Types of international economic relations. International economic relations, their forms. International tourism as a form of international economic relations

The integrity of the world economy is ensured by the fact that there is a system of international economic relations, the main of which are: international trade in goods and services, export of capital, international labor migration, international scientific and technical cooperation, international monetary relations, international economic integration.

The most important and historically the very first element in the system of world economic relations is international trade , which is a set of transactions for the exchange of goods and services between countries.

Among the main reasons causing international trade, one can single out the uneven distribution and provision of various countries with economic resources, the presence in different countries ah different technologies different levels efficiency.

Trade relations between countries are based on principle of comparative advantage . According to this principle, a country specializes in the production of those goods that it can make at a relatively lower cost compared to other countries. Thus, it is beneficial for each state to export abroad a product in the manufacture of which it has a comparative advantage, and to import from abroad a product that is produced in this country relatively less efficiently. It follows that international trade includes two interrelated processes: export , or export, and import , or import. The total value of exports and imports of goods and services forms a foreign trade turnover.

Real benefit (or real losses) that international trade brings reflects the country's balance of payments . Payment balance is the ratio of payments abroad (for imported goods and services) and receipts from abroad (for exported goods and services) for a certain period of time. If receipts exceed payments, then the country's balance of payments is active, if the difference between these payments and receipts is negative, then the balance is passive. The difference between receipts from abroad (the value of exports) and payments abroad (the value of imports) is called balance of payments .

The ratio between exports and imports is regulated by the state through a policy of protectionism and free trade. Protectionism is a policy aimed at protecting the national economy from foreign goods and restricting imports. Protectionist policy has the following directions:

organization of customs taxation, providing for high customs duties when importing finished products and lower - when exporting;

Establishment of non-tariff barriers, which include quoting (setting a certain quota, or share, for export or import individual goods), licensing (obtaining permission to carry out foreign economic activity) and state monopoly (establishment of the exclusive right of state bodies to carry out certain types of foreign economic activity).

free trading, or free trade policy, is the opposite of protectionism. It is based on liberalization, the essence of which is that the state aims to open the domestic market for foreign goods and services in order to increase competition in the domestic market. At the same time, it is assumed that national enterprises will stand up in the competition.

In real life, modern states in their foreign economic policy combine both free trade and protectionism.

International trade is of great importance for the life of the world economy, which is as follows:

· with its help the limited national resource base is overcome;

It expands capacity domestic market and establishes links between the national market and the world market;

Thanks to it, additional income is provided due to the difference between national and international production costs;

It promotes the expansion of the scale of production by attracting foreign resources.

In the international trade activities of the Republic of Belarus, several areas can be distinguished: the development of export opportunities and meeting the needs for imports; attraction of foreign investments and creation of joint ventures in order to introduce new technologies and produce new types of products; creation of additional jobs; mastering the production of products that are competitive in the world market; formation of extended credit relations with foreign governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The Republic of Belarus is implementing foreign trade operations with more than 100 countries of the world and the list of these countries is constantly expanding. The main trading partners of Belarus are Russia and other CIS countries, Germany, Poland, USA, Hungary, Brazil, France. Among the main Belarusian exports are: mineral and nitrogen fertilizers, tractors, gas stoves, refrigerators, televisions, products light industry, fiberglass.

The international economic organization that regulates trade relations between different countries is World trade Organization(WTO) . About 90% of world trade is regulated through the WTO. The purpose of the WTO is to establish fair conditions for competition between manufacturers, reduce the level of import duties, eliminate non-tariff barriers, and expand international exchange.

The second form of international economic relations is export of capital , which is the export of capital by legal entities and individuals for the purpose of its more profitable placement or use.

Among the main reasons causing the movement of capital from one country to another, the following can be distinguished:

Over-accumulation of capital, that is, the formation of its relative excess in a country where it cannot find a highly profitable application;

· the opportunity for owners of capital to use in economically less developed countries relatively cheap compared to domestic factors of production (low wages, low prices for raw materials, water, energy);

· increased demand for capital in the countries where it is exported, which is ensured by the uneven development of the economy of various states. At the same time, in countries that are in need of foreign investment, more favorable conditions are created for this purpose: bank interest and dividends are increased, special benefits and guarantees are provided for the beneficial use of imported capital.

In this way, purpose of the export of capital is to obtain a higher rate of profit in another country due to the advantages associated with its use here in comparison with national economic conditions. There are two forms of export of capital: entrepreneurial and loan.

Entrepreneurial capital exported either to create own production abroad in the form of direct investment, or to invest in local companies in the form of portfolio investment. Direct investments actually provide full control over the objects of foreign investment. Start-ups or off-the-shelf enterprises acquired become subsidiaries of the main firm located in another country, which forms the center of international production association. Portfolio investment consist in the acquisition of shares of foreign enterprises in amounts that do not provide ownership or control over them. Such investments are made when they seek to place their funds in different sectors of the economy or when the legislation of the host country discourages direct investment.

Loan capital exported in the form of loans, or credits, bearing interest on loans.

The consequences of the export of capital for the country that imports capital are ambiguous. On the one hand, it contributes to the development of the economy of the country. On the other hand, foreign capital supports the profitable, one-sided, mainly raw materials, development of the national economy of the country where the capital is imported.

Based on the export of capital and the creation of enterprises in other countries, there is an internationalization and transnationalization of capital, the creation of transnational corporations (TNCs).

TNK is an enterprise that:

1. Has subsidiaries in two or more countries.

2. Has a decision-making system that allows for economic policy from one or more centers.

3. Provides such a connection of subsidiaries that each of them has an impact on the activities of others.

TNCs are significantly changing the structure of all world trade, largely subordinating it to their interests, because they are:

· technical leaders of world production;

· active competitors in the field of access to foreign natural resources;

· the most mobile entrepreneurs in the struggle for new markets, including foreign markets.

In the world economy, there are about 40 thousand TNCs with unlimited economic power. Among them are the following: American corporations EXXON (oil refining), IBM ( computer technology), Boeing (aircraft) and GENERAL MOTORS (automotive), the Anglo-Dutch corporation ROYAL-DUTCH-SHELL (oil refining), the Japanese HITACHI (electronics). TNCs control about 50% of the world industrial production; 90% of the world market for wheat, corn, timber, tobacco; 85% of the copper and bauxite market. They own 80% of all world patents and licenses.

The modern export of capital is characterized by the following features:

1. In the growth of exports of productive capital with direct investment in the latest technologies.

2. In the export of capital, carried out mainly between highly developed countries.

3. In the growing role of developing countries as exporters of capital.

The next form of international economic relations is international labor migration . It represents the movement of the able-bodied population of the country outside its borders.

The main reasons for migration include:

· economic (decrease in demand for labor and growth in its supply, growth in demand for highly qualified specialists in developed countries, interstate differences in wages);

· foreign economic (demographic, political, religious, national, cultural, family, etc.).

There are the following types of international labor migration:

1. Permanent or irrevocable i.e. relocation with a change of residence.

2. Cyclic or periodic , that is, moving to certain period returning to their original place of residence.

3. Pendulum, or shuttle , which is the regular movement of the population to work or study from one country to another and vice versa.

4. Adjustable based on the organized recruitment and regulation of specialists.

5. Unregulated , consisting in the independent movement of the population (family reunification, moving to a former place of residence after the end of the employment contract).

6. Legal carried out in accordance with applicable law.

7. illegal contrary to the current legislation.

8. Migration of low-skilled labor force , consisting in its movement from developing countries to industrialized ones.

9. Migration of highly skilled labor , or "brain drain", carried out as the departure of specialists to industrialized countries. Among its reasons are high wages, Better conditions work and life, social comfort.

A specialized agency of the United Nations, carrying out activities in the world labor market to solve the problems of labor migration, employment, conditions for organizing and remunerating work, vocational training, is International Labor Organization (ILO) .

international scientific and technical cooperation . It represents the participation of legal entities and individuals in the world's scientific developments in order to obtain new knowledge and use it in the economy and technology.

International scientific and technical cooperation takes the following forms:

1. Material, consisting in the exchange of high technology products.

2. Intangible, consisting in the exchange of drawings, descriptions, patents, licenses.

3. Provision of services in the form of exchange of specialists, technical staff, assistance in the field of management and marketing.

4. Commercial exchange of scientific and technical knowledge, which consists in the transfer of technology under licenses, engineering, consulting.

5. Non-commercial exchange of scientific and technical information, consisting in holding international conferences and symposiums.

6. Inter-firm cooperation in the field of research and development, carried out in applied research and associated with the development and creation of prototypes of products.

The most important form of international economic relations are international monetary relations . This is a set of economic relations arising from the functioning of money in international circulation. Through currency relations, payment and settlement operations are carried out in the world economy. International monetary relations are carried out within the framework of international monetary system , which is a set of rules, laws and institutions that govern these relationships.

Its constituent elements are:

1. Main international means of payment (national currencies, gold, EURO).

2. The mechanism for establishing and maintaining exchange rates. Exchange rate is the price of the currency of one country expressed in terms of the currency of other countries. Exchange rates can be fixed or floating. If the state rigidly establishes the exchange rate between its national currency and foreign ones, then such an exchange rate is called fixed . The exchange rate, which changes under the influence of changes in the demand for this currency and its supply, is called floating exchange rate . Under a fixed regime, a depreciation of the exchange rate is called devaluation , and the increase revaluation . In conditions of floating exchange rates, similar processes are called depreciation and appreciation of the currency. The method of direct influence on the exchange rate is foreign exchange interventions - impact on the exchange rate of the national currency through the purchase and sale of foreign currency. So, in order to increase the exchange rate of the national currency, central bank sells foreign currency in exchange for national currency and, conversely, to reduce the exchange rate, buys foreign currency in exchange for national currency.

The state of the exchange rate is influenced by two groups of factors:

· structural factors reflecting the state of the economy of a given country. These include: indicators of economic growth (GDP, industrial output), the state of the balance of payments, growth money supply in the domestic market, the level of inflation and inflation expectations, the solvency of the country and confidence in the national currency in the world market;

· market factors associated with changes in the situation in the sectors of the global financial market: speculative operations in the foreign exchange markets, the degree of development of the securities market competing with the foreign exchange market.

3. Conditions for currency convertibility. Currency convertibility - this is a free exchange of the monetary unit of one country for the currency of other countries and for internationally recognized means of payment in various international settlements. Currency is considered convertible , if it meets three criteria: it is used without restrictions for any international payments, it is exchanged without restrictions for any other currency, this exchange made at a certain official rate. Distinguish between external and internal convertibility. Internal convertibility means that citizens individuals of this country can, without restrictions, buy foreign currency at the current rate, carry out settlements in this currency with foreign partners. With external convertibility free exchange of any currencies for the national currency is valid only for foreign citizens and individuals. From the point of view of the convertibility mode, there are:

· free convertible currency (SLE), which has full external and internal convertibility;

· partially convertible currency , exchanging only for some foreign currencies;

· non-convertible currency , which includes the currencies of countries with strict prohibitions and restrictions on the import, exchange, sale and purchase of national or foreign currency.

4. Forms of international payments.

5. Mode of international currency markets and world gold markets.

6. International Monetary and Credit Organizations regulating currency relations at the interstate level. The most influential of them are: International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The content of their activities lies in the desire to create such a mechanism for coordinating world currency relations, which would combine market opportunities with government regulation. These organizations contribute to the development of international economic relations by establishing norms for regulating exchange rates and monitoring their observance, developing reforms to improve the world monetary system, providing credit resources to member countries of these international organizations, determining trends in the economic development of these countries and developing recommendations for their progressive orientation and development.

An important form of international economic relations is international economic integration , which is a process of economic and political unification of countries, allowing for a coordinated interstate economic policy. Economic integration provides a number of favorable conditions for the interaction of countries: wider access to various resources, the possibility of production based on the entire integrated grouping of countries, the creation of privileged conditions for their enterprises and firms, the harmony of the joint solution of social problems.

Among the forms of economic integration are the following:

· free trade zones , within which customs duties and other trade restrictions between participating countries are abolished;

· Customs Union which, in addition to the free trade zone, implies the establishment of a single foreign trade tariff and the implementation of a single foreign trade policy in relation to the countries that are part of it;

· payment union , which allows to ensure the mutual convertibility of currencies and the functioning of a single unit of account;

· Common Market , providing its participants with a coordinated economic policy, freedom of movement of goods, capital and labor;

· economic union , providing for the coordination of macroeconomic policy and the unification of legislation in key areas - currency, budget, monetary, as well as the creation of interstate bodies with supranational functions;

· free economic zones (FEZ), which are distinguished by the absence of restrictions on the activities of foreign firms, the right to transfer their profits and capital to their country, as well as their infrastructural support.

The greatest development of international integration processes have received in Western Europe. Here, an example of the largest integration regional association can be considered European Union (EU) . The EU has established a free exchange of national currencies and created a European monetary system with its own mechanism for generating settlements and setting exchange rates. A collective currency unit (the euro) was established and became an international means of payment. In this integration association, numerous border and customs barriers separating the states have been overcome. All this has led to a number of positive results, which include direct cost savings due to reduced costs in the removal of trade and production barriers, gains from market consolidation and increased competition. Integration helped Western European capital in a number of economic areas to compete on an equal footing with its main competitors - the United States and Japan.

In North America stands out North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) which includes the United States, Canada and Mexico. Among the 20 regional groupings of Asia and Latin America, one can single out Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) , Association of countries South-East Asia(ASEAN) .

A number of countries of the former USSR (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine) formed in 1992. Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Distinctive feature This integration association is the reintegration of countries that were previously part of a single state, on a new equal basis, corresponding to their current status.

In 1996, an agreement was adopted to establish Customs Union between Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as more advanced in terms of integration Commonwealth of Belarus and Russia , which in 1997 was transformed into Union of Belarus and Russia . In 1999, an agreement was signed to transform this entity into union state , the integration process within which continues to deepen.

The existence of any economy in modern realities is impossible without international cooperation and diverse cooperation between countries. No state today can exist in isolation and remain successful at the same time. The development of international economic relations is a guarantee normal functioning the entire world economy.

What is the global economy and how does it work?

The world economy is a global and complex structured system, which includes the economies of different states of the planet. The impetus for its formation was the territorial (and later global) division human labor. What it is? In simple words: country "A" has all the resources for the production of cars, and in country "B" the climate allows you to grow grapes and fruits. Sooner or later, these two states agree on cooperation and "exchange" of the products of their activities. This is the essence of the geographical division of labor.

The world (planetary) economy is nothing but the union of all national industries and structures. But international economic relations are just a tool for their rapprochement, ensuring their cooperation.

This is how the world economy was born. At the same time, international economic relations were equally aimed at both the division of labor (which resulted in the specialization of different countries in the production of certain products) and the unification of efforts (which resulted in cooperation between states and economies). As a result of the cooperation of industries, large multinational companies arose.

System of international economic relations

Relationships of an economic nature between countries, companies or corporations are usually called international economic relations (abbreviated as IER).

International economic relations, like any other, have their own specific subjects. In this case, these entities are:

• independent states and dependent territories, as well as their separate parts;
• TNCs (transnational corporations);
• international banking institutions;
• individual large companies;
• international organizations and blocs (including financing and controlling ones).

Modern international economic relations have formed key centers (poles) of economic and technological growth on the body of our planet. To date, there are three of them. This is the Western European Pole, North American and East Asian.

The main forms of international economic relations

The main forms of MEO include the following:

• international trade;
• monetary and credit (or financial) relations;
• international industrial cooperation;
• movement (migration) of monetary and labor resources;
• international scientific and technical cooperation;
• international tourism and others.

All these forms of international economic relations are not the same in their role and significance for the world economy. Yes, in modern conditions leadership is held by monetary and credit relations.

International trade and monetary relations

International trade is understood as a system of export-import relations between countries, which are based on monetary payment for goods. It is believed that the world commodity market began to form in the era of the New Age (from the end of the 16th century). Although the term "international trade" itself was used four centuries earlier in the book of the Italian thinker Antonio Margaretti.

Countries participating in international trade derive a number of obvious benefits from this, namely:

• the possibility of growth and development of mass production within a particular national economy;
• the emergence of new jobs for the population;
• healthy competition, which is present in one form or another on the world market, stimulates the processes of modernization of enterprises and industries;
• the proceeds from the export of goods and services can be accumulated and used to further improve production processes.

Monetary and credit international relations are understood as the whole spectrum financial relations between different countries or individual entities. These include various settlement transactions, money transfers, currency exchange operations, the provision of loans, and so on.

The subjects of international financial relations can be:

• countries;
• international financial organizations;
• banks;
• Insurance companies;
• individual businesses or corporations;
• investment groups and funds;
• individual individuals.

Scientific and technical international cooperation

In the second half of the 20th century, scientific and technical cooperation occupies an important place in the IER system. The subjects of such relations can be both entire states and individual companies and corporations.

The consequences of scientific and technical cooperation are very positive for all States that take part in it. Especially when it comes to the developing countries of the world. The growth of industrialization, technical progress, the strengthening of the country's defense capability, the training of highly qualified personnel - this is the goal and result of almost all international relations in the field of science and technology.

International tourism as a form of international economic relations

One of the forms of IER is international tourism - a system of relations aimed at meeting the recreational and tourist needs of people. The subject of these relations are intangible, intangible services.

The era of active development of international tourism began around the 60s of the twentieth century. There were several reasons for this: the growth of the well-being of citizens, the emergence of a large amount of free time, as well as the development of air transport.

To date, the most "tourist" countries in the world, based on the amount of income to the national budget from tourism, are Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand.

Finally...

So if we imagine our world economy in the form of a human body, and all countries - in the form of specific organs that perform their functions, then the nervous system that ensures the interaction of all "organs and systems" will be international economic relations. They are the ones who create the ground for effective cooperation all national economies, corporations, individual companies and international unions.

A synthetic indicator of the degree of participation of a country in world economic relations is the export quota (the share of goods exported from countries in GDP). However, this indicator has disadvantages: an overestimation of the share of exports, since exports are taken into account in full market value, and GDP represents the part of the value of the total product minus the value of inventories; the reliability of the export quota is weakened due to the uneven growth of prices on the domestic and foreign markets. In addition, a certain degree of uncertainty arises in the calculations associated with fluctuations in exchange rates.

Indicators of the country's participation in world economic relations are characterized by the openness of the national economy. The open economy is economic system, focused on maximum participation in world economic relations and in the international division of labor. To characterize the degree of openness (closedness) of the country's national economic system, it is customary in practice to use two groups of indicator indicators: direct and indirect.

The direct (basic) indicators of the openness of the national economy include:

Specific gravity foreign trade(export+import) in gross domestic product(GDP), or foreign trade quota;

Share of exports in national production, or export quota;

Share of imports in national consumption of goods and services, or import quota;

The share of foreign investment in relation to domestic.

In addition, this group of indicators of openness is divided into more specific indicators that characterize various aspects of the openness (closedness) of the national economic system. For example, the threshold (maximum permissible) values ​​of these indicators determine the degree of economic (food, technological, etc.) security.

The second (indirect) group of indicators-indicators of the openness (closedness) of the national economic system are, as a rule, quantitative values ​​of expert assessments of various processes and phenomena occurring in the country's economy. For example, the volume of import/export of foreign currency to/from Russia; the number of free economic zones of various types operating in the country's economy; participation of the country in interstate economic unions, treaties, agreements, etc.

International economic relations, their forms.

International Economic Relations (IER)- economic relations between states, regional groupings, transnational corporations and other subjects of the world economy. They include monetary, financial, trade, production, labor and other relations. The leading form of international economic relations are monetary and financial relations.

In the modern world, globalization and regionalization of international economic relations are especially relevant. Dominant role in establishing a global economic order belongs to transnational capital and international institutions, among which an important role belongs to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As a result of the international division of labor, the world's poles of economic and technological development (North American, Western European and Asia-Pacific) have formed. Among the urgent problems of international economic relations, the problems of creating free economic zones, international transport corridors and the Internet economy stand out.

The most important forms of world economic relations are as follows:

1. International trade in goods and services;

2. International movement of business and loan capital;

3. International labor migration;

4. Creation of joint ventures;

5. Development of international corporations;

6. International scientific and technical cooperation.

International trade is the exchange of goods and services across national borders. Such an exchange is based on the principle of comparative advantage proposed by D. Ricardo. In accordance with this principle, the state should produce and sell to other countries those goods that it is able to produce with the greatest productivity and efficiency, i.e. at a relatively lower cost than other goods in the same country, while buying from other countries those goods that it is not able to produce with similar parameters.

International trade consists of imports and exports.

Import is the acquisition of products in another country.

Export - sale of products to other countries.

The export of capital is the export of funds from one country to another for their profitable placement.

The export of capital is carried out in the form of entrepreneurial (direct and portfolio investment) and loan capital.

Direct investment is capital investment in foreign enterprises providing the investor with control over them. For such control, the investor must have at least 20-25% share capital companies.

"Portfolio" investment means the purchase of securities of foreign companies. Unlike direct investments, such investments do not give the right to control the activities of enterprises and are used mainly for growth. financial resources by receiving interest and dividends on invested capital.

The export of loan capital is the provision to foreign companies, banks, government bodies medium and long-term loans in cash and commodity form with the aim of making a profit due to the favorable rate of loan interest.

International labor migration is the international movement of workers associated with the search for employment in other countries. This process is explained by the possibility of obtaining higher incomes, better prospects for social and professional advancement.

Establishment of joint ventures to combine cash, technology, managerial experience, natural and other resources from different countries and carry out common production and economic activities in the territory of any one or all countries.

The development of international corporations, whose activities are carried out mainly through direct foreign investment from one country to other countries. There are transnational and multinational corporations.

Transnational corporations (TNCs) are a form of international business, with the parent company owned by the capital of one country, and branches located in other countries of the world.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are international corporations both in terms of their activities and capital, i.e. its capital is formed from the funds of several national companies.

The vast majority of modern international corporations take the form of TNCs,

International scientific and technical cooperation is an exchange of research and development results, technical and technological innovations. This cooperation can be carried out through the exchange scientific and technical information, scientists and specialists, conducting research and development of scientific and technical projects, etc.

After studying this chapter, the student will:

know

• the main forms of modern MEO and their features;
• the position and prospects of Russia in the IER system;

be able to

• use the system of knowledge about the forms and directions of development of international economic relations in addressing issues of ensuring economic security countries;
• analyze the state of international economic relations and their elements, determine the positive and negative trends in their development;
• navigate the dominant processes and patterns of development of the IER;

own

The main methods, ways and means of obtaining information in the analysis of specific economic situations.

The main forms of international economic relations

International economic relations (IER) as a complex of economic relations linking the subjects of the world economy and based on the international division of labor have the following main forms.

1. International trade in goods, services, technologies, Represents the paid total turnover of goods, services, technologies between the countries of the world. The main trends include, firstly, the growth in the scale of international trade caused by the activities of transnational corporations.

portions, and secondly, qualitative changes due to the development of scientific, technical and intellectual activity.

• 2. International labor migration. Manifested in the movement of the population of working age in order to obtain work outside the country of residence during a certain time period.
• 3. international movement capital. Associated with the migration of capital between countries, mainly entrepreneurial and loan capital.
• 4. International monetary and financial relations. In international practice, the order of international monetary and financial transactions between the subjects of the IEO has developed. It is defined international agreements and is based on the development of money circulation and the international division of labor.
• 5. International economic integration. There are three groups among the types of integration: bilateral integration associations, multilateral and continental ones.
• 6. The international cooperation in solving global problems. It manifests itself in the joint actions of the entire world community to overcome poverty and backwardness, solve environmental, demographic, food problems, maintain peace and fight terrorism, and promote human development.

Based on the sustainable development of international economic relations, a world market is being formed, which is a system of penetration of the economies of some countries into the national economy of others. The most significant features of the MEO include the following:

• 1) economic relations cover a significant territorial space that goes beyond national borders;
• 2) International economic relations involve additional resources in terms of volume and set of resources in world economic relations;
• 3) there is a movement of resources, factors of production and its results outside individual countries and integration groups on a global scale;
• 4) special mechanisms and instruments (financial, currency, customs, insurance, credit, etc.) operate in the International Economic Relations.

The forms of international economic relations will be considered in more detail in subsequent chapters.

World market and stages of its development

world economy is a set of flows of goods and flows of capital: human, financial, scientific and technical, in the global space. Its formation took place over several millennia, taking into account trade interests between various continents, countries, regions that constantly interacted with each other. By now there has been integrated system international economic relations and international economic mechanisms, which determines the trends in the development of the world economy as an integral economic organism. The processes of division of labor, industrial revolutions, and scientific and technological progress that took place in national economies went beyond their limits in their development and turned into links in a single world reproduction process, which ultimately led to radical changes in productive forces worldwide.

The economic interaction of countries, which began with the exchange of goods and services, is currently a complex of relations that includes not only trade, but also relations in the field of industrial cooperation based on the movement of capital. Mutual interest in constant economic contacts is typical not only for the traditional sphere of production, but also for the spheres of information, R&D (scientific research and development), culture, science, education, and enlightenment.

The economic interaction of national economies is influenced by indirect factors, primarily political ones. Further development mutually beneficial world economic relations, due to the vector of stability prevailing in modern politics, determines the centripetal trends in the development of the world economy. Examples of isolated economies, such as the DPRK, Cuba, countries that are not involved in the global process of the division of labor, the movement of capital for political reasons, even more clearly emphasize the defining features of the modern world economy as a system of national economies of different countries, united by the international division of labor (MRT), trade and industrial, financial, scientific, technical and technological interrelations, including the strengthening of the internationalization of economic life, transnationalization and globalization.

Thus, the decisive role in the world economy of MRI, international commodity exchange, cooperation between countries, cooperation between the national markets of individual countries is clearly traced.

The world market as a set of national markets of individual countries, connected with each other by trade and economic relations, has a fundamental feature - the export of goods. Its content determines the export of factors of production precisely through the export of goods.

The main characteristic features of the world market:

• it represents a category of commodity production that, in search of a market for its products, goes beyond the national framework;
• manifests itself in the movement of goods between countries, while the goods are influenced by both domestic supply and demand, and external;
• indicates to the manufacturer the regions or industries in which at a particular point in time the factors of production can be most effectively used, and optimizes these factors;
• there is a special price system on the world market - world prices;
• the world market controls the quality of goods, identifying goods in international exchange that, at competitive prices, do not meet international standards;
• a commodity that is being exchanged on the world market serves as a source of information for determining the parameters of aggregate supply and aggregate demand, through which any of the participants in the IEO will be able to evaluate and optimize production parameters.

When evaluating the world market and its structure, four main points of the evolutionary development of its forms can be distinguished (Fig. 5.1). Firstly, it is the internal market, which is a form of economic turnover within the national economy. Secondly, the national market, which is the domestic market, but some of it is oriented to foreign buyers and sellers. The third form is the international market. This is the part of the national markets that is directly related to foreign markets. The largest form is the world market.

Rice. 5.1.

The rapid development of automation, electronics, telecommunications, biotechnology leads to the dynamic development of the structure of the world market. As a result, some parts of the structure of the world market are disintegrating, forming new directions. So, at the beginning of the XX century. in fact, a modern four-level structure of the world market was laid. By that time, the world market was two-tiered. The third level appeared towards the end of the 20th century. In the second half of the XX century. the top level of the world market, which had previously been solid, was divided into three tiers. This was the result of a new stage scientific and technological revolution. Thus, in connection with the development of nanotechnologies and the emergence of new areas of the world economy, and hence the world market, the structure of the world market in the future will undergo further changes and acquire new outlines.

Consider how the global market has evolved. The emergence of the beginnings of the world market occurred in ancient society. Commodity production, commodity circulation within individual countries was poorly developed. A small part of the production was sent to the foreign market. Level of trade between countries ancient world and the Greek cities of the Mediterranean was negligible.

In the Middle Ages, crafts developed in Europe, but commodity production did not become widespread due to the predominance of subsistence farming. The main condition for the formation of the market in those days was that surpluses of products entered into the exchange of goods. Agriculture and small handicraft enterprises, while there was no division of labor and industrial cooperation. In addition, a characteristic feature international market was that the commodity exchange covered small areas due to the political disunity of the territories. Satisfaction of social needs occurred at the expense of domestic production. Trade relations between countries were irregular, and there was no national market at all.

The further development of commodity production led to the fact that even before the era of great geographical discoveries, the world market was transformed into an intercontinental one. By this time, medieval China traded with India and even with South Africa, and Venice traded not only with European countries, but also with Egypt and the Middle East.

The main features of the capitalist world market that appeared later were the separation of industry from agriculture and the emergence of capitalist enterprise, which led to the division of production into special branches, the predominance of commodity production in the economic sector and the expansion of the sphere of exchange.

In its development, the world capitalist market passed through three stages.

The first stage is preparation for the capitalist mode of production. At this stage, goods were produced mainly by small commodity producers and only partially by capitalist manufactories.

The second stage is the predominance of machine production. It covers the period from the industrial revolution in England at the end of the 18th century. until the end of the 70s. 19th century The development of industry, which led to the predominance of large-scale machine production, gave fairly developed features to world capitalist trade. The driving force behind the development of the world market at this stage was the British Empire with its colonies, which reigned supreme in the world economy.

In the 60s and 70s. 19th century the main features of the world market was the final establishment of the key role industrial capital. New capitalist powers moved to leadership positions: the USA, Germany.

The third stage is the formation of corporate capitalism. From the 80s of the XIX century. there is a transition from free competition capitalism to corporate, monopoly capitalism. At this stage, the formation of a total world market is being completed. The degree of its development characterizes the level of division of labor.

What are the main features of the modern world market? Firstly, economic relations between countries are motivated to maximize profits, the organization of production in some countries and in the world market as a whole takes place in conditions of fierce competition. The world market is actually divided by transnational corporations, the emergence of which was objectively due to the need for a global division of labor. In addition, an important feature is the deepening of old and the emergence of new international forms of regulation of the world market.

At the present stage, periods of intensive development of the world market coincide with periods of economic recovery. Contribute to the development of the world market the following factors:

• strengthening of competition and the priority of technical perfection of products over the level of prices for them;
• improving the quality of products, meeting the requirements of international regulators for commercial products for energy saving and protection measures environment;
• improvement of the marketing system, the emergence of new forms of sale of goods.

Despite the fact that the world market is based on national markets, it nevertheless has its own distinctive features.

The first difference is due to the fact that there are goods that circulate only within a certain country and do not enter the world market. The second difference is that the national market is influenced by industrial relations between the enterprises of a given country, and the world market is influenced by foreign economic relations, as well as foreign policy states. Thirdly, the movement of goods between countries faces various restrictions and barriers.

The concept of international economic relations

Definition 1

International economic relations (IER) - the relationship between various agents of the world economy. Under the agents of the world economy are understood states and government organizations, interstate associations, companies and individuals, as well as various non-profit and public organizations.

The concept of international economic relations includes monetary, financial, trade, production relations and others. The most common form of international economic relations are monetary and financial, as they are characteristic of all participants in the world economic system.

The key characteristic of modern international economic relations is the process of globalization. It is this process that owes its origin to the various international organizations that control various aspects of the IER.

International economic relations are characterized by a number of problems, the solution of which is jointly carried out jointly by the forces of different states and supranational associations. Among these problems:

• Creation and regulation of free economic zones;
• Organization of international transport corridors;
• Internet economy.

International relations also make it possible to solve many social, environmental and other problems that are significant for the entire world community and have an indirect impact on the economic situation in the world.

MEO forms

International economic relations are based on the principle of international division of labor (specialization).

Definition 2

The international division of labor is the specialization of each country in those products in the production of which it has a relative advantage (cheaper factors of production or better conditions compared to other countries).

Depending on the development and depth of the international division of labor, various forms international economic relations:

• International trade is historically the most important and original type of international economic relations. world trade includes the sale of finished products, machinery and equipment, raw materials and services. The structure of world trade is constantly changing. Currently, there is a tendency to increase the share of manufacturing products. A significant characteristic of world trade is the unevenness of its geographical distribution;
• International movement of capital and international lending - export and import of capital within different countries. The key exporters of capital in the world are the United States of America, Japan, Great Britain, Germany;
• International scientific and technological development - the exchange of scientific and technical knowledge, the implementation of joint scientific developments and projects;
• International cooperation - the creation of joint ventures or the implementation of projects, mutually beneficial cooperation between organizations of different countries to achieve common goals;
• International currency relations, etc.

Current trends in the development of international economic relations

The development of international economic relations in modern conditions can be characterized by three key trends:

• International economic integration;
• Globalization;
• Transnationalization.

Definition 3

International economic integration is the convergence of national economies and the unification of the processes taking place in them on a global scale.

International economic integration is the interaction of the economies of different countries at various levels and in various forms through the development of mutually beneficial ties. With the help of international economic integration, it is possible to ensure a joint solution of world economic tasks. International economic integration most often takes the form of agreements between different states, the regulation of which is carried out by interstate institutions.

Definition 4

Globalization of international relations is the strengthening of interdependence and mutual influence of various spheres of activity in the field of economic relations, including various spheres of public life.

The manifestation of globalization at the microeconomic level is expressed in the transnationalization of companies, the expansion of their activities outside the domestic market. It is transnational corporations that are the basis of globalization and its driving force. Modern trends in the development of international economic relations indicate an increase in their importance in the modern world. MEOs influence many processes modern world, covering the actions of all existing economic agents.