* This work is not a scientific work, is not a final qualifying work and is the result of processing, structuring and formatting the collected information, intended to be used as a source of material for self-preparation of educational work.

Course work

on the global economy

Subject: " Features of modern world trade»

Introduction……………………………………………………………………
1. The concept of the world market and international trade……..….
1.1. Theoretical foundations of foreign trade……………..…..
1.2. World market………………………………………..……..
2. Russia and its place in the world market………….………………….
2.1 Structure of foreign trade………………………………..
2.2 Place of Russia in the world market……………………………
2.3 The place of the military-industrial complex in the world market……………………………...
2.4 Prospects for Russia's foreign trade activities……...
3. Russia's entry into the WTO…………………..……………………...
3.1 The concept and structure of the WTO…………………………………...
3.2 Tasks of the WTO…………………………………………………...
3.3 Distinctive features of the WTO………………………………….
3.4 Stages and conditions for accession of new countries to the WTO……..
3.6 Positive and negative features of the entry Russia in the WTO……………………………………………………..
Conclusion……………………………..………………………………
Bibliography……….…………………………………………...
Applications……………………………………………………………...

Introduction

One of the most dominant factors in the modern world economy is the process of globalization, which is characterized by the cross-border movement of capital, international trade in goods and services, and labor migration. In turn, the foundation of the process of globalization of the world is geoeconomics as a new paradigm of the world order. It is based, according to experts, on reproductive systems that have escaped national boundaries and formed into gigantic global internationalized reproductive cycles.

The world trading system is also affected by transport and telecommunications technologies. As a result, the movement of raw materials, goods and services has accelerated; there have been qualitative changes in the financial markets. Now, within one trading day, capital can flow from country to country, from region to region, no matter how far apart they are. Transnational corporations were able to coordinate production in different parts of the world. Thanks to electronic means of international communication, information and transport costs have been sharply reduced.

The driving force behind globalization is high science-intensive technologies that facilitate international exchange, lead to an increase in the share of exports and imports, and include the regional economy in the system of the global division of labor. This, in turn, leads to a general liberalization of foreign trade and money markets of various countries, to the internationalization of production and distribution networks, to the rapid and widespread adoption of technologies, thanks to which the international flows of goods, services and capital become unhindered and proceed at higher speeds. . The industrial production of the states involved in this process is undergoing reorganization, as the products of individual countries step over their borders, and enterprises enter the financial markets of the world. In the context of globalization, the structure of production and finance of various countries becomes interconnected and interdependent. The process is accompanied by an increase in the number of foreign transactions, and the effect is a new international division of labor, in which the creation of national wealth is more dependent on the economic entities of other countries 0 .

The openness and transparency of the economy, state and society - the obvious attributes of modern economic development - have caused fundamental changes in interstate cooperation in the world. The past two decades have seen a turning point: the old protectionist tendencies associated with the oil crisis have subsided, a process of gradual reduction in the size of customs barriers and a growing recognition of the need to liberalize international economic relations has unfolded.

Any state, if it wants to get the maximum benefit in the framework of modern economic relations, must pursue a balanced, rational external economic strategy. First, it is necessary that the liberalization of trade and financial turnover be carried out on the basis of the national interests of the country in accordance with bilateral and multilateral agreements. Secondly, the policy of increasing openness on new conditions is becoming more and more widespread - within the framework of integration unions, which include several countries.

The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the ever-increasing importance that trade acquires in the modern world, as well as the expanding processes of integration and globalization, in which Russia has recently taken an active part.

The purpose of this work is to analyze the features of modern world trade, the processes that dominate world trade and the impact these processes have on Russia. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of tasks:

Give the concept of the world market and international trade.

Determine the theoretical foundations of foreign trade.

To reveal the place of Russia in the world market and determine the trends in the development of trade relations.

Indicate the place owned by world trade organizations in the process of world trade.

Determine the strategic ways of developing Russia's foreign trade.

Consider the problems of Russia's accession to the WTO.

The object of consideration is the world market.

The subject of consideration is the prospects for Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

1. The concept of the world market and international trade

1.1. Theoretical foundations of foreign trade

The first and oldest form of international relations - people's trade, arose under the influence of the international division of labor. The latter gave rise to the need for the exchange of goods produced in individual countries. In addition, practically no country has the necessary resources to fully satisfy the entire system of constantly evolving social needs. Trade in goods and services is available to almost everyone, even to underdeveloped countries: if they do not have goods that are in demand, ecologically clean recreation areas, exotic African and Pacific coasts are offered. As a result, foreign trade has become a public source of income for all countries and created additional conditions for economic growth. At the same time, countries find themselves in a certain dependence on each other. In order to better meet the needs of the population of their country, each of them buys imported goods and services.

International trade is an international exchange of products of labor (goods, services, intellectual property) of all countries of the world. International trade - the sphere of international commodity-money relations, the totality of foreign trade of all countries of the world 0 . It consists of two counter streams - exports and imports. The main participants in international trade: foreign trade companies (exporters and importers), states, groups of countries, as well as individuals.

Diverse international trade activities can be classified depending on the product specialization: trade in finished products; trade in goods that have undergone primary processing; trade in raw materials. The higher the level of development of the country, the less raw materials and more finished products the state exports.

Depending on the type of export-import operations, international trade activities can be classified:

Export and import of finished goods;

Import and export of raw materials and semi-finished products for processing with subsequent return to the country;

Temporary import or export of goods with subsequent return to the country (for example, to participate in international competitions, exhibitions, presentations);

Re-export and re-import (re-export - export abroad of goods previously imported into the country, for example, if the goods are not paid for, defective or resold to a third country; re-import - import from abroad of previously exported national goods);

Import and export of goods belonging to one international transnational company;

Countervailing trade;

Barter transactions on a non-currency basis (payment for goods occurs in kind with other goods);

Trade compensation transactions on a monetary basis (when part of the goods are paid for in money, and partly by a counter delivery of goods);

Industrial compensation transactions (for example, the supply of equipment for the production of goods will be paid for by the goods produced with its help).

To assess international and foreign trade, a group of indicators 0 is used:

1) trade turnover - the value of exports and imports for a certain period in current prices;

2) commodity structure - the ratio of different commodity groups in the structure of world exports;

3) geographical structure - the structure of world trade depending on the region of the world, part of the world, continent.

The first theoretical basis of foreign trade was the theory of mercantilists. It is based on the fundamental role of gold (money) and focuses on the maximum safety and increase in the amount of gold in the country. In this regard, it was recommended to stimulate exports and limit imports so as not to spend gold on buying goods outside the country. At the same time, bans were introduced on the trade of the colonies with all countries, except for the mother countries, on the development of production in the colonies. In fact, the mercantilists proposed enriching some at the expense of others, but their merit lies in the fact that they first drew attention to the problems of foreign trade, emphasized its importance for the economic development of the country, described and justified a certain ratio of export and import costs, i.e. e. laid the foundation for the balance of payments.

A. Smith developed the first classical theory of foreign trade - the theory of absolute advantages. He argued that those countries that actively participate in the international division of labor will benefit the most. A country that has certain advantages in the production of a commodity should specialize in the production of this commodity and supply it to other countries. This statement of A. Smith was supplemented by D. Ricardo, who created the theory of comparative advantages. He proved that foreign trade brings additional benefits even to those countries that have an efficient economy. Ricardo built his theory on the basis of the labor theory of value. In modern conditions, comparative advantages are determined through opportunity costs, i.e. the cost of producing one good is determined in terms of the cost of another good.

The Heckscher-Ohlin theory arose in the first third of the 20th century. In it, the factors that determine the international division of labor are associated not only with the natural conditions of production in the country, but also with the conditions created in the process of development of production. It proceeded from the fact that the historical and natural conditions of development predetermined the uneven provision of countries with factors of production, and, above all, with labor resources and capital.

In the process of international trade, the prices for factors of production in the trading countries are equalized. Initially, the price of available factors of production will be low, and those that are scarce will be high. Gradually, the initial advantages of both countries are lost, and each country must look for new opportunities for exporting its products, improving production. This mechanism was substantiated by the American economist P. Samuelson, and therefore the theory of the ratio of production factors is often called the theory of Heckscher - Ohlin - Samuelson.

There are a lot of modern theories of foreign trade, in fact, each school and its individual directions offer their own points of view on this problem. The most common are the following 0:

Neotechnological theories try to explain foreign trade relations by the costs of research and development, the level of average wages and the proportion of skilled labor. They explain the emergence of advantages by a monopoly on individual discoveries and new technologies, which makes it possible to dominate the production of these goods and the world market until these technologies are mastered by other countries. Then new research is needed to produce new goods.

The theory of specific factors says that the different provision of individual countries with specific factors, i.e. factors that can be used only for the production of this product, leads to a further development of these factors in export industries and a reduction in industries competing with imports.

The theory of the firm is associated with the strengthening of the role of individual firms and corporations in international trade. Ultimately, the comparative advantage is always received not by a nation, but by an individual firm exporting a given product. Technologically complex products are created by the company based on the needs and demand that exist within the country. Only after expanding production and saturating the domestic market, the company can enter the foreign market, in order to sell its products, it is necessary to find a buyer country whose demand structure in the domestic market would be as close as possible to the demand structure of the exporting country. This explains the possibility of trade transactions between countries at the same level of development, in particular, between developed industrial countries.

The theory of the international competitiveness of nations, developed by the American economist M. Porter, says that the place of each country and its specific producers in the world market is determined by the following four main conditions: the quantity and quality of various factors of production, demand conditions in the domestic market, the presence of related and service industries, firm strategy and internal competition.

1.2. World market

Relatively stable flows of movement of goods and services led to the emergence of a new form of commodity exchange - the world market. The modern world market is a sphere of stable commodity-money relations for the exchange of produced national products. The subjects of these relations can be states, individual organizations and enterprises, as well as individuals. As well as within the country, in the structure of the world market one can single out markets for goods and services, markets for labor, capital, and, in addition, markets for the achievements of science and technology. As part of the latter, information markets are becoming increasingly important in modern conditions. In addition, it is possible to single out individual markets on a regional basis - European, Asian, South American, Far Eastern, etc.

In order for a country to enter the world market, it needs to have export resources, i.e. stocks of competitive goods and services that are in demand, currency or other means of payment for imports, as well as a developed foreign trade infrastructure: vehicles, warehouses, communications, etc. Settlements for foreign trade operations are made by banking organizations, and the country's insurance business insures goods and transportation . Of course, if necessary, you can use the services of the infrastructure of other countries, but, as a rule, these are expensive services, and each country involved in the world market seeks to create its own infrastructure.

Two counter flows of goods and services form the exports and imports of each country. Export is the sale and export of goods abroad, import is the purchase and import of goods from abroad. The difference between the cost estimates of exports and imports forms the trade balance, and the sum of these estimates is the foreign trade turnover.

In the process of development, the world market has clearly identified two components: the market for basic goods and the market for finished products.

All developing countries, which specialize mainly in the export of raw materials and labor-intensive goods, trade in the market for basic goods. Here, Russia also sells the bulk of its exports. The competitiveness of such goods depends mainly on two factors: quality and production, transportation and storage costs. Since the quality of similar goods is approximately the same, the cost factor becomes a pricing factor. And as a result of price competition, the country that has higher labor productivity, lower wages, better equipped or organized production wins. And the competition in this market is quite tough. In modern conditions, it is still increasing due to the fact that the share of this market in the total sales volume is decreasing, and the number of participants is increasing due to countries with economies in transition, and above all - the former Soviet republics.

The second segment of the world market is the finished goods market. At present, it is also stratified into three clearly defined levels: lower, middle and higher. The criterion for their selection was the level of manufacturability of products. At the lowest level of the market, there is trade in ferrous metallurgy products, construction materials, textiles, garments, footwear and other light industry products. At the middle level, they trade in machine tools, vehicles, rubber and plastic products, products of basic chemistry and woodworking. At the highest level, aerospace equipment, automated office equipment, information technology, electronics, pharmaceutical products, precision and measuring instruments, and electrical equipment are sold. The markets of the last level are the most promising and develop at a much faster pace than others. Here there is a fierce competition between developed countries, building their economy on the highest achievements of modern scientific and technological revolution, and not interested in the appearance of new competitors in these markets.

Competitiveness in the world market is the ability of the state to create more wealth per unit of cost than rivals in the world market. When determining this indicator, 378 different criteria are taken into account, first of all - per capita income, inflation rate, foreign trade balance. The opinion of 21,000 heads of the world's largest companies is taken into account, as well as the availability of natural resources, means of communication, etc.

Foreign trade policy is a set of measures used by the state to regulate trade relations and relations with other countries. Historically, two types of foreign trade policy have been formed - protectionism and free trade. There is a constant peculiar rivalry between them, since both types have advantages and disadvantages, and depending on specific historical conditions, one of them prevails.

Protectionism is a policy of protecting the national producer and consumer. From the manufacturer's point of view, such measures are necessary to support newly created, young industries, protecting them from competition from foreign firms that have certain advantages in this industry. But, protecting national producers, protectionism creates new problems: prices rise in the domestic market, demand and consumption are reduced. In addition, the absence of foreign competition reduces incentives to improve production, increases the privileges of certain industries and industries, and contributes to the development of stagnation in the economy. Protectionism uses customs duties and non-tariff barriers.

Free trade is based on non-intervention of the state in foreign trade. Supporters of the principles of free trade believe that the goals that protectionism sets for itself are too expensive for countries, and through free trade they can be achieved at a lower cost. Despite this, free trade in its pure form is rarely used in practice. Each country builds its policy on a combination of these and other methods, taking into account the tasks of its development.

The modern world market is a complex system that is constantly changing depending on the demand and supply of goods and services. Therefore, the first distinguishing feature of the modern market is its dynamism. The second feature is a change in the balance of power. Whereas previously the United States dominated world exports, now Western Europe is participating in the struggle for supremacy, followed by Japan and the "new industrial states" of Southeast Asia. The third feature is the formation of large regional trade blocs. There are 9 of them: European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay), Committee of South Africa Development (SADC), West African Economic and Monetary Union (WEMUA), Andean Pact.

2. Russia and its place in the world market

2.1 Structure of foreign trade

Foreign trade is currently one of the most important sectors of the Russian economy, since it is it that determines the dynamics of many macroeconomic parameters. The structure of Russia's foreign trade is determined by the following factors0:

The division of the national economy, depending on competitiveness in the foreign and domestic markets, into 3 groups of industries:

a) resource industries that are competitive in the foreign market (oil, gas, timber, diamond industries, partly energy, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy);

b) branches of the manufacturing industry that are competitive in the domestic and partly in the foreign market (aerospace, nuclear industry, partly power engineering, heavy machine tool building, etc.);

c) industries that are unable to enter the foreign market, but are necessary for the domestic market (automotive industry, agricultural engineering, light and food industries, production of building materials).

2.2 Russia's place in the world market

Russia is only gaining its place in the world market. This is a lengthy process in which everything is important: both the characteristics of the country entering the market and the characteristics of the market itself. At present, Russia trades only in the market of basic goods, selling raw materials and energy carriers (Table 1). With some goods, Russia may also appear in certain markets for finished goods, but it is too early to talk about gaining a strong position in these markets, especially if we are talking about their upper level. The two lower levels are more accessible, although even there there is fierce competition between trading countries. Non-price competition methods prevail here. First of all, the quality of goods competes, the constant expansion and updating of the range of products offered, the development of design, the improvement of consumer properties predetermined a steady demand for only the best samples of goods. The production of such goods in Russia for the world market, as a rule, is impossible.

Table 1

Foreign trade of Russia in 2004 0

Structure	million USD	in % to 2003	in % of the total
energy goods,
crude oil
metals and products from them, including:
ferrous metals and products from them
non-ferrous metals and products from them
wood and pulp and paper products
machinery, equipment and vehicles
food products and agricultural raw materials for their production
chemical industry products, rubber

2.3 The place of the military-industrial complex in the world market

The greatest opportunity to conquer the market for finished goods is given by the conversion of the military-industrial complex (MIC), whose industries possess high technologies, productive fixed assets, and have a high personnel and scientific and technical potential. Military-industrial complex enterprises, even in the conditions of a closed economy, maintained contacts with foreign firms, participated in international exhibitions and auctions, and therefore have some experience of international competition. All this creates a real opportunity to occupy a certain niche in the finished goods market.

2.4 Prospects for Russia's foreign trade activities

In general, assessing the prospects for Russia's foreign trade, it is expected that the growth rate of foreign trade turnover with non-CIS countries in 2004-2006. will be in the range of 96.2-108.1%, including exports - 89.1-106.2%, imports - 107.2-111.9 percent 0 . Table 2 shows the main forecast indicators.

table 2

The main indicators of the forecast of the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation until 2006

Consumer price index, December to December, in %
Gross domestic product, in % to prev. year
I option
II option
Industrial output, in % of the previous year
I option
II option
Investments in fixed capital at the expense of all sources of financing, in % to the previous year
I option
II option
Export - total, billion US dollars
I option
II option
Import - total, billion US dollars
I option
II option

Option I is based on a scenario that is based on relatively stable, but somewhat less favorable external and internal conditions compared to the current period, and also takes into account the possibility of a worsening commodity situation on international markets.

Option II assumes a rather favorable combination of external and internal conditions: relative stability of the exchange rate, improvement of trade and political conditions for access of domestic goods to foreign markets, successful completion of negotiations on accession to the WTO, improvement of the global general economic and commodity situation in the main positions of Russian exports.

That. the strategic direction of Russia's foreign trade policy is the country's integration into the world economic community. Russia's position on this issue is unequivocal and consistent: Russia should join the World Trade Organization as soon as possible, but this process should take place on standard conditions equal to those of other WTO member countries.

3. Russia's accession to the WTO

3.1 The concept and structure of the WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was founded in 1995. It is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded in 1947.

The WTO is both an organization and a set of legal documents that define the rights and obligations of governments in the field of international trade in goods and services (appendix). The right basis of the WTO is 0:

1. General Agreement on Trade in Goods (GATT) as amended in 1994.

2. General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

3. Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

3.2 Tasks of the WTO

The main tasks of the WTO are the liberalization of international trade, ensuring its fairness and predictability, creating a favorable environment for economic growth and improving the economic well-being of people.

3.3 Distinctive features of the WTO

The World Trade Organization has the following characteristics:

1. The WTO is, first and foremost, an organization created to promote freer international trade. WTO actions are aimed at removing trade barriers between countries.

2. The WTO is not any supreme body whose decisions are binding on the governments of all member countries of this organization.

3. WTO member countries agree among themselves on international trade issues, but subject to WTO rules.

4. Membership in the WTO does not prohibit the establishment of customs duties on certain types of goods. However, the usual amount of such duties does not exceed an average of 5-7%.

5. The WTO is a democratic organization where decisions are made by consensus and only in exceptional cases (and such were only in GATT practice) - by majority vote.

6. All WTO member countries are equal, regardless of their size and level of economic development.

7. The WTO agreements contain provisions that allow the governments of the participating countries to take measures to protect the environment, to protect the life and health of people, animals and plants.

3.4 Stages and conditions for accession of new countries to the WTO

The procedure for joining the World Trade Organization, developed over half a century of GATT/WTO existence, is multifaceted and consists of several stages. As the experience of applicant countries shows, this process takes an average of 5-7 years. All the accession procedures listed below fully apply to Russia.

At the first stage, within the framework of special Working Groups (the WG on Russia's accession to the WTO includes 67 countries, including all major trading partners), a detailed consideration at the multilateral level of the economic mechanism and trade and political regime of the acceding country is carried out for their compliance with the rules and regulations of the WTO. After that, consultations and negotiations begin on the conditions for the applicant country's membership in this organization. These consultations and negotiations are usually held on a bilateral level with all interested WG member countries.

First of all, the negotiations relate to "commercially significant" concessions that the acceding country will be ready to provide to WTO members on access to its markets (fixed in the bilateral Protocols on access to markets for goods and services), as well as on the format and timing of the assumption of obligations under the Agreements. arising from WTO membership (formulated in the Report of the Working Group).

In turn, the acceding country, as a rule, receives the rights that all other WTO members have, which will practically mean the end of its discrimination in foreign markets. (Although, for example, China was not able to obtain all these rights in full). In case of illegal actions on the part of any member of the organization, any country will be able to file a corresponding complaint with the Dispute Settlement Body (DRB), whose decisions are binding for unconditional execution at the national level by each member of the WTO.

In accordance with the established procedure, the results of all negotiations on the liberalization of market access and the terms of accession are formalized in the following official documents 0:

The report of the Working Group, which sets out the entire package of rights and obligations that the applicant country will assume as a result of the negotiations;

List of commitments on tariff concessions in the field of goods and on the level of support for agriculture;

the List of Specific Obligations for Services and the List of Exemptions from the MFN;

Protocol on accession, legally formalizing the agreements reached at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

One of the main conditions for the accession of new countries to the WTO is to bring their national legislation and practice of regulating foreign economic activity in line with the provisions of the package of agreements of the Uruguay Round.

At the final stage of accession, the national legislative body of the applicant country ratifies the entire package of documents agreed within the Working Group and approved by the General Council. After that, these obligations become part of the WTO documents and national legislation, and the candidate country itself receives the status of a WTO member.

In 1993, Russia formally applied to join the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and in accordance with the procedures, a Working Group on Russia's accession to the GATT was established, which was transformed after the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 into Working Group on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO (WG). The mandate of the WG is to study the trade regime and develop the conditions for Russia's participation in the WTO.

The negotiation process for Russia's accession to the WTO began in 1995. At the first stage, it was focused on the consideration at the multilateral level within the framework of the WG of the trade and political regime of Russia with a view to its compliance with WTO norms.

After the presentation in 1998 of the initial Russian proposals for market access for goods and proposals for the level of support for agriculture, negotiations began at the bilateral level. In 1999, the WTO members received the first version of the List of Specific Obligations for Access to the Services Market and the draft List of Most Favored Nation Exemptions (MFN). Since 2000, negotiations have become full-scale, that is, they cover all aspects of Russia's accession.

As part of the accession process, the Russian delegation is negotiating in four areas, and they are based on documents and negotiation proposals approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.

1. Negotiations on tariff issues. The goal is to determine the maximum level (“binding”) of import customs duty rates for the entire Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity, the right to use which Russia will receive after joining the WTO.

Currently, about 90% of tariff positions have been agreed with partners. Among the problematic areas where agreement between the parties has not yet been found are a number of agricultural products, aircraft, cars, furniture, etc.

2. Negotiations on agricultural issues, in addition to the tariff aspect, include a discussion of the acceptable volumes of domestic state support for the agricultural sector (AMS) within the so-called "yellow" box (subsidies to be reduced) and the level of export subsidies for agricultural products and food. Consideration of these issues, as a rule, takes place at multilateral consultations with the participation of members of the quadro group (USA, EU, Japan, Canada), the countries of the Cairn Group (leading liberal-minded exporters of agricultural products) and other interested states. These negotiations are extremely complex.

The last round of consultations on agriculture took place on 21 June 2005 in Geneva. The Russian side, in response to numerous requests from the WG member countries, provided data on the volume of domestic support in 2001-2003. in the format required by the WTO. At the same time, Russia's position on the permitted volumes of state support remained unchanged (representative period 1993-1995 with the amount of support of 9.5 billion dollars).

3. Negotiations on access to the services market are aimed at agreeing on the conditions for the access of foreign services and service providers to the Russian market. Negotiations are most acute in such sensitive sectors as financial, "energy" and telecommunications, access to which is of particular commercial interest to the leading members of the WTO. In addition, some countries are interested in improving the conditions for access to the Russian market for individuals - service providers (India, Canada, Switzerland).

As a result of the completed negotiations, Russia agreed to assume obligations in about 100 service sectors (out of 155 sectors provided for by the WTO classification). In some cases, the position of Russia provides for more stringent conditions for the work of foreign suppliers in the Russian market compared to the conditions provided for by the current legislation. This position will allow, if necessary, to use additional tools to protect national suppliers from foreign competition in the future.

4. Negotiations on systemic issues are devoted to determining the measures that Russia will have to take in the field of legislation and its enforcement in order to fulfill its obligations as a WTO member.

3.6 Positive and negative features of Russia's accession to the WTO

It is necessary to be aware that WTO accession has a number of advantages for Russia, as well as several inevitable disadvantages, the negative impact of which our government seeks to minimize during the negotiation process.

First of all, Russia will be limited in the use of instruments of state regulation of economic exchanges and subsidies. In addition, the ability to protect the domestic market of goods and services from foreign competition will be limited to four instruments, such as an export tariff, anti-dumping, protective and countervailing tariffs.

Undoubtedly positive aspects include, first of all, the introduction into Russian legislation of stable, predictable rules of the game and uniform approaches to the application of mechanisms for regulating foreign economic activity. The extension of these rules to Russia will increase its investment attractiveness for foreign investors and make the economic and legal climate more predictable for Russian economic entities. Of course, this process will require certain changes to the current legislation.

Secondly, although not immediately, the conditions for access to world markets for Russian goods and services will improve significantly. This should have a positive impact on the economic activity of Russian enterprises, and, as a result, on the income of the Russian budget. In addition, Russia will gain access to the mechanism for resolving trade conflicts and the right to participate in the development of new rules for international trade.

It is also necessary to mention the creation of better conditions for integration within the CIS, strengthening the role of the Federation in relations with the subjects on economic issues, creating optimal starting conditions for starting negotiations on Russia's accession to the Common European Economic Space.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that for potential Russian partners in the WTO, the benefits from Russia's accession to this organization are realized almost immediately, and for Russian manufacturers - over a rather long period of time 0 .

All members of the WTO assume obligations to implement the main agreements and legal documents, united under the name "multilateral trade agreements". Thus, from a legal point of view, the WTO system is a kind of multilateral contract, the rules and regulations of which govern over 92% of all world trade in goods and services. Russia's obligations in the event of accession to the WTO are partly already contained in Russia's international agreements: the Partnership Agreement with the EU, the Energy Charter Treaty, agreements on the protection and promotion of investment. It should be noted that a significant part of these general obligations coincides with the norms of national legislation.

In addition, there are a number of additional obligations. They relate, for example, to “freezing” import tariffs and limiting agricultural subsidies. It is these commitments that are the subject of negotiations. The parties involved in the negotiations with Russia are discussing the level of tariff protection of the goods market and the level of protection of the services market.

The main problem of Russia's accession to the WTO is, first of all, the removal of restrictions on the supply of goods from abroad, in a sense, restrictions on competition from foreign companies. This will lead to the fact that domestic producers may not be able to compete on an equal footing with both very high-quality Western products and very cheap Chinese ones. Another thing is that this process will take place gradually (which is why such long negotiations are underway), and our enterprises will have time to adapt to new conditions.

Therefore, experts believe that, despite increased competition from foreign manufacturers when Russia joins the WTO, the impact of this event on the domestic industry will not be very significant or catastrophic, although each enterprise will have to take care of itself and increase the efficiency of its own work.

Conclusion

Foreign trade is the main form of world economic relations. In terms of dynamics and value indicators, it is ahead of the growth of world production, the movement of capital and other types of foreign economic relations, which is one of the most important characteristics of the modern world economy. The growth rates of international export-import operations exceed the growth rates of the main segments of world production, incl. industrial goods, minerals and agricultural products.

The increasing importance of trade in the world economy, as well as its intensive development, are due to the objective process of globalization and the increased interdependence of most countries of the world. Significant progress in the development of the international division of labor contributed to the intensification of world commodity exchange.

In the field of trade exchange, international regimes and multilateral agreements were developed within the framework of the WTO, an international organization operating on the basis of a multilateral agreement that establishes the principles and rules of world trade. The activities of the WTO are aimed at the liberalization of export-import operations and, in particular, at the reduction and elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers.

The significant liberalization of the foreign trade policy of the developing countries, the expansion of the scale of trade between them, and, in addition, the preservation of a favorable conjuncture in the markets of industrial products in many developing and developed industrial countries, contributed to a further increase in international trade. The revolution in information technology and communications has also played a significant role in this process.

In recent years, there have been significant changes in the structure of world trade. In particular, the share of communication and information technology services has increased significantly, while the share of trade in commodities and agricultural products has been declining.

Certain changes are also taking place in the geographical distribution of world trade. The trade of developing countries is gradually growing, but the volume of goods flows from the newly industrialized countries is growing at an especially rapid pace.

Among the countries with economies in transition, China's foreign trade is developing more dynamically, which allowed the country to enter the top ten largest trading powers in the world. At the same time, there is still a significant part of the world trade turnover - about a third of the world's export-import operations are accounted for by the leading industrialized countries (USA, Germany and Japan). France, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium are among the largest trading countries in the world.

Today, the question of the place that we want to occupy in the emerging world order is becoming more and more obvious. The question of Russia's place requires an answer to two other questions: what are the contours of the emerging world order and what is the country's "starting position" for participation in world processes. Both the scenario of a constructive inclusion of the post-industrial world in the new cooperation, and the transformation into an outsider country, one of the leaders of resistance to globalization, are possible. In many ways, the choice depends on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Today, there are two extreme points of view on the problem of the country's accession to the WTO. Supporters of liberalism insist on immediate accession to the WTO on any terms. Supporters of protectionism argue that Russian business today is uncompetitive and entry into the WTO will stifle domestic enterprises.

1) the reduction of restrictions in international trade will lead to cheaper imports, which is beneficial both for Russian enterprises using imported raw materials and components, and for Russian citizens purchasing imported goods;

2) the possibility of legal protection of domestic producers under the laws of the World Trade Organization;

3) the opening of the economy and the stabilization of Russian foreign trade and general economic legislation will contribute to the development of international economic relations and the investment process in Russia;

4) Russian enterprises - exporters will get more opportunities to access foreign markets.

However, when joining the WTO, difficulties may arise:

1) some sectors (agriculture, aviation industry) and individual enterprises may not be able to compete with foreign enterprises, unemployment will increase, production will decline;

2) it will be difficult for Russian banks to compete with foreign commercial banks, which have large and relatively cheap resources (interest on deposits and, accordingly, loans abroad is much lower than in Russia);

3) there will be difficulties in maintaining the Customs Union with the CIS countries, since this is in conflict with the WTO charter;

4) the ability of the state to regulate foreign economic activity will decrease;

5) the weakening of direct state regulation of domestic energy prices can lead to a significant increase in production costs and a drop in the competitiveness of domestic enterprises.

An analysis of the potential benefits and threats of Russia's accession to the WTO allows us to draw the following conclusions:

1) it is necessary to ensure an overall positive quantitative and qualitative balance of national interests;

2) bankruptcy of individual branches of the national economy must not be allowed;

3) it is advisable to provide a mechanism for protecting the national financial and banking system;

4) a sharp increase in energy prices should not be allowed, as required by the WTO negotiators;

5) it is necessary to coordinate the activities of all levels of government to prepare the Russian economy for accession to the WTO.

Bibliography

1. Forecast of the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for 2004 and the main parameters of the forecast up to 2006, Moscow, July 2003

2. Galitskaya S.V. "Money. Credit. Finance" - M.: "Exam", 2004 - 224 p.

3. Lizogub A.N., Simonenko V.I. "Economic theory" - M.: "Prior-izdat", 2004 - 128 p.

4. Makeeva T.V. "Macroeconomics" - M .: "Exam", 2004 - 128 p.

5. Economics in Questions and Answers, ed. I.P. Nikolaeva - M .: TK Velby, Prospekt Publishing House, 2004 - 336 p.

6. Simonov Yu.F., Nosko B.P., Guiliano A.A. "World Economy and International Economic Relations" - Rostov n / a: "Phoenix", 2004 - 160 p.

7. I.Z. Farkhutdinov, "Globalization and Geoeconomics: New Legal Paradigms of the World Order", "Legislation and Economics", No. 4, April 2004

9. D.A. Komolov "Pros and cons of joining the WTO, interview with Alexei Kudrin" The Russian economy: XXI century, April 2001

10. Website of the World Trade Organization http://www.wto.ru

Appendix

Multilateral agreements on trade in goods within the WTO

Name of the agreement	Short description
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT-94)
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947.	Defines the fundamentals of the regime for trade in goods, the rights and obligations of WTO members in this area
Agreement on agriculture.	It defines the features of regulation of trade in agricultural goods and the mechanisms for applying measures of state support for production and trade in this sector.
Agreement on textiles and clothing	Defines the features of regulation of trade in textiles and clothing
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Norms.	Determines the conditions for the application of sanitary and phytosanitary control measures
Agreement on technical barriers to trade.	Determines the conditions for the application of standards, technical regulations, certification procedures
Agreement on investment measures related to trade.	Contains restrictions on the application of measures that encourage the consumption of domestic goods in connection with investment
Agreement on the Application of Article VII of GATT 1994 (Customs Valuation of Goods).	Defines the rules for assessing the customs value of goods
Agreement on pre-shipment inspection.	Defines the conditions for conducting pre-shipment inspections
Agreement on rules of origin.	Defines the principles of origin of goods
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.	Establishes import licensing procedures and forms
Agreement on subsidies and compensatory measures.	Defines the conditions and procedures for the application of subsidies and measures aimed at combating subsidies
Agreement on the Application of Article VI of GATT 1994 (anti-dumping).	Defines the conditions and procedures for the application of measures to counteract dumping
Safeguard Agreement.	Defines the conditions and procedures for applying measures to counter growing imports

0 I.Z. Farkhutdinov, "Globalization and Geoeconomics: New Legal Paradigms of the World Order", "Legislation and Economics", No. 4, April 2004

0 Simonov Yu.F., Nosko B.P., Guiliano A.A. "World Economy and International Economic Relations" - p.80

0 Galitskaya S.V. "Money. Credit. Finance" - p. 87

0 "Economics in questions and answers" ed. I.P. Nikolaeva - p. 233

0 Makeeva T.V. "Macroeconomics" p.91

0 Forecast of the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for 2004 and the main parameters of the forecast up to 2006, Moscow, July 2003 - p. 101

0 World Trade Organization website http://www.wto.ru

0 Lizogub A.N., Simonenko V.I. "Economic theory" - p.87

0 D.A. Komolov "Pros and cons of joining the WTO, interview with Alexei Kudrin" The Russian economy: XXI century, April 2001

World trade

World trade turnover is the sum of foreign trade turnover of all countries. The foreign trade turnover of a country is the sum of exports and imports of one country with all countries with which it is in foreign trade relations.

Since all countries import and export goods and services, the world trade turnover is also defined as the sum of world exports and world imports.

The state of world trade turnover is estimated by its volume for a certain time period or on a certain date, and development - by the dynamics of these volumes for a certain period.

The volume is measured in value and physical terms, respectively, in US dollars and in physical terms (tons, meters, barrels, etc., if it is applied to a homogeneous group of goods), or in conventional physical terms, if the goods do not have a single natural measurement . To assess the physical volume, the value volume is divided by the average world price.

To assess the dynamics of world trade, chain, basic and average annual growth rates (indices) are used.

MT structure

The structure of world trade turnover shows the ratio in its total volume of certain parts, depending on the chosen feature.

The overall structure reflects the ratio of exports and imports as a percentage or in shares.

The commodity structure of world trade shows the share of a particular group of goods in its total volume. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that in the MT a product is considered as a product that satisfies some social need, to which two main market forces are directed - supply and demand, and one of them necessarily acts from abroad.

Goods produced in national economies participate in MT in different ways. Some of them don't participate at all. Therefore, all goods are divided into tradable and non-tradable.

Tradable goods are freely movable between countries, non-tradable ones, for one reason or another (uncompetitive, strategically important for the country, etc.) do not move between countries. When talking about the commodity structure of world trade, we are talking only about tradable goods.

In the most general proportion in world trade, trade in goods and services is singled out.

When characterizing the commodity structure of world trade, two large groups of goods are most often distinguished: raw materials and finished products.

The geographical (spatial) structure of world trade is characterized by its distribution along the lines of commodity flows - the totality of goods (in physical terms) moving between countries.

In the spatial structure, one should also distinguish between regional, integration and intracorporate turnover. These are parts of the world trade turnover, reflecting its concentration within one region (for example, Southeast Asia), one integration grouping (for example, the EU) or one corporation (for example, any TNC). Each of them is characterized by its general, commodity and geographical structure and reflects the trends and degree of internationalization and globalization of the world economy.

For the collection of statistical data on foreign trade operations, the assessment of VO is very important, since it is then used to calculate:

• trade balance;
• average prices;
• efficiency of foreign trade operations in general and other significant parameters.

Foreign trade turnover is closely related to the concept of foreign trade.

What is foreign trade

Trade relations of one state with other countries, including import operations (import) and export operations (export) of goods, are called foreign trade. This term applies exclusively to individual countries.

Foreign trade helps:

• receive additional income from the sale of the national product abroad;
• to saturate the internal market of the state;
• increase labor productivity;
• cope with limited resources within the country.

In the aggregate, foreign trade transactions of different states form world (international) trade. International trade is the oldest form of economic relations between states, which has a huge impact on the development of the world economy as a whole.

How is foreign trade turnover calculated?

So, the main concepts of foreign trade are export and import.

• Exports - the total volume of goods produced in the country, which is exported from it for a certain time period.
• Import - a set of goods produced outside a certain state and imported into it for a certain period.

Export and import transactions are recorded at the moment when the goods cross the border. They are displayed in foreign economic and customs statistics. The export operation of the state-seller corresponds to the import operation of the state-buyer.

As a rule, exports are recorded at FOB (free of board) prices. In international trade relations, this means that the price of the goods includes the costs of its transportation on board an international vessel or other transport and insurance until the completion of loading.

Imports are accounted for at CIF prices (cost, insurance, freight). This means that the price of the goods includes the costs of its transportation and insurance, customs fees to the port of shipment of the buyer. That is, all these costs are borne by the seller. The formula for the total volume of foreign trade turnover is as follows:

VO = Import of goods + Export of goods

The country's VO is calculated in monetary units, since different goods cannot be compared in physical terms, for example, in tons, liters or meters.

How is the balance of foreign trade turnover calculated?

The balance of foreign trade turnover is also a significant concept for assessing the economy of a particular country. It can be calculated using the following formula:

VO balance \u003d Export of goods - import of goods

The balance of foreign trade turnover can be either positive or negative. A positive VO balance (the state sells more than it buys) indicates the growth of the economy. On the contrary, a negative balance indicates that the market is oversaturated with imported goods, and the interests of the domestic producer may be infringed.

World trade turnover

World trade is the sum of the exports of all countries, which is expressed in US dollars.

The participation of a state in world trade is displayed by such indicators as export and import quotas.

• Export quota - the ratio of export operations to gross domestic product (GDP). This indicator allows you to understand what part of the goods and services produced within the state is sold on the international market.
• Import quota - the ratio of import operations to the volume of domestic consumption of the state's products. Shows the share of goods imported into the country in domestic consumption.

Statistical data on world foreign trade turnover are collected, summarized and systematized. For this, international nomenclatures were developed (they are taken into account in the course of building national foreign trade classifications).

Neoclassical economic theory emerged in the 1870s. The neoclassical direction explores the behavior of an economic person (consumer, entrepreneur, employee), who seeks to maximize income and minimize costs. The main categories of analysis are limiting values. Neoclassical economists developed the theory of marginal utility and the theory of marginal productivity, the theory of general economic equilibrium, according to which the mechanism of free competition and market pricing ensures a fair distribution of income and the full use of economic resources, the economic theory of welfare, the principles of which form the basis of the modern theory of public finance (P Samuelson), the theory of rational expectations, etc. In the second half of the 19th century, along with Marxism, neoclassical economic theory arose and developed. Of all its numerous representatives, the English scientist Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) gained the greatest fame. The supply of a good is based on the cost of production. The producer cannot sell at a price that does not cover his production costs. If the classical economic theory considered the formation of prices from the standpoint of the producer, then the neoclassical theory considers pricing both from the standpoint of the consumer (demand) and from the standpoint of the producer (supply). Neoclassical economic theory, like the classics, proceeds from the principle of economic liberalism, the principle of free competition. But in their studies, neoclassicists place more emphasis on the study of applied practical problems, use quantitative analysis and mathematics to a greater extent than qualitative (meaningful, cause-and-effect). The greatest attention is paid to the problems of efficient use of limited resources at the microeconomic level, at the level of the enterprise and household. Neoclassical economic theory is one of the foundations of many areas of modern economic thought. (A. Marshall: Principles of Political Economy, J. B. Clark: Income Distribution Theory, A. Pigou: Welfare Economics)

The "old" institutionalism, as an economic trend, arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was closely associated with the historical trend in economic theory, with the so-called historical and new historical school (F. List, G. Schmoler, L. Bretano, K. Bucher). From the very beginning of its development, institutionalism was characterized by the advocacy of the idea of ​​social control and the intervention of society, mainly the state, in economic processes. This was the legacy of the historical school, whose representatives not only denied the existence of stable deterministic relationships and laws in the economy, but also supported the idea that the well-being of society can be achieved on the basis of strict state regulation of the nationalist economy. The most prominent representatives of the "Old Institutionalism" are: Thorstein Veblen, John Commons, Wesley Mitchell, John Galbraith. Despite the significant range of problems covered in the works of these economists, they failed to form their own unified research program. As Coase noted, the work of the American institutionalists led nowhere because they lacked a theory to organize the mass of descriptive material. The old institutionalism criticized the provisions that constitute the "hard core of neoclassicism." In particular, Veblen rejected the concept of rationality and the principle of maximization corresponding to it as fundamental in explaining the behavior of economic agents. The object of analysis is institutions, and not human interactions in space with restrictions that are set by institutions. Also, the works of the old institutionalists are distinguished by significant interdisciplinarity, being, in fact, continuations of sociological, legal, and statistical studies in their application to economic problems.

1. The institutional approach occupies a special place in the system of theoretical economic directions. Unlike the neoclassical approach, it focuses not so much on the analysis of the results of the behavior of economic agents, but on this behavior itself, its forms and methods. Thus, the identity of the theoretical object of analysis and historical reality is achieved.

2. Institutionalism is characterized by the predominance of the explanation of any processes, and not their prediction, as in neoclassical theory. Institutional models are less formalized, therefore, within the framework of institutional forecasting, many more different predictions can be made.

3. The institutional approach is associated with the analysis of a specific situation, which leads to more generalized results. Analyzing a specific economic situation, institutionalists compare not with an ideal one, as in neoclassicism, but with a different, real situation.

Institutional Economics arose and developed as an oppositional doctrine - opposition, first of all, to neoclassical "economics".

Representatives of institutionalism tried to put forward an alternative concept to the main teaching, they sought to reflect in not only formal models and strict logical schemes, but also living life in all its diversity. In order to understand the causes and patterns of development of institutionalism, as well as the main directions of its criticism of the mainstream of economic thought, we briefly characterize the methodological basis -.

Old institutionalism

Formed on American soil, institutionalism absorbed many of the ideas of the German historical school, the English Fabians, and the French sociological tradition. The influence of Marxism on institutionalism cannot be denied either. The old institutionalism arose at the end of the 19th century. and took shape as a trend in 1920-1930. He tried to occupy the "middle line" between neoclassical "economics" and Marxism.

In 1898 Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) criticized G. Schmoller, the leading representative of the German historical school, for excessive empiricism. Trying to answer the question "Why is economics not an evolutionary science", instead of a narrowly economic one, he proposes an interdisciplinary approach that would include social philosophy, anthropology and psychology. This was an attempt to turn economic theory towards social problems.

In 1918, the concept of "institutionalism" appeared. He is introduced by Wilton Hamilton. He defines an institution as "a common way of thinking or acting, imprinted in the habits of groups and the customs of a people." From his point of view, institutions fix established procedures, reflect the general agreement, the agreement that has developed in society. He understood institutions as customs, corporations, trade unions, the state, etc. This approach to understanding institutions is typical of traditional (“old”) institutionalists, which include such well-known economists as Thorstein Veblen, Wesley Clare Mitchell, John Richard Commons, Karl -August Wittfogel, Gunnar Myrdal, John Kenneth Galbraith, Robert Heilbroner. Let's get acquainted with the concepts of some of them a little closer.

In The Theory of Business Enterprise (1904), T. Veblen analyzes the dichotomy of industry and business, rationality and irrationality. He contrasts behavior determined by actual knowledge with behavior determined by the habits of thought, considering the former as the source of change in progress, and the latter as a factor that counteracts it.

In the works written during and after the First World War—The Instinct for Mastery and the State of Industrial Skills (1914), The Place of Science in Modern Civilization (1919), Engineers and the Price System (1921)—Veblen considered important problems of scientific and technological progress, focusing on the role of "technocrats" (engineers, scientists, managers) in creating a rational industrial system. It was with them that he linked the future of capitalism.

Wesley Claire Mitchell (1874-1948) studied in Chicago, trained in Vienna and worked at Columbia University (1913 - 1948) Since 1920, he headed the National Bureau of Economic Research. His focus was on business cycles and economic research. W.K. Mitchell turned out to be the first institutionalist to analyze real processes "with numbers in hand." In his work "Business Cycles" (1927), he explores the gap between the dynamics of industrial production and the dynamics of prices.

In Art Backwardness Spending Money (1937), Mitchell criticized neoclassical "economics" based on the behavior of the rational individual. He sharply opposed the "blissful calculator" I. Bentham, showing various forms of human irrationality. He sought to statistically prove the difference between real behavior in the economy and the hedonic normotype. For Mitchell, the real economic agent is the average person. Analyzing the irrationality of spending money in family budgets, he clearly showed that in America the art of "making money" was far ahead of the ability to spend it rationally.

A great contribution to the development of the old institutionalism was made by John Richard Commons (1862-1945). His focus in The Distribution of Wealth (1893) was the search for instruments of compromise between organized labor and big capital. These include the eight-hour work day and higher wages, which increase the purchasing power of the population. He also noted the beneficial effect of the concentration of industry to improve the efficiency of the economy.

In the books "Industrial Goodwill" (1919), "Industrial Management" (1923), "The Legal Foundations of Capitalism" (1924), the idea of ​​a social agreement between workers and entrepreneurs through mutual concessions is consistently promoted, it is shown how the diffusion of capitalist property contributes to a more even distribution of wealth.

In 1934, his book "Institutional Economic Theory" was published, in which the concept of a transaction (deal) was introduced. In its structure, Commons distinguishes three main elements - negotiations, acceptance of obligations and its implementation - and also characterizes various types of transactions (trade, management and rationing). From his point of view, the transactional process is the process of determining "reasonable value", which ends with a contract that implements "guarantees of expectations". In recent years, J. Commons has focused on the legal framework for collective action, and above all on the courts. This was reflected in the work published after his death - "The Economics of Collective Action" (1951).

Attention to civilization as a complex social system played a methodological role in post-war institutional concepts. In particular, this was reflected in the works of the American institutionalist historian, professor at Columbia and Washington Universities. Karl-August Wittfogel (1896-1988)- first of all, in his monograph "Oriental Despotism. A Comparative Study of Total Power". The structure-forming element in the concept of K.A. Wittfogel is despotism, which is characterized by the leading role of the state. The state relies on the bureaucratic apparatus and suppresses the development of private ownership tendencies. The wealth of the ruling class in this society is determined not by ownership of the means of production, but by a place in the hierarchical system of the state. Wittfogel believes that natural conditions and external influences determine the form of the state, and it, in turn, determines the type of social stratification.

A very important role in the development of the methodology of modern institutionalism was played by the works Carla Polanyi (1886-1964) and above all his "Great Transformation" (1944). In his work "The Economy as an Institutionalized Process", he singled out three types of exchange relations: reciprocity or mutual exchange on a natural basis, redistribution as a developed system of redistribution, and commodity exchange, which underlies the market economy.

Although each of the institutional theories is vulnerable to criticism, nevertheless, the very enumeration of the reasons for dissatisfaction with modernization shows how the views of scientists are changing. The focus is not on weak purchasing power and inefficient consumer demand, nor low levels of savings and investment, but on the importance of the value system, problems of exclusion, traditions and culture. Even if resources and technology are considered, it is in connection with the social role of knowledge and the problems of environmental protection.

The focus of the modern American institutionalist John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908) there are questions of technostructure. Already in "American Capitalism. The Theory of the Balancing Force" (1952), he writes about managers as the bearers of progress and considers trade unions as a balancing force along with big business and government.

However, the theme of scientific and technological progress and post-industrial society is most developed in the works "The New Industrial Society" (1967) and "Economic Theory and the Goals of Society" (1973). In modern society, - writes Galbraith, - there are two systems: planning and market. In the first, the leading role is played by the technostructure, which is based on the monopolization of knowledge. It is she who makes the main decisions in addition to the owners of capital. Such technostructures exist under both capitalism and socialism. It is their growth that brings the development of these systems together, predetermining the trends of convergence.

The Development of the Classical Tradition: Neoclassicism and Neoinstitutionalism

The concept of rationality and its development in the course of the formation of neo-institutionalism

Public choice and its main stages

constitutional choice. Back in the 1954 article “Individual Voting Choice and the Market,” James Buchanan identified two levels of public choice: 1) initial, constitutional choice (which takes place even before a constitution is adopted) and 2) post-constitutional. At the initial stage, the rights of individuals are determined, the rules for the relationship between them are established. At the post-constitutional stage, a strategy for the behavior of individuals is formed within the framework of established rules.

J. Buchanan draws a clear analogy with the game: first, the rules of the game are determined, and then, within the framework of these rules, the game itself is carried out. The constitution, from the point of view of James Buchanan, is such a set of rules for conducting a political game. The current policy is the result of playing within the constitutional rules. Therefore, the effectiveness and efficiency of policy depends to a large extent on how deep and comprehensive the original constitution was drafted; after all, according to Buchanan, the constitution is, first of all, the fundamental law not of the state, but of civil society.

However, the problem of “bad infinity” arises here: in order to adopt a constitution, it is necessary to develop pre-constitutional rules according to which it is adopted, and so on. To get out of this "hopeless methodological dilemma", Buchanan and Tulloch propose a seemingly self-evident rule of unanimity in a democratic society for the adoption of an initial constitution. Of course, this does not solve the problem, since the substantive question is replaced by a procedural one. However, there is such an example in history - the United States in 1787 showed a classic (and in many ways unique) example of a conscious choice of the rules of the political game. In the absence of universal suffrage, the US Constitution was adopted at a constitutional convention.

post-constitutional choice. The post-constitutional choice means the choice, first of all, of the "rules of the game" - legal doctrines and "working rules" (working rules), on the basis of which specific directions of economic policy aimed at production and distribution are determined.

Solving the problem of market failures, the state apparatus at the same time sought to solve two interrelated tasks: to ensure the normal operation of the market and to solve (or at least mitigate) acute socio-economic problems. Antimonopoly policy, social insurance, limitation of production with negative and expansion of production with positive external effects, production of public goods are aimed at this.

Comparative characteristics of "old" and "new" institutionalism

Although institutionalism as a special trend was formed at the beginning of the 20th century, for a long time it was on the periphery of economic thought. The explanation of the movement of economic goods only by institutional factors did not find a large number of supporters. This was partly due to the uncertainty of the very concept of "institution", by which some researchers understood mainly customs, others - trade unions, still others - the state, fourth corporations - etc., etc. Partly - with the fact that institutionalists tried to use the methods of other social sciences in economics: law, sociology, political science, etc. As a result, they lost the opportunity to speak the common language of economic science, which was considered the language of graphs and formulas. There were, of course, other objective reasons why this movement was not in demand by contemporaries.

The situation, however, changed radically in the 1960s and 1970s. To understand why, it suffices to make at least a cursory comparison of "old" and "new" institutionalism. Between the "old" institutionalists (like T. Veblen, J. Commons, J. K. Galbraith) and neo-institutionalists (like R. Coase, D. North or J. Buchanan) there are at least three fundamental differences.

Firstly, the "old" institutionalists (for example, J. Commons in "The Legal Foundations of Capitalism") went to the economy from law and politics, trying to study the problems of modern economic theory using the methods of other social sciences; neo-institutionalists go the exact opposite way - they study political science and legal problems using the methods of neoclassical economic theory, and above all, using the apparatus of modern microeconomics and game theory.

Secondly, traditional institutionalism was based mainly on the inductive method, strove to go from particular cases to generalizations, as a result of which a general institutional theory did not take shape; neo-institutionalism follows a deductive path - from the general principles of neoclassical economic theory to the explanation of specific phenomena of social life.

Fundamental differences between "old" institutionalism and neo-institutionalism

signs	Old institutionalism	Non-institutionalism
Motion	From law and politics to the economy	From economics to politics and law
Methodology	Other humanities (law, political science, sociology, etc.)	Economic neoclassical (methods of microeconomics and game theory)
Method	Inductive	Deductive
Focus of attention	collective action	Independent individual
Analysis background		Methodological individualism

Thirdly, the "old" institutionalism, as a current of radical economic thought, paid primary attention to the actions of collectives (mainly trade unions and the government) to protect the interests of the individual; Neo-institutionalism, on the other hand, puts at the forefront an independent individual who, by his own will and in accordance with his interests, decides which collectives it is more profitable for him to be a member of (see Tables 1-2).

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in institutional studies. This is partly due to an attempt to overcome the limitations of a number of prerequisites characteristic of economics (the axioms of complete rationality, absolute awareness, perfect competition, establishing equilibrium only through the price mechanism, etc.) and consider modern economic, social and political processes more comprehensively and comprehensively; partly - with an attempt to analyze the phenomena that arose in the era of scientific and technological revolution, the application of traditional research methods to which does not yet give the desired result. Therefore, we will first show how the development of the premises of neoclassical theory took place within it.

Neoclassicism and neoinstitutionalism: unity and differences

What all neo-institutionalists have in common is the following: first, that social institutions matter, and second, that they are amenable to analysis using the standard tools of microeconomics. In the 1960s-1970s. a phenomenon called G. Becker "economic imperialism" began. It was during this period that economic concepts: maximization, equilibrium, efficiency, etc., began to be actively used in such areas related to the economy as education, family relations, health care, crime, politics, etc. This led to the fact that the basic economic categories of neoclassicism received deeper interpretation and wider application.

Each theory consists of a core and a protective layer. Neo-institutionalism is no exception. Among the main prerequisites, he, like neoclassicism as a whole, primarily refers to:

• methodological individualism;
• concept of economic man;
• activity as an exchange.

However, unlike neoclassicism, these principles began to be carried out more consistently.

methodological individualism. In conditions of limited resources, each of us is faced with the choice of one of the available alternatives. Methods for analyzing the market behavior of an individual are universal. They can be successfully applied to any of the areas where a person must make a choice.

The basic premise of neo-institutional theory is that people act in any area in pursuit of their own interests, and that there is no insurmountable line between business and social or politics.

The concept of economic man. The second premise of neo-institutional choice theory is the concept of "economic man" (homo oeconomicus). According to this concept, a person in a market economy identifies his preferences with a product. He seeks to make decisions that maximize the value of his utility function. His behavior is rational.

The rationality of the individual has a universal meaning in this theory. This means that all people are guided in their activities primarily by the economic principle, i.e., they compare marginal benefits and marginal costs (and, above all, benefits and costs associated with decision-making):

where MB is the marginal benefit;

MC - marginal cost.

However, unlike neoclassical theory, which considers mainly physical (rare resources) and technological limitations (lack of knowledge, practical skills, etc.), neoinstitutional theory also considers transaction costs, i.e. costs associated with the exchange of property rights. This happened because any activity is seen as an exchange.

Activity as an exchange. Proponents of neo-institutional theory consider any area by analogy with the commodity market. The state, for example, with this approach, is an arena of people's competition for influence on decision-making, for access to the distribution of resources, for places in the hierarchical ladder. However, the state is a special kind of market. Its participants have unusual property rights: voters can choose representatives to the highest bodies of the state, deputies can pass laws, officials can monitor their implementation. Voters and politicians are treated as individuals exchanging votes and campaign promises.

It is important to emphasize that neo-institutionalists are more realistic about the features of this exchange, given that people are inherently bounded rationality, and decision-making is associated with risk and uncertainty. In addition, it is not always necessary to make the best decisions. Therefore, institutionalists compare decision-making costs not with the situation considered exemplary in microeconomics (perfect competition), but with those real alternatives that exist in practice.

Such an approach can be supplemented by an analysis of collective action, which involves considering phenomena and processes from the point of view of the interaction not of one individual, but of a whole group of persons. People can be united into groups on social or property grounds, religious or party affiliation.

At the same time, institutionalists can even somewhat deviate from the principle of methodological individualism, assuming that the group can be considered as the final indivisible object of analysis, with its own utility function, limitations, and so on. However, it seems more rational to consider a group as an association of several individuals with their own utility functions and interests.

The differences listed above are characterized by some institutionalists (R. Coase, O. Williamson, and others) as a genuine revolution in economic theory. Without diminishing their contribution to the development of economic theory, other economists (R. Posner and others) consider their work to be rather a further development of the mainstream of economic thought. Indeed, it is now more and more difficult to imagine the main stream without the work of neo-institutionalists. They are more and more fully included in modern textbooks on Economics. However, not all directions are equally capable of entering the neoclassical "economics". To see this, let's take a closer look at the structure of modern institutional theory.

The main directions of neo-institutional theory

Structure of institutional theory

A unified classification of institutional theories has not yet developed. First of all, the dualism of the "old" institutionalism and neo-institutional theories is still preserved. Both directions of modern institutionalism were formed either on the basis of neoclassical theory, or under its significant influence (Fig. 1-2). Thus, neo-institutionalism developed, expanding and supplementing the main direction of "economics". Invading the sphere of other social sciences (law, sociology, psychology, politics, etc.), this school used traditional microeconomic methods of analysis, trying to explore all social relations from the position of a rationally thinking "economic man" (homo oeconomicus). Therefore, any relationship between people is viewed through the prism of mutually beneficial exchange. Since the time of J. Commons, this approach has been called the contract (contractual) paradigm.

If, within the framework of the first direction (neo-institutional economics), the institutional approach only expanded and modified the traditional neoclassic, remaining within its limits and removing only some of the most unrealistic prerequisites (the axioms of complete rationality, absolute awareness, perfect competition, establishing equilibrium only through the price mechanism, etc.) , then the second direction (institutional economics) relied to a much greater extent on the "old" institutionalism (often of a very "left" persuasion).

If the first direction ultimately strengthens and expands the neoclassical paradigm, subordinating to it more and more new areas of research (family relations, ethics, political life, interracial relations, crime, the historical development of society, etc.), then the second direction comes to a complete rejection of neoclassicism. , giving rise to an institutional economy that is in opposition to the neoclassical "mainstream". This modern institutional economics rejects the methods of marginal and equilibrium analysis, adopting evolutionary sociological methods. (We are talking about such areas as the concepts of convergence, post-industrial, post-economic society, the economy of global problems). Therefore, representatives of these schools choose areas of analysis that go beyond the market economy (problems of creative labor, overcoming private property, eliminating exploitation, etc.). Relatively apart within the framework of this direction is only the French economy of agreements, which is trying to lay a new foundation for the neo-institutional economy and, above all, for its contractual paradigm. This basis, from the point of view of representatives of the economy of agreements, are norms.

Rice. 1-2. Classification of institutional concepts

The contract paradigm of the first direction arose thanks to the research of J. Commons. However, in its modern form, it received a slightly different interpretation, different from the original interpretation. The contract paradigm can be implemented both from the outside, i.e. through the institutional environment (the choice of social, legal and political "rules of the game"), and from within, that is, through the relationships underlying organizations. In the first case, constitutional law, property law, administrative law, various legislative acts, etc., can act as the rules of the game, in the second case, the internal regulations of the organizations themselves. Within this direction, the theory of property rights (R. Coase, A. Alchian, G. Demsets, R. Posner, etc.) studies the institutional environment for the activities of economic organizations in the private sector of the economy, and the theory of public choice (J. Buchanan, G. Tulloch , M. Olson, R. Tollison, etc.) - the institutional environment for the activities of individuals and organizations in the public sector. If the first direction focuses on the welfare gain that can be obtained due to a clear specification of property rights, then the second one focuses on the losses associated with the activities of the state (the economy of bureaucracy, the search for political rent, etc.).

It is important to emphasize that property rights are understood primarily as a system of rules governing access to scarce or limited resources. With this approach, property rights acquire important behavioral significance, since they can be likened to the original rules of the game that regulate relations between individual economic agents.

The theory of agents (relationships "principal-agent" - J. Stiglitz) focuses on the preliminary premises (incentives) of contracts (ex ante), and the theory of transaction costs (O. Williamson) - on already implemented agreements (ex post), generating various management structures. The theory of agents considers various mechanisms for stimulating the activity of subordinates, as well as organizational schemes that ensure the optimal distribution of risk between the principal and the agent. These problems arise in connection with the separation of capital-property from capital-function, i.e. separation of ownership and control - problems posed in the works of W. Berl and G. Minz in the 1930s. Modern researchers (W. Meckling, M. Jenson, Y. Fama, and others) are studying the measures necessary to ensure that the behavior of agents deviates to the least extent from the interests of the principals. Moreover, if they try to foresee these problems in advance, even when concluding contracts (ex ante), then the theory of transaction costs (S. Chen, Y Barzel, etc.) focuses on the behavior of economic agents after the contract is concluded (ex post) . A special direction within this theory is represented by the works of O. Williamson, whose focus is on the problem of governance structure.

Of course, the differences between theories are quite relative, and one can often observe how the same scholar works in different areas of neo-institutionalism. This is especially true for such specific areas as "law and economics" (economics of law), economics of organizations, new economic history, etc.

There are quite profound differences between American and Western European institutionalism. The American tradition of economics as a whole is far ahead of the European level, however, in the field of institutional studies, the Europeans turned out to be strong competitors of their overseas counterparts. These differences can be explained by the difference in national and cultural traditions. America is a country "without history", and therefore the approach from the standpoint of an abstract rational individual is typical for an American researcher. On the contrary, Western Europe, the cradle of modern culture, fundamentally rejects the extreme opposition of the individual and society, the reduction of interpersonal relations only to market transactions. Therefore, Americans are often stronger in the use of the mathematical apparatus, but weaker in understanding the role of traditions, cultural norms, mental stereotypes, etc. - all of which is precisely the strength of the new institutionalism. If representatives of American neo-institutionalism consider norms primarily as a result of choice, then French neo-institutionalists consider norms as a prerequisite for rational behavior. Rationality is therefore also revealed as a norm of behavior.

New institutionalism

In modern theory, institutions are understood as the "rules of the game" in society, or "man-made" restrictive framework that organizes relationships between people, as well as a system of measures that ensures their implementation (enforcement). They create a structure of incentives for human interaction, reduce uncertainty by organizing everyday life.

Institutions are divided into formal (for example, the US Constitution) and informal (for example, the Soviet "telephone law").

Under informal institutions usually understand generally accepted conventions and ethical codes of human behavior. These are customs, "laws", habits or normative rules, which are the result of the close coexistence of people. Thanks to them, people easily find out what others want from them, and understand each other well. These codes of conduct are shaped by culture.

Under formal institutions refers to the rules created and maintained by specially authorized people (government officials).

The process of formalizing restrictions is associated with increasing their impact and reducing costs through the introduction of uniform standards. The costs of protecting the rules are, in turn, associated with establishing the fact of a violation, measuring the degree of violation and punishing the violator, provided that the marginal benefits exceed the marginal costs, or at least not higher than them (MB ≥ MC). Property rights are realized through a system of incentives (anti-incentives) in a set of alternatives facing economic agents. The choice of a certain course of action ends with the conclusion of a contract.

Control over compliance with contracts can be both personalized and non-personalized. The first is based on family ties, personal loyalty, shared beliefs or ideological convictions. The second is on the provision of information, the application of sanctions, the formal control exercised by a third party, and ultimately leads to the need for organizations.

The range of domestic works that touch upon issues of neo-institutional theory is already quite wide, although, as a rule, these monographs are not very accessible to most teachers and students, since they are published in a limited edition, rarely exceeding a thousand copies, which, of course, for such a large country as Russia very little. Among Russian scientists who actively apply neo-institutional concepts in the analysis of the modern Russian economy, one should single out S. Avdasheva, V. Avtonomov, O. Ananin, A. Auzan, S. Afontsev, R. Kapelyushnikov, Ya. Kuzminov, Yu. Latov, V. Mayevsky, S. Malakhov, V. Mau, V. Naishul, A. Nesterenko, R. Nureyev, A. Oleinik, V. Polterovich, V. Radaev, V. Tambovtsev, L. Timofeev, A. Shastitko, M. Yudkevich, A. Yakovleva and others. But a very serious barrier to the establishment of this paradigm in Russia is the lack of organizational unity and specialized periodicals, where the foundations of the institutional approach would be systematized.