formation of economic cooperation between countries in various forms; elimination of discrimination in trade and economic relations between countries and groups; 3) rendering assistance to the development of private entrepreneurship; 4) approval of specific measures to overcome the crisis in a particular country or on the world market; 5) coordination and harmonization of the macroeconomic policy of states, which is due to an impartial trend towards economic integration of individual regions. International economic organizations have a decisive influence on all aspects of interstate economic relations. Intergovernmental organizations of the UN system are of particular importance in the development of international legal regulation. In the course of their activities, they develop such mechanisms and norms that have an important impact on national legal systems and state legislation. The goals and functions of international economic organizations are: 1) research and adoption of measures on the most important problems of international economic relations; 2) supply of currency stabilization; 3) assistance in eliminating trade barriers and ensuring a wide exchange of goods between states; 4) allocation of funds in addition to private capital to help technological and economic progress; 5) stimulation of improvement of labor relations and working conditions; 6) approval of resolutions and recommendations within the framework of regulation of world economic relations. It can be noted that International Intergovernmental Organizations are founded as organizational forms of multifaceted cooperation between states, based on objective necessity. These organizations are determined primarily by the needs of the development of international economic relations. There are main directions of International regulation: 1) industrial and economic cooperation; 2) cooperation in the transport sector; 3) cooperation in the monetary and financial system; 4) cooperation within the framework of world trade; 5) cooperation in the intellectual property system; 6) cooperation in the field of standardization and certification of products; 7) cooperation in the investment sphere; 8) scientific and technical cooperation; 9) cooperation in the field of international commercial practice. The implementation of these above types of cooperation is carried out by international economic organizations of the appropriate profile and competence. UN organizations, as well as regional organizations, implement international economic cooperation through specialized institutions and autonomous bodies, ECOSOC bodies. Regional organizations that carry out economic cooperation and economic integration in various forms are of significant importance. Regional funds and banks help them to a certain extent. The goal of regional economic cooperation is to support developing countries in generating sustainable economic growth, in building critical sectors of the economy, in increasing the level of social development and improving people's lives. Interstate industrial cooperation is aimed at: 1) development of direct cooperative relations in the sphere of production; 2) expansion of general production activities; 3) attraction of foreign investments in the field of industry; 4) technical assistance. To assist the industrialization process and provide technical assistance to developing countries and coordinate all UN activities in the field of industrial cooperation, two specialized organizations were founded within the UN: UNIDO and UNDP. In the monetary and financial field, international cooperation is being implemented within the framework of other specialized institutions, namely the UN - the IMF and IBRD, the EBRD, the BIS, as well as regional banks. The limit of his achievements is to provide the necessary conditions for mutual currency settlements, payments, lending. The IMF exercises control over the world monetary system, providing its stability; monitors international monetary policy and exchange rates, the behavior of member countries in international monetary relations, and, if necessary, provides short-term and medium-term loans. In the field of interstate monetary and financial cooperation, various bilateral agreements on the promotion and protection of investments are of significant importance, they also deal with control over the avoidance of double taxation. Interstate cooperation in the transport sector is carried out within the framework of the UN by organizations intended for this, namely: 1) for civil aviation - ICAO; 2) for maritime transport - IMO; 3) for railway transport - the European Conference on Passenger Tariffs (since 1975), as well as the International Association of Railway Congresses (1884); 4) for road transport - the International Road Transport Union (1948), etc. Four organizations are engaged in international regulation in the sphere of world trade: WTO, UNCTAD and ITC UNCTAD/WTO, UNCITRAL, operating within the framework of the UN. UNCTAD/WTO are called upon to regulate international trade in goods and services. The purpose of UNCTAD is to promote the formation of international trade in industrial, raw materials and so-called invisible items - transport, technology transfer, tourism. Trade finance issues are also an integral part of it. Particular attention in the activities of UNCTAD is given to the problematic issues of developing countries in cooperation with the ITC. In 1966, the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) was formed, which is a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly. It promotes the development of international trade law, mainly in the preparation of draft international conventions and other documents. To help regulate international trade in certain commodities, multilateral agreements have been concluded, and a number of international organizations have been formed with the participation of importing and exporting countries (for example, on tin, cocoa, jute, lead and zinc, wheat, natural rubber, coffee, olive oil, sugar, cotton) or only exporters (for example, oil). The goals of the organizations are to mitigate sharp fluctuations in world prices, to determine the balance between supply and demand by setting quotas for exporting countries and importers' obligations to purchase goods, setting maximum and minimum prices and creating buffer stocks of goods. The most significant example of the organization of exporting countries is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which set itself the task of protecting the interests of oil-producing countries by harmonizing possible oil prices and limiting oil production by certain quotas introduced for each country. Of the diverse number of international non-governmental organizations formed to promote international trade, one can single out the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Bureau for the Publication of Customs Tariffs, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). Like UNCITRAL, the International Chamber of Commerce and UNIDROIT carry out tremendous work to harmonize and unify national legislation that regulates commercial and financial relations between entrepreneurs through the development of international legal acts. For example, developed in 1990 by the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Rules for the Interpretation of Trade Terms "Incoterms". By establishing control over the export of strategic goods to the socialist countries, the regulation of world trade was implemented for a long time. At the initiative of the United States in 1949, the Coordinating Committee for Export Control (COCOM) was formed within NATO. It was the "organ for restricting export trade" between the Western countries and the socialist states. In addition to NATO countries, Japan and Australia joined COCOM. KOCOM, even after the collapse of the USSR, continued its activities in relation to such strategic goods, the export of which was limited to "potentially dangerous" countries for NATO or even banned. In 1994, COCOM was eliminated. On the basis of the Wassenaar Arrangements (1996), the monitoring of the export of conventional weapons, as well as dual-use goods and technologies, continues. Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe also participate in the KOCOM agreement. International cooperation in the field of intellectual property protection intends to ensure the regulation of entrepreneurial activity in the relevant areas. It should be noted that such cooperation is protected by copyrights, which were established at different times. One of the most significant international agreements is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, adopted in 1886. On September 06.09.1952, 1886, the Universal Copyright Convention was signed in Geneva. In 1891, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was adopted, in XNUMX - the Madrid Convention on the International Registration of Factory and Trademarks. All of these conventions provide protection abroad for intellectual property rights. Coordination of international activities in this area is carried out with the help of a specialized UN agency - the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 2. Classification of international economic organizations International economic organizations that regulate the systems of the world economy are usually classified according to two key principles: 1) by organizational principle; 2) in the field of multilateral regulation. The classification of international economic organizations according to the organizational principle is the direct participation or, conversely, non-participation of the organization in the United Nations system. It can also be noted that the profile of organizations and the goals of their activities are taken into account. According to this principle, international economic organizations are divided into the following groups: 1) international economic organizations of the UN system; 2) international economic organizations that are not members of the UN system; 3) regional economic organizations. A more detailed classification can be seen in Table 3. Table 3 Classification of international economic organizations by organizational principle  According to the sphere of multilateral regulation, international economic organizations are classified into the following groups: 1) international economic organizations regulating economic and industrial cooperation and branches of the world economy; 2) international economic organizations in the system of regulation of world trade; 3) regional economic organizations in the system of regulation of the world economy; 4) international and regional economic organizations that regulate business activities. All international and regional economic organizations that fall into these four categories listed above are intergovernmental organizations. They are also referred to as interstate or multilateral. In addition to intergovernmental organizations, the classification includes international non-governmental economic organizations and associations that promote the development of world economic relations. LECTURE No. 15. TNCs and their importance in the global economy Transnational Corporation (TNC) - this is a large significant firm (or an alliance of firms from different countries), which has foreign investments (assets) and has a huge impact on an international scale in any area of the economy (or even several areas). In foreign international economic literature, such terms as "multinational firms" and "multinational corporations" are quite often used. It should be noted that these terms are used interchangeably. There are certain qualitative characteristics of TNCs. They are as follows. First, these are implementation features. An enterprise (firm) sells an impressive part of its products and at the same time has a significant impact on the international market. Secondly, these are the features of the location of production. Subsidiaries and enterprises may be located in other countries. Thirdly, these are the features of property rights. The owners of the enterprise are residents of different countries. It is enough for any firm to have only one sign to enter the category of transnational corporations. However, it can be emphasized that there are some large enterprises (companies) that have all three of these features at once. The first one is considered the most important. The undisputed leader according to this criterion at the moment is the Swiss company "Nestle" ("Nestle"). More than 98% of the company's products are exported. And the other two signs (internationalization of production and ownership) may be absent. The limit between transnational and conventional corporations in modern society is rather arbitrary, since as the globalization of the economy matures, the internationalization of property markets, production, and sales takes place. That is why researchers use a variety of criteria allocation of TNCs. The United Nations has its own opinion about TNCs. She first referred to them as companies with branches in more than six countries and an annual turnover of more than $ 100 million. Now the UN refers to transnational corporations those that have the following features: 1) the presence of production cells in at least two countries; 2) centralized management of an economically coordinated policy; 3) active interaction of production cells (exchange of responsibility and resources). Modern Russian economists distinguish two types of TNCs: 1) transnational corporations whose activities go beyond the borders of the country where their center is located (a kind of "headquarters"); 2) transnational corporations, which are a union of national "business organizations" of various states. TNCs should be distinguished by the scale of their activities. They are small and large. The criterion for such a division is the size of the annual turnover. If small TNCs have mainly three or four foreign affiliates, then large TNCs have dozens, and possibly even hundreds. An important special kind of transnational corporations are transnational banks (TNB). Their responsibility includes lending activities and organizing cash settlements on a global scale. In order to more clearly imagine the whole essence of TNCs, it is necessary to pay attention to its development itself. The very first beginnings of TNCs appeared in the 1600th-XNUMXth centuries. with the development of the colonial New World, when the founders of the British East India Company formed in XNUMX were not only English merchants, but also Dutch merchants and German bankers. However, almost until the XX century. similar colonial companies did not play a decisive role in the world economy, since their occupation included exclusively trade, and not production. They can only be called the forerunners of modern TNCs. In the development of TNCs, it is possible to single out only three main stages. The first stage is the beginning of the XNUMXth century. TNCs invested (mainly in raw materials) in the sectors of underdeveloped economically foreign economies and, first of all, formed purchasing and marketing divisions there. Correcting high-tech industrial production abroad was then unprofitable. On the one hand, in such countries there was no personnel with the necessary qualifications, and the technology did not reach a high degree of automation. On the other hand, the possible negative impacts of new production capacity on the ability to maintain an efficient level of capacity utilization at the company's former "home" facilities had to be taken into account. During this period, the subjects of transnationalization were mainly international cartels (associations of firms from different countries). They distributed sales markets, engaged in a coordinated pricing policy, etc. The second stage in the development of TNCs begins in the middle of the XNUMXth century. This strengthening of the importance of foreign production units is manifested, not only in developing countries, but also in developed countries. Foreign production subsidiaries began to specialize mainly in the production of the same products that were produced in the TNC's "native" country. Little by little, branches of TNCs are changing their specialization, more and more focusing on local demand and the market. If earlier international cartels dominated the world market, now national firms are emerging, quite large ones that are even capable of pursuing an independent foreign economic strategy. Especially important is the fact that it was in the 1960s. the term "transnational corporations" is born. Such a rapid growth in the number and importance of TNCs since the 1960s. is largely associated with the influence of the scientific and technological revolution, since the introduction of new technologies and the ease of production operations influenced the fact that it became possible to use low-skilled and semi-literate personnel. At the same time, the potential for spatial separation of individual technological processes appeared. The growth of transport and information communications contributed to the realization of these opportunities. During this period, the manufacturing process became possible. This gave impetus to development while concentrating control over the spatial decentralization of production on a planetary scale. The modern stage - from the end of the XX century. The main feature of the formation of TNCs is the organization of production networks and their implementation on a global scale. The growth in the number of foreign affiliates of TNCs is much faster than the growth in the number of TNCs themselves. Analysis of production costs plays a key role in choosing where to set up subsidiaries, and these are lower in developing countries. It produces products for which demand is higher. Because of this, for example, the population of modern Germany buys the equipment of the German company "Bosh", which is produced not at all in Germany, but in South Korea. The investment flow of transnational corporations has increased in scale and is now increasingly concentrated in the most prosperous regions of the world. If back in the 1970s. about 25% of foreign direct investment went to developing countries, by the end of the 1980s their number fell below 20%. The scale of modern TNCs TNCs have combined international production with world trade. They operate through their subsidiaries and branches in hundreds of countries around the world according to the same financial, scientific and production strategy. TNCs have a colossal market and research and production potential, which ensures a high level of development. As of the beginning of 2006, there were 68 TNCs operating in the world, controlling 930 foreign affiliates. For comparison: in 1939 there were only about 30 TNCs, in 1970 - 7 thousand, in 1976 - 11 thousand with 86 thousand branches). The role of TNCs in the modern world economy is assessed using the following indicators: 1) TNCs account for approximately ½ of world industrial production; 2) they control about 2/3 of world trade; 3) TNC enterprises employ about 10% of all those employed in non-agricultural production; 4) TNCs check about 4/5 of all licenses, patents and know-how available in the world. The composition of TNCs in terms of their origin over time becomes more and more international. Among the largest firms in the world, of course, American ones predominate. LECTURE No. 16. Regions in the modern world of the economy 1. Asia in the world economy. Main indicators of economic and social development When considering this issue, it must be remembered that on December 26, 2004, catastrophic earthquakes and tsunamis occurred in the territories around the Indian Ocean, which claimed 280 thousand lives and caused enormous damage. The most significant feature of the Asia-Pacific region is the rapid aging of the population, as well as the increasing proportion of women. It can be noted that 2004 in Asia was characterized by the highest rates of economic global maturation in the last three decades. The countries of the ESCAP region also enjoyed impressive economic performance, estimated at 7,2% given generally low inflation rates. The increase in GDP growth was especially noticeable in East and Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, as well as in the developed countries of the region. However, other subregions have had to maintain growth rates close to the previous year's levels. In general, economic growth has been diversified, supported by strong export growth and more or less rising commodity prices. The increase in domestic demand, which is driven by low interest rates, was also taken into account. In 2004, there was an increase in capital expenditures in many Asian countries, as well as a sharp influx of foreign direct investment in the region. This inflationary pressure has had a mixed effect. Some regions experienced relatively higher inflation rates in 2004 compared to 2003, while others saw significantly lower inflation rates (Pacific island countries). In short, in the developing countries of the ESCAP region, inflation rates remain at 4,8%. The impressive economic performance of the countries of the region testifies to the resilience of the regional economy in the face of a range of old and new challenges. The return of upward inflationary trends in the region played a significant role in the record rise in nominal crude oil prices, which to some extent slowed down growth rates in the second half of 2004. Individual central banks have begun raising interest rates early, but in small increments, to dampen the risk of potentially higher levels of inflation going forward, marking the end of the period of low inflation and low interest rates that lasted for previous years. In 2005, GDP growth in the ESCAP region was projected to slow to about 6,2%, as stagnation in external markets deepened. But the inflation rate slowed down to about 4%. Due to the uncertainty about the future movement of oil prices, a higher degree of error was characteristic. Shocks such as the catastrophic tsunami and the avian influenza virus have had a very significant impact on growth in the short term. It should be kept in mind that the different subregions of ESCAP, as well as some countries, seem to have very different ways of dealing with the challenge of sustaining the momentum of growth. This has already been discussed above. In general, economic growth in East and Northeast Asia, considering 2004, rose to 7,5%, which is 1,3% higher than the previous year. The Asia subregion's growth prospects are closely linked to effective measures. There is an opinion that the Chinese economy should gradually reduce these rates to a more sustainable one, which will allow the countries of the subregion and the entire ESCAP region to orient themselves in the market space. In North and Central Asia, 2004 was characterized by dynamic growth. Nevertheless, compared with the 2003 level, they have decreased to some extent. Inflation rates have declined in countries such as Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation, but remain high in the latter. Elsewhere in the subregion, there are significant price pressures. The year 2005 is characterized by suppression of production growth rates, as well as inflation rates. The Pacific island countries experienced moderate real GDP growth. Substantial growth was underpinned by higher prices for commodity exports and tourism development. The consequences of improving the system of economic management are the reduction of budget deficits and a sharp decline in the level of public debt. With this monetary and financial system was able to achieve significant success in the fight against inflation. Yet rising oil prices put these gains at risk. Economic growth is currently slowing down due to lower commodity prices and a modest increase in inflation. The macroeconomic stabilization of the Pacific island countries has not yet led to an acceleration in economic growth, mainly due to the lack of favorable conditions for investors - this is their hallmark. For investors, an unattractive climate is defined by underdevelopment of the system of governance and political instability, exacerbated by corruption and weak protection of law and order. Rural development has received insufficient attention, undermining efforts to alleviate poverty in the subregion. Development of a strategy to ensure sustainable development and prevent the predatory exploitation of natural resources. Compared to the high rates of economic growth achieved in previous years, the developing countries of South and South-West Asia, despite poor weather conditions in South Asia and higher oil prices, still managed to slightly increase their economic growth rates. Inflation accelerated in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, slowing to some extent in India and the Islamic Republic of Iran and more significantly in Turkey. However, current inflationary trends will continue, with a 1% slowdown in GDP growth overall for the subregion compared to the past. Due to the effects of the tsunami, GDP growth in Sri Lanka will lag behind the previous forecast by XNUMX%. All countries in South and South-West Asia have recently benefited from structural reform programs designed to strengthen and stabilize macroeconomic fundamentals and provide sustainable productive incentives for both manufacturing and agriculture. However, progress in this area has been varied. Only fiscal consolidation brings limited success. Consideration of the developed countries of the region is also important. Based on a recent analysis of economic data from Japan, the country's economy has begun to show the first signs of recovery after years of stagnation. Growth in Asia also picked up, supported by stronger domestic demand and higher commodity prices. In the future, the economic growth rates of Asian countries are expected to become moderate in the event of a decrease in the external market conditions. Some easing of deflationary pressure in Japan is becoming noticeable, but there is still no unequivocal evidence of the end of deflation. For Japan, the fiscal deficit still remains a serious problem. According to the forecasts of the regional Economic and Social Commission of the United Nations, the pace of economic growth in Asian countries will continue. But this is if oil prices do not rise. 2. Africa. Main indicators of economic and social development In Africa, the recent gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4,6%, the highest figure in nearly a decade. If we compare even with 2003, we can note an increase of 4,3%. This positive result was supported by higher commodity prices, including oil, as well as good macroeconomic management practices, and increased agricultural production. One cannot fail to note the improvement in the political situation in many African countries, including also more active donor support in the form of aid and debt relief. Looking at the important role that the European Union plays as Africa's trading partner, one can see relatively low growth rates in the European Union. It can be assumed that the reason is the decline in overall growth rates on the continent. The total amount of official development assistance (ODA) provided to Africa has hit a new high at $26,3 billion. There was a rise from the bottom mark - to the level of 15,7 billion US dollars. Some of this growth has been driven by debt relief measures being taken under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Relationship Initiative. For the Committee, the bulk of ODA as a whole falls on the development of the Economic Cooperation Organization. Foreign direct investment increased from $12 billion to $15 billion. Growth to US$20 billion is currently projected. At the same time, there is a trend towards the concentration of FDI flows in areas of Africa, namely in North Africa, as well as in certain sectors, for example, in the extractive industry. Despite the favorable growth performance in Africa and the predicted growth rate of 5%, investment and savings now remain negligible and barely exceed 20% of GDP in the period 2000-2002. Any slowdown in global economic growth could have adverse repercussions for Africa. However, its rise will always be facilitated by: 1) maintaining macroeconomic stability; 2) growth in the volume of exports from African countries in the context of a slowdown in global growth rates; 3) a steady increase in agricultural production under consistently favorable weather conditions; 4) active development of tourism and the mining sector. In achieving the Millennium Development Goals, North Africa stands out in particular. And sub-Saharan Africa, ignoring their real GDP growth since 1998, has made little progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. This is especially true of the relationship of halving poverty, reducing maternal mortality rates and increasing rates of primary education. In other words, most countries are still backward. And to achieve the aforementioned goals, special efforts will be needed. Indicators by sub-regions The reason for the increase in economic growth on the African continent was the improvement in sub-Saharan Africa, in contrast to 2002-2003, when the increase was observed mainly in North Africa. Growth was highest in Central Africa, followed by East Africa, North Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa. The decline in growth rates was noted only in West Africa - from about 7% to 4%. The relatively low growth rate in West Africa was helped by a slowdown in real GDP growth in Nigeria, from 10,2% to 4,6%. The decline in West Africa has been helped by the ongoing political crisis, which has resulted in consecutive slow real GDP growth. In addition, agricultural production in Mali, Niger and Senegal was severely affected by the locust invasion, resulting in relatively low growth rates in these countries. On the other hand, six of the fifteen West African countries had growth rates of 5% or more, with Liberia leading the group with a real growth rate of 15%, followed by Gambia (6,6%), Sierra Leone (6,6%). .5,4%), Burkina Faso (5,4%), Cape Verde (5,3%) and Ghana (XNUMX%). Rising oil prices are driving economic growth in Central and North Africa. At the same time, East and West Africa benefited from an increase in agricultural production in line with rising commodity prices. Real GDP growth in South America has picked up. This was mainly due to favorable global and domestic demand, as well as low interest rates in the country. Growth rates Seven out of ten countries in Africa experienced average growth rates over the period 2000-2006. The highest figures for 2006 are considered to be 5%. Chad and Equatorial Guinea grew in double digits, while Mozambique, Angola and Sudan grew over 6% during the same period. Of the top ten countries in 2004, only the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and the Gambia averaged less than 5% growth. Such figures are due to the situation in the post-conflict period, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone. Interestingly enough, the countries that experienced the slowest economic growth in 2006 also had the lowest growth rates in the period 2000-2004. This applies to countries such as Zimbabwe, the Seychelles, Côte d'Ivoire and the Central African Republic. It can be concluded that the growth performance of the best and worst performing countries over the past five years has been fairly stable. A total of 5 African countries have managed to sustain their growth rates of 1999% or more since 14, bringing them closer to the 7% target required to achieve the Declaration's Development Goal 1 Millennium and related to poverty reduction. The current level of funding also suggests that more in-depth country-specific studies are needed to explore the range of economic performance across countries. Internal sources of growth. Domestic factors that contributed to Africa's record growth in 2006 include: 1) maintaining macroeconomic stability through a prudent budgetary and monetary policy; 2) improvement in the current account balance due to higher commodity prices (including commercial agricultural products); 3) receipts from tourism; 4) a more stable political situation in a number of African countries. macroeconomic stability. 1. Reducing the inflation rate. In the period 2003-2006. The average inflation rate in Africa decreased from 10,3% to 8,4%. This trend is due to prudent monetary and fiscal policies, good harvests, and relative stability and, in some cases, appreciation in exchange rates. African countries are diverse. While inflation fell in 29 African countries, it rose in 20 others. Twelve African countries have double-digit inflation rates, and one country (Zimbabwe) has reached triple-digit inflation. In contrast, Chad experienced deflation despite rising energy prices. 2. Reducing the budget deficit. In the period 2003-2006. the level of the budget deficit in African countries has decreased. Thirty-two countries recorded either a positive balance or a decrease in the level of the budget deficit. Of the 32 countries, 32 registered surpluses and 13 saw their deficits narrow. The budget surplus is noted primarily in oil-producing countries; Of the 19 countries with budget surpluses, 8 were oil producers. The success of African countries as a whole in improving their financial position in 2004 is due to the revenue generated by oil windfalls and prudent fiscal policies. Despite the progress made in budgetary matters, some African countries continue to face difficulties; in 10 countries, the deficit actually exceeded 5% of their GDP. The deficit was the result of an increase in spending for certain purposes. Their essence is as follows: 1) providing food security (Malawi); 2) repayment of wage arrears in the public sector (Guinea-Bissau); 3) rising social costs (Mauritius); 4) financing of elections (Malawi and Zimbabwe); 5) allocation of funds for the reconstruction of the economy destroyed by the war (Sierra Leone and Angola). Improvement of the current balance of payments. Considering roughly, it can be noted that half of African countries (26 out of 51) have achieved an improvement in their current balance of payments, which on the continent as a whole, instead of a deficit of 0,1% of GDP, began to have a surplus of 0,4%. A positive current account reading indicates a steady increase in exports of oil and non-oil products, as well as improved market access, which helped drive initiatives. They are provided by the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Everything But Arms Initiative Act, which are enforced by the United States government. The combined value of exports from the 37 African Growth and Opportunity Act countries to the United States rose 2006% in 38,1 from $2004 billion in 24,4. However, the factors behind these trade preferences hinder the expansion of exports. In addition, African textile and clothing manufacturers are facing difficulties with the end of the Textile Agreement, as this creates intense competition in the market, especially from competitive countries such as China, Pakistan and India. Due to the collapse of the Textile Agreement, the role of exports of textiles and clothing in the current balance of payments of African countries may turn out to be insignificant. Overall, as a result of an increase in volume (8%) and an increase in prices, exports increased by 23,5%, indicating an improvement in the terms of trade. Imports increased by an average of 16,9%, reflecting higher income levels and higher oil and food prices. The increase in imports in oil-producing countries was also spurred by increased investment to expand oil-producing capacity. However, the majority (8 out of 14) of the current account surplus countries were oil producers. Tourism development. In Africa, tourism is rapidly becoming one of the important sources of foreign exchange. For example, already in 2003, tourism revenues amounted to 18,6 billion US dollars, which is 19,2% higher than in 2002. According to calculations in 2003, each tourist brought in an income of 510 US dollars. Although this amount is only about half of the cost of every tourist in the Americas ($1029), these incomes are nevertheless an important source of income for the African economy. Together with favorable weather conditions and conditions, the low cost of travel in Africa can indeed be a positive factor in making Africa one of the preferred destinations for tourism. External sources of growth. The proportion of external factors that drive economic growth in Africa include the following: 1) increase in FDI and ODA; 2) an increase in commodity prices due to an increase in demand at the global level. In oil-producing countries in Africa, higher oil prices are playing a key role in spurring growth. Recently, this trend has posed a threat to economic growth in the oil-producing countries of Africa. In Africa, there is a stable growth of the world economy. Already in 2004, its global economy grew by 4%, the highest growth rate in two decades. Global growth was felt across the board, but particularly strong growth rates of 4,4% and 9% were seen in the United States and China, respectively. Growth in the European Union was relatively slow, at 1,8%, on the back of an appreciation of the euro, which affected exports to some extent. Given the important role that the European Union has played as Africa's trading partner, the relatively slow pace of growth in the European Union may have held back Africa's overall growth performance. Overall, however, strong global growth has supported growth in developing countries, reaching African countries, thanks to increased global demand for commodities. Rising commodity prices. Rising prices for oil and non-oil commodities have contributed to boosting Africa's growth performance. The commodity price index, denominated in US dollars, increased by 2004% in 26,3, driven by increased demand in Asia, especially China. The rise in commodity prices was largely attributable to changes in oil prices, while the rise in non-energy commodity prices was mainly driven by prices for metals, minerals and fertilizers. In contrast, the prices of cocoa, coffee, cotton and peanut butter have now fallen due to global market surpluses. Growth of inflow of direct foreign investments. Despite the recent decline in such investment globally, Africa has seen an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. FDI inflows to Africa rose from US$12 billion in 2002 to US$15 billion in 2003 and are projected to rise to US$20 billion in 2004. The influx of FDI in Africa has a regional trend (North Africa) and sectoral concentration (extractive industries). Two-thirds of all inflows to Africa came from North Africa, where the preference for investment was given to countries with large oil reserves (including the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Sudan and Morocco), i.e., countries that have an investor-friendly policy. In sub-Saharan Africa, Angola, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa have been favored for FDI. And the influx of FDI in the service industry in general, and in the electricity supply and wholesale and retail trade sub-sectors in particular, has increased in recent years despite the dominance of the extractive industry. In general, FDI growth in the service sector has benefited from privatization and liberalization in the service sector (for example, in telecommunications, energy and water), including technical innovations that have expanded the range of fee-based services offered. Issues of Concern in Africa. Savings and investment remain low despite favorable growth performance in 2004. At the same time, the depreciation of the US dollar supported the appreciation of the currencies of several African countries, which threatened to undermine the competitiveness of these countries in international level. In addition, global growth slowed to 2005% in 3,2 due to rising crude oil prices, fiscal tightening in the United States in response to deteriorating fiscal performance and the current account deficit, and also slowing economic growth in China. The slowdown in global growth has negative implications for African countries. Low domestic savings. The low level of domestic savings in Africa is partly explained by the low savings rate in the region. On average, in the period 2004-2005. The savings rate in Africa was 21,1% of GDP. Only 11 out of 50 countries had savings rates above the region's average, suggesting that even this average is largely driven by the strong performance of a number of countries. African countries' dependency on foreign aid is exacerbated by low domestic savings and makes them vulnerable to fluctuations in FDI and ODA development assistance. Growth prospects. Economic growth in (Africa is projected to) pick up to 5% from 4,6% in 2004. This growth is expected to be driven by better growth prospects in 32 African countries (excluding Nigeria). Growth will be supported by continued macroeconomic stability. African exports are expected to grow, albeit at a slower pace. Global growth is underpinned by continued improvement in agricultural output, continued favorable weather conditions, and strong growth in the tourism and extractive industries sub-sectors. East and Central Africa will be at the forefront of growth, according to world forecasts. And in southern Africa and West Africa, growth will be the slowest. However, growth in Central and East Africa is projected to be lower than in 2004. With Chad's growth projected to plummet from 39,4% in 2004 to just 13% in 2005, Central Africa's growth will naturally fall as well. This will happen due to the curtailment and postponement of the construction of the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline. Growth in Cameroon will remain unchanged, while a further reduction in oil production in Gabon is projected to slow economic growth to 0,8%. On the other hand, the strong expansion of non-energy industries is expected to expand development prospects in Congo, Principe and Sao Tome. Despite the decline in development in East Africa, growth in this subregion is expected to be stable going forward due to: 1) an increase in donor assistance throughout the subregion; 2) good harvests; 3) intensive growth in the tourism industry; 4) increased FDI inflows (Madagascar and Uganda); 5) sound macroeconomic management (Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and United Republic of Tanzania); 6) ensuring a more stable political environment (Burundi and the Comoros). Growth in North Africa is expected to pick up in the future due to increased agricultural production growth and the continued prosperous development of oil reserves. Other factors include: tax cuts in Egypt, which are expected to boost personal and private investment; intensive growth of tourism in Morocco and Tunisia; an increase in the inflow of foreign investment in the oil industry of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mauritania and Sudan (subject to the provision of peace); strong growth in services in Tunisia and Mauritania. Growth will be the fastest (8%) in Sudan. This is facilitated by building capacity in the oil industry and improving the political situation; followed by Algeria (6,6%), Mauritania (5,4%) and Tunisia (5,1%). West Africa is projected to experience a modest pickup in growth. This growth will occur in 8 out of 15 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Senegal). Liberia is projected to again lead the subregions in terms of growth at 15%. Key factors behind the expected increase in growth in West Africa include: expected growth in agricultural production (Benin, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo); increased donor assistance (Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone); expanding mining (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali and Sierpa Leone); inflow of foreign investments (Cabo Verde and Liberia); tourism growth (Cape Verde and Gambia). Economic growth in southern Africa is projected to pick up at a much faster rate of 4,4% from 3,3% in 2004. Growth in South Africa is expected to pick up from 2,8% to 3,4% due to expected strong global demand for its products, growth in tourism and FDI inflows, expansion of domestic demand in response to new tax relief measures and the benefits of a low interest rate. Angola's economic activity will continue to be influenced by developments in the oil industry. In addition, the main factors driving growth in the subregion will be: growth in services in Botswana, Mauritius and Namibia, increased activity in the extractive industries in Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia, expansion of the agricultural industry in Zambia, Mauritius and Mozambique , tourism development in Zambia and Mauritius and donor assistance in Zambia. However, Zimbabwe's economic growth is projected to decline (albeit at a slower pace) due to the continued unfavorable political environment and weak performance in both the agriculture and manufacturing industries. Growth, employment and poverty. Employment is an important source of income for the poor. Increasing employment opportunities must be seen as a critical element of poverty reduction initiatives. It can also be seen that sustained economic growth paves the way for the creation of "decent" jobs that provide wages above the poverty line. Unfortunately, employment growth has remained stagnant despite real GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa since 1998. There is an upward trend in GDP growth, indicating that real GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa has not been strong enough in terms of employment. Poverty trends. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest poverty rate, while North Africa and the Middle East has the lowest. However, between 1980 and 2005 Poverty has declined significantly in all regions, except in sub-Saharan Africa, where it has actually risen little. In addition, sub-Saharan Africa was the only region in which the proportion of the "working poor" increased between 1980 and 2005. Author: Pisareva M.P.
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