I. ECONOMY
38. Structural changes in the economy. Formation of an open economy
The deepening social differentiation of the population requires strengthening the social component of the course of market reforms in Russia. In the current conditions, transformations in the social sphere should be aimed at achieving the following main goals:
– ensuring the most effective protection of socially vulnerable populations;
– implementation of universal accessibility and socially acceptable quality of basic social goods;
– creation of economic conditions that allow citizens, at the expense of their own income, to have a higher level of social consumption, including housing, quality of services in the field of education and health care, and a decent standard of living in old age;
– the formation in the socio-cultural sphere of institutions that create the opportunity for the fullest mobilization of funds of the population and enterprises, the effective use of these funds, and on this basis – the provision of high quality and opportunities for a wide choice of social services by the population.
The program of social reforms proposed by the government is intended to provide guidelines that make it possible to build social policy based on the resources and capabilities actually available to the state. Only in this case, active social policy does not act as a limiter, but as a catalyst for economic growth.
The country's economy has a certain structure– the relationship between spheres of the economy, its industries, regions and firms. By the beginning of the transition economy (1991), the structure of the Russian economy was extremely deformed: 1) hypertrophy of the defense and mining industries; underdevelopment of the production of consumer goods and services, the presence of excess capacity in the manufacturing industry; 2) the costly nature of the economy, low level of technology and direct losses of resources due to the underdevelopment of production infrastructure; 3) dependence on imports of goods and services with poorly diversified export potential.
The main objectives of structural policy today are:
1) qualitative updating of technologies, creation of sources of long-term growth;
2) redistribution of resources in favor of the development of the consumer sector of the economy.
The goals and mechanisms of structural maneuver for the short-term (3-5 years) and long-term (10-50 years) perspectives are different. In the short term, you can count on more efficient use of existing production capacities and the involvement of additional resources (natural, human) in production. The long-term period solves other problems: a radical update of technology and the transition to an effective knowledge-intensive, low-cost, environmentally friendly type of economic growth; reduction of ineffective capital construction; social reorientation of the economy. In this regard, the following should happen structural changes in the economy:
1) accelerated development of the civilian sector of the economy by reducing the defense sector, or through the so-called conversion;
2) development of a complex of industries that ensure the effective functioning of the country’s scientific and technical potential;
3) creation of modern production infrastructure - information, energy, transport and warehouse support.
In order to solve these problems, it is advisable to develop a market system of economic management. And this means strengthening the dominance of private property based on competition, the market system, prices and openness of the economy. Open economy– an economy involved in foreign trade. The degree of openness of an economy is assessed by the share of its international (foreign trade) sector in GDP.
import The bias towards the consumer sector remains. A distinctive feature of the modern period is the reorientation from the import of raw materials for the light and food industries (grain, fabrics, raw cotton) to the import of finished consumer goods with a high level of profitability (primarily food). Such a high degree of dependence on food imports, on the one hand, creates a potential threat to the economic security of the country. On the other hand, one cannot help but see that, as a result of an ill-conceived foreign trade policy, Western manufacturers often dump products on the Russian domestic markets that are quite cheap, but often inferior in quality to domestic ones.
In the commodity structure of the Russian export fuel and raw materials predominate.
Russia's foreign economic policy at the beginning of the third millennium will be aimed at ensuring:
– the best conditions for access of Russian goods, services and labor to world markets;
– effective protection of the domestic market for goods, services and labor;
– access to international resources of strategic importance for economic development (such as capital and technology, goods and services, the production of which is absent or limited);
– favorable balance of payments of the country;
– the effectiveness of state support for the export of products with high added value;
– compliance with the principle of reciprocity – a favorable balance of mutual concessions and obligations.
Russia's accession to the WTO allows it to take part in developing decisions for a new round of multilateral trade negotiations, and most importantly, on terms that eliminate discrimination against Russia in foreign markets.
This is a complex of changes in the relationships between large industries,
production departments. Structural changes occur continuously in a market economy.
The main directions of structural changes in the 20th century:
1) reduction in the share of material production sectors in the economy (GNP –
gross national product,
- 2) in the industrial sector a block of knowledge-intensive industries is emerging, the share of traditional industries is falling (extractive industries, metallurgy,
- 3) increasing the share of the service sector in the economy: medicine, education,
- 4) 60s – “green” revolution – transition of agriculture from the manufacturing stage to
large machine production
5) transition of the economy to a fund-saving type of development. Rails of intensive development (both labor and capital are saved)
Conditions for the implementation of simple production (Marx)
Implementation under conditions of simple reproduction assumes that:
1) the goods of both divisions will find sales; 2) the means of production required to replace constant capital in both divisions will be acquired; 3) workers of both divisions will be able to purchase the means of subsistence they need in order to be able to reproduce their labor force, and entrepreneurs of both divisions will be able to spend the profits they receive on the purchase of means of subsistence and luxury goods; 4) as a result of all acts of exchange, the amount of capital applied to production remains the same, unchanged.
In accordance with the above conditions, the total social product of annual labor is schematically distributed as follows:
I. 4000 c + 1000 v + 1000 m = 6000, II. 2000 c + 500 v + 500 m = 3000.
This scheme uses the following designations: I - products of the first division, investment goods; II - products of the second division, consumer goods. The figures characterizing the cost characteristics of the total social product are conditional. At this stage of analysis, Marx abstracts from the differences between fixed and circulating capital. All constant capital in both divisions is considered as consumed during the year, its value is entirely included in the value of the total social product.
It is obvious that in order to resume a new production cycle it is necessary to realize v + m of the first division, i.e. that part of it that is the material carrier of the value of variable capital and surplus value, but is presented in the form of means of production. On the other hand, it is necessary to have consumer goods for both employees and entrepreneurs of this unit. But they are all located in the industries of the second division, which, in turn, need means of production to begin the second cycle. Consequently, the process of reproduction presupposes as a prerequisite an exchange between two units. Moreover, this exchange cannot be arbitrary.
For the convenience of understanding the proportions of exchange, it is advisable to assume that in a given economic system there are only two entrepreneurs, one of whom produces means of production, the second - consumer goods. In this case, it becomes completely clear that the first entrepreneur must sell 2000 units worth of means of production to the second in order to purchase from him consumer goods for this amount for himself and his workers. He needs means of production worth 4,000 units to resume his production.
The second entrepreneur also needs to sell produced consumer goods no more and no less than the amount of 2000 units, since for 1000 units he must leave products for his own consumption (500 units) and for paying employees. With all other ratios, disproportions will be observed, that is, disequilibrium of social production.
Thus, Marxist analysis leads to the following conclusions about the equilibrium conditions of simple reproduction. The main condition for simple reproduction is equality
I (v + m) = II (c).
In addition, simple reproduction assumes that the total value of investment goods is equal to the value of the constant capital of both units:
I (c + v + m) = I (c) + II (c),
and the cost of consumer goods is equal to the cost of income of employees and entrepreneurs of both divisions:
II (c + v + m) = I (v + m) + II (v + m).
The last formula means that national income in conditions of simple reproduction must be equal in value to the product of the second division.
existing in Russia is not effective enough. The need for rapid reform of the social protection system is also related to the demographic situation in Russia. With an aging population, the burden on the working population increases. In today's economic situation, this will mean the impossibility of solving many social problems to maintain the standard of living in the country. Only sustainable economic growth will make it possible to create an effective social protection system, solve the problems of poverty, misery, and create a decent standard of living in the country. The ultimate strategy of social policy is the formation of a middle class in the country; class, which is the basis of economic and political stability.
80. Structural changes in the economy
During its existence, the industrial structure of the economy in the Soviet Union acquired a deformed appearance. In the development of the Soviet economy, a course was set for a preferential growth in the production of means of production over means of consumption. This meant that the economy produced a lot of heavy equipment, machine tools, machinery, weapons and relatively few consumer goods. This phenomenon in the economy was due to the law of preferential growth in the production of means of production for means of production over the growth of means of production for means of consumption. The authorship of this “law” belongs to V.I. Lenin. The word “law”, carelessly spoken by 23-year-old V. Ulyanov, became the law of the entire practice of centralized planning in the USSR and other socialist countries. Nothing like this has happened or could have happened in countries with market economies. Lenin’s law, applicable only at the stage of reducing the technical level, in fact meant merciless “resource consumption” and performed only an ideological function - it justified the militarization of the economy in the USSR. The Soviet economy was characterized by concentration and centralization of production, which was also due to communist ideology. Lenin's law on the advantage of large farms over small ones contributed to industrialization and the creation of collective and state farms. However, as practice shows, such a law does not exist. The history of the capitalist economy is the history of the search for the optimal combination of different forms, types and sizes of production, business and capital. The theory of average and marginal costs of production tells the same story.
A multitude of small and medium-sized enterprises creates the necessary level of diversity in the economic system, without achieving which, according to the famous cyberneticist Ashby, it goes into a state of entropy, ceases to be stable, and loses the ability to develop and self-develop. But at the initial stage, in the first five-year plans of the national economy, major deformations in the economy, of course, contributed to an economic breakthrough, determined the military-strategic security of the country, breakthroughs in science and technology, space exploration, etc. But all this was achieved through excessive efforts and exorbitant costs − millions of human lives, destinies and irretrievably lost opportunities. 111
Over time, the closeness of Soviet society from the outside world objectively led to a natural lag. In the 60s of the twentieth century in the USSR
economic growth rates began to decline due to structural imbalances. The country experienced an exorbitant growth of the bureaucratic apparatus for managing the national economy, which led to a sharp increase in transaction costs. The arms race between the USSR and the USA absorbed more and more resources. Achieving military parity in the Cold War restrained the growth of living standards of Soviet citizens. The Soviet Union, due to its total closedness and ideological attitudes, naturally moved past revolutionary transformations in information technology. The focus on predominantly extensive development of the national economy played a negative role in the Soviet Union. The preconditions for the crisis of underproduction in the country arose back in the 70s of the twentieth century, when the extensive path of expanded reproduction began to exhaust its capabilities, which affected the decline in the growth rate of national income. If the average annual growth rate of income in 1966-1970. amounted to 7.8%, then in 1986-1990. - 13%. All this and much more (for example, the fall in world oil prices) led to the collapse of a system based on structural imbalances in the system of management, production, distribution and consumption.
To solve a huge number of problems in the economy and society, it was necessary to carry out fundamental reforms to eliminate structural imbalances. The first stage of these reforms, the stage of rethinking, was characterized by the implementation of ideological and political reforms in the USSR (M.S. Gorbachev). The second stage is the beginning of market reforms. The stage of demolition and restructuring of the entire state system (B. N. Yeltsin). The third stage is further reform and economic growth (V.V. Putin and D.A. Medvedev).
Over the years of reforms, the Russian economy has undergone fundamental changes of two types:
1) institutional, expressed in the emergence and strengthening of market institutions of economic activity (institution of private property, entrepreneurship, tax system, banking system, stock exchanges, etc.);
2) material-structural, expressed in a drop in GDP by more than half compared to the early 1990s, a sharp reduction in the share of manufacturing industries in the structure of industrial production and growth in the service sector.
The reforms thus led to progress in terms of institutional transformation and a deep crisis in terms of the size and structure of the economy. Institutional transformation predetermines material and structural changes, but the effect in the form of economic growth does not appear immediately. Thus, signs of growth in the Russian economy appeared only a few years after the start of reforms. During the years of reforms, mechanical engineering and other branches of the manufacturing industry suffered the most, less
– branches of the fuel and energy complex and raw materials industry,
which have the ability to supply products to the world market. A decrease in the share of manufacturing112 and an increase in the share of mining
industry is called “weighting” the economic structure. Investments in 1997 fell to approximately 10-15% of levels in the early 1990s. This makes overcoming the crisis particularly difficult. The transition to economic growth is usually preceded by increased investment. The Russian crisis of 1998, provoked by the financial crisis in Southeast Asia and the fall in world oil prices, brought an end to the initial period of reform in Russia and requires the implementation of a more thoughtful and balanced strategy of transformation. The devaluation of the Russian ruble by almost 3 times after the crisis led to the effect of import substitution (the rejection of imported goods due to their high cost and their replacement with domestic ones), and gave impetus to the economic growth of a number of domestic industries that previously could not withstand competition with imported goods. In 2000, the GDP growth rate in the Russian economy was 10%. In subsequent periods, these growth rates decreased. The steady increase in world oil prices made it possible to increase the revenue side of the state budget and reduce it in 2000-2003. with a surplus (when revenue exceeds expenditure), which was not observed in all previous years of reforms. However, many problems still await solutions. It is necessary to reduce the inflation rate to the natural level of 3-5% per year. Pension, medical and military reforms are at the initial stage, reforms in the tax sphere and in the banking sector have not been completed. Housing and communal services and other natural monopolies are awaiting reform. The so-called fragmented nature of the Russian economy remains. Various sectors and industries are developing autonomously, loosely connected with each other. For example, the oil production sector of the economy can develop without regard to domestic demand, focusing only on the external market; investments in the real sector of the economy are practically not related to the savings of the population; There is a great difference in the rates of economic development across regions.
The current situation in Russia is characterized by high administrative barriers, dominance and arbitrariness of officials that impede the implementation of market reforms, high levels of corruption and bribery at all levels of government, and the absence of developed principles of civil society. It is necessary to strengthen the regulatory functions of the state, since the unenforceability of laws and anarchy are one of the main reasons for the unsatisfactory functioning of the market in Russia. It is necessary to implement the state's industrial policy. Its long-term goal is the structural restructuring of the economy, the formation of market entities, the creation of a system of high-tech and competitive production and the transition to sustainable growth in the mid-to-late first decade of the 21st century. It is economic growth, which is a consequence of structural balance, that will create the foundations of a social market economy in Russia and improve the quality of life of all Russians.
81. Formation of an open economy
The national economy of each country is included in the world economic space. The nature of the world economy is increasingly influencing the national economies of countries around the world. In turn, the world economy develops according to special principles and has problems that are different from the problems of the national economy.
Even in the middle of the twentieth century, the national economies of countries remained rather isolated subjects of international economic relations. The economic development of countries depended primarily on internal factors. However, recently national economies have come to a structure of mutual organization that looks like an organically integral world economy. National economies have literally “grown” into each other in all spheres of economic life. Globalization has emerged - the growing economic interdependence of countries around the world.
The following prerequisites for globalization are identified.
1. Increasing volume and variety of international movements of goods and services.
2. Deepening of the process of international division of labor: countries were divided into those producing capital-intensive (for example, electronics, information products), labor-intensive (certain types of agricultural products) and resource-intensive (exporting raw materials - oil, gas, etc.) products.
3. Development of new types of transport (aviation, automobile, etc.), which have reduced the cost of international transport.
4. A revolution in telecommunications (the most significant phenomenon is the rapid development of the worldwide Internet, the number of users of which in 1995 was 23 million, and by the end of 2000 about 140 million people).
5. Accelerating the process of transferring productive technologies and the possibility of borrowing foreign experience in economic activity.
6. Powerful development of global financial markets.
Thus, the world economy is turning into a “complete global organism”, connected not just by the international division of labor, but also by global production and marketing structures, a planetary financial system and an information network. In such a situation, all countries of the world are involved in the process of international economic relations. There is no national economy that is not integrated into the world economy. Another thing is that countries differ in the degree of openness of their economies. An open economy is a national economy involved in the world economy, realizing the advantages of the international division of labor and using various forms of international economic relations. The degree of openness of the economy is determined by indicators of liberalization of foreign economic activity, the volume of exports in general, and per capita. One of the main products of globalization is the activity
transnational corporations (TNCs) – companies carrying out basic
a significant part of their economic transactions outside the country in which they are registered.
Transnational corporations are: technological leaders of world production; active competitors in the field of access to foreign natural resources; the most mobile entrepreneurs in the struggle for new, including foreign, markets. There are about 40 thousand TNCs in the global economy that have virtually unlimited economic power. They control about 50% of global industrial production; 90% of the world market for wheat, corn, timber; 85% of the copper market; 80% of the tea market; own 80% of all patents and licenses. Thus, it turns out that only part of the entire world economy operates under the conditions of a national market mechanism, and part is controlled to a greater or lesser extent by TNCs. The economic power of large TNCs is comparable to the budgets of medium-sized states. This allows corporations to impose their will on many countries.
Russia occupies an important place in the world economy in terms of the volume of natural resources, especially mineral raw materials and fuel, land, water and forest resources. However, their effective use is hampered by the depletion of easily accessible deposits, huge distances between areas of raw material production and consumption, harsh climate, etc. In terms of economic development, Russia is one of the last among industrial countries, especially in terms of per capita GDP. At the same time, Russia meets the criteria of an industrialized country in terms of indicators such as the level of urbanization and literacy of the population, the sectoral structure of GDP and employment. The formation of stable foreign economic relations and the openness of the Russian market are of great importance for the development of a market economy. There are two important areas of this integration: international trade and internationalization of production (with the attraction of foreign investment). The changes that have occurred in the foreign trade of the Russian Federation are radical. Demonopolization of foreign economic activity has been carried out. Hundreds of thousands of business entities are now engaged in it. The main achievement of the policy of economic liberalization has been preserved: saturation of the consumer market with goods. To a large extent, this is achieved through imports. Effective participation in the international division of labor is a necessary condition for high rates of scientific and technological progress and economic growth.
The Russian economy has a number of competitive advantages: cheap and at the same time highly qualified labor force; foreign trade experience in the markets of developing countries; significant amounts of free production space; the presence of unique advanced technologies in a number of industries. Of greatest importance is the realization of comparative advantages embodied in high technologies. Scientifically and technologically advanced sectors (aerospace, laser, nuclear industry, software, etc.), possessing unique technologies, can serve as an export leader. Expanding the production of knowledge-intensive products competitive on the world market115 would contribute to the rise
Important directions of economic transformations in a transition economy are the restructuring of the economic structure and the formation of an open economy.
The structural restructuring of the economies of developed countries took place in a very short historical period - one or two decades. The reason for this is a significant acceleration in the pace of development of scientific and technical progress, the latest forms and methods of organizing and managing innovation processes, and increased opportunities for adaptation of various spheres of national economies to innovations. The structural restructuring of the economy and the increase in the efficiency of its functioning in these countries were accompanied by a steady increase in the role and importance of intangible elements of production resources - scientific knowledge, information, qualifications, which actively complement and mediate material elements (raw materials, energy, technical and technological).
The main directions and ultimate goals of state industrial policy in countries with modern highly developed economies largely coincide. However, the forms and methods of its implementation are different in different countries. Thus, in the USA, the structural policy pursued by the state does not have strict legal formalization in the form of special legislative acts; its practical implementation is carried out within the framework of the general system of government measures to regulate economic processes.
The current restructuring of the Russian economy is designed to overcome the deep structural deformations that have accumulated over the years of planned economy and ensure the creation of a qualitatively updated system of productive forces, which should be adequate to the real needs of society, be based on modern progressive technologies and function effectively in market conditions and the integration of the Russian economy into world economy.
The specifics of structural restructuring in Russia are as follows:
- firstly, the starting point of this restructuring is the structure of the economy, which has developed under the conditions of a distribution system and isolation from the world market, suffering from deep deformations, low competitiveness of most manufactured products, and a high level of monopolization of production and circulation;
- secondly, the action of market forces themselves can and has led to the formation of a flawed structure of the economy, characterized by a consumerist nature, and therefore a low level of accumulation and investment, as well as the predominance in the production and export of raw materials and energy, primary resources with the decline of the manufacturing industry , which means Russia’s loss of positions in a number of developed industrial countries;
- thirdly, structural restructuring is unfolding against the backdrop of high criminalization of the economy, including the credit and financial sector. This complicates the economic recovery process.
Two polar models of structural restructuring are possible, in which the processes of negative and positive adaptation are combined in different ways.
The first is typical for China with prevailing processes of positive adaptation, i.e. growth in production volumes (10-15% annually), investments, exports, and an increase in the level of real incomes of the population.
Another model is typical for Russia and countries that were formerly members of the USSR and CMEA, with dominant processes of negative adaptation, among which the decline in production is especially important. The industries with the largest drop in production include mechanical engineering. The main reason for the reduction in mechanical engineering production was a sharp drop in investment activity in the economy, associated primarily with strong inflationary processes. The production of consumer goods sharply decreased as a result of a decrease in the effective demand of the population at the initial stage of reforms, as well as their low quality. As a result, the rapid growth of imported products in the sales structure.
In the structural changes that are currently taking place in the Russian economy, it is necessary to note the deepening deformation of the reproductive structure, the excessive swelling of the fuel and raw materials sector (primary and intermediate products) to the detriment of the consumer and innovation-investment sectors. The economy turned out to be unable to satisfy the population's needs for food, industrial goods and services and ensure not only expanded, but also simple reproduction and renewal of fixed capital.
Disproportions in the industry structure have increased, the fuel and energy complex, complexes of construction materials and market infrastructure have hypertrophied. At the same time, there is a noticeable drop in the share of agricultural products, production of industrial goods and services, mechanical engineering and construction.
The process of changes in the cost structure of reproduction continues as a result of greatly accelerated redistribution processes, spurred by inflation and uneven price races. The shares of wages and depreciation decreased and the share of profits and taxes unnaturally (in the context of a decline in production and a drop in its efficiency) increased.
In the conditions of the imbalance of the modern Russian economy, there has been a massive flow of capital from the production sphere to the circulation sphere, with the subsequent transfer of a significant part of it abroad. Based on the flow of capital from the production sphere to the circulation sphere, a modern banking sector arose, attracting cheap funds from enterprises for their subsequent use in much more profitable speculative operations.
The concentration of the money supply in the sphere of capital circulation inevitably affects its growth, which is due to the high elasticity of the demand for money in the sphere of circulation, depending on its issue. Hence, the main instrument of government regulation is to reduce the issue of money and reduce the total supply of money in real terms.
The logical result of such a macroeconomic policy is a consistent reduction in the money supply in the economy.
In fact, the volume of money supply, having decreased several times in recent years - to 10-12% of GDP compared to 70-80% in countries with developed market economies, began to approximately correspond to the needs of the circulation sector for working capital and the population for cash, while the goal of reducing inflation was achieved.
The completion of the process of large-scale flow of money from production to the sphere of capital circulation is also evidenced by a sharp (more than half) decrease in profitability in industry in 1996 - to 10% compared to more than 50% rate on the loan market.
In a transition economy, a structural restructuring of property is also necessary.
We already know that a market economy is characterized by the following ownership structure:
- the leading role belongs to large joint-stock companies with a fairly high concentration of capital;
- they are followed by a large number of medium and small farms with joint-stock or private ownership;
- A significant role in most industrial countries belongs to state and municipal ownership, especially in those sectors of the economy that cannot be guided by purely commercial activities.
The specificity of the redistribution of property in Russian conditions is the struggle for a controlling (50% + one voting share) stake, which gives the right to control all property (according to the principle - everything that is less than 50% is equal to zero, everything that is more is 100). As a consequence, the secondary market for cooperative shares works only to consolidate blocks of shares.
A typical example of the structural restructuring of property was the creation (at the initiative of mainly commercial banks and with the permission of the government) of large financial-industrial groups (financial-industrial groups). This is due to the process of removing a significant part of state property from direct state control while maintaining significant state control. Within two years, the government created 28 financial and industrial groups, uniting 450 industrial enterprises, banks, and insurance companies. Large commercial banks are being promoted to the role of the central link of financial industrial groups, which are considered as structures capable of more effectively (compared to the state) managing industrial enterprises, as well as creating investment infrastructure within the alliance.
The process of market adaptation of subjects of the real sector of the economy reflects the essence of economic restructuring at the micro and macro levels.
Enterprise restructuring is a wide range of measures aimed at increasing economic efficiency and market competitiveness.
Restructuring can be carried out in two fundamentally different ways, which are used during market reforms in countries with economies in transition.
First- Restructuring problems can be solved individually at each enterprise, mainly through the targeted selection of strategic investors who can provide the necessary capital and bring modern management experience.
Second- restructuring can be the result of system-wide changes in the economy (primarily property relations), carried out quickly and comprehensively. At the same time, the search for final effective owners is redirected to capital markets.
The variety of restructuring methods can be reduced to two large groups: organizational and financial.
Organizational restructuring- This is a set of measures aimed at bringing the size of an enterprise and its divisions closer to the requirements of a competitive market environment. This task faced all countries with economies in transition that received an over-concentrated and monopolized economy from socialism.
Financial restructuring- these are measures to clear the balance sheet of the enterprise, streamline the company's assets according to the criteria of a market economy. Unlike organizational financial restructuring, it cannot drag on for years. Financial recovery must be carried out quickly, otherwise it will simply lose its meaning.
So, the Russian economy needs a deep structural restructuring aimed at the formation of highly efficient, competitive industries that ensure its integration into the world economic system.
Structural shifts in the economy- these are changes in the structure of the economic system under the influence of various economic and non-economic factors, processes of management of the economic system. Progressive structural changes should be considered those that ultimately lead to an increase in the long-term efficiency of the economic system.
Based on the goal that society seeks to achieve in the process of functioning of the economic structure, the following indicators of its effectiveness can be adopted:
1) the degree of satisfaction of individual and social needs;
2) growth of gross domestic product and national income;
3) formation of optimal sectoral and regional reproduction proportions;
4) increasing the profitability and profitability of enterprises.
The ultimate goal of any structural changes is satisfaction of individual and social needs and implementation of relevant interests. At the same time, the system of needs itself is heterogeneous: its components are material, spiritual, and social needs. In the conditions of commodity-money relations, the degree of satisfaction of needs depends on a whole system of intermediate indicators:
· at the macroeconomic level - this is an increase in the country’s share in the world economy, an increase in the rate of economic growth of GDP and national income, optimization of the structure of its distribution, consumption and accumulation, the formation of an optimal structure of reproduction, basic economic proportions;
· at the meso level - this is the optimization of sectoral and regional structures of the economy in terms of eliminating abnormal imbalances, as well as structural asymmetries that give rise to disintegration processes;
· at the micro level - this is an increase in the profitability and profitability of individual enterprises (firms), optimization of their production, organizational, technological and management structures.
The final and intermediate indicators of the efficiency of the economic structure are in contradictory interaction, since the growth of the physical and monetary volume of the gross domestic product does not always correspond to an improvement in the quality of the economic structure and an adequate improvement in the structure of meeting the needs and realizing the interests of economic entities.
Thus, the concept of the effectiveness of structural changes in the economy is somewhat different from the indicators of the effectiveness of its structure. Reflecting the dynamic component of structural development, it shows how quickly structural changes achieve their goals, i.e. bring the structure of the allocation of production resources in accordance with the structure of changing needs with a minimum of costs for their implementation. Mathematically, this indicator can be represented as:
Es = Ms / I ´ 100%
where Es is the effectiveness of structural changes in the economy;
Ms is the mass of the structural shift in value terms;
I - costs of implementing a structural shift.
Militarization
Militarization- subordination of the economic and social life of the state (states) to the goals of preparation for war; transfer of methods of military organization to the field of civil relations.
Many consider this process detrimental to the development of countries. But military potential, its creation, maintenance and use is inevitable for a humanity still divided along class, racial, religious, economic and many other lines.
The militarization of the economy has a significant impact on social reproduction. Military products participate in the reproduction of production relations.
The militarization of the economy is also accompanied by the seizure of large agricultural areas for military bases, training grounds, airfields and other military facilities. The United States, for example, occupies 31 million acres of land for these purposes in foreign countries alone. In Germany, 4 million hectares of land have been confiscated for military purposes.
The militarization of the economy of capitalist countries leads to a sharp reduction in spending on social needs, an increase in taxation, inflation, and a deterioration in the financial situation of workers, which further aggravates all the economic, social and political contradictions inherent in capitalism. In NATO countries, the scale of funding for militaristic preparations is constantly expanding. NATO countries are increasing military spending by 3% annually in real terms.
As a result of the militarization of the economy, in some industries there is an increase in production, and in a number of commodity markets - an excess of demand over supply, an increase in stock prices, an increase in prices, that is, an improvement in the market situation. However, these trends are characterized by extreme instability. The systematic withdrawal of a significant part of production from the reproduction process leads to a narrowing of the scale of expanded reproduction, the development of inflation and a deterioration in the general economic situation.
If we evaluate the level of militarization of households by the share of GDP spent on the creation of weapons and the maintenance of armed forces, then it remains quite high in leading countries, fluctuating between 1-4% (USA - 3.8%, Japan - 1%). The largest funds for military purposes are spent in the United States - about 300 billion dollars, which is more than 5 times the expenditures of the PRC and seven times the expenditures of France and Germany.
