sample questions
1. Economy, its role in the life of society.
2. Types of economic systems.
3. Economic cycle, its main phases.
4. Economic growth.
5. Economic content of property.
6. Legal aspects of the economy: ownership. Forms of ownership. Denationalization and privatization.
7. Production: structure, factors, types.
8. Entrepreneurship: essence, functions, types.
9. The market as a special institution that organizes the socio-economic system of society. market mechanism.
10. Variety of markets in the modern economy.
11. Money. Money turnover. Inflation.
12. Banks and the banking system. Money-credit policy. Banking activity in the Russian Federation.
13. State and economy.
14. State budget, its essence and role. State debt.
15. Taxes, their types and functions.
16. World economy. Russia in the system of world economic relations.
17. Labor market. employment and unemployment.
18. Economic culture.
19. Russia in a market economy.
1. Economy, its role in society
The economy plays a huge role in the life of society. First, it provides people with the material conditions of existence - food, clothing, housing and other consumer goods. Secondly, the economic sphere of society's life is a system-forming component of society, a decisive sphere of its life that determines the course of all processes taking place in society. It is studied by many sciences, among which the most important are economic theory and social philosophy. It should also be noted such a relatively new science as ergonomics (it studies a person and his production activity, with the goal of optimizing tools, conditions and the labor process).
The economy in a broad sense is usually understood as a system of social production, that is, the process of creating material goods necessary for human society for its normal existence and development.
The economy is such a sphere of human activity in which wealth is created to satisfy their various needs. Need is the objective need of a person for something. Human needs are very diverse. According to the subjects (carriers of needs), individual, group, collective and public needs are distinguished. According to the object (subject to which they are directed) - to material, spiritual, ethical (related to morality) and aesthetic (related to art).
According to the areas of activity, the needs of labor, communication, recreation (rest, recovery) are distinguished.
Organizing their economic activity, people pursue certain goals related to obtaining the goods and services they need. To achieve these goals, first of all, a labor force is needed, that is, people with abilities and work skills. These people use the means of production in the course of their labor activity.
The means of production are a combination of objects of labor, i.e., from which material goods are produced, and means of labor, i.e., by what or with the help of which they are produced.
The totality of the means of production and labor power is commonly called the productive forces of society.
The productive forces are people (the human factor) who have production skills and carry out the production of material goods, the means of production created by society (the material factor), as well as the technology and organization of the production process.
The whole set of goods and services necessary for a person is created in two mutually complementary spheres of the economy.
In the non-productive sphere, spiritual, cultural and other values are created and similar services (educational, medical, etc.) are provided.
Service refers to the expedient types of labor with the help of which certain needs of people are satisfied.
Material production produces material goods (industry, agriculture, etc.) and provides material services (commercial, communal, transport, etc.).
History knows two main forms of material social production: natural and commodity. Natural production is called such production, in which the products produced are intended not for sale, but to satisfy the producer's own needs. The main features of such an economy are isolation, conservatism, manual labor, slow rates of development, direct links between production and consumption. more dynamically, since the manufacturer constantly monitors the processes taking place on the market, fluctuations in demand for a particular type of product and makes appropriate changes to the production process.
The most important role in material production belongs to the equipment and technology used by the manufacturer.
Originally, the ancient Greek word techne meant art, skill, craft. Over time, the meaning of this concept narrowed, and today technology is called the means created by people, with the help of which the process of material production is carried out, as well as serving the spiritual, domestic and other unproductive needs of society. Like other subsystems of the economy, technology has gone through a number of different stages in its development: the periods of its evolutionary development were replaced by “jumps”, due to which its level and nature changed. Such jumps are called technical revolutions.
There have been three technological revolutions in manufacturing throughout economic history.
During the first - Neolithic - revolution, the emergence of a producing economy and the transition to a settled way of life became possible. This contributed to a sharp increase in the population: the so-called first population explosion occurred - the growth rate of the Earth's population almost doubled. Production at this pre-industrial stage was characterized by the predominance of agriculture, the dominance of manual labor and the primitive forms of organization of the latter. Such production is still typical for some African countries (Guiana, Guinea, Senegal, etc.).
The second - industrial - revolution falls on the second half of the XVIII - 50-60s. 19th century It is called industrial, since the main content of this revolution was the industrial revolution - the transition from manual labor to machine labor. From now on, mechanical engineering becomes the main sphere of production, and the bulk of the population now works in industry and lives in cities. This stage of development of the economy, called industrial, is associated with the second population explosion, during which the population of the planet increases by almost seven times. However, the achievements of the industrial economy are not enough to meet the needs of all residents of industrialized countries. From a certain moment, the contradiction between the relatively limited production possibilities and a completely new - both quantitative and qualitative - level of people's needs is more and more clearly felt. This contradiction is resolved in the course of the 1940s-1950s. 20th century scientific and technological revolution.
The scientific and technological revolution was a qualitative leap in the development of the productive forces of society, its transition to a new state based on fundamental changes in the system of scientific knowledge.
The main directions of the scientific and technological revolution:
1) automation and computerization of production;
2) introduction of the latest information technologies;
3) development of biotechnologies;
4) creation of new structural materials;
5) development of the latest energy sources;
6) revolutionary changes in the means of communication and communications.
The result of this revolution was the transition to the post-industrial stage of production and the information society. The services sector, which employs 50 to 70% of the able-bodied population, is now receiving the greatest development. The social structure of society is changing, the number of people with higher education is growing significantly.
Each of the technical revolutions listed above entailed the replacement of the dominant technological mode of production with a new one, more in line with the increased needs of society. History knows four successive technological methods of production:
1) appropriator;
2) agrarian-handicraft;
3) industrial;
4) information and computer.
Each technological mode of production was characterized by specific tools and system of labor organization inherent only to it alone.
In the course of practical activity, people producing material goods are faced not only with a certain level of development of technology and technology, but also with the relations that have developed on this occasion, which are commonly called technological.
Technological relations are the relations of the producer of material goods that develop on a certain technical basis to the object and means of his labor, as well as to the people with whom he interacts in the technological process.
Another system of relations is economic, or production. The main one is the ownership of the means of production.
Today, the economic sphere occupies a leading place in the system of social relations, determines the content of the political, legal, spiritual and other spheres of society. The modern economy is a product of a long historical development and improvement of various forms of economic life organization. In most countries, it is a market economy, but at the same time it is regulated by the state, which seeks to give it the necessary social orientation. The economy of modern countries is characterized by the process of internationalization of economic life, the result of which is the international division of labor and the formation of a single world economy.
2. Types of economic systems
The economic system is a way of organizing the economic life of society, which is a set of ordered relationships between producers and consumers of tangible and intangible goods and services.
The famous American economist P. Samuelson wrote in the textbook "Economics" that any society in the process of organizing economic activity is faced with the need to answer three questions:
1. What should be produced and in what quantity?
2. How will goods, goods and services be produced, i.e. by whom, with the help of what resources and what technology?
3. For whom are the services and goods produced, that is, who should dispose of them and how should they be distributed among individuals and families?
Over a long period of its history, humanity, trying to find the most optimal answers to these questions, has used various options for economic systems, from the variety of which economic science distinguishes four main types: traditional, centrally regulated, market and mixed. To determine whether an economic system belongs to one type or another, two main features are usually used: the form of ownership of the means of production, which shows who exactly owns them, and the method of managing economic activity, which gives an idea of who exactly makes decisions on the distribution of production. resources.
The most ancient of economic systems is the traditional system, which is a way of organizing economic life, in which land and capital are in common ownership, and at the heart of the solution of the questions "what, how and for whom" are traditions passed down from generation to generation. In economic life, continuity is valued above all, giving the traditional system a certain stability and stability. However, there are also disadvantages of this way of managing - lack of technical progress, weak production potential, undeveloped infrastructure, limited number of goods produced. At the heart of a centrally regulated economic system is state monopoly, that is, the dominance of the state in the economy.
It is the state that controls all economic resources and organizes the production of goods in accordance with a plan adopted by it in advance. A huge bureaucracy is working on drawing up this plan. The state is the owner of all means of production. Management of the economy is carried out with the help of command-and-control methods (orders, control, punishment, encouragement). There is no independence of commodity producers in matters relating to the production and distribution of products, since such decisions are made by central state bodies. Prices are also set by the state and do not depend on the presence or absence of supply and demand for a particular type of product. In fact, there is a dictatorship of the producer over the consumer. Most of the profits received by the enterprise goes to the state budget, and each worker employed in production receives a strictly fixed amount of wages. The economic position of producers under this system depends little on their initiative and enterprise, they lose incentives to work effectively. The inflexibility of the command system leads to the stagnation of the economy and the shortage of consumer goods on the shelves. At the same time, such a system has certain advantages:
1) it guarantees people the necessary minimum of life's goods, thus ensuring their confidence in the future;
2) the planned management of all labor resources makes it possible to avoid unemployment in society, although general employment is achieved, as a rule, by artificially curbing the growth of labor productivity (where one person could work, two work).
In a market economic system, manufacturers decide on their own how to produce and sell their products. A market economy is an economy in which the decisions of the producers and consumers themselves determine the structure of the distribution of labor, material and financial resources in it. The main feature of the market is that it is based on spontaneous coordination or spontaneous order. This makes this economic system self-regulating and rapidly developing.
The market economic system performs many different functions, among which the main ones are:
a) intermediary function, which consists in the fact that the market directly directly connects producers of goods and their consumers;
b) the function of pricing, which is realized in the process of a market game and competition and manifests itself in the establishment of a certain equilibrium price for a particular type of goods;
c) an information function, the essence of which is to provide the market, through a specific range of prices, with information on the size of a particular production and satisfaction of consumer demand for specific goods;
d) a regulatory function that involves the flow of capital from less profitable industries with lower prices to more profitable industries with higher prices (that is, from those industries in which overproduction is observed, to industries where there is a shortage of manufactured products);
e) a sanitizing (or healing) function, within the framework of which the economy is "liberated" from an inefficient and socially unnecessary whole range of social problems, it is alien to the ideals of humanism.
A mixed economy combines the features of a market, centrally regulated, and sometimes even traditional economy (for example, in Japan, loyalty to national traditions) and to a certain extent eliminates the shortcomings of each of the above types. A mixed economy is a way of organizing economic life, in which land and capital are mainly privately owned, but the state is the owner of a certain part of economic resources. The distribution of resources is carried out both with the help of the market mechanism and with significant participation of the state. A classic example of a mixed economy is the economic system of Sweden, Japan, the so-called "Asian dragons" (Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc.).
As for the economic system of Russia, it is in a state of transition. Having used the experience of a centrally regulated economy in the form of state socialism for the first time in the world, at the present stage the country is introducing market forms of management in every possible way and at the same time using elements of a mixed economy.
3. Economic cycle, its main phases
One of the features of a market economy is the propensity to repeat such economic phenomena as an increase or decrease in demand, an increase in production volumes or its stagnation. Historical experience shows that the market economy does not develop in a straight line, gradually and evolutionarily gaining height, but cyclically: from rise to crisis, then again to rise and again to crisis. The period of development of a market economy from one crisis to another, which includes four phases - crisis, depression, recovery and recovery - is called the economic cycle.
The crisis is characterized by a sharp reduction in the sale of manufactured goods, a decrease in profits from enterprises and banks, mass bankruptcy of enterprises and banks, non-payments, unemployment, etc.
The first global cyclical crisis was the crisis of 1857, the most devastating - the crises of 1900-1901. and 1929-1933. The latter forced the governments of many countries to switch to direct state intervention in the national economy, to carry out a number of state measures to overcome it. The activation of the economic role of the state and the policy of anti-crisis regulation gave certain results, and subsequently, for more than half a century, the market economy did not face cataclysms similar to the events of 1900-1901. and 1929-1933. Since the 60s. 20th century cyclical crises are usually accompanied by rising inflation. This led to the emergence of a new type of crisis economy - stagflationary.
The depression phase following the crisis can last for a long time. It is characterized by a low but fairly stable level of production and a high level of unemployment. Although at this stage the inventory is depleted, but the business gradually begins to accumulate investments. There are separate points of economic growth.
The next phase - recovery - is accompanied by a slight increase in the level of production and some reduction in unemployment. Gradually, the demand for consumer goods, new industrial equipment and investment begins to rise, prices and interest rates rise.
The revival is replaced by an upswing, which suddenly acquires a rush character. The level of production exceeds that achieved in the previous cycle, prices rise wildly, unemployment is reduced to a minimum, while wages rise significantly. Consumer and investment demand is growing, as well as the demand for raw materials. However, during the recovery phase, the disproportions in the economy, which were laid down during the recovery period, also grow. As a result, after some time, the crisis begins again and the economy moves on to the next cycle of its development.
Economists distinguish between short, medium and long economic cycles. Short cycles (the so-called "Kitchin cycles" after the English economist and statistician Joseph Kitchin) last about 4 years. Usually they are associated with the restoration of equilibrium in the consumer and investment markets. Average economic cycles are called industrial cycles or "Juglar cycles" (after the French physicist and economist Clement Juglar). These cycles are associated with a change in the demand for fixed capital, the renewal and replication of which en masse covers a period of 8 to 12 years. Finally, long economic cycles, or long waves, the regularity of which was substantiated by the Russian economist N. Kondratiev, are called "Kondratiev cycles (waves"). These cycles are caused by the fact that the market economy at the industrial stage of its development goes through successively alternating periods of slow and accelerated growth. The duration of each such cycle is about half a century.
The reasons for the cyclical development of a market economy are still a matter of dispute among economists. External theories, i.e. theories that explain the economic cycle mainly by the presence of external factors, name such causes as political upheavals (wars, revolutions), the development of new territories and the associated migrations and fluctuations in the population of the globe, powerful breakthroughs in technology , inventions and innovations that make it possible to radically change the structure of production, and even the appearance of sunspots (which, according to the English economist W. Jevons, ultimately lead to crop failure and a general economic decline). Internal theories, on the contrary, consider the economic cycle as a product of internal factors inherent in the economic system itself. The latter supporters of these theories include the physical life of fixed capital, personal consumption (the reduction or increase of which affects the volume of production), investment, and the economic policy of the state.
However, it is impossible to explain the economic cycle only with the help of external or internal theories. Large-scale changes in the economic system cannot be caused only by external or only by internal factors. As a rule, they are the result of a combination of factors, both internal and external.
4. Economic growth
Economic growth is understood as a quantitative increase and qualitative improvement of social production.
Achieving economic growth is one of the most important tasks for the development of society, both at the micro and macro levels. At the level of the enterprise, economic growth leads to the strengthening of its role and place in the market, to an increase in the well-being of the collective of employees of the enterprise. At the level of society, economic growth generates an increase in national wealth, improves working conditions and living standards of people, leads to an increase in the international influence and prestige of the country. However, the process of economic growth can also have negative features: at the micro level, it can cause an increase in costs and excessive intensification of labor, give rise to the problem of marketing the goods produced; at the macro level - lead to the depletion of resources and the deterioration of the ecological state of the environment.
A general indicator of the dynamics of economic growth is usually considered to be the increase in gross national product, net national product or national income in a year.
Gross national product is a macroeconomic indicator that expresses the total value of the final material goods and services created only by national enterprises during a certain time (usually a year) both on the territory of their country and abroad. Nominal GNP is calculated in actual market prices, real GNP - in comparable, constant prices of any base year.
The net national product is the part of the gross national product minus depreciation charges.
Subnational income is understood as the total, newly created value in the sphere of the entire social production of a particular country.
As additional indicators that make it possible to judge economic growth, labor productivity, growth in energy consumption, the volume of freight traffic, etc. are used. The qualitative side of economic growth is determined by comparing the growth of economic indicators with the growth of the country's population.
Economic growth rates depend on a number of direct and indirect factors, of which the most important are:
1) natural resources;
2) labor resources;
3) the type of socio-economic system and the state of the socio-political situation in the country (its stability or, on the contrary, explosiveness);
4) the structure of social production, the volume and quality of its factors, as well as the level of its organization;
5) the degree of use in the production of the achievements of scientific and technical progress.
Depending on how technological progress is used to expand the scale of production, there are extensive and intensive types of economic growth. With the extensive type, the expansion of production volumes is achieved by increasing capital investment and the number of labor employed in production. However, this type of economic growth is characterized by technical stagnation, since the quantitative increase in output in this case is not accompanied by the introduction of new technologies. In contrast to the extensive intensive type of economic growth, it is based on increasing the efficiency of the production process through the use of the achievements of scientific and technical progress. Modern economic science believes that the intensification of the production process in the current stage of scientific and technological revolution leads to a qualitative renewal of the entire process of expanded reproduction. The new quality of economic growth is expressed in ever-increasing efficiency of production, i.e., in a reduction in the cost of labor and means of production per unit of national income, while at the same time improving the quality of output. The structure of production is also being updated: the proportion of science-intensive industries is increasing in it. The share of intermediate products is decreasing and the share of products going directly to the sphere of consumption is increasing. The latter contributes to the improvement of the level and quality of life of the population.
In recent decades, high rates of economic growth (more than 10%) have been characteristic of countries with economies in transition that have modernized their production with the help of advanced Western technologies (primarily the countries of Southeast Asia). However, such high rates led these countries to inflation and financial crisis.
Developed countries are characterized by low (1-4%) economic growth rates. These countries can no longer freely involve additional natural and labor resources in production. The development of production in them is mainly carried out by improving existing technologies. Some of these countries are pursuing a so-called "zero growth" policy, which involves keeping economic growth in line with population growth. This makes it possible to maintain the existing high standard of living and at the same time maintain the existing balance between the level of employment of the population and the level of inflation. Recently, the “zero growth” policy has been transformed into an environmental policy that allows to significantly limit the negative impact on the environment. For this, strict environmental standards are set and large fines are applied for their violation, taxes on hazardous industries are increased. As a result, part of the production capacity is transferred abroad, as a rule, to underdeveloped countries.
In Russia, the rate of economic growth in the 90s. were negative, there was a decline in production, and only after the crisis of 1998 did some stabilization occur and a tendency to increase its volumes was outlined.
5. Economic content of property
Property is a complex social phenomenon, which is studied from different angles by several social sciences (philosophy, economics, jurisprudence, etc.). Each of these sciences gives its own definition of the concept of "property".
In economic science, property is understood as real relations between people that develop in the process of appropriation and economic use of property. The system of economic relations of ownership includes the following elements:
a) relations of appropriation of factors and results of production;
b) relations of economic use of property;
c) relations of economic realization of property.
Appropriation is an economic bond between people that establishes their relationship to things as if they were their own. Four elements are distinguished in assignment relations: the object of assignment, the subject of assignment, the assignment relations themselves, and the form of assignment.
The object of assignment is that which is to be assigned. The object of appropriation can be the results of labor, i.e., material goods and services, real estate, labor, money, securities, etc. Economics attaches particular importance to the appropriation of material factors of production, since it is the one who owns them that owns the results production.
The subject of appropriation is the one who appropriates the property. The subjects of appropriation can be individual citizens, families, groups, collectives, organizations and the state.
Actually, appropriation relations represent the possibility of complete alienation of property by one subject from other subjects (methods of alienation may be different). However, the assignment may be incomplete (partial). Incomplete appropriation is realized through relations of use, possession and disposal.
Forms of appropriation of property may be different. In the economic aspect, there are individual, collective and state forms of appropriation of goods and services. An individual form of appropriation may exist in the form of personal property, individual labor activity, or personal subsidiary farming. The collective form of appropriation can be represented in the form of collective, rental, joint-stock enterprises, cooperatives, partnerships, associations, etc. Finally, the state form of appropriation can be nationwide, regional, municipal, etc.
The owners of the means of production are not always engaged in constructive economic activity themselves. Some of them make it possible to use their property for economic purposes under certain conditions. So, between the owner and the entrepreneur there are relations of economic use of property. Not being the owner of material goods, the entrepreneur nevertheless gets the opportunity to temporarily own and use them. An example of this kind of relationship can serve as a lease. Under a lease agreement, one party (the lessor, as a rule, the owner of the property) provides the other party (the lessee) with the property for temporary use for a certain fee.
Property is realized economically if it brings income to its owner. Such income represents the entire newly created product or that part of it that was received thanks to the means of production and (or) labor belonging to the owner. Forms of realization of property can be: profit, interest, rent, wages, various kinds of payments. The value of the form of property realization is the criterion of its effective or inefficient economic use.
The system of economic relations of property covers the entire economic process from beginning to end, giving rise to people's economic (material, property) interests. The main of these interests is to maximize the material wealth owned in order to best satisfy their needs. Thus, property predetermines the direction and nature of people's economic behavior.
6. Legal aspects of the economy: ownership. Forms of ownership. Denationalization and privatization
Unlike the economic category of property, the legal aspect of property rights does not reveal the process of creating objects of property, the reasons for its concentration in the hands of some and the absence of others, the trends in these processes with the development of production, but only reflects economic or other property relations that have developed in society. In the legal sense, the right of ownership is considered as a set of legal norms that fix and regulate relations regarding the ownership of material goods. The content of the ownership right includes a number of powers: the right to possess, the right to use, the right to dispose.
The right of possession is called the legally secured possibility of economic domination over a thing. Depending on whether this right is based on the relevant rules of law or not, possession may or may not be legal. For example, a thief who steals a thing actually owns it, but he is the illegal owner. Only the owner of a thing, whose possession is based on a legal basis - a title, will be recognized as legal. Therefore, legal possession is sometimes also called title.
The right to use is a legally secured opportunity for the owner to extract useful properties from a thing in the process of its personal or productive consumption. The owner can transfer his property for use to other persons and on certain conditions. In this case, the boundaries of the right to use the thing of the non-owner may be determined by law, contract (for example, a contract for the rental of things) or other legal basis. In this case, between the owner and the one to whom he granted the right to use his property for economic purposes and on certain conditions, relations arise for the economic use of property. An example of the economic use of someone else's property is rent - the temporary provision of certain property of one person to another for temporary use for a certain fee.
Finally, the authority to dispose is a legally secured opportunity for the owner to determine the fate of a thing by performing legal acts in relation to this thing (sell, lease, pledge, transfer somewhere as a contribution or share, etc.)
Several types of property are known to history. Historically, the first type of property was common property, in which all people were united in collectives and all means of production and produced goods belonged to all members of this society. The second in time of origin was private property, in which individuals treated the means of production as belonging personally only to them. Private property is a form of legal consolidation for a person of the rights to own, use and dispose of any property that he can use not only to satisfy personal needs, but also to conduct commercial activities.
Private property dominated the economy until the 20th century. Among scientists, discussions about the positive and negative effects generated by its existence do not stop. Opponents of private property point out that it is a source of exploitation of man by man, contributes to the separation of people, the development of such qualities as selfishness, individualism and greed, and creates inequality between people. Proponents of private property defend the thesis that the sense of ownership is a natural feeling of a person, corresponding to his nature. In addition, they say, private property gives the individual the opportunity not to depend on the state, is a kind of guarantee of human rights.
In the 20th century, the third type of property became widespread - mixed (collective) property, which combines the features of the first two types. The most common form of this type of ownership is the ownership of a corporation, or joint stock company. The capital of such a company is formed as a result of the sale of securities - shares, which indicate that their owner has made a contribution (share) to the capital of the corporation and is entitled to receive a dividend. A dividend is a part of the profit that is paid to the owner of the share (as a rule, in proportion to the amount of the share contributed by him).
With a certain degree of conditionality, two basic models of joint-stock ownership that exist today can be distinguished:
1. Anglo-Saxon, when 20-30% of the shares are immobile, settle for a long time in the hands of a few owners, form controlling stakes, and 70-80% of the shares are mobile, easily pass from hand to hand, are traded on the stock market.
2. Continental, when 70-80% of the securities are concentrated in the permanent shareholders, and 20-30% of them go to the market and are considered by investors as an object of temporary placement of funds.
The main difference between the two models is the role assigned to the stock market. In contrast to the continental Anglo-Saxon model, it is possible to form new controlling blocks of shares from the securities circulating on the stock exchange.
Also very common is individual private property. It is the main one in enterprises operating in the field of trade and services, as well as in agriculture.
Great importance in the economy and such a form of ownership as state property. Usually, the state concentrates in its hands enterprises and sectors of strategic importance for the existence and development of the country (railroads, communications enterprises, nuclear and hydroelectric power stations, etc.) and the privatization of which it considers inexpedient. Today, the share of state ownership in the economy of developed Western countries is from 15 to 20%. In many countries, such forms of ownership as cooperative and collective ownership have also been preserved. With cooperative ownership, a group of people united to share some property (own or rented) manages this property. In a collective enterprise, the owner is the collective of this enterprise, which takes part in the management of the production process.
In modern literature, in addition to the main forms of ownership, there are other derivative forms. A special place among them is occupied by intellectual property, which is a set of legal norms governing the appropriation of knowledge, the exchange of scientific information, inventions, achievements of science and culture.
According to paragraph 2 of Art. 8 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in the Russian Federation, private, state, municipal and other forms of ownership are recognized and protected in the same way. A similar provision is enshrined in Art. 212 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which, however, is not limited to this, subjecting the named forms of ownership to further division. From the content of Art. 212-215 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, it can be concluded that private property under Russian law is divided into the property of citizens and legal entities, and state property - into federal property belonging to the Russian Federation, and property belonging to the subjects of the Federation - republics, territories, regions, cities of the federal value, autonomous districts and autonomous region. As for municipal property, urban and rural settlements, as well as other municipalities, act as its subjects. The list of forms of ownership specified in the Constitution and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is not exhaustive, since it is accompanied by a reservation, by virtue of which other forms of ownership are recognized in the Russian Federation.
Traditionally, the most cost-effective type of property is private property. Being in the hands of specific people and being a source of their well-being, independence and freedom, it gives rise to a powerful interest of a person in the results of his work. However, there are a number of areas in the economy (for example, energy) in which state ownership is more preferable. In different countries and in different historical periods, the specific ratio of private and state property may change. The state either nationalizes property (from Latin natio - the people), that is, transfers it from private hands to the hands of the state, then privatization (from Latin privatus - private) - transfers its property to individual citizens or legal entities created by them.
As a rule, privatization becomes the predominant form of denationalization in transitional periods of economic development. It can be of several types and is carried out by various methods:
1. Mass privatization is carried out by issuing privatization checks (vouchers) free of charge or at low prices to citizens, which can be used to purchase assets of state-owned enterprises. Mass privatization took place in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia.
2. Privatization by direct sales of assets, securities, property complexes to a previously prepared investor (often foreign) or at cash competitions, auctions, tenders, etc. Compared to voucher privatization, the number of investors in this case is very limited by those who have real capital . Thus, privatization took place in the Eastern lands of Germany, Croatia, and Estonia.
3. Privatization, or preferential sale of state assets to employees of privatized companies. This method, along with voucher privatization, was used in Russia, and also became widespread in Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.
4. Re-privatization, i.e., restoration of the property rights of persons illegally deprived of property as a result of confiscatory nationalization. The main forms of reprivatization are restitution, i.e., the return of property to the former owners in kind, and compensation, i.e., the return of the value of confiscated property in money or special vouchers. Reprivatization in both forms was carried out in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Estonia.
7. Production: structure, factors, types
Production is a certain process of creating vital goods necessary for the existence and development of human society.
Social production is a complex system in which three levels can be distinguished:
I level - labor activity of an individual worker.
Level II - production within a firm or enterprise (the so-called micro level)
Level III - production within the framework of society, the state (the so-called macro level).
In the process of transition from one level to another, the elements of production become more complex: at the individual level, it represents the labor of one person; at the micro level, labor cooperation, i.e., the union of several persons in a single process; within a given country or even the entire world community.
Today, in all developed countries, the economy consists of two interrelated and complementary types of production: material, in the process of which material wealth is created, and non-material, within which the process of creating spiritual, moral and other values is going on. Also, the structure of modern production includes a special area - the service sector. A service is such a type of activity, the useful result of which is manifested during labor and is associated with the satisfaction of any need. Finally, infrastructure stands out in the structure of modern production - the totality of those industries and areas of activity that create general conditions for the functioning of production.
The successful functioning of production at any level depends on the availability and effective combination of various factors of production. Under the factors of production in a broad sense understand any elements of the production system and any phenomena and processes that affect production; in a narrow sense - the productive forces of society. At all stages of human development, the main factors of production were the labor force (the human factor) and the means of production (the material or material factor).
Labor force is a person's ability to WORK, the totality of his physical and mental forces used in the process of producing life's goods. The realization of the labor force takes place in the process of labor, therefore the concepts of "labor force" and "labor" as a human factor of production are often identified. The most important indicator of labor is its productivity. Labor productivity is measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. The level of labor productivity is influenced by a number of factors: the level of professional qualifications of workers and the degree of their interest in the results of their work, the application of the achievements of science and technology in the production process, the intensity (or speed) of labor, etc. With the development of mankind, labor productivity in society is growing. This growth gained especially rapid pace with the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution (STR), which caused huge changes in the production process and contributed to a change in the role of man in this process: from a mechanical performer, he became the main link in the technological process of production - its controller and adjuster. The scientific and technical revolution also led to changes in the nature of labor: the latter is becoming more and more intellectual and creative.
The second main factor of production is the means of production. They are a combination of objects of labor, i.e., from which material goods are produced, and means of labor, i.e., by what or with the help of which they are produced. By origin, all means of production are divided into natural resources (arable land, forests, minerals, etc.) and produced resources, i.e. things created or processed by people and intended for their further use in production (equipment, buildings and structures of various kinds semi-finished products, etc.). The means of production produced by people are often called capital (from the Latin capitalis - the main one).
In a broad sense, capital is understood as everything that brings income to its owner. This may be the means of production, and leased land and cash deposits in the bank, and the labor force used in production. Capital is divided into real, or physical, and monetary, or financial. Real capital refers to the means of production themselves, while financial capital refers to the money used to purchase the means of production. This money is also called investment. With the help of investment in production, its continuity is achieved. The continuously repeating process of production is called reproduction. Reproduction is simple and extended. Simple reproduction is such a continuous repetition of the creative activity of people, in which the scale of production, the value (or quantity) of products created and the amount of operating capital remain unchanged. Expanded reproduction means such an increase in the size of capital, which leads to an increase in the scale of production and to an increase in the amount of life's goods created. The modern economy is characterized by expanded reproduction. This means that new investments directed into production not only replace the previously expended capital, but also increase it, thus ensuring the accumulation of capital.
The continuous circular movement of capital forms its turnover. At the same time, at the stage of production, various parts of productive capital turn around in different ways (for different periods). Depending on this, productive capital is divided into fixed and circulating capital. Fixed capital participates in production repeatedly, transferring its value in parts to finished products and returning to the investor in monetary form in parts.
It includes factory buildings, machinery, equipment, etc. Unlike it, working capital participates in production once, is completely transferred to the created product and returns to the investor in cash during one circuit. It includes raw materials, materials, semi-finished products, etc., as well as the wages of workers.
In addition to the labor force and the means of production, one of the key factors of the modern economy is the organization and technology of production. The organization of production is a certain arrangement of intra-production relations that ensure the unity and orderliness of the entire production process. Production technology is specific ways of processing objects of labor and a certain order of production processes. Under the influence of scientific and technological revolution, today the traditional machine technologies of the 70-80s. give way to other methods of producing useful things. A characteristic feature of new, or high, technologies is their reliance on the widespread use of information and computers in the production. Therefore, such technologies are sometimes also called information or information-computer technologies. This gives an idea of the enormous importance of one factor of production - information. It is through the transfer and use of information that the stable and efficient functioning of technology (especially with program control) is ensured, the exchange of advanced know-how, the optimal organization of production itself is achieved and its progress is monitored.
The next factor of production, the importance of which is constantly increasing, is science. It is customary to call science the theoretical systematized views on the surrounding world, reproducing its essential aspects in an abstract-logical form and based on scientific research data. There are three main areas of research:
1) fundamental scientific research, which is carried out in order to obtain new knowledge and identify patterns of the studied phenomena;
2) applied scientific research that uses the achievements of fundamental science to solve practical problems;
3) research and development work (R&D), completing the connection of science with production and providing both scientific and engineering study of a particular project.
Second half of the 20th century in highly developed countries is characterized by an increase in the share of R&D costs in total production costs. The science intensity of production is becoming one of the most important criteria for its progressiveness and competitiveness. Today, even special firms have appeared on the market that are engaged in the commercialization of scientific research in those science-intensive and high-tech areas where the achievement of the desired result is not guaranteed. These venture (risk) firms create about 90% of new technologies introduced into production.
Started around the middle of the 20th century. the scientific and technological revolution contributed to the transformation of science into the leading factor of production. The terms of practical implementation of scientific discoveries were sharply reduced, there was an integration of science and production. The previously separated processes of development of science and production were united into a single, constantly developing system: science - technology - technology - production. And the scientific and technological developments themselves have become one of the main driving forces of economic growth.
The so-called energy factor also plays an important role in the production process. In the course of historical development, man gradually masters new types of energy. At first he used only his physical strength, then he switched to using the physical strength of animals, the energy of falling and flowing water, wind and steam! Already in the XX century. began to widely use electricity, and the mid-50s. - and atomic energy. The growth of energy consumption in the world is growing all the time. Today, not a single medium or large production can do without resolving the issue of its energy supply. At the same time, the main burden in providing industry with energy resources continues to be borne by coal. Scientists suggest that the next 50-60 years will be marked by fundamental changes in the structure of the world energy balance: the needs of production will lead to the emergence of transnational and global energy supply systems.
The ecological factor of production is closely connected with the energy one. It is a complex of problems related to the relationship of man with nature and the environment in the production process. Since modern production actively interacts with nature, it is necessary to take into account the role of the environmental factor in economic practice. This, in particular, is manifested in the transition of a number of enterprises to resource-saving and waste-free technologies. If traditional technologies were characterized by environmental pollution, then high technologies, as a rule, are environmentally friendly. They use closed water supply systems, closed production cycles, widely use secondary raw materials and industrial waste. This ensures the growth of the economic and social efficiency of people's economic activities.
Finally, infrastructure is another important factor of production. Infrastructure is divided into industrial and social. The production infrastructure includes auxiliary industries that directly serve production (transport, communications, logistics, etc.). Social (or non-production) infrastructure is the area that provides the necessary socio-cultural conditions for the life of production workers and their families (housing and utilities, trade, household services, health care, education, etc.).
In real life, each subject of production seeks to find the best combination of production factors within a particular technology in order to achieve the highest output. No production is possible if there is no human or material factor of production, since any production involves their joint use. However, at every moment the situation in the market for factors of production changes: the market can provide a sufficient amount of one factor, while another factor will clearly not be enough. In this case, one has to choose a production technology in which a rare and, accordingly, expensive factor will be used to a lesser extent than a more common and cheap one (for example, if there is little land in the city and its prices are high, they resort to the construction of multi-storey buildings). Comparison of the cost of various factors ultimately determines the principles of the organization of production. If one factor is more expensive, it is replaced by another. As a result, a need for a certain technology is formed. And since the factors of production are in a certain sense interchangeable, the main criterion that guides any subject of production, making his choice in favor of one or another factor, is the greatest reduction in production costs while achieving the maximum efficiency of the latter.
8. Entrepreneurship: essence, functions, types
Entrepreneurship is usually understood as a certain way of managing, established in the economy of developed countries as a result of centuries of evolution. Initially, entrepreneurs were called people who were energetic, reckless, prone to risky operations. In the future, entrepreneurship began to include any activity aimed at making a profit and not prohibited by law. Entrepreneurship has developed in a complex and contradictory way. Its first sprouts began to break through along with the formation of market relations. However, the emergence of entrepreneurship as an established sustainable phenomenon is attributed to the 17th century.
Today, entrepreneurial activity is called production and economic activity, carried out at your own peril and risk, aimed at making a profit, and not prohibited by law.
Entrepreneurial activity has some specific features, which are sometimes also called the principles of entrepreneurship:
1) an entrepreneur always acts as an independent, independently managing entity;
2) the entrepreneur bears financial responsibility for his business (either within the limits of the entire property, or within the limits of a share, or in the amount of a block of shares);
3) entrepreneurial activity is inherently risky, i.e., the likelihood of losses, loss of income by the entrepreneur or even its ruin;
4) Entrepreneurial activity is always aimed at making a profit.
Distinguish between individual and collective entrepreneurship. Individual entrepreneurship is any creative activity of one person and his family. Collective entrepreneurship is a kind of business that the whole team is engaged in. It includes small (up to 50 people), medium (up to 500 people) and large (up to several thousand people) businesses.
Depending on the connection with the main stages of the reproduction process, entrepreneurship is divided into industrial, commercial, financial, insurance, intermediary.
Industrial entrepreneurship is one of the most socially necessary and at the same time the most complex types of business. Its basis is the production of any direction: material, intellectual, creative.
The essence of commercial entrepreneurship is the sale by the entrepreneur of finished goods purchased by him from other persons.
Financial entrepreneurship is a special type of entrepreneurship in which money, foreign currency, securities sold to the buyer or provided on credit act as the subject of sale and purchase.
Insurance entrepreneurship consists in the fact that the insurer guarantees the insured for a certain fee compensation for possible damage to property, valuables, life as a result of an unforeseen (insured) event.
Intermediary entrepreneurship is characterized by the fact that the entrepreneur facilitates the finding of buyers by sellers and vice versa and the conclusion of a sale and purchase transaction between them.
Scientists-economists identify three main functions of entrepreneurship.
The first function is resource. Any economic activity requires economic resources: natural, investment, labor. An entrepreneur who starts his own business contributes to their connection into a single whole, thus increasing the efficiency of the economy. He achieves this by exercising the second function of entrepreneurship - organizational. The entrepreneur uses his abilities, providing such a combination of factors of production, which is designed to contribute to the achievement of the goal - to obtain a high income. The third function of entrepreneurship is creative, associated with innovation in entrepreneurial activity. The significance of this function has increased dramatically in connection with the latest achievements of scientific and technical progress and the expansion of the market for scientific and technical developments. A special direction of entrepreneurship has appeared - venture (risk) entrepreneurship, the essence of which is the introduction of new models of equipment and the latest technologies into production.
For modern Russia, entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon. The countdown of its current history begins on January 1, 1991, when the Law of the RSFSR of December 25, 1990 "On enterprises and entrepreneurial activity" came into force. According to the current Russian legislation, entrepreneurial activity is recognized as an independent activity carried out at one's own risk, aimed at systematically making a profit from the use of property, the sale of goods, the performance of work or the provision of services by persons registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law (Article 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). This article of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides the main criterion for isolating entrepreneurship from the general mass of economic activity, namely: its inherent goal is the systematic profit.
Profit is the income of the entrepreneur, received in the form of an increase in capital invested in production. Making a profit is the main incentive and the main indicator of the effectiveness of any enterprise. High profits force capital and labor to migrate from one industry to another, since profits in different sectors of the economy - manufacturing, banking, trade - are formed differently and their size can vary significantly.
Profit is the excess of total revenue from the sale of products over all production costs. Practically and statistically, it is calculated as the remainder after subtracting production costs from sales. For example, if goods were sold for 4000 rubles, and production costs amounted to 2000 rubles, then the profit is 2000 rubles.
Production costs are the cash costs incurred by the entrepreneur in the production process. Distinguish between fixed and variable production costs. Fixed costs include those costs that an enterprise must bear in any case and which, to a certain extent, have little dependence on the volume of production (rent of a building). Variables are called such costs that are associated with the cost of purchasing raw materials, labor, the use of which directly affects the volume of products produced (the more products, the more raw materials used, i.e., costs). Since the main reference point in a market economy is the market price, every entrepreneur tries to find such a production technology that the average cost of production would be lower than this price and, thus, the enterprise would bring a higher profit.
Entrepreneurship is carried out in certain organizational and legal forms. The choice of one or another form by an entrepreneur depends on many factors: the environment of activity, the financial capabilities of economic entities, the comparative advantages of one form or another. Each country has its own legislation on the organization of entrepreneurship. At the same time, there are some organizational and legal forms of entrepreneurial activity that are typical for world practice. These include various types of business partnerships and business companies, as well as types of state enterprises. In some countries, these basic forms have their own modification.
All those who are engaged in entrepreneurial activity can be conditionally divided into two large groups: legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.
A legal entity is a special organization that has a number of specific features, which can independently participate in property turnover on its own behalf, acquire civil rights and obligations, and which is formed and ceases to exist in a special order. A legal entity is the main legal form of collective participation of persons in civil circulation. Individuals (citizens) can engage in entrepreneurship by acquiring the status of an individual entrepreneur. To obtain such a status, they must necessarily have civil capacity.
As noted above, economic activity can be carried out by various entities - individuals, family, state, etc., but the main productive functions in the economy belong to the enterprise. On the one hand, an enterprise is understood as a complex material, technological and social system that ensures the production of economic benefits, and on the other hand, the very activity of organizing the production of various goods and services. As a system that produces economic benefits, the enterprise is integral and acts as an independent reproductive link, relatively isolated from other links. The enterprise independently carries out its activities, disposes of the released products and the profit received, remaining after paying taxes and other payments.
An enterprise is usually viewed as a unity of property, rights and obligations, as well as relations that have developed with other enterprises and persons. As for the definition of an enterprise as an organizational form of management, the dominant view is that it is a property-based separate economic unit designed to solve production problems, achieve the set economic goals and be capable of self-reproduction (ensuring its life cycle).
At one time, the opinion prevailed in economic science that large enterprises have an advantage over small ones. Therefore, the future of the world economy was seen in the functioning of large giant enterprises. Many developed countries have gone through these illusions, but this path has shown its dead end character. Obviously, large-scale production has a number of indisputable advantages:
1) allows you to solve problems of a larger scale (for example, the construction of a railway is possible only by a large organization);
2) due to the concentration of income, it has greater opportunities for maneuvering production resources, which makes it possible to ensure sustainability in generating income;
3) has the ability to establish mass production and reduce its costs due to it.
However, to meet many needs, there is no need to organize large enterprises. This is especially true for those types of activities that focus on a fairly narrow circle of customers with individual requests. In addition, large-scale production easily develops into a monopoly, which infringes on the interests of consumers. A monopoly often cuts production to drive up prices. Small-scale production does not have such opportunities. Therefore, it does not pose a threat to the state as a potential monopolist. By filling empty niches in the market that are unprofitable for large businesses, small businesses make it more diverse. In addition, by filling the market with an additional amount of goods, small enterprises increase the aggregate supply, preventing the growth of commodity prices. Therefore, small business today is encouraged by many states with a market economy.
In the international practice of entrepreneurship development, the main institutions for the protection of entrepreneurial activity have been developed. International standards for the protection of entrepreneurs are defined in well-known international conventions and treaties (for example, the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods). Since independent private commodity producers are involved in business relations, direct state intervention in these relations is minimized and protection of the interests of the injured party through the courts is used as the main means. In the Russian Federation, the system of legal protection of entrepreneurship is in the process of formation, its legal forms have not yet been formed.
9. The market as a special institution that organizes the socio-economic system of society. Market mechanism
In modern economic literature, there are many definitions of the concept of "market". Summarizing the most frequently used of them, we can conclude that among economists there is a dual understanding of the market - narrow and broad.
In the narrow sense of the word, the market is understood as a set of relations, forms and organizations of cooperation between people with each other, concerning the sale and purchase of goods and services.
In a broad sense, the market is the whole complex mechanism for the movement of goods and services in the form of goods and money within the framework of all social reproduction at all levels of the economic system of a given society.
The main parameters regulating the behavior of market entities are demand, supply and price, between which there is a mutual relationship. The simple supply and demand model has been around for nearly 200 years. During the 20th century, in a more developed form, it formed the core of economic science. A simple supply and demand model provides answers to the following questions:
1. Why do the prices of certain goods rise or fall?
2. What happens to the economy if it is regulated in a certain way?
3. What processes are caused by the introduction of new technology into production?
According to this model, in its most general form, the commodity market mechanism is governed by two laws: the law of value and the law of supply and demand. Demand is the quantity of goods of a certain type that the buyer is willing to buy at a certain price level. Supply is the amount of goods that the seller is willing to offer the buyer in a particular place and at a particular time.
According to these laws, the production and exchange of goods is carried out on the basis of their value, the value of which is determined by the costs invested in them. The monetary expression of value is the price that is set by the producer and, in theory, can be higher than value, lower than value, or equal to it. The price is influenced by the demand that this or that product uses: if it rises, then the manufacturer can raise the price and expand the production of this type of product, if it falls, then the price falls and the output of the product decreases. It is worth taking into account the fact that potential consumers of goods come to the market with limited financial resources that they are willing to spend on buying the goods they need. Therefore, they are always interested in buying it cheaper, while the manufacturer wants to sell the product at a higher price. Therefore, in reality, two prices are formed in the market:
a) the demand price, which is understood as the maximum price at which the buyer agrees to buy the goods;
b) the offer price - the minimum price at which the manufacturer is willing to sell the product.
The market price, i.e., the price at which the volume of demand is exactly equal to the volume of supply, cannot fall below the offer price (since then the seller will go bankrupt) and rise above the demand price (in this case, the buyer will not be able to buy the offered product). In reality, it fluctuates between these two values, stimulating producers. To seek to reduce the cost of producing goods and thus encourage an increase in labor productivity, the introduction of new technical achievements and technologies, as well as facilitating the reallocation of resources for the production of those goods that are in stable or increased demand from the consumer. Thus, price, demand and supply are active regulators of the market mechanism for the production and exchange of goods.
Another element of the market self-regulation mechanism is competition.
Competition (from Latin concurrere - to push, compete) is the rivalry between participants in the market economy for the best conditions for the production and sale of goods. This clash is inevitable, and it is generated by such objective conditions of the market as the complete economic isolation of each of its subjects and the struggle of the latter for the greatest profit. Competition can exist only under a certain state of the market and be free or monopolistic.
Free competition is a type of market structure in which the price is set as a result of balancing the supply and demand curves. In Western economic literature, free competition is also called pure, since it is free from any state interference and the market itself is free from monopolies. Free competition corresponds to the period of classical capitalism. In full measure, it manifested itself, perhaps, only in England in the 19th century. In modern conditions, free competition is a very rare phenomenon (although it can be found, for example, in the securities market).
Unlike free competition, monopolistic competition is a market where there are a large number of sellers offering similar but not identical products. Monopolistic competition must be distinguished from monopoly.
A monopoly is the exclusive right to manufacture, trade and other activities, owned by one person, a certain group of persons or the state. With a monopoly, there is only one seller of a product on the market, which sets its own price (often too high). By its nature, a monopoly is directly opposite to free competition.
Taking into account the degree of coverage of the economy, the following types of monopolies are distinguished:
1. Pure monopoly on the scale of a certain industry. Its characteristic feature is the presence of only one seller on the market (access to the market for possible competitors is closed). This seller has full control over the quantity of the item to be sold and its price.
2. Absolute monopoly on the scale of the national economy. The monopolist here is the state represented by its economic bodies.
3. Monopsony (can be both absolute and pure) - a type of monopoly in which there is only one buyer of resources or goods on the market.
Depending on the nature and causes of occurrence, natural and artificial monopolies are distinguished. Natural monopolists, as a rule, own freely non-reproducible elements of production (for example, rare minerals) or own entire infrastructure sectors (for example, railways). The state often supports such monopolies because they are more economical than many similar small firms, or because they are of great strategic importance to the whole society.
Artificial monopolies are combinations of several enterprises created for the sake of obtaining monopolistic benefits. The main forms of artificial monopolies are cartel, syndicate, trust and concern.
A cartel is an association of a number of enterprises in the same industry, the participants of which conclude an agreement among themselves on the prices for the sale of goods, distribute sales markets, the share of each participant in the total volume of production. The producers included in the cartel retain their ownership of the means of production and its products. A cartel is the lowest type of monopoly. (OPEC (Organization of Petrolium Exporting Countris) - the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries - can serve as a striking example of an international cartel.)
A syndicate is such an association of a number of enterprises in the same industry, in which its participants retain production independence, ownership of the means of production, but the enterprises included in the syndicate lose their commercial independence, and the products produced by them are sold as the property of enterprises through a single office.
A trust is a single joint-stock company that dominates a particular industry. The enterprises included in the trust are deprived of industrial and commercial independence. When organizing a trust, the owners of enterprises transfer the means of production - a share - into the ownership of the trust and in return receive a number of shares corresponding to the amount of this share.
A concern is understood as an association of enterprises of various sectors of the economy, trading firms, banks, transport companies, which is under a single financial control.
Monopolists conquer the market in order to be able to set a monopoly price on it. The monopoly price is a special kind of market price, which is set at a level above or below the equilibrium price and is a tool for obtaining monopoly income. Such actions of monopolists damage the use of production resources. Therefore, the state is trying to fight monopolies by adopting the so-called antimonopoly (antitrust) legislation, forms special antimonopoly committees whose task is to analyze the market situation, and supports competition in its civilized forms.
Today, all economists note the fact that in the current market there is practically no free competition or monopolies in its pure form. They call the current state of the market "imperfect competition", meaning by this term the two main forms of a peculiar combination of monopoly and competition: the monopolistic competition mentioned above and oligopoly.
Oligopoly (from the Greek oligos - a few, poleo - I sell) is a market dominated by several (usually three to five) large firms (for example, in the USA, an oligopoly is usually formed by four leading firms in the industry, selling up to 60% on the market all products). Oligopoly is competition between a few. In an oligopoly, an agreement between two or more large firms over prices is possible. Often such agreements are secret, since in most countries their conclusion is prohibited by law.
10. Variety of markets in the modern economy
In modern highly developed countries, there really is not one market, but a whole system of markets, each of which has its own special functional purpose. The reasons for the emergence of such a variety of markets are:
a) expansion of the market space as a result of a change in the nature of the economy (transition from subsistence to commodity economy);
b) an increase in the range of material goods and services that meet the needs of people, and, as a result, the impossibility of their sale in any one market;
c) extension of the social division of labor to the market sphere;
d) the growth of international economic relations.
In the modern system of markets, the following major branches of market activity are quite clearly distinguished: the market for consumer goods and services, the market for means of production, the labor market, the investment market, the foreign exchange market, the stock market, the market for scientific and technical developments, the information market, etc.
The market of consumer goods and services is the sale and purchase of end-use products (it is divided into many markets selling food and non-food products, the housing market, etc.), as well as various types of services (medical, educational, transport, etc.) . The market for the means of production is the market for goods that go into industrial consumption. Equipment, buildings, raw materials, fuel, electricity, etc. are sold and purchased here. The labor market is a market in which labor is the object of free purchase and sale. The investment market is a market in which the object of market relations are long-term investments. In the foreign exchange market, the main players are national and international institutions through which the purchase, sale, exchange of one foreign monetary unit for another is carried out, as well as cash settlements between states are carried out. The subject of purchase and sale in the stock market are shares, bonds, bills and other securities that generate income. In the market of scientific and technical developments, the sale and purchase of innovations, i.e., new technologies, inventions, rationalization proposals, is carried out. Finally, in the information market, the subjects of sale and purchase are books, newspapers, various types of advertising, as well as other items that carry the necessary information.
From the point of view of compliance with the current legislation, economists distinguish between legal (legitimate) and illegal (shadow) markets. The latter is an integral part of the so-called shadow economy, which is an underground production associated with the violation of any requirements (technological, environmental, etc.) or aimed at tax evasion.
On a spatial basis, local, national, regional, world types of markets are distinguished.
According to the level of saturation with goods, the market is balanced, scarce and excess.
According to the mechanism of functioning, the market is free, monopolized, state-regulated and deformed.
By the nature of sales, the market is wholesale and retail.
Finally, according to the degree of maturity, there are undeveloped developed and emerging markets, as well as a market with varying degrees of competition restriction (market of pure competition, monopolistic, oligopolistic).
The modern market structure is not something frozen, it is constantly becoming more complex. At present, the telecommunications market, as well as the computer market, is being formed.
11. Money. Money turnover. Inflation
Money is called the universal commodity equivalent, expressing the value of all goods and serving as an intermediary in their exchange for each other.
Money is a historically developing economic category. They arose many thousands of years ago and successively went through two main periods in their development: the period of valuable money and the period of inferior money.
The history of money began with their full-fledged version. Full-fledged money is such money, in which its own value (i.e., the actual cost of making a coin) approximately corresponds to the nominal value (i.e., the one that is indicated on this coin).
Initially, grain, furs, cattle, etc. served as valuable money. Over time, the role of money was assigned to two metals - gold and silver. At the same time, there were moments in the history of money when there was bimetallism (that is, both of these metals were in circulation as money) and periods of monometallism (when either gold or silver played the role of money). In particular, at an early stage in the development of capitalism in Europe, bimetallism was widespread. However, the difficulties associated with the use of dual money and prices tipped the scales in favor of gold monometallism. The choice of gold was not accidental. Gold is a noble metal with great preservation. It has a number of qualities necessary for a universal equivalent: divisibility, portability (or high concentration), high cost, and availability in a quantity sufficient for exchange. The system of gold monometallism was established in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century. At the end of the XIX century. the most developed countries of continental Europe also switched to the gold standard. The gold standard is such a monetary system in which gold plays the role of a universal equivalent, and gold coins (classical form) or banknotes exchanged for gold are used in circulation.
Under the gold standard, money served several functions.
First, they served as a measure of the value of all goods. The value of a thing expressed in money is called the price. The prices of various commodities were expressed in terms of a certain amount of gold, which is measured by the weight of the latter. A certain weight of gold was taken as a unit of its mass. This unit, established by the state as a monetary unit, is called the price scale. The scale of prices and its multiples served to measure the mass of gold, and all prices of goods were expressed in a certain number of its weight units (for example, in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century, the ruble was the monetary unit, the weight of which was equal to 0.774254 g of gold).
The second function that money performed was that of a medium of exchange. It consisted in the fact that money acted as an intermediary in the exchange of goods, passing from the hands of buyers to the hands of sellers, and vice versa. This gave people the opportunity to get rid of barter exchange and to separate the moments of buying and selling goods both in time and in space. At first, the function of a medium of circulation was performed by gold bars. This created certain inconveniences, since these ingots had to be weighed at each exchange. Therefore, the state began to give these ingots a small, as a rule, standard form and put an appropriate stamp on them. So gold money took the form of a coin. In the process of circulation, the coins were gradually erased and the amount of gold in them decreased. There was a separation of the nominal value of the coin from its real content. The shortage of gold gradually led states to replace gold coins with cheaper silver and copper ones, and then completely replaced metal money with paper money.
The third function of money was realized when selling goods on credit (that is, on credit with deferred payment). Money was used as a means of payment, and not only in the commodity sphere, but also outside it (for example, to pay taxes, loans, etc.). But if the person who received the money for his goods did not want to immediately spend it, but decided to save the proceeds, then the money began to function as a means of creating treasures, that is, it accumulated as wealth in general.
The abolition of the gold standard occurred in the 20th century. The first blow to gold monometallism was delivered by the world economic crisis of 1929-1933. The unprecedented depreciation of paper money led to the fact that their exchange for gold became impossible and was stopped in almost all countries.
After World War II, the economically strengthened United States introduced its own monetary unit, the dollar, as the main means of payment. The central banks of various states could now exchange dollars for gold. However, America could not artificially preserve the gold content of the dollar for a long time. In addition, a lot of gold, along with dollars, flowed into Western Europe (the so-called Eurodollars) and the Middle East (petrodollars). In December 1971, the gold standard was completely abolished. There was a demonetization of gold, i.e. its "removal" from monetary functions. The gold standard has been replaced by an artificial monetary system, within which defective money operates, the nominal value of which does not correspond in any way to the costs of their production. The main types of defective money are:
a) paper money
b) billon coins (or simply - billons) - metal banknotes in the form of coins made of base metals;
c) credit money (bills, checks, plastic cards, etc.).
Paper money has varying degrees of liquidity. Liquidity refers to their ability to be converted into cash and spent on the purchase of goods and services. For example, cash is 100% liquid, since it can be used to purchase various types of life goods at any time. Much less liquid are various types of bank deposits.
Money is in constant motion, moving between individuals, legal entities and the state. The movement of money in the performance of their functions is called money circulation.
In fact, modern money circulation includes two main forms of money:
1) cash, which combines paper money and small change;
2) non-cash funds, which means all funds in bank accounts.
The ratio of cash and non-cash funds in the modern economy is 1:5.
The monetary system that has historically developed in the state and is enshrined in legislation is called the monetary system of the state. The legal basis of the monetary system of the Russian Federation is the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law "On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)". The official currency in Russia is the ruble. The introduction of other monetary units on the territory of the Russian Federation is prohibited. The ratio between the ruble and gold or other precious metals is not established by law. The official exchange rate of the ruble against foreign currencies is determined by the Bank of Russia and published in the press.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has the exclusive right to issue cash, organize their circulation and withdrawal on the territory of Russia. He is responsible for the state of monetary circulation in order to maintain a normal economic situation in the country.
The types of money that have legal tender power are bank notes (banknotes) and metal coins, which are backed by all the assets of the Bank of Russia, securities, and reserves of credit institutions held on the accounts of the Central Bank. Samples of banknotes and coins are approved by the Bank of Russia.
For the normal functioning of the economy requires the presence of a certain amount of money for circulation. Periodically, situations have arisen and continue to arise in which the sphere of circulation is filled with "extra" money, i.e., the amount of money exceeds the actual need of the economy for them. In such situations, inflation is said to be taking place. During inflation, paper money depreciates:
- in relation to gold (under the gold standard);
- in relation to goods and services;
- in relation to banknotes of other states.
In the first case, the market price of gold rises, in the second - prices for goods and services, in the third - there is a fall in the exchange rate of the national currency against foreign monetary units.
The inflation rate is measured using a price index (cost of living index), which reflects the percentage increase over the study period in the cost of the so-called "consumer basket" - a certain set of goods and services necessary for life.
There are several types of inflation.
Depending on the average annual increase in prices, there are:
1) moderate (or creeping) inflation, in which prices rise gradually and at a moderate pace (about 10% per year);
2) galloping inflation, characterized by a rapid rise in prices (about 100-150% per year);
3) hyperinflation, the hallmark of which is an ultra-high price increase (up to 1000% per year).
According to the nature of the inflationary process, inflation is distinguished between open and suppressed. With open inflation, there is an unrestrained rise in prices. When suppressed, the state artificially controls prices, which leads to shortages and a “black market”.
Inflation affects the position of economic entities in different ways. As a rule, it is disadvantageous for all recipients of fixed incomes (public sector employees, creditors and savers). For those people who have diversified sources of income, such as real estate, inflation may even be beneficial. Inflation can also be beneficial for the state, which, by financing the budget deficit by printing money, receives the so-called inflation tax.
The main consequences of inflation are, firstly, a significant redistribution of income in society in favor of individuals and structures (usually financial) and the destruction of normal socio-economic relations. In a panic, the population begins to get rid of rapidly depreciating money and seeks to invest the latter in material goods. And hyperinflation generally leads to the collapse of the monetary system and the loss of money functions.
There are two options for government policy in a situation of inflation: either adjusting to inflation or fighting it. In the first case, indexation of the population's income is carried out periodically (increasing wages, pensions, scholarships, etc.). However, continuous indexation can, in turn, provoke an increase in inflation, giving rise to a wage-price spiral. The fight against inflation involves a tight monetary policy, reducing the budget deficit through social programs, limiting the role of the state in the economy, supporting entrepreneurship, a gradual decrease in the money supply and other measures.
12. Banks and the banking system. Money-credit policy. Banking in the Russian Federation
One of the conditions for the normal functioning of a modern market economy is the presence of a well-organized banking system. The banking system is one of the most important elements of the economic system of the state. It includes all banks in the country.
A bank is a commercial institution created in accordance with the current legislation of the state, engaged in entrepreneurial activities in the financial sector and functioning on the principles of commercial calculation.
The main functions of the bank are that it:
a) accumulates temporarily free monetary resources;
b) acts as a center through which the transfer of funds and capital from one economic entity to another, from one sphere of the economy to another;
c) acts as an intermediary in making payments between enterprises, organizations, and the population.
Banks traditionally perform three main types of operations: passive, active, off-balance sheet.
Passive operations are aimed at attracting free cash from individuals and legal entities to banks. Passive operations include settlements with clients, deposit operations, the issue of money and securities, as well as control over the circulation of money and the movement of securities.
Active operations are aimed at the profitable placement of the collected funds. This type of operations includes lending, banking investments, factoring and leasing services, and trust operations.
Off-balance sheet operations are directly entrepreneurial activities of the banks themselves. These are exchange speculation in the securities market, currency exchange, consulting services, etc.
Currently, almost all countries of the world have a two-tier banking system. The first level of this system forms the central (issuing) bank, the second - private and state banking institutions.
The main link in the banking system of any state is the central bank of the country. It is to him that the state grants the exclusive right to issue banknotes. Some of the central banks were immediately established as state institutions (the German Federal Bank, the Reserve Bank of Austria), others were nationalized after the Second World War (the Bank of France, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada). Some central banks still exist on the basis of mixed public-private ownership (for example, the US Federal Reserve). The central bank in many countries reports directly to the parliament, although the degree of its independence varies from country to country.
Central banks are called upon to perform a number of important functions, among which are:
a) issue of banknotes;
b) accumulation and storage of reserves of other banks, gold and foreign exchange reserves of the country;
c) lending to commercial banks;
d) carrying out settlements and transfer operations for the government of the country;
e) control over the activities of credit institutions.
The exclusive function of the central bank is the monetary regulation of the entire monetary circulation of the country through the implementation of an appropriate monetary policy. It can be carried out either in the form of credit expansion, i.e., stimulating all commercial structures to receive loans, or in the form of credit restriction, i.e., restricting commercial structures in obtaining loans. The first form of monetary policy, as a rule, takes place during periods of slowdown in production growth, the second - during periods of economic recovery.
The main tools that the central bank uses to conduct monetary policy are: raising or lowering the discount rate of interest, changing the required reserve ratio that credit institutions must keep, conducting operations on the open market, and regulating the money supply by issuing money.
The discount rate is called the interest rate of the central bank, set for the acquisition of payment obligations. At this rate, commercial banks can borrow reserves from the central bank. It, as a rule, differs from the current rates of commercial banks and entails the simplification or difficulty in obtaining loans from commercial banks.
The essence of the operations of the central bank in the open market is the purchase and sale of securities. These operations are intended to bind or release a certain amount of capital.
In many countries, the central bank has the ability to directly influence the amount of bank reserves through a one-time change in the required reserve ratio for all banking institutions. Reserves are deposits of commercial banks with the central bank, the amount of which is set in proportion to bank assets. The system of bank reserves is a reliable means of protecting the stability of the banking system and at the same time a way to expand its opportunities for lending to customers, based on the centralization of part of the banks' funds in special funds managed by the country's main bank.
The second important element of the banking system are commercial banks - credit institutions of a universal nature. Their functions are very diverse: economists list more than 800 types of operations performed by commercial banks. The main indicator of the activity of a commercial bank is its liquidity, i.e. the ability to pay its obligations in full at any time. The existence of one or another number of commercial banks in the country is determined both by economic feasibility, the needs of financial services for clients and by the peculiarities of the legislative regulation of the banking system.
Currently, the Russian Federation has a two-tier banking system. The legal basis governing its activities is the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws “On Banks and Banking”, “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)”, etc., as well as regulations of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation heads the banking system of the country, has a monopoly right to issue banknotes and implements monetary policy in the interests of the national economy. The Bank of Russia has a dual legal nature: on the one hand, it is a government body with special competence and manages the monetary system of the state, and on the other hand, it is a legal entity and can make civil law transactions with Russian and foreign credit institutions, and also with the state represented by the Government of the Russian Federation.
Within the scope of its powers, the Bank of Russia is independent, therefore state authorities, state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local self-government do not have the right to interfere in its activities.
Commercial banks in order to conduct banking activities must obtain a banking license from the Bank of Russia. All banking operations and other transactions are carried out by them in rubles, and in the presence of an appropriate license from the Bank of Russia - in foreign currency. Carrying out banking operations without a license or in violation of the terms of licensing entails legal liability.
13. State and economy
No economic system, not even a system of free market competition, can be called absolutely free, since it cannot work without government intervention. After all, it is the state that takes responsibility for organizing money circulation in the country, for meeting the needs of certain categories of the population, for compensating or eliminating the negative effects of the behavior of participants in the market game. The modern market is not regulated only with the help of the mechanism of free pricing, since, acting spontaneously, the laws of the market too often not only give a positive effect, but also give rise to negative trends in the economy, such as monopoly, unemployment, etc. In addition, the market system is not in able to ensure the implementation of such an inalienable socio-economic human right as the right to a standard of well-being, i.e., to receive such income that could provide an individual with a decent existence, regardless of the forms and results of his economic activity. The market mechanism cannot be expected to respect other socio-economic human rights, in particular, the right to work for those who can and want to work. For a number of objective reasons, in a market-type economy, unemployment in its various forms is inevitable: structural, regional, technological, hidden.
The limited possibilities of the market mechanism for regulating the economy became especially obvious at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, when the era of free competition was replaced by monopolies that seized production and the market for the sale of goods. In 1929-1933. An economic crisis broke out in the world, the result of which was a drop in production volumes and mass unemployment. Crisis of 1929-1933 forced economists to reconsider many of the provisions of economic theory.
In 1936, the English economist John Keynes published a book called The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, in which he argued that the problems faced by the capitalist countries during the crisis could only be solved if market economy will be regulated by the state. The intervention of the latter will help to minimize the negative consequences caused by the operation of market laws. Keynes actually revolutionized "classical economics", concluding that only an active financial policy of the state, which would help stimulate demand, could cope with mass unemployment. During World War II, this point of view became dominant throughout the world, and Keynes's views had a huge impact both on world economic thought and on the practice of organizing economic life in various countries.
Today, the leading states of the world are becoming more and more active participants in market relations. They take upon themselves the solution of those tasks that the free market is unable to solve: the redistribution of public income, the regulation of the labor market, the provision of material support to those people who, against their will, have lost their jobs and have not been able to find another job. The states also take care of the employed, setting for them a minimum wage level, that is, a level that would allow them to survive.
Another line of activity of modern states is to ensure strategic breakthroughs in the field of science and technology, which is especially important in the current conditions of the development of scientific and technological progress.
The most developed countries are investing huge amounts of money in fundamental scientific research, and are investing in the newest branches of the economy that will produce products with as yet unclear prospects for demand.
Finally, since today it is obvious that no economy - neither market nor command - has innate immunity against at least two serious chronic diseases - inflation and monopoly, it is the responsibility of state bodies to develop and take effective measures. on anti-inflationary and antimonopoly prevention. To solve the above problems, modern states use certain methods of state regulation of economic life.
State regulation of the economy in market conditions is a system of standard measures of a legislative, executive and supervisory nature, carried out by authorized state institutions and public organizations in order to stabilize and adapt the existing socio-economic system to changing conditions. Specific directions, forms, and scope of state regulation of the economy are usually determined by the nature and severity of economic and social problems in a particular country in a particular period. The task of state regulation of the economy is to establish a compromise between the numerous and diverse interests of economic entities in order to achieve the maximum public good within the existing socio-economic system.
All methods used by the state to influence the economy can be divided into several groups. The first group consists of legal methods, which consist in the fact that the state adopts laws designed to streamline the relationship between participants in the market game. A special place among these laws is occupied by the so-called antimonopoly legislation, with the help of which the state prevents the emergence of monopoly enterprises in the economy, since a monopoly, by its nature denying competition, leads the economy to stagnation and decay. Also, the governments of various countries pass laws aimed at strengthening small and medium-sized businesses, thus supporting a diverse structure of production.
The second group includes financial and economic methods - primarily taxes. Taxes play an active role in redistributive relations, seriously affecting production. By raising or lowering taxes, the state either contributes to its development or restrains the rate of economic growth.
The state has a certain influence on the economy and in the conduct of its monetary policy. The main responsibility for carrying out the latter, as a rule, lies with the state bank of the country, which regulates the rate of bank interest. With its help, the state bank either limits or, conversely, expands the possibility for entrepreneurs to obtain credit for the development of production.
The state also helps producers by introducing certain customs duties. Duty is a special state tax on goods bought abroad. It is introduced so that imported goods are more expensive than domestic ones and consumers choose the latter. Thus, the state, on the one hand, restrains imports, and on the other hand, protects the relevant domestic industries (for example,
Government of the Russian Federation in the protection of domestic car manufacturers).
Another important instrument of state regulation of the economy is state property (the so-called public sector). The public sector is a kind of supplement to the market mechanism, acting where and to the extent that this mechanism itself does not cope or does not cope quickly enough and effectively with global or particular economic tasks. The public sector is created as a result of the construction by the state of various economic facilities, as well as the purchase of enterprises, real estate, blocks of shares and entire industries from private owners. The transition of economic objects from private to state ownership is called nationalization. Nationalization serves as a powerful tool for stabilizing the country's market economy during critical periods of its development. In countries where the share of state property in the national economy is significant, it is invariably used to equalize the economic cycle and maintain employment. In conditions of deteriorating economic conditions, depression or crisis, when private investment in the economy is reduced, state-owned enterprises, on the contrary, do not reduce production. Moreover, it is during these periods that they tend to renew fixed assets, thus counteracting the decline in production in other industries and the growth of unemployment. The structure of the public sector is not unchanged: after the creation or reorganization with the re-equipment of unprofitable or low-profit, but necessary for the economy of the country facilities, the latter are privatized, i.e. change from public ownership to private ownership. The state is switching to new facilities and areas where the activity of private capital is insufficient.
Finally, various types of planning are common in the market economy: at the level of individual enterprises, regions, and even the entire economy as a whole. Programs of the latter type are created by the state.
The state economic program is a set of hierarchically subordinate goals that are important for the development of the country's economy, as well as a set of means to achieve them in a timely manner. The development and implementation of such programs is called state economic programming.
Programs are ordinary and emergency Emergency programs are developed and implemented during critical situations (for example, during natural disasters). Some of these programs are preventive, that is, designed to prevent impending undesirable consequences. According to the duration of the state programs are divided into short-term, medium-term and long-term. A special place among state programs is usually occupied by state programs of nationalization and privatization. The level of state programming in different countries is different, but the state programming of the economy itself exists in almost all countries with a market economy.
Thus, in modern capitalist countries, the state actively intervenes in the economy, trying to influence, depending on the need, the situation in a particular market (production, exchange, labor, etc.). The most developed mechanism of state regulation of the economy has developed in the countries of Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy, the Scandinavian states, etc.), Japan, a number of rapidly developing countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America State regulation of the economy plays an especially important role in developing countries that create independent national economy, and in the former socialist states making the transition from a planned economy to a market economy.
Despite the obvious effectiveness of state regulation of the economy, the experience of many countries proves that such intervention should not be total - the economy cannot be kept in complete subordination to the state. That is why the basic principle of state regulation of the economy is often expressed by the phrase "do not interfere with the market." There are many examples in economic history when the state, relying solely on administrative methods of managing the economy, was not only unable to solve pressing problems, but also contributed to their aggravation. On the other hand, the state must comply with the measure in the use of economic methods of regulating the market, since some of them, such as tax or monetary policy, may well be comparable to central planning in terms of the strength of their influence on the economy. So, in the late 70s. In many states, governments have actually lost their sense of proportion in the application of economic methods of regulation, and this has led to a serious distortion of a number of market processes. The price for indiscretion was the growth of unemployment, intertwined with inflation and the breakdown of the monetary system.
Thus, state intervention in the modern economy is necessary. The main directions of its economic activity can be reduced to the following: 1) development, adoption and organization of the implementation of market legislation (the legal basis of the market);
2) ensuring the safety of the market mechanism and creating conditions for its normal operation, smoothing structural and regional imbalances in the economy, organizing environmentally friendly production;
3) guaranteed implementation of a fair distribution of income.
The modern market imposes quite stringent and specific requirements on the economic activities of the state. Wherever the activity of the state meets these requirements, it helps to strengthen the market mechanism, improve the state of public finances and ensure the socio-economic rights of members of society.
14. State budget, its essence and role. State debt
The state budget is an important link in the financial system of any country, combining the main revenues and expenditures of the state. In terms of its economic content, it reflects the monetary relations that the state has with legal entities and individuals regarding the redistribution of the national income received between various sectors of the economy and social groups of society.
The state budget (from the English budget - a suitcase, a bag of money) is the main financial plan of the state for the current year, which is a list of its cash income and expenses and has the force of law. The state budget of the country is approved by the legislative body of power - parliament; in the Russian Federation - by the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
The budget structure in different countries of the world is not the same: it is determined by the specifics of the political system of a particular country. In federal states, along with the federal budget, there are also budgets of subjects of the federation and local budgets. Thus, the state budget system of Russia includes the federal budget, 21 budgets of the republics within the Federation, 56 regional and regional budgets, the budgets of Moscow and St. Petersburg, 10 district budgets of autonomous regions and about 29 thousand local budgets.
The procedure for drawing up, reviewing, approving and executing the budget is called the budget process. The budget process in the Russian Federation is regulated by the Constitution and legislation of the Russian Federation and consists of five stages:
Stage I - drawing up a draft budget by the Government of the Russian Federation;
Stage II - consideration of the draft budget by the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation;
Stage III - approval of the budget, adoption of the law on the budget by the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, signing by the President of the Russian Federation;
Stage IV - budget execution, which is carried out by executive authorities from January 1 to December 31 annually. This period of time is called the fiscal year;
Stage V - drawing up a report on budget execution and its approval (usually within the first 5 months of the next year).
Similarly, the budgets of the subjects of the Federation and local budgets are developed and approved.
The implementation of the budget occurs with the help of budget financing. In Russia, an important role in this process is played by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, which leads the entire system of state financial management, pursues a unified policy, organizes and controls the execution of the budget. Also, state financial control in the Russian Federation is carried out by the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, which is accountable in its activities to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
The budget of any state consists of two parts - revenue and expenditure.
The revenue part of the budget is formed from taxes paid by individuals and legal entities, as well as loans and the issuance of money. Depending on the state structure of the country, budget revenues are divided into revenues of the central and local budgets (in a unitary state) or federal budget revenues, revenues of subjects of the federation and revenues of local budgets (in a federal state).
The expenditure part of the budget represents the costs incurred by the state in connection with the performance of its economic, social and political-administrative functions. Depending on the direction of cash flows, five main groups of expenses are distinguished: expenses for the maintenance of the state apparatus, military expenses, expenses for the social sphere, expenses for financing certain sectors of the economy, expenses for providing subsidies and loans to other countries and servicing state debts (internal and external) .
In the process of drawing up and executing the budget, the state, as a rule, is faced with the impossibility of achieving equality of its revenue and expenditure parts. In this case, two options are possible: a budget surplus or a budget deficit.
A budget surplus is the excess of budget revenues over expenditures. This is a relatively rare phenomenon that takes place only in the presence of a number of favorable internal and external conditions for the development of the national economy. A much more frequent phenomenon is the budget deficit, that is, the excess of budget expenditures over its revenues. The budget deficit may arise as a result of the economic policy of the state or be caused by any emergency. There are several ways to overcome it: reduce (sequester) budget expenditures, find additional sources of income, organize the issue of money, take a loan from the population or other states and international financial organizations.
The amount of outstanding government obligations to creditor banks, individuals and legal entities, owners of government securities (residents and non-residents), to extra-budgetary funds, foreign governments or international financial institutions is called public debt. Public debt is divided into internal (debt of the state to citizens, enterprises and organizations of its country) and external (debt to citizens, organizations and governments of other countries). In terms of maturity, debt is short-term (up to 1 year), medium-term (from 1 to 5 years) and long-term (over 5 years).
It is rare when the state manages to fully repay state loans and pay interest on them from current budget revenues. Therefore, governments, constantly in need of funds, resort to new loans, covering old debts, but thus creating new ones. As a result, public debt is growing at different rates in different countries. The most difficult to repay are considered to be short-term debts, on which the principal amount with high interest must be paid within a short time. That is why government agencies try to consolidate short-term, and often medium-term debt, that is, turn it into long-term debt, postponing the payment of the principal amount for a long time and limiting themselves to paying annual interest. In a number of countries, there are special structural units in government bodies that are responsible for repaying and consolidating old debts, as well as for attracting new loans. However, the consolidation of external debt is possible only with the consent of creditors. The latter create special organizations-clubs, where they develop a solidarity policy towards countries that are unable to fulfill their international financial obligations. The most famous are the London Club, which includes creditor banks, and the Paris Club, which unites creditor countries. Both of these clubs have repeatedly met the requests of the debtor countries (including Russia) to defer payments, and in a number of cases - partially written off their public debts.
15. Taxes, their types and functions
Taxes are obligatory payments levied by the state from individuals and legal entities to the budget of the appropriate level in the amounts, in the manner and under the conditions determined by the current legislation.
Taxation has come a long way. The first taxes arose during the period of division of society into classes and the formation of the state. They were predominantly in-kind and were "contributions from citizens" intended to maintain public power. With the development of commodity-money relations, taxes acquired a monetary form and became the main type of state revenue: today, monetary taxes provide up to 9/10 of all budget revenues of industrialized countries.
In modern conditions, taxes perform three main functions: fiscal, regulatory and distribution.
The fiscal function of taxes lies in the fact that with their help the financial resources of the state are formed, i.e. the revenue side of the budget, off-budget funds, etc.
The essence of the regulatory function is that taxes are one of the main instruments of the state's economic policy, stimulating or restraining the pace of reproduction.
The distributive function of taxes is manifested in the fact that with their help the state influences the distribution and redistribution of the results of reproduction both at the micro and macro levels between the sectors of the economy and various groups of the population.
Some economists combine the regulatory and distributive functions of taxes into one common function - economic.
Any tax consists of the following elements: tax subject, tax object, tax source, taxation unit, tax rate, tax salary, tax benefits.
The subject of the tax, or the taxpayer, is the natural or legal person who is obliged by law to pay the tax.
The object of tax is an object (income, property, goods) subject to taxation. Often the name of the tax is derived from its object (for example, land tax).
The tax source is understood as the income of the subject of the tax (salary, profit, interest), from which the tax is paid. Sometimes the source and object of the tax may coincide (for example, income tax).
The unit of taxation is the unit of measurement of the tax object (for land tax, such a unit can be, for example, a hectare).
The tax rate is the amount of tax per unit of taxation.
The tax salary is the amount of tax paid by the taxpayer from one object.
Tax incentives mean full or partial exemption of a subject from taxes in accordance with applicable law. The most important tax benefit is the non-taxable minimum - the smallest part of the object that is exempt from tax.
The totality of taxes established by the state, the methods and principles of their construction, as well as the methods of collection, constitute the tax system of the state. The modern tax system includes various types of taxes. Their main group consists of direct and indirect taxes allocated for the object of taxation.
Direct taxes are established directly on income or property and are divided into real and personal. Real taxes are characterized by levying on certain types of property (land, head, trade); taxation is based on the average yield of this property. Personal taxes are taxes on income or property levied on the source of income or on declaration (inheritance tax, income tax, income tax).
Indirect taxes are taxes on goods and services paid in the price of the goods or included in the tariff. They are subdivided into monopoly fiscal taxes (value added tax), excises, i.e., additions to the price of certain types of goods, and customs duties (export, import). When such goods (services) are sold, the tax amounts received from the actual payers are transferred to the budget by the person selling them.
In the direction of their use, all taxes are divided into general, which go to the general budget of the state and are spent by the latter at its own discretion, and special, directed by the state only for predetermined purposes.
Depending on the state body that collects taxes and disposes of the funds received, there are federal, republican (taxes of subjects of the federation) and local taxes.
Tax practice knows three ways of levying taxes. The first method is called cadastral. The cadastre is a register containing a list of typical objects of tax, classified according to external features, with an established profitability of the object of taxation (for example, in case of land tax, the external feature is the size of the plot). The second way is the withdrawal of tax before the taxpayer receives income: the tax is calculated and withheld by the accounting department from the legal entity that pays income to the subject (in this way, income tax is levied). With the third method, the tax is withdrawn from the subject after he receives income - on the basis of the taxpayer's declaration of income received by him to the tax authorities.
There is a relationship between the amount of money that the state can receive and the tax rate, proved by the American economist Arthur Lacer. According to Lacer, the state will not receive money in two cases: when it collects no taxes (i.e., sets the tax rate equal to zero) and when it takes all the profits. An excessive increase in taxes on corporate profits deprives the latter of an incentive to invest, slows down economic growth, and ultimately reduces the flow of revenues to the state budget. That is why any state strives to find the optimal amount of the tax burden, to build an effective and fair tax system.
In the Russian Federation, the formation of a modern tax system after 1991 proceeded in the difficult conditions of an economic downturn, inflation, and a crisis in public finances. In 1992, the Law "On the fundamentals of the tax system in the Russian Federation" was adopted, and in 2000 the Tax Code of the Russian Federation was put into effect.
As in most large states, the Russian Federation has a three-tier taxation system.
The first level consists of federal taxes, which are valid throughout the country and are regulated by federal law. On their basis, the revenue part of the federal budget is formed; at their expense, the financial stability of the budgets of the subjects of the Federation and local budgets is maintained.
The second level includes taxes of the republics within the Russian Federation, as well as territories, regions, autonomous regions and autonomous districts. They are established by the representative bodies of the subjects of the Federation on the basis of the principles enshrined in federal legislation. Part of these taxes refers to obligatory payments throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. In this case, the regional authorities regulate only the rates of these taxes within certain limits, determine the procedure for their collection and provision of tax benefits.
The third level is local taxes, i.e. taxes of cities, towns, etc. They are established by local representative authorities. Moreover, the representative authorities of Moscow and St.
Petersburg have the right to establish both local taxes and taxes of the subject of the Federation.
The disadvantages of the modern taxation system in the Russian Federation are obvious: a large number of taxes and the complexity of their calculation, a high level of taxation, as well as constant changes in tax legislation. In order to eliminate these shortcomings, the federal authorities are currently trying to carry out tax reform in the country.
16. World economy. Russia in the system of world economic relations
The world economy is called the system of national economies of individual countries, united by the international division of labor, as well as trade, production and other diverse norms of economic relations.
The development of the world economy has come a long way. Historically, the first form of international economic relations was trade. Its objective basis was the social division of labor, which overstepped the limits of national borders and entered the international level.
The international division of labor is the specialization of individual countries in the production of certain types of products that they exchange with each other. The international division of labor originated in the manufacturing period of the development of capitalism. At the same time, the main form of its implementation at that time was bilateral and trilateral foreign trade relations. In the era of the industrial revolution, the interconnectedness of national economies increased, they were drawn into the world market. A feature of the international division of labor in the late XIX - first half of the XX century. became a monocultural specialization of a whole group of countries (colonial and dependent), i.e., fixing them as suppliers of one or more goods, mainly raw materials or energy.
With the development of industry and the deepening of technological specialization in the sphere of production, the international division of labor took on modern forms. Today, the main forms of world economic relations are: international trade in goods and services, the movement of capital, interstate integration in the sphere of production, labor migration, exchange in the field of science and technology, monetary and credit relations. Accordingly, the structure of the world market consists of the following elements:
1) the global market for goods and services;
2) the world capital market;
3) the global labor market;
4) the global financial market. The modern world market is an integral system of trade, financial and economic relations between national economies. In this market, world prices are formed and operate.
International trade includes two interrelated processes: export and import. Export (export) of goods means that they are sold on the external market. The economic efficiency of exports for a particular country is determined by the fact that this country exports those products whose production costs in it are lower than world ones. When importing (importing) goods, the country acquires those goods, the production of which is currently economically unprofitable for it. The total value of exports and imports forms a foreign trade turnover (balance) with other countries.
Historically, there have been various forms of state protection of national interests in world markets. In the 15th-18th centuries, when mercantilism was the dominant economic theory, states stimulated exports in every possible way and restrained imports, primarily through the introduction of customs duties. Customs duty is a tax that is levied when a product crosses a customs border and therefore raises the price of the imported product. However, protectionism inevitably leads to a reduction in foreign trade and self-isolation of the country. That is why during the industrial revolution, many countries came to the idea of free trade - free trade (from the English free trade - free trade). They began to open their domestic markets to foreign goods, capital and labor in order to increase competition in the domestic market.
However, the instability in world trade and the world economic crises of the 20th century. forced many countries to revive the policy of protectionism. Today, most states in their foreign economic policy combine both the liberal ideas of free trade and protectionism, using not only customs tariffs, but also non-tariff measures. The latter include licenses, quotas, standards, labeling, etc. Widespread in world practice and free economic zones. To regulate relations between countries in the field of international trade, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was created, in which our country has had observer status since 1992.
The economic reforms carried out in Russia since 1991 have led to Russia's integration into the system of world economic relations. However, the current position of the country in the system of the international division of labor is complex and contradictory. The reproducing production structure was practically destroyed in the process of reforms. The migration from the country of a highly skilled workforce has reached enormous proportions. The processing industries could not stand the competition with imported products flooding into the market. The country has practically secured the status of a raw material power supplying cheap gas, oil, timber, fish, furs and other raw materials to the international market. Russia's exports to non-CIS countries are dominated by mineral products (40.2%), metals, precious stones and products made from them (31.7%), wood and pulp and paper products (5.5%); in imports from these countries - machinery, equipment, vehicles (39.4%) and food products (26.6%), which are often of poor quality and not harmless to public health.
The crisis of 1998 and the subsequent devaluation of the ruble allowed Russian enterprises to oust foreign goods from the market for some time, but economists note that this effect is gradually fading away. At present, the country is faced with the task of restoring production, its technological re-equipment in order to produce such goods that would be competitive both in the domestic and foreign markets.
17. Labor market. Employment and unemployment
Each person in the course of his life enters into various economic relations with other people, mainly playing the role of a buyer. However, only one who, in turn, is able to offer a product in demand for sale and receive money for it, can become a buyer in the market. If a person does not produce material goods that can be exchanged for other material goods, then he can sell his ability to work, i.e., labor power, as a commodity on the market. There is a special market for labor trade - the labor market.
The labor market is called social mechanisms, through which some members of society - workers - have the opportunity to find a job that matches their abilities, knowledge and skills, while others - employers, can hire exactly those workers that they need.
The labor market sells and buys a special commodity called labor power. The labor force is the physical and mental capabilities, as well as skills that allow a person to perform certain types of work, while ensuring the necessary level of labor productivity and quality of manufactured products.
As in other markets, the processes taking place in the labor market are governed by the law of supply and demand: workers offer their labor for the wages they would like to receive, and employers indicate their demand for the labor they need and the price they are willing to pay. pay her. Thus, in the labor market, as in other markets, there is supply, demand and price - wages.
Wage is the amount of monetary remuneration that the employer pays to the employee for the performance of a certain amount of work or the performance of his official duties for a certain time.
The volume of labor supply on the market varies and can be determined by various factors: the remoteness of the proposed workplace, the tax system, social benefits and, of course, wages. The higher the wages workers demand for their work, the fewer employers will be able to hire them, and conversely, the lower the wages offered by employers, the fewer people are willing to do the required work. The volume of demand for labor is determined by the needs of employers, the equipment of production and the general needs of the economy as a whole. At the intersection of the interests of workers and employers, an equilibrium price of a commodity called labor power, i.e., wages, is formed. It is an indicator that the number of people willing to do a certain job and the number of places provided by the employer are the same.
The minimum price of labor power is determined by the subsistence minimum. The living wage is the level of income that an employee needs to purchase a quantity of food not lower than physiological norms, as well as to meet his needs (at the most necessary level) in clothes, shoes, transport, and utility bills. The living wage is the lower limit of wages.
Wages can be paid to an employee in several forms:
1. Time wage is a method of remuneration in which the amount of wages is directly proportional to the number of hours worked by the employee.
2. Piecework wages is a method of remuneration in which the amount of wages depends on the amount of work performed or goods produced by the worker.
3. The mixed form of wages is a method of remuneration that combines elements of both time and piecework wages. This form of remuneration is one of the most popular today. With it, the amount of wages depends not only on the amount of time worked by the employee, but also on the personal contribution of the latter to the business, on the success and income of the entire company as a whole.
Distinguish between nominal and real wages. Nominal wages - this is the remuneration for work, which is assigned to the employee in the form of a certain amount of money. The real wage is the amount of life's goods that can be purchased for nominal wages at a given level of prices for goods and services.
Those who are given the opportunity to work by employers are called employed. Those who could not find work are unemployed.
Unemployment is such a situation in the economy, in which a part of people who are able and willing to work for hire cannot find a job corresponding to their abilities.
In economics, there are many different theories about what unemployment depends on. In their analysis, three main points of view on this issue can be distinguished:
1) the cause of unemployment is too high wages;
2) the cause of unemployment is too low demand;
3) unemployment is predetermined by the inflexibility characteristic of the labor market; such inflexibility makes it difficult to establish the necessary balance between supply and demand.
The first explanation of the causes of unemployment is sometimes called the "classical" one. It dominated economic science until the appearance of the works of John. Keynes. According to supporters of this point of view, the cause of unemployment is the excessive demands of the workers themselves, made to the employer regarding the size of their desired wages. In such a situation, no special economic policy is required, since, as classical economists argue, unemployment in this case is voluntary: employees who do not agree to work for the offered wage choose the state of unemployment themselves.
In the 30s. In the 20th century, during the period of the global economic crisis, the fallacy of such a position became obvious. It was no longer possible to argue that unemployment was not a serious problem or that it was a voluntary choice of employees. Therefore, the dominance of the views of classical economists came to an end. A new explanation of the problem was proposed by J. Keynes. According to Keynes, the volume of production in society is controlled by the so-called aggregate demand; it also determines the demand for labor. Therefore, argues Keynes, unemployment arises from insufficient demand. Keynes argued that the traditional policy of non-intervention of the state in solving the problem of unemployment is ineffective. He argued that the state should fight unemployment with the help of an active financial policy. By raising government revenues or cutting taxes, the government can increase the amount of aggregate demand in the economy. This will increase the demand for labor and reduce the unemployment rate in the society.
The third explanation of the causes of unemployment boils down to the thesis that unemployment is a consequence of the inflexibility characteristic of the labor market. Basically, supporters of this point of view in their conclusions rely on statistical data. According to these data, the market is constantly experiencing, on the one hand, the emergence of vacancies, and on the other hand, the influx of labor. The offer is constantly changing: someone finds a job, someone loses, someone changes their social status and becomes a pensioner. The requirements for the qualifications of people looking for a job are constantly being improved. Therefore, the availability of vacancies may not always lead to a decrease in the number of unemployed. Thus, there is some discrepancy between the needs of those people who are looking for work, and the needs of employers who are willing to provide jobs. More specifically, in practice there is not a single labor market, but a collection of various specialized markets for a particular profession. Therefore, in practice it often turns out that the vacant places that exist in any specialized labor market cannot objectively be filled by people looking for work, due to the fact that the latter simply do not have the necessary education.
According to this view, both vacancies and unemployment exist all the time. Moreover, it can be various types of unemployment:
a) structural - a type of unemployment in which employment is impossible due to differences in the structure of demand and supply of labor and there are no means that can change this situation;
b) frictional - a type of unemployment in which a laid-off worker is faced with the need to find a free place to work in his specialty;
c) congestive - this type of unemployment, in which workers are faced with the inability to find work due to the fact that the region in which they live is hit by an economic crisis. In this case, there is a reduction in the total number of jobs, and the only way out for workers is, as a rule, moving to a new place of residence;
d) hidden - this type of unemployment, in which the employee agrees to part-time work or part-time work because of the impossibility of finding other employment in his main specialty.
Economists propose a number of measures that can alleviate the problem of unemployment. First, the state should take care of creating a sufficiently flexible education system in the country that would be able to quickly respond to changes in the structure of demand in the labor market. This applies to both primary and higher education, as well as the system of retraining and retraining of those workers who are really at risk of unemployment. Secondly, a well-established information service can be of great help in the fight against unemployment, the task of which is to inform workers about the availability of vacancies and employers about the available labor offers. Finally, it is worth considering the factor of geographic mobility, i.e. the tendency of people to move to those places where there is work. The state should encourage such moves and help people who move to settle in a new place. On the other hand, with the help of a well-thought-out policy, the state can ensure a reasonable approximation of jobs to the unemployed, which will prevent the process of depopulation of economically disadvantaged regions.
At the same time, modern economic science has already come to the conclusion that the complete eradication of unemployment is impossible. Moreover, it is useful for the country to have a small, so-called natural rate of unemployment. This helps to maintain the necessary competition in the labor market, since this market, like any other, if there is no competition in it, can become stagnant. However, if unemployment in a country exceeds the natural rate, it can cause serious social conflicts.
18. Economic culture
The origin of the concept of "culture" (from the Latin colo - to cultivate, cultivate the soil) is directly related to the material production of agricultural labor. At the initial stages of the development of human society, this concept was identified with the main type of economic activity of that time - agriculture. However, the demarcation of the spiritual and material-production spheres of human activity that soon followed created the illusion of their complete autonomy. The concept of "culture" gradually began to be identified only with the phenomena of the spiritual life of society, with the totality of spiritual values. This approach finds its supporters even now. However, along with this, the dominant point of view is the one according to which culture is not limited solely to the phenomena of the spiritual life of society. It is inherent in all types and forms of human activity, including economic.
Economic culture is called the totality of material and spiritual socially developed means of activity, with the help of which the material and production life of people is carried out.
The structure of economic culture is correlated with the structure of economic activity itself, with the sequence of the main phases of social production: production itself, exchange, distribution and consumption. Therefore, it is legitimate to speak of a culture of production, a culture of exchange, a culture of distribution and a culture of consumption. The structure-forming factor of economic culture is human labor activity. It is characteristic of the whole variety of forms, types of material and spiritual production. Each specific level of economic culture of labor characterizes the relationship of a person to a person, a person to nature (it is the awareness of this relationship that is the moment of the birth of economic culture), an individual to his own labor abilities.
Any labor activity of a person is associated with the disclosure of his creative abilities, but the degree of their development is different. Scientists distinguish three levels of these abilities.
The first level is the productive-reproductive creative ability, when in the process of labor everything is only repeated, copied, and only as an exception, a new one is accidentally created.
The second level is a generative creative ability, the result of which will be, if not a completely new work, then at least an original variation.
The third level is constructive and innovative activity, the essence of which is the natural appearance of the new. This level of ability in production is manifested in the work of inventors and innovators.
The more creative labor is, the richer the cultural activity of a person, the higher the level of labor culture. The latter ultimately serves as the basis for achieving a higher level of economic culture.
Labor activity in any society is collective, embodied in joint production. Therefore, along with the culture of work, it is necessary to consider the culture of production as an integral system.
Labor culture includes the skills of owning tools of labor, conscious management of the process of creating material and spiritual wealth, the free use of one's abilities, the use of scientific and technological achievements in labor activity.
The culture of production includes the following main elements:
1) the culture of working conditions, which is a complex of components of an economic, scientific, technical, organizational, social and legal nature;
2) the culture of the labor process, which finds expression in the activities of a single employee;
3) socio-psychological climate in the production team;
4) a management culture that organically combines the science and art of management, reveals and implements the creative potential, initiative and enterprise of each participant in the production process.
In modern society, there is a tendency to increase the cultural level of production. It finds its expression in the use of the latest technology and technological processes, advanced methods of labor organization, progressive forms of management and planning, and the achievements of science.
However, the objective nature of the progressive development of economic culture does not mean that it occurs automatically. The direction of this development is determined, on the one hand, by the opportunities contained in the totality of conditions that define the boundaries of economic culture, and on the other hand, by the degree and methods of realization of these opportunities by representatives of various social groups. Changes in socio-cultural life are made by people, therefore these changes depend on knowledge, will, objectively formed interests of people. Depending on these factors, recessions and stagnations in certain areas and economic culture as a whole are possible within the local historical framework.
Progress in the development of economic culture is determined primarily by the continuity of the methods and forms of activity of generations, the assimilation of those that have proven their effectiveness, and the destruction of inefficient, obsolete ones.
Ultimately, in the course of the development of economic culture, conditions are created that encourage a person to active creative production activity, contribute to his formation as an active subject of economic processes.
19. Russia in a market economy
The transition to a market model of economic development in Russia was approved by the Government of the Russian Federation in October 1991. At the same time, the first program of radical economic reforms was prepared. Its main points were: the transition to free pricing, denationalization and privatization of enterprises in industry, trade and services. With the help of these measures, the authors of the program hoped, on the one hand, to ease the existing economic crisis, to eliminate the shortage of goods, and on the other hand, to create a new class in Russia - the class of owners.
The most serious problem that the government had to face at the beginning of the reforms was the problem of assimilation by the population of a new system of values and the formation in citizens of the qualities necessary for the successful conduct of their business in market conditions: initiative and responsibility.
The release from January 1992 of prices from state regulation (the so-called liberalization), with the continued monopolization of production and the market, led to a sharp rise in prices by the end of 1992 by about 150 times. As a result of a tough monetary policy, months-long delays in the payment of wages and benefits, inflation was reduced to less than 1% per month only in 1996. Wage growth catastrophically lagged behind price increases. The population's money savings were actually confiscated, their standard of living dropped sharply, and social vulnerability increased million people.
The positive results of price liberalization include the saturation of the consumer market with goods, the beginning of the formation of a market pricing mechanism (depending on the ratio of supply and demand). Relative financial stabilization was also achieved through huge borrowings abroad: the external debt exceeded $130 billion (although the lion's share of it came from the USSR).
The rejection of the system of centralized logistics (distribution of raw materials and resources), the reduction of state subsidies to industry and agriculture (and, in the future, the complete rejection of support for unprofitable industries, their bankruptcy) led to a collapse in the gross domestic product (GDP). Hopes for large-scale foreign investment in Russian industry have not materialized so far. Attempts to bring down inflation led to a tightening of credit policy (high interest on bank loans).
The tax system remained stifling domestic production. The liberalization of foreign trade has led to the overstocking of the Russian domestic market with relatively cheap and high-quality imported products. This exacerbated the crisis of domestic industry. First of all, science-intensive industries (engineering, electronics, electrical engineering, military industry, enterprises producing high-tech products), as well as light industry, found themselves in the most difficult situation. Relative prosperity was demonstrated by the fuel and energy complex, ferrous metallurgy and other raw material industries. They got out of the crisis earlier than others, and in some by 1997 there was even a slight increase. In other industries, the decline continued, although the rate of decline in industrial production slowed down significantly over time, and in 1997 reached a zero level. The government's attempts to impose restrictions on the import of foreign goods into the country met with energetic resistance from foreign financial organizations, on whose assistance the stability of the financial situation in Russia largely depends.
The production of agricultural products (especially milk and meat) decreased significantly, caused both by the reduction of state injections into the countryside, the destruction of its technical base, the outflow of workers to the cities, and increased competition from foreign producers. Supporters of deepening market reforms link the revival of the Russian countryside with the removal of restrictions on the free purchase and sale of land. This, in turn, is met with resistance from the left-wing majority of the State Duma, who are afraid of mass buying up of land at bargain prices by domestic and foreign speculative capital and its withdrawal from agricultural circulation. "Farming" the village also encounters resistance from the leadership and most of the members of the collective farms, and also requires a huge initial capital and equipment.
Depriving the population of accumulated funds did not allow achieving efficiency in the implementation of the program of denationalization and privatization. Denationalization is understood as the process of narrowing the state sector in the economy, creating conditions for the development of other, non-state forms of ownership and, ultimately, the formation of a multi-structural economy in the country. Privatization refers to the process of transferring state property into private hands. Privatization can be carried out in various forms:
1) free distribution to citizens of a part of state property;
2) lease with subsequent purchase;
3) transformation of state enterprises into joint-stock companies;
4) redemption of the enterprise on a competitive basis.
At the first stage of privatization, the first three forms prevailed. In 1992-1993 all citizens of Russia were given a part of state property worth 10 thousand rubles free of charge. (in 1984 prices) by issuing vouchers (privatization checks). They could be invested in shares of privatized enterprises. But the voucher privatization failed: as a result of buying privatization checks at low prices and all sorts of speculation, most of the industrial enterprises at bargain prices migrated into the hands of the former nomenklatura, plant directors, shadow business tycoons, etc. stage of privatization. This is an actual redistribution of property: state-owned blocks of shares in industrial enterprises are being sold at auctions at very low prices. For all that, the main goal of privatization - the creation of a wide layer of private owners in the country - has not been achieved.
Since 1992, the state has ceased to artificially maintain the exchange rate of the ruble against foreign currencies, which coincided with the liberalization of prices and the beginning of a sharp decline in industrial production. As expected, the collapse of our national currency followed: from 300 r. for 1 US dollar in the spring of 1992 to 6000 rubles. per dollar in January 1998
This situation led to the dollarization of the Russian economy, the transfer of the population's money savings into foreign currency. This, in turn, hampered opportunities for financial stabilization. Therefore, the government is taking a number of measures to improve the ruble. The most famous of these was the introduction in 1995 of a "currency corridor" supported by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The depreciation of the ruble slowed noticeably, but did not stop.
Thus, the positive results of the reforms carried out include: saturation of the consumer market with goods (albeit mostly foreign ones); creation of a market infrastructure in the country, i.e. a network of commercial banks, stock and commodity exchanges, auctions, without which the normal functioning of a market economy is impossible; the creation of a private sector of the economy, which produces more than two thirds of GDP; liberalization of pricing and foreign trade; relative stabilization of the financial situation and the ruble exchange rate; development of a legal framework that regulates economic processes in the country. All this made it possible to carry out in 1998 the denomination of the ruble.
It was not possible to stop the deindustrialization of the national economy and achieve industrial growth, as well as an influx of foreign investment. The government has never been able to provide an adequate level of tax collection, the reason is the draconian taxation system. This, in turn, did not make it possible to liquidate by the end of 1997 the state's wage arrears to workers in the public sector. The social costs of the reforms are also enormous. The gigantic gap between the average per capita income of the richest and poorest population is fraught with the threat of a social explosion. More than a third of the population is below the subsistence level. Unemployment is growing. The state abandoned its paternalistic social policy, making it its task to provide support only to those segments of the population that were unable to take care of themselves: orphans, the disabled, war veterans, pensioners. However, despite numerous declarations, it still cannot provide these categories of the population with even a minimum standard of living.
In August 1998, an economic crisis broke out in the country, which actually nullified many of the above reform achievements. The government devalued the national currency and froze payments on GKOs. A strong blow was dealt to the banking system: some banks ceased to exist, others are still under the threat of bankruptcy and are unable to pay off their depositors. In order to pay off the internal debt to public sector employees, the government started issuing money. This provoked a further depreciation of the ruble against the dollar. In addition, the threat of a national default loomed over the country - Russia was unable to pay its debts, and international organizations refused to provide it with new loans.
One of the positive consequences of the 1998 financial crisis was the growth of the competitiveness of domestic goods. This made it possible to significantly reduce the share of imported products in the domestic market. The devaluation of the ruble led not only to a rise in prices and a reduction in imports, but also to an increase in exports. A positive balance of foreign trade, a significant increase in prices for the main Russian exports (oil and gas) on the international market, the relative success achieved by Russian representatives in negotiations on the restructuring of external debt, allowed the government not only to pay interest on foreign loans on time, but and almost completely pay off the arrears of pensions and salaries. Inflation in 1999 was 36.5%, and in 2000 - about 22% per year. Central Bank in 1999-2002. managed to maintain a relatively stable exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar and sharply increase their own gold and foreign exchange reserves. At the end of 2000, Russia entered the top ten most dynamically developing countries in the world, ahead of the United States, the countries of the European Union, and Japan in terms of growth rates. However, these successes are largely due to the favorable external economic environment and are not accompanied by noticeable structural shifts in the Russian economy.
We buy groceries, choose a dress or suit in a boutique, stock up on stationery. All these actions are part of the global economic system, which is called the economy. It is she who, based on commodity-money relations, satisfies the basic needs of society and each of its members, gives us the opportunity to use in our own interests, and for the benefit of others, the vital benefits of civilization.
Needs
Human life is one continuous problem. Now we want to take a few sips of cold kvass, then try a fragrant donut, in a second we are already dreaming of a new car or a trip to the sea. Not for a single moment can we calm down and constantly crave something. All these are needs - a person's need for certain things, resources, intangible values. The role of the economy in the life of society is to satisfy them, to provide us with everything necessary for normal life and development.
All people have different needs. They are constantly transforming - this is how we grow up, get smarter, our life values, statuses, and sometimes even religion and nationality change. But the most interesting thing is that human needs are constantly increasing, and supply can never meet demand. Therefore, a person sets certain restrictions for himself: due to moral principles or due to lack of finances. This should also be taken into account by the economy. And its role in society is to balance needs and limitations, satisfying the "golden" mean between them.
Resources
Another component of the normal life of each of us. Imagine that there will be no gas. We will not be able to cook our own food, heat our houses in winter. You will say that once our distant ancestors did without blue fuel: they made fires or built stoves. You can do it now, but why? If there is a resource, you need to sell it to people for their maximum comfort and convenience. This is the economy. Its role in the life of society is to find places where resources are concentrated, create conditions for their extraction, profitable sale and making a good profit from the transaction, so that in the future the same money will be invested again in activities.
Resources are:
- Limited. They are divided into renewable (animals and plants) and declining (land and mineral resources).
- Endless. This includes wind, solar energy and so on.
Unlike needs, the need for resources does not grow like mushrooms after rain. In addition, the need for them is often satisfied.
boons
The economy and its role in the life of society is an invariable component of the normal existence of people. It is designed to ensure the availability of not only resources, but also benefits. They can be created by a person for himself personally or for other people. In the latter case, commodity-money relations work: I provide a service - you pay me for it. For example, you are going to a resort in the summer. A hotel, a swimming pool, a bowling alley, a disco and other infrastructure facilities were built by one person for another. Everyone benefits from this conditional deal: the first is income, the second is quality recreation. These are public goods. Personal ones include the creation of comfort in the house, the passion for any occupation or hobby, visiting interesting places.
The role of the economy in the life of society is undeniable. And this can be clearly traced on the basis of goods alone. Think about whether we could live in a world where culture is completely absent, where there is no elementary housing, household items. Of course not. Even primitive, mentally limited people tried to make life easier for themselves: they invented an ax, arrows and a bow, a spear. Today, we actively use not only these ancient, but also modern benefits - the Internet, a computer, a smartphone. They are constantly being improved depending on our needs and the resources that exist in the world.
Standard of living
What is the place and role of the economy in the life of society? Big, one might say, even the most basic. Without its normal functioning, people cannot develop, work for the benefit of the world around them, not to mention the fact that they die of hunger and want. How efficiently the economy works, demonstrates the standard of living of all members of society. It includes providing the people with all the necessary products, goods and services for their safe, comfortable and most convenient existence.
We often ask ourselves why some countries manage to achieve prosperity, while in others many people live below the poverty line. Everything is very simple. Previously, the rulers of the powers believed that a high standard of living should be achieved solely through the conquest of rich lands and the further use of their resources. But over time, people realized that even staying in their own small territory, one can reach unprecedented heights of development. Take, for example, Japan: the country is considered rich, although it has few resources. Thanks to their effective and moderate use, the state can boast of a good provision and a high income for most of the citizens. Therefore, the role of the economy in the life of society is, of course, very great.
Standard of living criteria
Of course, the main indicator is the efficient use of resources: gas, water, electricity, timber, metal, and so on. The main criteria are also considered:
- GDP - gross domestic product per capita. It is the sum of all goods and services produced by the nation in a year divided by the number of inhabitants.
- Living wage, the ratio of prices to the indicator of salaries, pensions and scholarships.
- Availability of education.
- health level.
- The state of the environment.
- Cultural development.
Ensuring the smooth and uninterrupted operation of all these systems is the main role of the economy in the life of society. The problems and judgments associated with this concept always change depending on the time period in which the people live. For example, UN experts believe that the standard of living in every country in the modern world determines the so-called personality development index. It is calculated using the following values: the country's GDP, the average life expectancy of residents, their level of education and general development.
Reasons for the low efficiency of the economy
There are many of them. Firstly, this is the poor performance of the indicators described above. Secondly, the use of old technologies in production, low qualification of personnel, wasteful use of the benefits and wealth of the environment, and so on. Therefore, it is so important to study the role of the economy in the life of society from childhood. The 10th grade (students) of the secondary school should already be closely familiar with the course aimed at revealing the basic concepts, so as not to make major mistakes in the future and not lead the country to poverty. On the contrary, to be able to maximize the work of the area in which the future specialist will work.
The low efficiency of the economy dooms the people to poverty. The level of poverty is determined by assessing a person's income and the ability to provide themselves with everything necessary with its help. It is logical that the richer the state, the higher its threshold. Today, the World Bank has set the following poverty lines: a daily income of less than $1.25. The role of the economy in the life of society is to overcome poverty and raise the standard of living of each of its members.
The social role of the economy in the life of society
The people, their general well-being, lifestyle directly depend on the standard of living, the availability of goods and resources. For example, the economy strongly influences a person's ability to buy a house, find a job, the number of women involved in industrial activities. Agree, if in a developed country a man earns enough and is able to provide for his family, his wife does not need to work 40 hours a week, sacrificing attention to children. She would rather stay at home, protect the hearth, take care of family members. As for work, you can go to it only for the sake of pleasure and self-development, and not for the sake of making money.
The economy and its role in the life of society can be traced even in the example of childbearing. Usually it drops sharply when the well-being of citizens worsens. Average life expectancy is another criterion by which one can assess the level of development of the state. Also here should be attributed the general discontent of the working people, the number of rallies and strikes organized by them, the total production of their labor.
Economics and politics
Ideally, the state should not directly interfere in commodity-money relations. It is only obliged to create optimal conditions for the development of the economy: to pass laws that would give enterprises more freedom, reduce taxes, guarantee compensation. The government is also called upon to direct the funds received as a result of activities to those areas of life that affect the overall well-being of each family: health care, education, national security.
The state of roads, the level of landscaping of streets, the degree of environmental pollution, and so on depend only on the competent actions of the state. Thanks to the correct, expedient distribution of finances, these areas will be developed to the maximum. As a result, the standard of living of a person will rise, the mood of each member of society will improve, his energy and ability to work will increase - the economy will work more smoothly and bring even more income. Everything is interconnected. Therefore, if you are asked about the place and role of the economy in the life of society, there is only one answer: the most advanced. It is the core of life not only for the whole country as a whole, but also for each individual separately.
Economy:
- an economic system that includes branches of material production (industry, agriculture, transport, etc.) and non-material spheres (education, culture, health care, etc.), providing society with material and intangible benefits. It provides people with the material conditions of existence - food, clothing, housing and other consumer goods.
- a science that explores how people in conditions of limited resources satisfy ever-growing needs. one
Economy as a system of management (social production):
Economic activity- a set of actions at different levels of management, as a result of which people satisfy their needs through the production and exchange of material goods and services. The definition of this term is closely related to the definition of the economy itself. An activity becomes economic when it aims or results in the production and exchange of goods or services recognized as both useful or rare. 2
Economic activity includes the following main elements: production, distribution and consumption.
- production (the process of creating economic goods and services);
- distribution (the division of a product or income between those involved in its production);
- exchange (a process in which money or another product is received instead of a product);
- consumption (the stage of use (durables) or destruction (food) of the product).
Production:
- Material production (production of material goods and material services (transport, trade, public utilities and consumer services))
- Non-material production (production of non-material goods and non-material services (education, healthcare, etc.)
The key concepts of production are the concepts of "goods" and "services".
Product- a product of labor produced for sale in the market.
Product features:
- must be intended for exchange (has value - labor embodied in the commodity);
- must satisfy the need of a person (has a use value - utility for the consumer);
- must be able to be exchanged for another commodity (has an exchange value)
Service- the result of the useful activity of enterprises (organizations) and individuals aimed at meeting certain needs of the population and society. The production of tangible and intangible services is called the service sector. 3
Subjects of the economy
The subjects of the economy are:
- households;
- firms;
- state.
Entrepreneurs and households face three fundamental economic questions in their daily economic activities.
What to produce and in what quantity?(What kind of goods and services should be offered to consumers).
For whom to produce?(Who will be able to claim to receive the produced goods and services in their ownership).
How to produce?(Which of the possible ways of manufacturing goods (services) should be applied). 4
Economics as a science
Economy- a set of specific economic disciplines, such as industrial economics, agricultural economics, labor economics, finance and credit, economic statistics and mathematics.
Economics as a science:
- main tasks (search for ways of efficient management of the economy; search for optimal mechanisms for the use of resources in the conditions of their limitedness and limitlessness of needs);
- subject of study (economic relations, connections and interdependencies arising in the process of economic development with the production of goods and services);
- feature (the main emphasis is on functional rather than causal relationships).
Modern economic theory uses two levels of analysis: microeconomic and macroeconomic.
- Microeconomics is the science of consumers, firms, and individual industries. Considers the problems of limited resources, choice, opportunity cost, price, changes in demand and supply of individual goods in individual markets, etc. Main actors: firm and household
- Macroeconomics is the science of the economy as a whole, the economic health of the country and the world. Considers the problems of unemployment and employment, increasing production volumes, economic growth, overcoming inflation, etc. Main subjects: firm, household and state. 5
Functions:
Economics performs a number of functions:
- cognitive function - manifested in the fact that the economy learns, explores, explains the essence and consequences of phenomena occurring in the economic sphere of society;
- methodological function - involves the definition of economic science methods, tools, rules of research work in related sciences. For example, in relation to economic sociology, economic science performs a methodological function in the sense that it develops tools for the research sociologist in this branch of the discipline;
- practical function - is manifested in the introduction of the achievements of economic science into the practice of managing economic relations, production, etc.;
- educational function - manifested in the fact that the economy enables a person to gain knowledge in the most important sphere of society - economic;
- ideological function - is to justify the economy of the meaning of global economic processes, the goals of the development of the state and society.
The list of these functions is not closed - it is possible to add other functions of economics as a science.
Economics is closely connected with other sciences: sociology, cultural studies, political science, history, jurisprudence.
The main function of the economy can be called the systematic creation of goods necessary for human existence, which help society develop. In other words, the economy acts as a tool for satisfying human needs.
The first mention of the term "economy" can be traced back to the writings of Aristotle, who saw the economy as opposed to chrematistics - the science of enrichment, the ability to accumulate property and wealth.
Forms of the economy
- traditional;
- market;
- administrative-command;
- mixed.
The traditional economy was followed during the pre-industrial society. Today, the traditional economy is characteristic only of the agricultural zones of the underdeveloped countries of Africa, South America and Asia.
The market economy is based on the principles of commodity production (free enterprise), that is, in this form of economy, the key factor in the distribution of goods is not the state, but buyers and suppliers (producers) of goods and services.
The administrative-command (planned) economy is characterized by centralized planning of financial activities. This form of economy was inherent in the socialist countries, it existed, in particular, in the USSR, the DPRK and Cuba, but today such an economic system has practically outlived its usefulness. A mixed economy is a combination of private and public or state ownership of the means of production. Such a mixture is typical for advanced countries that preach democratic socialism.
The mixed economic system enables individual entrepreneurs to independently make decisions in financial matters, but the state (society) still has priority in these matters.
The economic sphere is a fundamental sphere in the life of society, since all the processes taking place in this society depend on it.
It is difficult to underestimate the importance of the economy in the life of society throughout the history of mankind. It is the economy that predetermines the material issue of human existence, providing it with everything necessary: food, clothing, housing, etc. The economy is designed to meet the needs of not only a person, but also entire organizations (enterprises), and society as a whole.
Since ancient times, states have faced the task of meeting the needs of their peoples, and in order to solve this problem, it was necessary to develop the economic sphere. To do this, more and more natural resources and territories were involved in economic activity, which helped to maintain economic stability in one way or another.
However, technical and scientific progress did not stand still, and over time, such an economic strategy ceased to be effective, a certain ceiling was reached, limiting the possibilities for further development. Progress in the scientific and technical sphere gave impetus to the intensive development of the economic sphere. New, more progressive approaches to the use of resources have been developed, which has made their consumption much more rational and efficient. The modernization of the economic sphere has taught a person to achieve maximum results, while spending as little as possible of his available resources.
It should be noted that a developed economy has a positive effect on the spiritual component of society. Economic stability gives people the opportunity not only to accumulate, but also to spend money on spiritual benefits: entertainment, development of their cultural values. Otherwise, people lose confidence in the future, start looking for new ways to earn money, which almost always leads to an increase in the level of crime sooner or later.
