world economy- is a set of interconnected whole system of international economic relations.

The basis for the formation of the world economy was, which took shape in the period from the 15th to the 18th centuries. The world economy has been developing especially intensively since the middle of the 19th century. It is believed that by the beginning of the XX century. the world economy has basically taken shape. The 20th century has actually become a century of rapid development of the world economy and global changes in its structure.

The world economy of the beginning of the XXI century. is entirely based on the principles of internalization of production and capital. Despite the presence of state borders, internationalization of economic life is the most stable trend in the development of the world economy. It is considered as the result of the development and at the same time of international cooperation of production, as the development of the social character of production on an international scale. These processes simultaneously occur at two levels. At the macroeconomic level many countries and regions as a whole are striving for the liberalization of economic relations, the removal of trade and investment barriers, the creation, etc. At the microeconomic level there is an expansion of the activities of national enterprises beyond the boundaries of national territories, the domestic market.

Similar phenomena in individual regions of the globe find expression in the intertwining of national economies, the pursuit of a coordinated economic policy, for which special supranational bodies are created. Outside the framework of integration groupings, the role of such regulatory institutions as the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and the World Bank is growing sharply.

The process of world economic life is carried out along the line, affects the scientific, technical and information exchange, enhances the migration of capital and labor. Uniform standards for technology, accounting and statistical reporting, education and culture. Unified criteria are being intensively introduced, the requirements for tax policy and employment policy are being unified.

Stages of development of the world economy

In identifying the starting point from which the world economy, there is a problem. According to the German economist Andre Gunder Frank, the modern world economic system originated about five thousand years ago. His evidence is based on the synchronism of economic cycles in the states of both the East and the West. Other researchers, such as the French historian Fernand Braudel and the American economist Immanuel Wallerstein, agree that the birth of the world economy has already occurred in our time. They believe that when the economic center of the world moved to Western Europe, a European international division of labor took shape, which laid the foundations of the world economy.

If we consider the history of the development of any economic activity as such, it is necessary to start from the time of the birth of the tribal community. If we count from the moment the world economy began to form as an integral organism, then the starting point, without any doubt, would be the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries (XV-XVI centuries). It was she who ensured the accumulation of initial capital for future industrialization in a number of European countries (albeit in the form of shameless robbery of colonies), the involvement of significant overseas territories in the world economic mechanism. By the 16th century Geographically, the world economy included Western Europe, North America, and partly Brazil.

The economic unity of the world grew in the last third of the 18th century. from the Industrial Revolution, which created the first ever British factory industry. The transformation of England into the "workshop of the world" led to a fundamental change in its foreign trade policy. Tariffs on raw materials and foodstuffs are a thing of the past as the country experienced shortages. In the 40s. 19th century restrictions on the export of industrial equipment were lifted and the Corn Laws were abolished. Thus, Great Britain, being the largest economic power in the world, embarked on the path of free trade, which gave a powerful impetus to the development of the entire international commodity-money turnover. Industrial revolutions also took place in other countries of continental Europe over the following decades.

Mass industrialization, on the one hand, created a demand for raw materials and fuel, and since the European countries did not possess them to a sufficient extent, they were forced to turn to foreign markets. On the other hand, industrialization gave rise to mass production - the problem of marketing arose. Development railways, connecting the interior of countries and continents with coastal ones, as well as maritime transport, which connected the continents, reduced transport costs, opening up opportunities for large-scale and fast deliveries of the bulk of goods over long distances. The first electric telegraph also played a significant role in creating a unified world economy. By the end of the 70s. 19th century telegraph lines already connected Europe with South America, with North and South Africa, with India, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Telecommunication historians refer to the telegraph as the "internet of the Victorian era". It was the telegraph that made a real revolution in the field of communication, reducing the time for exchanging information from weeks, or even months, to a matter of minutes. Thus, it can be argued that by the end of the XIX century. the world economy has started working in real time.

In the history of the development of the world economy, the following stages are distinguished.

Appropriating economy

This is the longest stage, covering the ancient (Paleolithic, 2 million years ago - up to 10 thousand years BC) and middle (Mesolithic, 10-5 thousand years BC) Stone Ages. At this stage, the primary task was the extraction of food, and the main types of economic activity- hunting, fishing, collecting wild fruits and roots, beekeeping. The social structure is characterized by a primitive tribal community with the equality of all its members. At this stage, man was a part of nature, therefore he could not cause any noticeable harm to it.

agricultural holding

This is the second longest stage, which included several historical eras from the New Stone Age (Neolithic, 5-3 thousand years BC) to the Early Modern Age (end of the 15th - mid-17th centuries). At this stage, man still considered his main task to provide himself with food. True, now he directed all his efforts not to extracting them from the wild, but to their organized production. Thus, a fundamentally new type of human activity arose - productive. The main industry was agriculture. Other industries that had arisen by that time - craft and trade - only served him. Since it was at this stage that property inequality and the exploitation of man by man arose, it was characterized by the most rigid forms of social structure - slavery and feudalism. In connection with the intensification of economic activity and, as a result, pressure on the natural environment, the ecological situation began to worsen.

Geographic discoveries XV-XVII centuries were accompanied by the colonization of open lands, that is, the economic unification of the metropolis and colonies on disparity (unequal) conditions.

industrial economy

Its formation took place during the English Industrial Revolution (1770-1780s) and ended after about 200 years.

Industrial Revolution XVIII century, when, after the creation of the steam engine, the process of transition from manufactory (manufacturing) to the factory system of production began. The sharply increased productivity of labor made it possible to quickly saturate domestic markets and gave impetus to the formation of world markets and the international division of labor. The process has begun internationalization exchange and production.

Industry becomes the main branch at the stage of the industrial economy. The development of commodity production, aimed at the production of products for the purpose of selling them and, ultimately, for making a profit, violated the stability of the world economic system. Constantly looking for cheaper factors of production, the entrepreneur puts at his service the resources not only of his own country, but also of other countries. Different countries are actually still divided into colonies, which act as suppliers of resources, and metropolises, which process these resources. An obvious consequence of the ever-expanding production of more and more new types of goods is the formation of a consumer society, which is characterized by an unrestrained race for material values. From the point of view of the social structure, this stage corresponds to capitalism in the initial stage of its development. The intensive development of industrial production has led to a significant deterioration of the environmental situation.

post-industrial economy

For the first time, the transformation of the industrial economy into a post-industrial economy was discussed in the 70s. 20th century in the USA (the founders of the doctrine were D. Bel, G. Kahn, Z. Brzezinski and A. Touraine and others). The defining feature of this type of economy was the predominant development of the service sector. Compared to it, industry and, moreover, agriculture recede into the background. The main activity within the service sector itself is financial transactions. From now on, the largest fortunes are made not in the manufacturing sector, but in the financial market, including its segments such as foreign exchange, credit and investment. Currently, the total volume of operations on them exceeds the volume of all goods and services produced by more than 10 times. Of course, this became possible only thanks to the achievement of the highest level of technological and technical equipment of production both in industry and in agriculture. It's no secret that the service sector is a derivative of the sphere of material production. That is, if any country has not created powerful and modern branches of material production, there can be no talk of any transition to the post-industrial stage of development. The post-industrial economy is characterized by the deformation of traditional classes: now an ordinary worker often acts as a shareholder (and, in fact, begins to work for himself), and a farmer cannot do without a computer (which makes his work more and more like that of a bank clerk). Scientific activity is increasingly claiming leading positions, and not without reason, as a result of which the place of companies as the “main think tanks” of the country's economic complex is being taken by universities, and the place of businessmen is taken by scientists. The development of a post-industrial economy usually occurs through the use of their own financial, intellectual and other people's natural and labor resources. All countries of the world are divided into two groups.

The first group consists of those countries that have money (highly developed), the second - those that do not have them (they lag behind the first in terms of development level, and over time this gap is increasing). The complete saturation of the market with all kinds of goods and services makes it possible to think more about the preservation of the human environment, due to which the ecological situation improves somewhat.

In the XIX-XX centuries. as a result of scientific technical progress and uneven concentration of capital, and become the main players in world markets. Increasing international competition is pushing neighboring countries towards economic integration. A network arises international organizations trying to regulate the increasingly powerful cross-border flows of goods, capital and labor. Thus, the prevailing trends in the development of the world economy are the internationalization of exchange and production, transnationalization, integration at macro and micro levels, which form the global economy. There are four phases of the cycle:

1. peak (highest point of economic activity)
2. recession (recession)
3. low point of activity
4. rise (expansion)

Allocate medium-term(5-7 years) and long-term(40-60 years) cycles of economic dynamics.

Long-term fluctuations are called " large cycles of the Kondratiev conjuncture".

The transition from one cycle to another is connected with the development of productive forces. So, upward waves were observed:

• at the end of the 18th century and were associated with the development of the textile industry and the production of iron.
• in the middle of the 19th century. with the development of sea and rail transport
• late 19th early 20th centuries. with the discovery of electricity.
• in the 60s of the 20th century with the introduction of computers and new means of communication, synthetic materials, space exploration.
• at the beginning of the 21st century, an upward trend (fifth cycle) is expected due to the introduction of the achievements of genetic engineering, biotechnology and computer science.

The downward trend in the world economy coincided with the world wars and the energy crisis of the 1970s.

Over the past 46 years, the average annual growth rate has changed as follows:

• 1960-1970 5.3%
• 1970-1980 3.7%
• 1980-1990 3%
• 1987-1996 3.3%
• 1997-2006 3.9%

Despite medium-term cyclical fluctuations, from the 50s to the early 70s. there is a long-term upward trend in the economic development of the MX, from the 70s to the early 90s. - downward dynamics. The recession of the early 1990s was asynchronous. The gradual pickup in growth in the US coincided with negative growth in Japan and a sluggish economic environment in Western Europe.

According to the World Monetary Fund, in 2006 the volume of the gross world product increased by 4.3%.

On acceleration economic growth The world is influenced by factors such as:

• relatively high growth rates of the American economy
• cyclical recovery process in Western Europe
• stabilization of the situation in emerging markets, including Russia
• growth of the economies of oil-producing countries
• overcoming the financial crisis in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
• Japan's exit from stagnation
• vigorous development of the Chinese economy

general characteristics and stages of the formation of the world economy

Factors affecting the dynamics of the world economy

Modern trends in the development of the world economy

The life of mankind, for all its heterogeneity,

Became one. An event that took place in the outback

corner of any point of any continent is reflected and

has consequences - large and small - in a number of other places,

throughout the surface of the earth.

V.I.Vernadsky

Question 1. General characteristics and stages of the formation of the world economy

As a result of economic evolution, a completely new economic system of a global scale has been created, which is called the mega-economy. Practically no one denies the existing unity of many world processes. It has been clearly realized since the time of our great compatriot Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, whose words served as an epigraph to the lesson. Vladimir Ivanovich considered the earth to be a kind of unified and, as it were, a living geological and ecological organism.

By broad definition,world economy is the totality of all the national economies of the world.

By narrow definition–the totality of only those parts of the national economy 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 do not interact with the outside world directly or indirectly, for example, through those sectors of the national economy that actively trade in the foreign market.

Naturally, the emergence of the mega-economy, as well as any new entity that has emerged as a result of evolutionary processes, cannot be absolutely exactly dated.

It was the result of a gradual accumulation of properties and features that appeared in the bowels of the world economy throughout the second half of the 20th century.

However, in order to fully understand the essence of the modern world economy, the main features and development trends, it is necessary to have a clear idea of ​​the stages of formation and development of the world economy.

Table 1 - Stages of formation and development of the world economy

		Character traits
	The period of prosperity of the Roman Empire I century AD.	An integral world economy began to take shape on the basis of the gradual development of trade relations between certain countries
	The era of great geographical open XV-XVI	Accelerated development of international trade
	Late XIX - early XX centuries. Industrial revolution, development of capitalism into a monopoly stage	The development of the mass market contributed to the development of the world market into the world economy. Growth of capital migration, international industrial relations
	30s XX century	WWI caused a general instability of economic ties, a drop in the export of goods and capital, and a rupture of world economic ties in general. The emergence of two types of world economy: capitalist and socialist.
	Mid 20th century	The formation of the world socialist economy, the reorganization of the world economy after WWII.
	Early 60s. XX century	The collapse of the colonial system, the emergence of a large group of developing countries that are actively involved in world economic relations.
	Mid 70s XX century	A multipolar world economy, increased competition between the main centers of world economic development. The entry of NIS into the system of the world economy.
	80-90s XX century	The world economy is acquiring the features of a single holistic entity. The emerging global world economy is not homogeneous, it includes national economies industrially. developed countries, developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
	The turn of the XX-XXI centuries.	The transition to a post-industrial way of social production, an information-scientific society, striving to combine the achievements of modern scientific and technological revolution with more and more socially oriented market mechanisms.

First step From the point of view of the coverage of world economic relations, historically, the first to form were economic relations that linked together the economic integrity of the Roman Empire. A coherent world economy began to take shape, albeit in a rudimentary form. The first world not only military-political, but also economic empire was the Roman Empire. And it was characterized by a significant integrity of economic relations, although, of course, this integrity was based on a primitive international division of labor, which in turn was determined by the level of development of productive forces (slave labor, tools of labor, the nature of the division of labor), etc. At the same time, however, Rome, as a world economic power, embodied practically all the elements of the communist community, and slavery, and mature feudalism, and classical absolutism, and the inviolability of private property - a principle approved in Rome and finally triumphing under capitalism already in the 18th century. nineteenth centuries, and even the equality of people (for the citizens of Rome). The foundations of civil legal relations in Rome were so polished that many norms operate in modern countries almost unchanged (the Napoleonic Code of 1807 included entire articles from Roman law - the Code of Justinian).

Second phase The formation of the world economy is characterized by the time of great geographical discoveries, the development of new territories, the involvement of entire continents in the system of the international world economy was accompanied by the slave trade, violence, and the physical destruction of millions of people - representatives of indigenous peoples. A striking feature of this stage are local and world wars.

Third stage It is characteristic that the decisive factor in the formation of MRI as the basis of the world economy was the industrial revolution that took place in European countries, as well as the established world colonial system of the 19th century. Since then, it can be considered that the world economy has appeared as a set of national economies participating in the MRT and interconnected by stable and mutually dependent ties. By the beginning of the 20th century, the world was divided into industrialized countries and colonies. Colonial and dependent countries were given the role of markets for the industrial goods of the metropolises and suppliers of cheap raw materials and labor. International economic relations were built on the principle of metropolis - colony. The metropolises used any means to prevent competitors from entering the territories under their control. Even neighboring colonial and dependent countries, which were part of various empires, had practically no ties with each other.

The fourth period characterized by instability, spontaneity of economic ties that flourished and faded. The reason for this was frequent economic crises caused by objective socio-political processes.

First World War led to the destruction of productive and human resources and the transfer of national economies to war footing (i.e., national economies were deformed and trade and other ties ceased).

In the early 30s. 20th century Western Europe and the United States were seized by a powerful economic and political crisis of the Great Depression, which led to an increase in the importance of national production and marketing spheres (all attention was focused on domestic aggregate demand and domestic aggregate supply).

Fifth - sixth stages. The main distinguishing feature of this stage is the split of the world economy into two parts: the administrative-command system (the system of socialism) and the market system (the system of capitalism). The first was based on the complete nationalization of industry, agriculture, services, a rigidly centralized management system, and the complete absence of market mechanisms. The second is the freedom of entrepreneurship, the idea of ​​liberalism, the prevalence of market mechanisms for regulating all economic relations.

The two systems practically did not cooperate with each other, but functioned in a mode of peaceful coexistence.

Fundamental changes in the system of the world economy and international economic relations took place after the formation of the USSR and its new political and economic system. With its focus on the fight against imperialist exploitation, it was difficult for a country to "fit" into the then-existing MEO system. The ideological guidelines of the Soviet Union made our economy “closed” to these relations. Even during the years of the common struggle against Nazi Germany, political and military cooperation, but not economic cooperation, was established between the USSR and its Western allies.

Among the factors influencing production, competition in the military field should be singled out, since the struggle for superiority stimulated technical progress and the deployment of scientific and technological developments. At the same time, the militarization of the economy has led to the formation of a number of industries that are content with a stable market, financed from the state budget. Successes in the USSR in the development of cosmonautics, aircraft engineering, electric power industry, fundamental scientific research and education led to the stimulation of scientific and technical progress in Western countries.

In the conditions of coexistence of world systems, under the influence of the demonstration effect of solving social problems in the socialist countries (lack of unemployment, free education, health care, social insurance, etc.), the influence of the struggle of the working people of the capitalist countries for their rights on the economic development of these countries (growth wages, expanding the effective demand of the population, increasing the capacity of the domestic market).

The growth in the concentration of production and capital had a significant impact on the dynamics of production. Monopoly corporations began to appear in the economies of developed countries. TNCs become an important element of the world economy during this period (transnational corporations form international production complexes, including the creation, sale, movement of goods, settlements and lending).

It stimulated the rise of industrial production and the development of foreign economic relations. In the postwar years, the growth of world trade outstripped the growth of industrial production: Western Europe (Germany, Italy, England, France), Japan, and the USA. Integration has also become a development factor.

In the 60s. 20th century there is a collapse of the colonial system, along with it an important role in the world economy, developing countries - former colonies - begin to play. The relations of colonial dependence were replaced by more diverse "North-South", including the withdrawal of private entrepreneurial capital, the provision of assistance to former colonies, the development of mutual trade.

The collapse of the colonial system had a direct impact on the economic development of the capitalist countries - metropolitan countries (England, France, the Netherlands, Belgium). Former colonies and dependent countries gained political independence and became active subjects of the IEO. However, most of the decolonized countries remained in a difficult position. Here it would be appropriate to cite the statement of Disraeli, who notes that the colonies do not cease to be colonies because they have gained independence. Indeed, the problem of colonial underdevelopment was transformed into the problem of “periphery”, relative backwardness in comparison with the former metropolises increased, economic, technological, and financial dependence nullified political sovereignty, and the outflow of resources towards more developed countries continued.

seventh stage 70s 20th century characterized by the convergence of the levels of development of the United States and Western Europe. The US economic dominance in the world has degenerated into a multipolar system: the US - Western Europe - Japan. During this period, there is a decrease in the rate of economic growth of industrialized countries. Main reasons:

World economic crisis 1974-1975

The reduction in the scale of technical improvement of production has led to a decrease in the average annual growth rate of labor productivity.

Structural crises:

world energy (a sharp increase in the cost of oil and oil products as a result of the aggravation of the political situation in the Middle East, the artificial provocation by American and British oil companies of a shortage of energy resources);

raw materials (rapid rise in prices for raw materials due to the lack of many types of raw materials on the world market and the aggravation of socio-economic contradictions between developed and developing countries);

food (grain shortage due to crop failure in 1972 and 1974, rising prices);

ecological (predatory exploitation natural resources has reached such proportions that it causes irreparable or intractable damage to the natural environment, which threatens the health of the population, becomes a brake on the increase in food resources, the growth of industrial production. Global climate change, air pollution, marine and fresh water pollution, acid rain, hazardous substances, deforestation). The ecological crisis is evidence of the deeply contradictory nature of the use of the achievements of scientific and technical progress. The US accounts for 40% of global environmental pollution.

Crises of the functional order:

monetary and financial crisis,

international debt crisis,

gigantic inflation

Crisis of state regulation.

Eighth stage Distinctive features of this stage in the development of the world economy are the expansion of the economic space at the expense of previously undeveloped territories (Kenya, Zaire, Côte de Ivoire); pronounced interdependence of states, the collapse of the world system of socialism, which led to a radical change in geo political environment around the world, the transition of most countries of the world to a market economy.

The collapse of the socialist system is the most significant event of the end of the 20th century. Centralized directive planning became increasingly inefficient. Planning bodies were not able to quickly respond to the diversification of economic sectors, could not stimulate the expansion of the range and improve the quality of products. There was a slowdown in the average annual growth rate of the total social product in all social states, a decrease in the efficiency of production and labor productivity.

The loss of the undivided influence of the communist parties on society became more obvious, political liberalism became popular with the idea of ​​​​the advantage of free enterprise.

The main forms of transition to a market economy:

- "shock therapy" - rapid radical reforms (the classic version - in Poland, in Russia);

- "evolutionary path" - a gradual, slow transition to a new society (China, Hungary).

For developing countries 80s 90s. 20th century became the time of growth of external debt. By the end of the 80s. it was clear that new methods of dealing with the problem of over-indebtedness were indispensable. Were applied:

1. method of re-separation - postponing the debt repayment date to a later date (more than 180 re-separation agreements);

2. the method of introducing a moratorium - the complete release of some of the poorest countries from debt repayment;

3. "Brady" method - the creation of cash reserves by creditor banks to cover "doubtful loans".

Modern stage The development of the world economy is significant, first of all, by the global nature of world economic relations and the internationalization of the economy. It is more than obvious that the world economy and its international balance will be determined in one way or another by various factors and uncertainties, resulting in the main international development trends.

Let's highlight some of them:

1. US dominance

2. international positions of Europe,

3. the rapidly growing strength of China, some countries in Latin America, as well as Japan and Asia (India).

4. The trend towards new integration within the CIS, which is implicitly developing in most countries against the will and activities of their official leaders. One way or another, but inevitably such a process will

develop (under the new leaders of the CIS) and regardless of whether it covers all or only a number of states, a new powerful economic association will also play a significant role on the world stage.

5. Undoubtedly, the revival on a new basis of cooperative ties between the new states of Eurasia and a number of Eastern European countries, despite their rapid rapprochement with the structures of the European Union and NATO.

6. The "China factor" can quite quickly overturn the "unipolar world" (under US dominance). Again there is a trend towards a "bipolar and multipolar world" - accordingly, a new balance in the world economy and in world politics can be restored.

7. In addition to the Asia-Pacific region, which has been developing especially rapidly in recent decades, but survived the financial and economic crisis in 1997, it is necessary to take into account the geopolitical and economic importance of Latin America, whose states are gradually reaching a new level of economic development, freeing themselves, albeit with with great difficulty, from the former large-scale debt to developed countries. If we keep in mind the integration processes taking place on this continent, it becomes obvious that the importance of this region in international economic relations tends to increase. Moreover, expanding transoceanic ties and cooperation relations will largely determine the future position in the world economy of the Old World.

8. An important geopolitical factor, as well as a factor in the global economy, is the African continent and the trends associated with it. At present, it is still torn apart by wars, civil strife, and people are experiencing enormous difficulties with housing, food, healthcare, children's education, etc. However, it is no coincidence that the Black Continent is an object of close attention of the entire world community in terms of not only providing various assistance, but also its growing position in the global economy. Africa is also a huge treasury of mineral and energy resources, the use of which over time will have an ever greater impact on the entire world economy.

9. Growing importance in the global economy is Arabic factor. The financial and production potential of the Arab countries is clearly underestimated, it seems erroneous. Overcoming disunity on the basis of regional integration is perhaps an important necessary link in the policy of the Arab countries, primarily for the growth of internal incentives for economic growth.

10. The diversity of global political and socio-economic development in the world is perceived, firstly, through the complex, contradictory interaction of industrialized countries and the states of Eurasia and Central Europe, and secondly, through the active involvement in world processes of economically underdeveloped countries located in some distance from the epicenters of world politics and the world economy, although the policy of "small countries" is increasingly woven into the fabric of the politics of world centers.

11. The main trend in the development of world productive forces (factors of production) is the intensification of the processes of internationalization, transnationalization and integration - processes leading to the real formation of the world economy as a universal global economic integrity. However, the opposite process is also objectively developing - a global trend towards the socialization of economic life, the denial of unlimited private property, the denial of the right of a small group of individuals to control the general economic system. The role of regional (zonal) associations of countries in the world economy is great. The process of integration of the nearest neighbors is called economic regionalism. In Europe, such an association is the European Union, on the American continent - NAFTA, in the Eurasian space - the CIS, in Asia - ASEAN. Less integrated are such zonal associations as APEC, MERCOSUR, the Union of the Manu River. Forms of regional associations are also different: free trade zone, customs union, common market, economic union, political union.

12. At the end of the 20th century, international corporations began to play a leading role in the world economy, which are economic associations consisting of a parent (parent) corporation and foreign branches, which, together with TNB, continue to play a crucial role in the development of the world economy. In the 21st century TNCs are the main investors, stimulators of the international movement of capital, engines of scientific and technological progress (because they carry out R&D and produce high technology products).

The leading role of international corporations is associated with their objective advantages: access to cheap natural resources, the use of cheap labor, the possibility of accumulating and redistributing capital within the entire TNC, access to complete information about the national market situation, with a rational, constantly optimizing organizational structure. Thus, TNCs make full use of the achievements of the international division of labor, which at one time was the material basis for the emergence and development of the world economy. The most famous TNCs are Ford, IBM, Toshiba, Coca-Cola, Mk. Donaid's, Nestle, Toyota Motors. Today, many of them work closely together, creating international strategic alliances. Corporations that deal with new information technologies and control the information network in various regions of the world play an important role today.

13. Modern world development determines the trends towards cooperation and interdependence, convergence and globalization; it is characterized by a general movement towards a single, interconnected, interdependent and, in each of its parts, a more developed and socially just world. Deviations from this global trend are local conflicts in the zone of the former USSR, in the Balkans, in other parts of the planet, the causes of which require their own analysis, perhaps , and from the standpoint of the violation of the global balance between the two superpowers that has developed in the post-war decades.

Thus, modern world development is accompanied by the formation of specific interests of political supergroups, which do not coincide with global trends and interests of all peoples of the world.

Globalization, of course, is the key term of our era, if we analyze economic, environmental, sociological and political scientific and journalistic works, then this term will come to one of the first places in terms of frequency of use.

There are many approaches to defining the essence globalization , but in our opinion, the most accessible definition for understanding is a complex of interconnected processes occurring on a planetary scale, each of which has mechanisms of self-regulation.

http://www.cfin.ru/press/management/2001-3/10.shtml

Since the second half of the 20th century, as a result of the rapid economic development of the leading industrial countries and the improvement of the means of international transport and communications, there has been a rapid development of international trade.

Economic integration has become a natural result of the development of international trade and the international movement of factors of production - it is a special stage in the internationalization of economic life, a characteristic feature of the current stage of development of the world economy.

At the end of the XX century. it has become a powerful tool for accelerating the development of regional economies and increasing the competitiveness in the world market of countries - members of integration groups.

The word "integration" comes from the Latin. integratio - replenishment or integer - whole.

International economic integration is the process of merging the economies of neighboring countries into a single economic complex based on stable economic ties between their companies.

The most widespread regional economic integration may in the future become the initial stage of global integration, i. mergers of regional integration associations.

Economic integration is characterized by some essential features, which together distinguish it from other forms of economic interaction between countries:

Interpenetration and interweaving of national production processes;

Broad development of international specialization and cooperation in production, science and technology on the basis of the most progressive and profound forms;

Profound structural changes in the economies of the participating countries;

The need for purposeful regulation of the integration process, the development of a coordinated economic strategy and politics;

Regionality of spatial scales of integration.

Rice. 1.1. – Regional integration groupings

EU - European Union

EFTA - European Free Trade Association

SES - Common Economic Space

CIS - Commonwealth of Independent States

BSEC - Black Sea Economic Cooperation

OAS - Organization of American States

CARICOM - Caribbean Community and Caribbean Common Market

NAFTA - North American Free Trade Area

MERCOUR - Southern Common Market

APEC - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations

CAEE - Council for Arab Economic Unity

ECO - Economic Cooperation Organization

UDEAC - Economic Union of Central African States

ECOWAS - Economic Union of West African States

SADC - Economic Union of South African States

COMESA - Economic Union of Eastern and Southern African States

The prerequisites are as follows:

The proximity of the levels of economic development and the degree of market maturity of the integrating countries. With rare exceptions (NAFTA), interstate integration develops either between industrialized countries or between developing countries. ;

Geographical proximity, the presence of a common border and economic ties;

Generality of economic and other problems. Economic integration is designed to solve a set of specific problems that countries really face;

demo effect. In countries that have created integration associations, positive changes usually take place (acceleration of economic growth rates, inflation reduction, employment growth, etc.), which has a certain psychological impact on other countries. The demonstration effect manifested itself, for example, in the desire of the countries of the former USSR to become EU members as soon as possible, even without macroeconomic prerequisites for this;

"Domino effect". After most of the countries of a particular region have become members of integration associations, the remaining countries that remain outside experience some difficulties associated with the reorientation of the country's economic ties. This often leads to a reduction in the country's trade. As a result, they are also forced to join integration groups. For example, after Mexico joined NAFTA, many Latin American countries rushed to conclude trade agreements with it.

Historically, integration has evolved through several main stages, each of which indicates the degree of its maturity. In general, there are 5 stages, each of which is characterized by its own characteristics.

Table 2 - Stages of the integration process
Stages	Preferential trade agreement	Free trade Area	Customs Union	common market	Full integration including economic, monetary and political union
Essence	Reduction of tariff and other barriers in mutual trade; Preservation of national tariffs in relation to third countries; Interstate governing bodies are not created	Cancellation of tariff and non-tariff barriers in mutual trade; Freedom of intercountry movement; goods and services Small Secretariat of State	Unified tariff and non-tariff regulation in relation to third countries; Interstate council at ministerial level and secretariat	Freedom of movement of all factors of production; Meetings of heads of state, councils of ministers, secretariat	Harmonization of economic policy; Interstate body with the function of supranational regulation
Example	Agreement on partnership and cooperation between the EU and the countries of the former USSR	Baltic FTA NAFTA	Central American Common Market (CACM) Arab Common Market	MERCOSUR

However, along with the expansion of the integration process in the world economy, the general global problems that reached their highest point in the 60-70s have not lost their problematic nature. 20th century. Global problems are understood as problems that require the combined efforts of all mankind for their solution.

Fig.1.2. – Global problems of our time

Question number 16.

Formation of the colonial system and the world capitalist economy.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. the boundaries of European civilization were constantly expanding: it is, of course, not about geographical expansion, but about the spread of ideas, value systems, socio-economic structures, etc. which the Europeans laid the foundations of the future colonial system. Traditional societies, as a rule, could not oppose this expansion and became easy prey for stronger opponents.

At the initial stage of colonization, Europeans usually did not interfere in the socio-political life of the conquered societies. For the conquerors it was important, first of all, the economic subordination of the colonies. That is why many elements of, for example, the ancient Indian civilization have survived to this day.

The colonial expansion of European countries led to their constant clashes in the struggle for the most profitable and rich lands. Naturally, in this rivalry, victory usually went to the most advanced, modernized countries. And since in this sense absolute leadership by the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. was for England, she also became the main colonial power, displacing in this competition, first Holland, and then France. In Latin America, Spain and Portugal still retained their gigantic possessions, but the weakness of these mother countries made the imminent death of their colonial empires inevitable.

Almost the entire African continent remained a huge undeveloped space, where Europeans occupied only narrow coastal strips. These were a kind of springboard, for a long time used to capture and export Negro slaves to America, as well as the extraction of minerals and other raw materials.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. The expansion of Russia (and, accordingly, its authority in international politics) also increased sharply. But unlike the powers of the West, Russia did not occupy distant overseas lands, but annexed territories located near the core of the state. The most ambitious was the advance to the east, to the Pacific Ocean, then, already in the XVIII-XIX centuries, the borders of the empire expanded in the south (Caucasus, Crimea, Central Asia). Russian settlements appeared even in Alaska and in the region of the current US state of California, but in the 19th century. they were abandoned. In the west, the Russian Empire included Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, a significant part of ethnic Poland.

The forms of exploitation in the colonies varied. In Latin America, the Spaniards and the Portuguese made extensive use of slave labor. The slave plantation became the main form of economic activity. However, on the islands of the West Indies (and in a number of other regions), slavery was also resurrected by "advanced" England, Holland and France. And, for example, in Indonesia, the Dutch used the serf system of coercion, forcing local peasants to grow coffee, spices, cane sugar - an extremely valuable commodity in European markets. In an effort to extract marginal profits from the colonies, trading companies brutally exploited European colonists as well (for example, in South Africa, to a lesser extent in Canada). And only in the North American colonies of England, as already mentioned, development immediately followed the capitalist path, and after gaining independence, a new civilizational center began to take shape here, successfully competing with the European one.

The formation of the United States was the first serious blow to the colonial system. An even more powerful blow was dealt to it already at the beginning of the 19th century. former Latin American colonies. But the huge African continent was mastered by the colonialists only to a small extent, so it was too early to talk about the crisis of the colonial system here. Rather, on the contrary: at the end of the 19th century, when all of Africa was captured and divided, this system was waiting for a kind of flowering.

Stages of formation and development of the world economy.

In its formation and development, the world economy has come a long and difficult path. Some researchers attribute its origin to the time of the Roman Empire. Others keep track of the functioning of the world economy since the great geographical discoveries of the 15th-16th centuries, which led to the accelerated development of international trade in jewelry, spices, precious metals, and slaves. But the world economy of this period was limited, remaining the sphere of application only of merchant capital.

The modern world economy arose after the industrial revolution, in the course of the development of capitalism into monopoly capitalism.

The main stages of the development of the world economy

Stage number	Duration	Characteristic
I	XV-XVII centuries AD	The birth of the world capitalist market: - the great geographical discoveries, - the emergence of colonies, - the price revolution, - the manufacturing period
II	XVIII-XIX centuries AD	The formation of the world capitalist market, the emergence and development of the global division of labor: - industrial revolution, - bourgeois revolutions, - transition from a manufactory to a factory system
III	The end of the 19th - the first half of the 20th century AD.	Formation of a system of global division of labor and, on this basis, the world economy: - electrical revolution, - internal combustion engines, - economic division of the world, - transition to monopoly capitalism
IV	From the 50s. 20th century until now	The functioning of the system of the global division of labor, the strengthening of the interdependence of the economies of all countries: - the scientific and technological revolution, - the processes of internationalization and integration

The international division of labor and its international cooperation laid the foundation for the emergence of the world market, which developed on the basis of domestic markets, gradually transcending national boundaries.

domestic market- a form of economic communication in which everything intended for sale comes true by the manufacturer within the country.

national market - domestic market, part of which is focused on foreign buyers.

international market- part of the national markets, which is directly connected with foreign markets.

World market- the sphere of stable commodity-money relations between countries based on MRI and other factors of production.

The main characteristic features of the world market:

• is a category of commodity production that has gone beyond the national framework in search of marketing its products;
• manifests itself in the interstate movement of goods that are under the influence of internal and external demand and supply;
• optimizes the use of production factors, directing the manufacturer to industries and regions where they can be applied most efficiently;
• eliminates from international exchange goods and manufacturers that do not provide international quality standards at competitive prices.

The emergence of the world economy.

By the end of the XIX century. the development of the world market for goods has led to the intensification of international economic relations and their exit from the framework of international trade in goods. The growth of financial capital and the development of productive forces led to the emergence of a world economy, which is a higher stage in the development of a market economy than the world market and includes, in addition to traditional international trade, the international movement of factors of production and international enterprises arising on this basis.

Regulation of the world economy takes place with the help of measures of both national and interstate economic policy. The economies of individual countries are becoming more open and oriented towards IER.

world economy is a set of national economies of the countries of the world, interconnected by mobile factors of production.

Characteristic features of the modern world economy:

• development international movement factors of production (capital, labor, technology);
• the growth of international forms of production at enterprises located in different countries (multinational companies, joint ventures ...);
• economic policy states, providing support for the international movement of goods and factors of production on a bilateral and multilateral basis;
• the emergence of an open economy within many states and interstate associations.

Similar information.

The world economy began to take shape a long time ago. It all started with world trade.

world trade is the aggregate of foreign trade of all countries of the world.

At the earliest stages of human history, entire peoples could directly come into contact with each other. Such contacts arose during migrations, mass exoduses from natural disasters, during the forceful division of territories, exchanges.

The inhabitants of the first state in the world (Egypt) 5 thousand years ago traded with neighboring tribes, buying wood, metals, livestock from them in exchange for handicraft and agricultural products. They also organized expeditions for the economic development of new lands. At the same time, the tribes living on the territory of Russia exchanged goods with neighboring tribes.

Traders in services began to join the international trade in goods. Phoenician and Greek merchants not only traded goods throughout the Mediterranean, but also provided services for the transport of goods and foreign passengers.

The region of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, together with the adjacent countries of Western Asia, became the region of the world where the core of the world economy was born in ancient times. Gradually, other economic regions of the world joined it - first South Asia, then Southeast and East Asia, Russia, America, Australia and Oceania, and areas of Tropical Africa.

A great contribution to the development of world trade in goods and services was made by the active distribution market relations, the great geographical discoveries of the 15th - 17th centuries, the emergence in the 19th century of the machine industry and modern means of transport and communication.

The expeditions of Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Magellan, Yermak pushed the limits of the world market many times over, adding new regions to it. Economic ties with these regions were strengthened after the start of mass factory production of finished products in the 19th century. first in Western Europe, and then in North America, Russia and Japan. These were simple and cheap consumer goods. Steamboats, railways, telegraph contributed to their sale.

As a result, by the end of the XIX century. a global market for goods and services. Russia acted on it primarily as an exporter of grain and other agricultural products, as well as timber to Western Europe, a supplier of finished products to Asian countries. Imported Western European finished products, materials and semi-finished products.

At the same time, the movement of factors of production (capital, labor, entrepreneurial abilities, technology) intensified in the world.

The flows of economic resources went in one direction - from the most developed countries to the less developed ones. British, French, Belgian, Dutch and German capital was a prominent element in the accumulation of capital in America and Russia, emigrants from Europe mastered the expanses of North America, South Africa, and Australia.

Then the process of moving economic resources became more complex: capital, entrepreneurial abilities and technology began to be not only imported, but also exported by medium-developed countries, and underdeveloped countries also actively participated in the export of labor. As a result, the international movement of factors of production becomes mutual.

After the world economy took shape at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, it has undergone significant changes.

1st period - from the beginning of the First World War to the beginning of the 50s. 20th century It is characterized by the curtailment of world economic ties (wars, revolutions, the crisis of the 30s) in combination with their partial restoration in the 20s. and after World War II.

2nd period - 50-70s. The emergence of integration groups (EU, CMEA), the process of transnationalization is underway, the active transfer of technologies, entrepreneurial abilities and capital, the world loan capital market has recovered. The socialist and developing states began to lay claim to a special role in the world economy.

3rd period - 80-90s. Developed countries are moving into an era of post-industrialization, many developing countries are overcoming the economic backlog (China and NIS), former socialist countries are moving to a market economy.

Introduction

Humanity is entering the third millennium of its development. The 20th century went down in history as a century of colossal changes and enormous social experiments in the life of peoples and countries. At the turn of the century, market principles of economic development began to assert themselves more and more widely in the world economy; experts are increasingly talking about the formation of a global economic system - for most industrialized countries, world economic ties with their growing competitive environment have become one of the most important determining factors in the development of the national economy.

The declared universality of market principles in practice provides one country or one group of countries with considerable competitive advantages, while other countries often find themselves in a niche located on the periphery of the world market economy. The main reason for this situation is that world system market economy is a complex, hierarchical formation, within which the economic potential of the national economy is determined in material terms and quantities, while its market valuation is carried out in value terms (mainly in US dollars), over the exchange rate and fluctuations of which the vast majority of countries do not have control and serious influence.

In the modern global economy, the strong position of any country or group of countries in commodity markets or individual markets for finished products, including mechanical engineering, metalworking or aerospace technology, does not give automatic control over global financial markets, namely these markets in In recent years, they have shaped the investment climate in most countries, ultimately determining the competitive positions of various countries in the production of semi-finished products and most types of finished products. Under such circumstances, it is necessary to once again carefully analyze the structure of the country's economic potential and the possibilities of its market realization. Let's take the example of the People's Republic of China.

The purpose of the work is to consider the world economy in a historical aspect and in relation to a particular country - China.

Work tasks:

define the concept of "world economy", highlight the main historical stages of its development;

consider the features of the modern world economy;

determine the place of the People's Republic of China in the world economy and consider further prospects for the country's development.

Stages of development of the world economy

Modern scientific and educational literature does not contain a single interpretation of the concepts of "world economy", "world economy". Among the main approaches to the definition of these concepts used in domestic and foreign literature, the following can be distinguished:

1. consideration of the world economy as a set of national economies connected with each other by a system of international division of labor, various economic ties;

2. view of the world economy as a system of international economic relations;

3. Some foreign researchers proceed from the fact that the world economy includes trade, financial relations, the distribution of capital and labor. This point of view excludes production from the system of the world economy, which largely determines international economic relations.

Thus, the world economy (world economy) is a set of national economies in their constant dynamics and development, which are in interconnection and mutual influence. The system of relations of economic interdependence and interconnection of national economies is the essence of international economic relations. International economic relations are both a prerequisite, a component and a result of the development of the world economy.

The world economy has passed a long stage of its formation and evolution. It is believed that the world economy, as such, was formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. To understand the essence of the modern world economy, the main features and trends, it is necessary to identify the stages of its formation and development.

The world economy took shape by the beginning of the 20th century. as a result of a long historical process.

Stage I of the emergence of the world economy (XVI-XIX centuries) falls on the era of the Great geographical discoveries of the XV-XVI centuries. They led to the accelerated development of international trade, when, after the dominance of natural economy, international trade began to acquire particular importance. This stage is characterized by the accelerated development of international trade, mainly in colonial goods. The world economy of this period was limited, remaining the sphere of application only of merchant capital. The world economy at this stage is understood as a set of foreign trade relations between countries and is the sphere of application of mainly merchant capital.

Stage II is attributed to the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. -- after the industrial revolution and the development of capitalism into its monopoly stage.

At the beginning of the XX century. the development of mass production contributed to the development of the world market into the world economy. At that time, along with the migration of labor and the exchange of goods, the migration of capital grew, and then international industrial relations were greatly developed.

The world economy that was formed during this period on the basis of capitalist production was a set of international economic relations of industrialized countries with each other and with colonies.

Stage III in the development of the world economy is limited to the time frame between the First and Second World Wars, and in terms of content it is characterized by the destruction of many of the world economic ties achieved in previous years. Despite the acceleration of the economic development of many countries after 1920, the international financial system was characterized by increased instability, outflows of long-term capital from industrial countries that slowed down their development. World trade was never able to reach the pre-war level of 1913. In 1917, Russia fell out of world economic relations. There are two types of world economy: capitalist and socialist.

Stage IV in the development of the internationalization process began after the end of World War II and continued until the early 1990s. It can be characterized as a stage in the restructuring of international economic relations or the search for a new international economic order, during which the previously disrupted foreign economic relations in the world economy were gradually restored, and the flows of goods, services and factors of production across the border increased.

The world economy during this period is developing under the influence of unprecedented economic growth, a powerful tendency of countries to unite in the field of economic activity and increase labor productivity, the liberalization of foreign trade policy, intensive scientific and technological progress, and the collapse of the colonial system of imperialism.

During this period, developing countries are involved in the world economy, international economic relations of both of its constituent blocks - the world capitalist and world socialist economies - are activated, world economic ties are being established between them; national economies are becoming more and more involved in the world economic turnover and more and more dependent on it, especially within the framework of integration associations; a system of international organizations is being created to regulate world economic relations; activities of international corporations are activated.

In the mid-1970s, when the global economic dominance of the United States was replaced by a multipolar system of the world economy, this sharply increased competition between the three centers of world economic development. At the same time, new industrial states entered the system of the world economy in new roles.

Since the beginning of the 90s. counts the V modern stage of development of the world economy, beginning to acquire the features of a single holistic education. The main factors of this development were the collapse of the USSR and the CMEA, the transition to a market basis for the development of the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the further development of integration processes in the world, as well as the growing role of international corporations as subjects of the world economy. International corporations, as part of their global strategy, using global factors of production, have created international production focused on meeting the needs of any citizen of the world.

The following features are characteristic of the current stage of development of the world economy.

1. Internationalization of economic life-rapprochement and interpenetration of national economies at all stages of the reproduction process. If earlier the objects of world economic relations were surpluses of goods in excess of domestic demand and products not produced in the country, then in modern conditions they are not only the results of the activity of national industries, but also the factors of production themselves. International specialization and cooperation in production are actively developing, and international economic relations are turning from purely commercial into a necessary condition for ensuring the national reproduction process.

2. Liberalization of foreign economic relations - increasing the degree of openness of national economies, which is manifested primarily in lowering customs barriers, creating a favorable investment climate, softening migration policies, and the evolution of most national economies from closed to open.

3. Regional economic integration -- the economic and political association of countries based on the development of deep stable ties and the international division of labor (MRT).

4. Unification of the rules of economic life, creation of a system of interstate regulation of world economic relations (regulation of international currency, settlement, credit, trade relations).

5. Transnationalization of capital and production - the creation by companies that combine capital and representatives of several countries, economic units outside their countries.

6. Globalization of the world economy, which includes:

o involvement in the world economic processes of almost all countries of the world;

o creation of inclusive markets for goods and factors of production;

o creation of a global infrastructure for world economic relations;

o recognition by all countries of market principles of management as the most effective form of economic development;

o universalization of the rules of economic life and international economic relations, the creation of an international regulatory framework for the implementation of foreign economic cooperation in the world economy;

o the emergence of international production focused on the consumer of any country in the world at the level of the standard of a citizen of an industrial country

o the global nature of international competition;

o convergence of the sectoral structure of the economies of various countries.

Along with integrity and unity, the modern world economy also has problems.

First, the formation of a closed economic system within the leading Western countries. After all, their mutual trade accounts for more than 75% of world trade, 60% of the world's foreign direct investment, about 90% of all patents registered in the world.

Secondly, the problem is that a relatively small number of states (most often the G7 countries) through the international economic organizations controlled by them (the IMF, World Bank institutions, the Paris Club of creditors, etc.) form the modern world economic order. And the lot of the developing world and countries with transition economy what remains is adaptation to the rules of world economic relations created without their participation.

Thirdly, the uneven distribution of benefits from the globalization of the world economy between countries: 20% of the world's population living in the industrial world accounts for 86% of world GDP, and only 1% for 20% living in developing countries.

Fourth, the problem of the economic security of countries in the process of developing their world economic ties.

Fifth, the problem of improving the system of interstate regulation of world economic relations created after the Second World War.

The subjects of the world economy are national economies (economy of individual countries), regional economic associations (associations of countries that arise on the basis of interstate agreements, coordinated by national or interstate bodies in order to create preferences for each other and in the processes of intraregional movement of factors and production results), international corporations international economic organizations, individual firms.

The main subjects of the world economy are the national economies -- historically established within certain territorial (national) boundaries of the system of social reproduction. Currently, there are 210 state territorial entities in the world, i.e. countries and territories.

National economies can be classified according to various criteria: the level of economic development (the most common indicator is the volume of GDP per capita); type of economic growth (extensive, intensive); the level and nature of foreign economic relations; the magnitude of the economic potential (level of development, scale of productive forces, population, size of territory, endowment with natural resources).

According to the level of economic development and the socio-economic nature of economic management, countries are divided into:

1. developed countries with market economy, or advanced countries (USA, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand); among them, the G7 countries (USA, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan) are of particular importance;

2. developing countries with market economies (most countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Oceania); in this group of countries, the most dynamically developing new industrial countries (NIS) are a group of developing countries that have abandoned agricultural and raw materials specialization, having achieved significant success in industrialization, creating certain types of modern high-tech industries, and significantly expanded the export of manufacturing products and a number of indicators of socio-economic development are approaching developed countries;

3. countries with transitional (from command-administrative to market) economies (Central and Eastern Europe, the CIS).

Among other indicators characterizing the level of the economy of a country, we can distinguish:

The level and quality of life of the population, which usually reflect such interrelated indicators as consumer basket and the cost of living, per capita consumption of basic foodstuffs in calories;

· the state of labor resources (average life expectancy, level of education, etc.);

· the structure of the country's GDP (developed countries are characterized by a high share of the service sector, a low share of agricultural production, in industry - the predominance of manufacturing over extractive industries);

· development of the social sphere (number of doctors per 100,000 population, number of hospital beds per 1,000 population, provision of housing);

· indicators of economic efficiency (labor productivity, capital intensity and material intensity of a unit of GDP or a specific type of product, capital productivity of a unit of fixed assets);

· activity in world trade, the main indicators of which are the export quota; the structure of exports and imports (especially the ratio of the volumes of raw materials imported into the country and finished products, which most clearly shows the dependence of the country's economy on the external market); the country's share in world production of GDP, GNP and in world trade.