The concept of the world economy. The concept of the international geographical division of labor
1. World economy: essence and main stages of formation. International geographical division of labor and its examples.
2. General economic and geographical characteristics of one of the countries of Latin America (at the student's choice).
3. Comparative characteristics of the provision of certain regions and countries with water resources.
1. World economy: essence and main stages of formation. International geographical division of labor and its examples.
The world economy (MH) is a system of interconnected national economies, which is based on the international geographical division of labor, various economic and political relations.
The formation of the MX practically covers the entire history of mankind.
The process of its creation began at the manufacturing stage of the development of capitalism (16th - 18th centuries). As a result of the Great Geographical Discoveries, international trade covered the regions of not only the Old, but also the New World, the exchange of products between which led to the formation of a world market.
The further expansion of this market was facilitated by the development of transport. Sea transport connected all continents with each other. The length of the railways has increased.
In the XVIII - XIX centuries. the industrial revolution took place, a large machine industry was formed in a number of Western European countries and the USA.
The final formation of the MX can be attributed to the period - from the end of the XIX century. to the beginning of the XX century.
Currently, the world is dominated by 3 main centers of MX: Europe (28% of GDP - gross domestic product), USA (26% of GDP), Japan (10% of GDP).
For your information: GDP is the total value of the goods and services created in the country consumed by the population, government procurement and investment.
The international geographical division of labor (MGRT) is expressed in the specialization of individual countries in the production of certain types of goods and services and in the subsequent exchange of them.
The result of the international geographical division of labor is the branch of international specialization for a given country.
For your information: an industry of international specialization is an industry that is more focused on the export of products and, first of all, determines the “face” of the state in the MGRT.
In order for such a specialization to arise, certain conditions must be met:
1) a country participating in the MGRT should have some advantages (for example, a wealth of natural resources), at least over a part of the states, in the production of relevant products;
2) there must be countries that have a need for these products;
3) the cost of delivering products to the place of sale should be beneficial to the country of origin;
4) the state should produce more of this product than it needs itself.
Examples of industries with international specialization:
· Japan - exports of cars, ships, radio electronics and robotics products.
· Bulgaria - production of agricultural products and materials handling equipment.
· Canada - production of grain, timber products.
· Zambia - exports of copper ore and refined copper, etc.
The degree of involvement of any state in the MGRT depends primarily on the level of development of its productive forces. Therefore industrially the developed countries occupy leading positions in the production of "refined", expensive products - machinery and equipment, durable goods, etc.
As for developing countries, the main sectors of their international specialization are associated with the export of natural resources and agricultural products.
2. General economic and geographical characteristics of one of the countries of Latin America (at the student's choice).
Take, for example, Brazil, the largest state in Latin America with the greatest economic potential and the most developed industry in the region.
The area of the state is 8,512 thousand square kilometers.
The capital is Brasilia.
Economic and geographical characteristics of Brazil:
1) economic and geographical location: the country is located in the eastern and central parts of Latin America.
Borders with the states: Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Guiana (their level economic development much lower than Brazil, excluding Argentina).
The state has an extensive maritime border in the east, and is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, which is the most important transport route and connects Brazil with Europe, Africa and North America.
2) natural conditions and resources:
· Relief: plains prevail (Amazonian lowland, Brazilian plateau);
Mineral resources: iron, manganese, uranium, polymetallic ores, bauxite, tin, diamonds, etc. The reserves are rich, but there are difficulties with production, because some of them are located in remote and sparsely populated areas.
· Soils: red and red-yellow ferralite, brown-red ferrallitized, some of them are swampy;
· Land resources: part of the land is occupied by pastures and cultivated land, a significant part is under tropical and subtropical forests, the soils are quite fertile.
· Climate: the country is located in several climatic zones - equatorial, subequatorial and tropical; summer temperature - from +24 to +16 degrees Celsius, winter temperature +24 degrees; precipitation - from 1000 to 3000 mm and more;
· Agroclimatic resources: favorable for growing thermophilic perennial and annual crops with the longest growing seasons (sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, rubber plants, cotton, etc.).
· Waters: the rivers Amazon, Madeira, Rio Negro, San Francisco, etc., many swamps;
· Water resources: very rich, the provision of full river flow resources per capita is from 25 to 50 thousand cubic meters per year.
· Forests: 2/3 of the country's territory is occupied by humid equatorial and variable-humid forests;
· Forest resources: very rich, provision of forest resources per capita - 2.7 hectares.
3) population:
a) the number - 154 million people, is in the top five countries in the world by the number of inhabitants;
b) population density - the highest in the east and southeast of the country (on the coast) from 10 to 200 people / sq. km, fewer inhabitants in the center and in the west from 10 to 1 person / sq. km;
c) type of reproduction - I; birth rate - 26, mortality - 7, natural increase - 19 people per 1000 inhabitants;
d) a significant proportion of children and people of working age;
e) there are more women than men;
f) the ethnic composition of the population is very variegated; it was formed under the influence of 3 factors: local Indian tribes, European settlers from Spain and Portugal, and Africans brought here by the colonialists. Most of the inhabitants are mestizos;
g) religions - Catholicism, local traditional beliefs;
g) the level of urbanization - from 60 to 80%; the largest cities and at the same time agglomerations - Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro.
h) labor resources: there is an excess of them, this exacerbates the problem of employment; the skill level is still not high enough, although it is gradually increasing.
4) the country's economy:
Brazil is one of the key countries in the developing world in terms of economic development.
In terms of GDP, it ranks first not only in Latin America, but also among all other developing countries, and in terms of industrial production, Brazil is one of the ten largest countries in the world.
a) industry:
· Mining (extraction of the above-mentioned mineral resources);
Mechanical engineering:
More than 1 million cars are produced annually;
Mini- and microcomputers, the production of which is second only to the USA, Japan and Germany;
Airplanes, ships, military equipment etc.
· Chemical and petrochemical (fertilizers, chemical fiber, synthetic resins, plastics and rubber);
· Ferrous metallurgy (steel smelting per capita up to 500 kg) is provided with its own raw materials;
· Energy (rich water resources contribute to the development of hydroelectric power plants);
Light industry (production of cotton fabrics)
b) agriculture: it is characterized by large land holdings (including foreign ones);
· Crop production (dominant industry): specializes in the cultivation of tropical crops for the external market (coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, sisal, soybeans, oranges, bananas, pineapples, etc.);
· Animal husbandry (developed to a lesser extent, mainly in the southeast): they contain cattle and sheep.
c) transport: it is a kind of brake in the economic development of Brazil.
Many territories are practically devoid of modern roads.
The main type of land transport is road transport (the Pan-American Highway and the Trans-American Highway are of prime importance).
The decisive role in external economic relations is played by sea transport.
5) external economic relations:
Brazil is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The commodity structure of exports is largely of a food and raw material nature, but there is also a noticeable increase in the share of manufacturing products.
3. Comparative characteristics of the provision of certain regions and countries with water resources.
Water is the basis of life. It is an indispensable component of all technological processes on the farm.
Easily accessible water supplies are unevenly distributed across the planet.
Using the map "Water resources of the world", we will characterize these reserves.
The most provided with water resources per capita of the country:
a) well-off: Russia (25 - 100 thousand cubic meters per year), Canada (50 - 100 and more), New Zealand(50 - 100 and more), Congo (over 100), Norway (50 - 100), Brazil (up to 100 thousand cubic meters per year);
b) poor: Egypt (less than 0.5), Saudi Arabia (0.5 - 2.5), Algeria (0.5 - 2.5), Pakistan (0.5 - 2.5), China (2.5 - 5 thousand cubic meters per year), etc.
Ticket number 21
THE CONCEPT OF WORLD ECONOMY
The formation of the world (world) economy actually covers the entire history of mankind.
As a result of the Great Geographical Discoveries, international trade, following Europe and Asia, spread to other regions of the world. The exchange of products between them led to the formation of a world market.
The further expansion of this market was facilitated by the development of transport. Sea transport connected all continents with each other. In the second half of the XIX century. the length grew rapidly railways that connected the inner parts of the continents and, in the figurative expression of Heinrich Heine, "killed space."
But the main role in the formation of the world economy belonged to a large machine industry, which arose at the end of the XVIII-XIX centuries. in several countries Western Europe and the United States after the industrial revolutions that took place in them. Consequently, the world economy was formed at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. as a result of the development of a large machine industry, transport and the world market.
World economy- This is a historically formed set of national economies of all countries of the world, interconnected by world economic relations.
International Geographic Division of Labor (MGRT). N.N. Baransky, who deeply and comprehensively developed the concept of the geographical division of labor, called it the basic concept of economic geography.
Geographic (territorial) division of labor is an inevitable result of the development of human society, associated with the growth of commodity production and exchange. Its inevitability stems from the fact that there are always differences between individual territories: firstly, in geographic location, secondly, in natural conditions and resources, thirdly, in socio-economic conditions - the level of development, structure of the economy, labor resources , historical traditions, etc. Such differences lead to the fact that many types of industrial and agricultural production are, as it were, attached to certain territories.
This applies to individual economic regions, as well as to entire countries that are linked by an international geographic division of labor. It originated in antiquity, but with the emergence of the world economy, it embraced the whole world.
The international geographical division of labor is expressed in the specialization of individual countries in the production of certain types of goods and services and in the subsequent exchange of them.
The international geographical division of labor changes over time.
The branch of international specialization is the result of the geographical division of labor. The specialization of individual countries in the production of certain types of products and services involves their production in amounts significantly exceeding the own needs of the producing country. It finds concrete expression in the formation of industries of international specialization, that is, industries that are largely export-oriented and primarily determine the "face" of the country in the international geographical division of labor.
Japan ranks first or second in the world in car production. It exports about half of all produced cars to other countries. The automotive industry is a branch of its international specialization.
Canada ranks seventh in the world in the collection and second in the export of grain. Grain farming is a branch of its international specialization.
In turn, international specialization necessitates the international exchange of goods and services. This exchange finds expression in the development of international economic ties, in the growth of the number and capacity of freight traffic, and between the place of production and the place of consumption, a larger or smaller territorial gap is always formed.
International economic integration: regional and sectoral groupings. Having covered all countries of the world, the world economy and the international geographical division of labor in recent decades have been growing not so much in breadth as in depth. They become more complex and take on new forms. The deepening of international specialization and exchange has led to a particularly close "fusion" of the national economies of a number of countries. This is how a new, higher stage of the international geographical division of labor arose - international economic integration. It is an objective process of development of particularly deep and stable relationships between individual groups of countries, based on the pursuit of a coordinated interstate policy.
In the second half of the XX century. regional economic integration has become a predominant trend in the development of the world economy, which increasingly consists of integrated economic groupings. Five of these groupings are among the most important.
In Europe, it is the European Union (EU), which includes 15 countries with a total population of 370 million people. Founded back in 1957 as the "Common Market", this integration association has gradually grown both in breadth and depth. In the late 90s. EU countries produce 1/4 of world GDP and provide 1/3 of world trade. Thanks to integration, they formed a single economic space with free movement of goods, capital, services, technologies, and labor. On January 1, 1999, the EU introduced a single currency - the euro.
Another 13 European countries have expressed their desire to join the European Union. Of these, in 2003 Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus are to be adopted.
In the Asia-Pacific region, this is, first of all, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consisting of ten countries of this region with a total population of more than 400 million people. It is also the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization, which includes 21 countries, including Russia.
In North America, it is the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), which includes the United States, Canada and Mexico with a population of 400 million people, providing more than 1/4 of the world's GDP. Unlike the EU, this association does not have any supranational bodies and it is, first of all, a "common market".
Finally, in Latin America, it is the Latin American Integration Association (LAI), which unites 11 countries of the region and sets as its main task the creation of a "common market" of member countries.
In addition to regional ones, there are many sectoral economic groupings in the world economy. The most important of these is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which unites 11 countries.
Problems and tests on the topic "The concept of the world economy"
- World Ocean - general characteristics nature of the earth grade 7
Lessons: 5 Assignments: 9 Tests: 1
- The relief of the bottom of the oceans - Lithosphere - stone shell of the Earth grade 5
Lessons: 5 Assignments: 8 Tests: 1
- Economic activity of the world's population - Earth population grade 7
Lessons: 3 Assignments: 8 Tests: 1
- Egypt - Africa grade 7
Basic concepts: world economy (MH), international economic relations (MEO); branch of international specialization, international division of labor (MRT), international trade, trade balance, export, import; scientific and technological revolution (STD), characteristic features and components of scientific and technological revolution, research and development (R&D); trade and economic blocs (GATT - WTO), international production specialization (SME), international production cooperation (IPC), transnational corporations (TNC); open economy, free economic zones (FEZ); geographic "model" of the world economy, "North and South", "center" and "periphery", integration; sectoral structure of the economy, science intensity, new, old and newest industries, the "vanguard" troika, agrarian, industrial and post-industrial structure of the economy; territorial structure of the economy; old industrial and depressed areas, areas of new development, regional policy of developed and developing countries, "growth poles", "lines of penetration."Skills: be able to give characteristics of scientific and technological revolution, MX, MEO, MGRT, accompanying them with clear definitions; give a comparative description of the branches of international specialization, sectoral and territorial structures of the economy of developed and developing countries, explain the differences, determine trends using statistical, graphic and cartographic material.
Geographic division of labor and economic integration
The system of the international division of labor. Integration processes in the modern world
The international geographical division of labor (MRI) is the specialization of individual countries in the production of certain types of goods and services and the subsequent exchange of them.
The basis of MRI is the competition between countries, which leads to the production of goods and services within the country in excess of domestic needs, relying on the international market. The following factors affect MRI:
- natural and climatic;
- natural and geographical;
- differences in the scale of production of national economies;
- the possibility of in-country division of labor.
The degree of development of MRI is determined by the participation of the country and its subsystems in international exchange. Indicators of participation in MRI are:
- the share of exports in GDP;
- the ratio of the volume of foreign trade to GDP;
- the share of the country in international trade;
- foreign trade turnover per capita.
Participation in MRI is a prerequisite for international cooperation in production. The process of cooperation led to the internationalization of industrial relations and the globalization of production, which was the reason for the emergence of integration groupings.
International economic integration is an objective process of the development of deep and stable relationships between individual groups of countries, based on their pursuit of a coordinated interstate policy.
The largest integration association is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which includes the United States, China, Russia, New Zealand, etc. The total area of these countries is 43.7 million km2. The population is over 2.2 billion people. GDP is over 12 trillion. dollars. The share in world trade is 40%, in gold and foreign exchange reserves - 80%. The disadvantage of APEC is that its structure includes countries that differ in the level of socio-economic development and with diametrically opposed political orientations. APEC's tasks include:
- exchange of information on politics and economic development in order to achieve economic growth;
- development of strategies to ensure the reduction of the path of movement of goods and services;
- cooperation in the field of energy, fishing, tourism, transport, telecommunications and security environment;
- promoting the development of regional trade, financial flows, technology transfer and labor supply.
The next major integration association is the North American Free Trade Area, which includes the United States, Canada and Mexico. The combined GDP of these countries is 8 trillion. dollars, the territory occupies about 21 million km2, the population is 400 million people.
The largest integration association in Western Europe is the European Union (EU), which unites 15 countries. The territory of this association is 2.3 million km2, the population is 380 million people, the GDP is 7 trillion. dollars. The objectives of the EU are:
- the formation of a close union of the peoples of Europe;
- promoting balanced socio-economic progress;
- approval of the EU in the international arena;
- development of cooperation in the field of justice and internal affairs;
- preservation and enhancement of the common property.
The OPEC organization unites 12 oil exporting countries. The main goals of OPEC are:
- unification of oil policy;
- determination of effective means of protecting the interests of the participating countries;
- the use of methods to ensure the stability of the participating countries in the world oil market;
- ensuring stable income;
- efficient, regular and cost-effective oil supply to consumer countries;
- implementation of programs to stabilize the world oil market.
V last years a new integration association was formed - the CIS - which unites 12 countries that were previously part of the USSR. The territory of this association covers an area of 22.1 million km2, the population is 284 million people, the GDP is 1 trillion. dollars. The goals of this association include:
– phased creation common economic space;
- formation of conditions for stable development;
- joint implementation of large economic projects;
- solving environmental problems and eliminating the consequences of natural disasters;
- creation of equal effective opportunities and guarantees for all economic entities.
Major integration groupings of developing countries include:
- Caribbean Community;
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations;
- Central American Common Market;
- Latin American Integration Association;
- YUDEAK (Central Africa);
- ECOWAS ( West africa);
- SADC (South Africa);
- COMESA (states of Eastern and South Africa).
The economic division of labor, according to Adam Smith, the famous author of "Research on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" (1776), is the main factor in the growth of productivity, a universal form of economic cooperation of people in the interests of financial prosperity.
The division of labor arose in ancient times. Historically, its first forms that before today found among tribes living in the humid equatorial forests of the Amazon, the Congo basin, Indochina, were: age and sex - between men and women and between members of the tribe of different ages, as well as between communities engaged in various types of economic activities due to differences in natural conditions. Remnants of the frozen division of labor still exist in some parts of India, where the caste system based on Hinduism preserves the economic life of society, and rather contributes not to an increase in labor productivity, but to the preservation of backwardness.
In a modern economy, the division of labor is directly related to specialization, i.e. concentration of production of homogeneous products in independent industries with a special technological process, special equipment and personnel, and the subsequent exchange of products between them.
Economic and geographical division of labor: history of origin and types. Interdistrict and international territorial division of labor
The territorial, or geographical, division of labor arose in antiquity and is associated with the specialization of territories in the production of types of products, the production of which is most profitable under given natural conditions and the level of socio-economic development.
Historically, the first is interdistrict territorial division of labor arose when people began to engage in cattle breeding and agriculture. The exchange of products between them gave impetus to the formation of an interconnected and interdependent economic space, state institutions with the aim of protecting it.
International division of labor arose as a result of a long process of specialization in the production of the most profitable products in countries where production costs are minimal in comparison with international ones.
Since the 70s. XX century prices for most types of products are regulated by decisions of international organizations that unite producer countries, which conclude agreements on quality, production quotas and prices. Thus, a price is established that allows all parties to the agreement to receive stable incomes that cover production costs without a quantitative increase in its volumes, which can lead to an excess of supply over demand and a fall in prices in the world market. Such organizations exist for almost all raw materials - for oil (OPEC, OAPEC), coffee, jute.
Features of the specialization of countries in the production of certain types of goods affect the nature and level of their socio-economic development.
Narrow specialization in the production and export of one or two types of goods, with production costs less than the world average, on the one hand, it is the most optimal and profitable, and on the other hand, it makes the entire economy dependent on fluctuations in conjuncture and prices in the world market for these goods, on weather conditions and natural disasters. For example, freezes in Brazil in the early 1980s. led to the death of coffee plantations and a sharp drop in the production of coffee - the main export commodity and source of foreign exchange earnings, and as a consequence - to the crisis in the economy.
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Mono-commodity specialization of the economy exclusively in the extractive industry typical for countries with low level socio-economic development, is very profitable, despite the global trend of lower prices for raw materials and higher prices for finished products. These exports generate incomes that are much higher than the costs of production, since the free benefits of nature are actually sold. Specialization in the extractive industries contributes to the conservation of the low educational level of the population, since the requirements for the qualifications of workers are low. Extractive industry enclaves, which tend to be foreign-market oriented, are weakly linked to the local economy. As a result, the results of trading on commodity exchanges in Europe or America can have a direct impact on life in the mining enclave of the African hinterland.
World trade is the basis of the international division of labor. The main trade routes of antiquity and modernity. Countries are leaders in world trade. Features of specialization in the world economy of the regions of the world.
Until the middle of the 16th century, when the Great Geographical Discoveries did not expand the space of economic and political interests of European powers, a limited number of countries participated in world trade. The main reasons for this are the lack of reliable information of peoples about each other, political instability, frequent wars and poor development of vehicles.
International trade consisted in the transportation of expensive and rare goods - silk, gold and jewelry, spices. The main international trade routes were the Great Silk Road, linking Europe and Asia; the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks" - trade between Northern and Southern Europe. The final points of the trans-Saharan trade controlled by Arab merchants were richest cities on the coast of modern Morocco - Ceuta and Melilla, from where gold was transported to Europe.
In the XVI-XVII centuries. the trade of European states with the East was the basis for the initial accumulation of capital for the nascent industry, which, while developing, required new sales markets and cheap sources of raw materials. From the beginning of the 18th century, when the improvement of vehicles and geographical discoveries ensured the economic penetration of Europeans into the New World, world trade began to acquire a global character. Not only its geography has changed dramatically, but also commodity structure began to trade in large cargoes - raw materials, agricultural products.
For the XVIII century. the volume of world trade increased 5 times, and in the 19th century. - almost 10 times. By the end of the XIX century. England, the "workshop of the world" and "mistress of the seas", which was the leader in world trade, had serious competitors - Germany, France, and the USA. Colonies - India, Brazil, Argentina, China - began to play a significant role in world trade. By the beginning of the XX century. Europe accounted for 50% of world trade, North America for 20%, and the rest of the world for 15%.
During the 20th century, the typical features of participation in the international division of labor and world trade of countries of various socio-economic types were established. On the one hand, they are predetermined by the specialization of countries in the production of certain types of goods, and on the other hand, they themselves affect the nature of socio-economic development.
Modern world trade (for most countries this is the main form of foreign economic relations) is concentrated in the hands of a narrow number of countries; Thus, 10 leading countries account for 3/4 of the total trade turnover (USA, Germany, Japan, France, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, CIS, Netherlands, Belgium.
In the 80-90s. The USA significantly surpassed all countries of the world in terms of foreign trade turnover (the share in world exports on average is 13%, in imports - 11%) and capital export. The second place was taken by the Federal Republic of Germany. By the beginning of the 90s. Japan has come to the third place in the world in terms of foreign trade, having doubled its share in the export of all countries of the world.
New industrial countries have brought about significant changes in the balance of economic forces in the world. Over the past decade, the volume of foreign trade of Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan, as well as China, has increased by an average of three times. Hong Kong has become one of the first places in the world for the export of clothing and fabrics. It is expected that by the mid-90s. China will enter the top ten trading powers (in 1980 - 20th in the list of leaders), and its share in world trade will increase to 2.5%.
In an interconnected and interdependent world, the geography of foreign trade is highly dependent on political orientation. Trade sanctions and economic blockade of states that violate international law have become effective weapons in the modern world (for example, bans on trade with South Africa, Iraq, Serbia).
The geography of foreign trade of the countries of Eastern Europe changed significantly after the Second World War, which was a consequence of the reorientation of their foreign policy towards the USSR. Structural restructuring of the economy that took place in the 50-80s. within the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), led to a change in the structure, location and specialization of all industries.
The transition to market relations in the 90s. and the political orientation towards relations with the countries of Western Europe caused changes both in the structure of production and in the geography of foreign trade.
Statistical indicators for the analysis of foreign trade
The most important indicators used in the analysis of the geography of foreign trade include the following:
1) Volumes of exports, imports, foreign trade turnover (the sum of the value of exports and imports.
2) The volume of exports, imports, foreign trade turnover per capita, 1 sq. km of national territory.
3) Indices of exports, imports, foreign trade turnover, calculated as the ratio of the volumes of the previous year to the present.
4) The share of exports, imports, foreign trade turnover in the corresponding world indicators.
5) Foreign trade balance - the difference between exports and imports.
6) Structure of imports (exports) - the ratio of the value of commodity groups in the total value of imports (exports).
7) The share of imports in consumption shows the dependence of the national economy on international trade.
K1 - coefficient of specialization
Тс - the country's share in world exports of this product
Тм - the country's share in world exports
K2 - coefficient of specialization
Дс - the share of this product in the country's export
Dm - the share of goods in world exports
Foreign trade of developed and developing countries (geographic and commodity structure of exports (imports)
Specialization in the international division of labor in the production and export of manufactured products, typical for economically developed countries, requires significant investment in the economy and the availability of a highly qualified labor force. For example, such small countries as Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, which do not have their own significant natural resources, are among the countries that are leaders in world trade. They import raw materials and semi-finished products, export finished products, providing high profits to the economy and incomes to the population.
The structure of exports and imports of economically developed countries is dominated by manufacturing products, primarily machinery and equipment. In imports, a significant share of raw materials and fuel. Such a structure of foreign trade is explained by its geography (economically developed countries trade primarily with each other), as well as by the developed detailed specialization of their industries.
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN WORLD TRADE. The structure and geography of foreign trade of developing countries was laid down in the colonial period. Economic and political ties with the former metropolises, the same type of structure of the economy (the main export items are fuel and raw materials, tropical crops that are not in demand on domestic markets) hindered the development of interregional trade.
The global trend of falling prices for raw materials (the main export item of developing countries) and rising prices for manufacturing products (the main export item of industrialized countries) puts the former in conditions of unequal exchange: they must sell more and more in order to buy the necessary for modernization of the economy cars and equipment.
The share of developing countries in world trade has been steadily declining in recent decades, mainly due to the decline in the share of exports. Its structure is dominated by the products of the extractive industry and tropical agriculture, and in a number of countries the share of the main export item is more than 90% (for example, in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, oil and oil products are the main and only item of foreign exchange earnings).
The structure of imports is dominated by the machinery and equipment necessary for the development of the economy, as well as food. Regions deprived of energy resources, East Africa, Central Asia, are forced to purchase them in ever-increasing volumes.
The food problem, which has exacerbated in recent decades, has led to a sharp increase.
International geographical division of labor - the division of labor between countries, the specialization of their production on certain types of products that they exchange. In order for such a specialization to arise, certain conditions are also necessary. Firstly, a country that participates in the international division of labor should have some advantages (for example, a wealth of natural resources), ahead of at least some countries in the production of a certain type of product, and secondly, should there be countries requiring such? - products, thirdly, the cost of delivery of products to the point of sale should be beneficial to the virobnikov country.
The economic accounting of many countries is determined by their international specialization. Japan is, say, the largest exporter of automobiles, electronics and robots.
The degree of involvement of any state in the international division of labor depends primarily on the level of development of its productive forces. Therefore, developed countries occupy leading positions in the modern international division of labor, especially in the production of science-intensive ones. As for the countries. Asia ,. Africa and. Latin. America, the increase in their role in the international division of labor is mainly due to the resource provision of economically developed countries, their raw material specialization, which has developed during colonial times, is preserved to this day.
Geographic factors also influence participation in the international division of labor. So,. England, largely due to its dominance on the main sea routes of the last century, realized the fruits of the industrial roar. Revolution, became the birthplace of capitalism. Some types of production are "assigned" to a particular country or region, taking into account the rich resource base. It is oil and gas fields. Middle. East allowed and transform the region's large fuel and energy base Myrita.
But both geographical location and natural resources are only the primary factor in the international division of labor. Socio-economic conditions play a decisive role here
If the international division of labor is based primarily on the specifics of the provision of countries with natural resources, then it is quite logical that the country. Africa also specializes in the production of tropical fruits, while countries do not. North. Europe - by catching northern fish species, which they themselves consume. But much more important is the process of the international division of labor, based on increasing the economic efficiency of the production of a particular product. In this case, the division of labor makes sense only with its consistent cooperation, which is based on a stable exchange of products between countries, produced by them, with the greatest economic efficiency.
The international division of labor is influenced by different level technology development. The international division of technologies, in turn, is a consequence of differences in the development of scientific and technological progress in individual countries, to a great extent determined by differences in the provision of such factors of production as labor and capital, as well as knowledge resources, the amount of scientific and technical information concentrated in scientific institutions literature, data banks, etc. Advanced computer technology provides. The United States takes the lead in the global computer trade, and the Dutch natural flower technology leads the way. The Netherlands to trade them on the world market.
442 Specialization and cooperation in the countries of the world
International cooperation nowadays gains everything greater importance... One of his important forms is an international specialization and production cooperation. At the previous stages, they prevailed in interbranch specialization, which first came out of the presence of favorable natural prerequisites. So, let's say, specialization arose. Poland for the extraction of coal ,. Hungary and. Yugoslavia - with the appearance of bauxite ,. Finland - for the production of timber. Denmark and. The Netherlands - for the production of meat and dairy products. With a deepening. Scientific and technological revolution in the international division of labor has already played an increasing role in the utrigaluse's specialization, based not so much on natural prerequisites as on the results of scientific and technical activities. It has spread across all industries, but is most evident in leading galleries. Scientific and technological revolution, especially in mechanical engineering, in turn, this specialization also appears in various forms.
The simplest of them is subject specialization, in which individual countries usually specialize in the production of various standard sizes of certain types of products. So, tractor construction. The USA specializes primarily in the production of heavy wheeled and tracked tractors. Great Britain - medium power tractors. Germany - low power, and in. Japan - garden tractors.
a complex form - itemized (nodal) specialization, in which even closer ties arise between manufacturing enterprises of different countries. They are expressed in the exchange of component parts and assemblies that do not have independent meaning, but are used as parts of the final product - a car, a tractor, a machine tool ,. COMPUTER. This specialization has reached the highest level within the framework of integrated groups, first of all. The EU, where the enterprises of individual countries are linked by many thousands of production threads. The same can be said about the (technological) specialization that has arisen, which is widely used where it is possible to divide a single technological process at separate stages - for example, in the production of ethylene and other naphthochemistry products.
International specialization and cooperation are embodied in the joint production of products on a bilateral or multilateral basis, when individual countries participate in the production of one or another type of final product, the collection of which from units and assemblies occurs in one of them. So, in the 80s. Germany ,. France,. United Kingdom,. Belgium,. Netherlands,. Italy and. Spain jointly carried out a program to create an aircraft-Air Obus. Each of these countries produces some of the necessary parts and assemblies, and the collection of Airbuses is carried out in a French city. Toulouse
443 Integration of countries of the world
Economic integration of countries - the process of economic interaction between countries, leading to the convergence of economic mechanisms, takes the form of interstate agreements and is coordinatedly regulated by interstate bodies. Vaughn does not contribute to the development of deep, sustainable relationships and division of labor between national economies. Economic integration is a form of internationalism in economic activity, convergence and deepening of interaction between national economies. It is due to the growth of productive forces, an increase in the level of socialization of production and the scientific and technological revolution. Economic integration is manifested in the state forms of unification of countries. The integration process is characterized by:
1) purposeful change in the economic structure of individual countries, coordination of cooperation between states, harmonization of the range of products in the countries of the commonwealth, as well as the joint use of research and development potential based on the international division of labor. As a result, scientific and technological progress is accelerating, raw materials are being used more fully, and the efficiency of the functioning of national economies is increasing;
2) the creation and improvement of international cooperation, which deepens international specialization and cooperation of production;
3) activating the role of internal economic policy in creating conditions for deepening the effectiveness of economic ties with other countries. This is expressed in the transformation of the economies of the united countries, which is governed by the implementation of mutual and international norms of qualities and standards. Integration presupposes not only the use of certain features of the sectoral structure of production in individual countries for the mutual exchange of activities, but also a purposeful restructuring of the structure of national economies, which ensures a significantly higher degree of their interaction and expanding the possibilities of the international division of labor.
Economic unions can be: regional (European Union, NAFTA), special (M agate), commodity production (OPEC), investment (International Monetary Fund, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Of the existing integration unions, it is the most popular in the world. European. Union-regional Western European integration grouping of 15 powers (Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, since 1973 - Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland, since 1981 - Greece, since 1986 -. Spain,. Portugal, since 1994 -. Finland,. Sweden,. Austria). In February 1992, in the Dutch municipality. Maastricht ministers of foreign affairs and finance of the 12 member states. European. The communities have signed an agreement on. European. An alliance that provides for the transformation of a community into an economic, valutny, political union. The treaty entered into force on November 1, 1993 ?? Share of countries. The EU accounts for 1/3 of world trade, 1/3 of the world's gold and foreign exchange reserves.
The value is increasing. North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), established in 1992 by the United States. Canada and. Mexico. NAFTA paves the way for the creation of an integral market space on a continental scale. It brings together 370 million inhabitants, and the production volume reaches 8 trillion US dollars. Full leveling and merging of the three national markets is expected in 15 rockies.
Many all kinds of integration groupings arise in developing countries. An example would be. Association of States. Southeast. Asia (ASEAN) - sub-regional political and economic association in the cc example. Indonesia ,. Malaysia ,. Singapore ,. Thailand ,. Philippines ,. Brunei. The goal is to contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of the member countries.
V. South. America created a trade and economic association -. Amazonian Pact composed. Bolivia ,. Brazil ,. Venezuela ,. Guyana ,. Colombia ,. Peru,. Suriname and. Ecuador. In Africa created. Customs and Economic Union. Central. African composition. Gabon ,. Cameroon ,. Congo and. Central African. Republic. The activities of these and many other integration associations depend on socio-economic progress in developing countries, as well as on the international economic and political situation in tsilomma.
Considering in the previous lecture general concept about the world economy, today we will consider the concept of the international geographical division of labor, which is closely related to it. In topic 1, we already talked about the theory of the international geographical division of labor and about its founders, the main of which, again, was N.N. Baransky. Returning to this issue in more detail, let's characterize in more detail the views of this particular scientist.
First, N.N. Baransky gave a definition of the essence of the geographical (territorial) division of labor as a spatial form of the social division of labor. Secondly, he subdivided it into interdistrict and international. Third, he expanded the understanding of the two main factors underlying the geographical division of labor - natural and socio-economic. Fourth, he specifically traced the historical process of the development of the international geographical division of labor. Fifth, he identified the main consequences of the geographical division of labor, which are, on the one hand, in an increase in labor productivity, and on the other, in the formation and specialization of economic regions. Sixth, he very clearly characterized the meaning of this concept, calling it the basic concept of economic geography.
However, in connection with the study of the topic of the world economy, we are naturally primarily interested in international
geographical division of labor (MGRT), which the same N.N. Baransky called the driving force and "soul" of the world economy. He believed that the international geographical division of labor is based on their differences in: a) the economic and geographical position of countries, b) natural conditions and resources, c) the levels of their socio-economic development. It is these differences that inevitably lead to the fact that many types of production are, as it were, attached to the territories of individual countries. Similar thoughts were expressed by I.A. Witwer, who believed that for the emergence of MGRT, the producer country must have certain advantages of this industry over other countries. In addition, outside the country of origin, there should be a demand for its products at a higher price.
You should now be prepared to grasp the very definition of MGRT.
The international geographical division of labor is expressed in the specialization of individual countries in the production of certain types of goods and services in the subsequent exchange of them.
There are, as it were, two constituent parts in this definition. On the one hand, we are talking about the specialization of a particular country in the production of certain types of goods and services, which implies their production in quantities that significantly exceed their own needs. It finds concentrated expression in the formation of branches of international specialization, i.e. those that are focused primarily on the export of products. It is they who, first of all, determine the “face” of the country in the MGRT. If I now asked you to give examples of this kind of industries, you (even based on school knowledge) could probably name the oil industry for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the automotive and electronics industry for Japan, grain farming for Canada and Argentina, sheep farming for Australia and New Zealand, international tourism for France and Spain.
In turn, international specialization can be cross-sectoral, examples of which were given above, intra-sectoral, which can also be subject, nodal, detail and technological.
economic integration
On the other hand, the definition of MGRT implies the international exchange of goods and services. Here again we can turn to Baranskiy, who specifically emphasized that this or that country can produce rye and flax or rice and cotton, but this only testifies to the diversity of their products, and not to participation in the MGRT. The latter occurs only when different countries work for each other when the result of labor is transported from one country to another.
Further N.N. Baransky formulated the following general premise of the geographical division of labor: it can be carried out only if the price of the goods at the place of sale exceeds the price of the goods at the place of production, summed up with the transport costs for its transportation. He expressed this rule in the form of the formula: Cv gt; Cp + t, where Cv is the price of the product at the point of sale, Cp is the price of the product at the place of production, and t is the transportation costs.
In turn, international exchange finds expression in the development of international economic relations, in the growth of the number and capacity of freight and passenger traffic. As a result, not only specialization arises, but also production cooperation, which leads to the formation of a larger or smaller territorial gap between the regions of production and consumption of products. To overcome it, all types of modern transport are used.
However, one cannot ignore the fact that N.N. Baransky and I.A. The Witwers finished their life way back in the 60s of the XX century, i.e., one might say, at the dawn of the scientific and technological revolution. Therefore, it is not surprising that their understanding of the leading factors of MGRT was further developed and deepened by other scientists.
First of all, here I would like to refer to one of the most famous Russian economists, academician
FROM. Bogomolov, who proposed distinguishing three groups of factors of international differentiation labor activity: 1) natural and geographical differences, 2) scientific and technological progress, 3) socio-economic conditions, i.e. the inherited historical heritage, the prevailing socio-economic and political system, the level of post-industrial or industrial development (Fig. 11). All these factors can either facilitate or complicate the use of other prerequisites for MGRT.
Rice. 11. Factors in the development of the international geographical division of labor (according to O. T. Bogomolov)
In his opinion, the most obvious reason for the emergence of the geographical division of labor between countries is their differences in natural resources... The presence of very large oil resources, natural gas, ore raw materials and other types of minerals usually assigns this or that country the role of their supplier to the world market, and their absence leads to dependence on the import of fuel and raw materials. Specific examples such a dependence, I believe, you have already imagined. The oil-rich countries of the Persian Gulf, Russia, Venezuela, Mexico have turned its exports into a major source of their income. The same can be said about the export of gas from Russia, Iran, Norway. And the lack or absence of hydrocarbon resources led to the dependence on their imports of most countries in Europe, Japan and the United States.
Natural and geographical conditions have a similar effect on the formation of MGRT, i.e. availability of favorable - economic integration
opportunities for growing certain types crops or the cultivation of certain types of livestock. There are a lot of examples of this kind, and we will return to them later. In the same group, O.T. Bogomolov includes the size of the territory, population and features of the economic and geographical location. We will consider all these questions in detail at the end of this topic.
Although natural and geographical factors still have a great influence on the international geographical division of labor, their importance is beginning to diminish, and the importance of scientific and technological progress is increasing. This is explained by the fact that new technologies weaken the dependence of man on nature, including the distribution of natural benefits determined by it. So, new technique and the technology of offshore drilling of wells, which we have already talked about, has allowed Norway, and partly the UK, to become the largest producers and exporters of oil and natural gas. Largely thanks to the "transport revolution", Japan was able to create a powerful ferrous metallurgy and the largest automotive industry in a short time. The development of polymer chemistry has led to the replacement of many natural materials with synthetic ones. With the advent of knowledge-intensive industries, the very nature of the international geographical division of labor began to change even faster.
In the third group of factors, according to O.T. Bogomolov, socio-economic conditions are included, which is also quite logical. After all, the country's modern profile in the world economy also depends on the historical heritage it inherited, the prevailing political and socio-economic system, and the level of industrial development. These factors can either facilitate or complicate and deform the use of all the other prerequisites of the MHRT. You understand that economic backwardness and underdevelopment often have deep historical roots.
It is also important to note that as the scientific and technological revolution develops, there is a gradual complication of the international geographical division of labor. For example, it increasingly goes beyond the production sphere and begins to cover the sphere of services, information, etc. In the territorial aspect, such a complication and deepening of the MGRT leads to an even closer "splicing" of the national economies of a number of countries.
This led to the emergence of a new highest stage of the MGRT - international economic integration, which must be considered as a qualitative new stage internationalization of economic life, based on mutual convergence and adaptation of the national economies of certain groups of countries.
International economic integration is an objective process of development of especially deep and stable relationships between individual groups of countries, based on the pursuit of a coordinated international policy.
Although international integration is usually called economic, in the literature you will come across a mention of the fact that integration processes are usually political, which is very important to note. From the 10th grade school course, you should know that all integration groupings are usually divided into two classes - regional and industry.
Regional integration groupings play a more important role in the world economy, and there are more of them quantitatively: sometimes there are more than 100, sometimes more than 30. This diversity is explained very simply. In the first case, such groupings include numerous economic unions that have by no means grown to the level of integration. We must not forget that true integration can only emerge when a high level of maturity of regional economies is achieved. And that international economic integration itself in its development usually goes through several successive stages: free trade zones, customs union, a monetary union, a common market and, finally, a single economic (and political) space. If the common market regulates mainly the sphere of exchange, then the common economic space leads to the coordination of the entire economic policy of the countries belonging to the integration group.
At the beginning of the XXI century. there are more than 30 regional integration-type groupings in the world, but most of them are still at the stage of forming a common market. You will be told about these groupings in the regional part of the course on socio-economic geography of foreign
economic integration
countries. And today we will focus only on the most important of them, which have the greatest impact on the world economy. There are perhaps four such main groupings (Fig. 12).
In foreign Europe, this is the European Union (EU), which is the most developed integration entity in the world, which has gone through seven consecutive stages of formation and reached the level of a close economic and political union. Some researchers even believe that the EU is in a transition from the highest stage of economic and political integration to the initial stage of a confederal state. At one time V.I. Lenin sharply criticized the idea of creating a "United States of Europe", but these days it seems to be close to implementation.
A complex mechanism for the functioning of the EU has already been formed, including both interethnic and supranational authorities: the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Bank, which are located in Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg. A single European citizenship has been established, and a single constitution has been prepared. Back in the 60s, the main symbols of the EU were formed: the ode "To Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony became the official anthem, and a blue cloth with gold stars became the flag.
In overseas Asia, this is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which in 1967-1999. also passed five stages of formation and now unites ten countries of Southeast Asia. The ASEAN countries have actually created a free trade zone and are moving further towards deeper integration, like the EU.
In North America, it is the North American Free Trade Association (after the initial letters of the English name NAFTA), which first included the United States and Canada, and then Mexico joined them. These three countries agreed on the gradual abolition of customs tariffs, on the liberalization of trade and investment. But unlike the EU, NAFTA has no supranational bodies.
In Latin America, it is the Common Market for the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR), founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, which later joined Venezuela, and Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador as associate members. The prospect of deepening integration into MERCOSUR depends on the extent to which its
economic integration
niks, first of all Brazil and Argentina, will be able to develop a coordinated approach to key problems of macroeconomic policy. Currently, MERCOSUR functions as an incomplete customs union, which in the future should become a common market.
Let us mention that the United States is hatching a plan to expand NAFTA to the whole of America. A free trade zone covering not only North, but also Central and South America would represent a huge and promising market for its participants, but primarily, of course, for the United States. They have already managed to persuade most of the Latin American countries to this project. But the most economically developed of them (Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela), fearing US expansion, are hindering the implementation of this plan.
General idea the place of these four integration groupings in the world economy is given in table. eight.
Leading regional integration groups
modern world economy
Table 8
| Socra puppy title | Year image the call niya | Number countries- participation prostrate | Territory, million km2 | Population, million people | Share in VMP, % | Share in world exports,% |
| The EU | 1957 | 27 | 4,3 | 493 | 21,2 | 38,1 |
| ASEAN | 1967 | 10 | 4,5 | 580 | 4,4 | 7,0 |
| NAPHTHA | 1988 | 3 | 21,6 | 441 | 22,6 | 19,2 |
| MERCOSUR | 1991 | 10 | 18,7 | 368 | 3,2 | 3,3 |
| In total | | 50 | 49,1 | 1882 | 51,4 | 67,6 |
You should turn Special attention to the final row of this table, indicating that only the four mentioned regional groupings include 50 countries with a total territory of more than 49 million km2 and a population of about 1.9 billion people, whose share in the VMP exceeds 1/2, and in world exports - 2/3. Agree that each of these groupings can be called a large international economic region or "world-economy" (this concept was introduced by the famous French scientist of the last century Fernand Braudel, who referred it mainly to the stage of the formation of the world economy). But isn’t the European Union or NAFTA one of such worlds-economies of our day?
In addition to these four integration formations, let us name another very large grouping of countries that also plays a large role in the world economy - the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which includes 21 countries. In terms of its economic power, this grouping comes out, perhaps, in first place: 42% of the world's population and 56% of the VMP. But it is still somewhat different from the four groups discussed above. First, the depth of integration processes in APEC is not so great, since it was originally conceived as a kind of intergovernmental consultation forum. Second, in terms of its composition, it can be called a “hybrid” grouping. Indeed, the most developed countries of the world (USA, Japan, Canada), Australia and New Zealand, and newly industrialized countries of Asia (Republic of Korea, some ASEAN member countries), and key developing countries (China, Mexico), and developing countries of the middle (Vietnam, Peru, Colombia, Chile) and even the lowest (Papua New Guinea) "echelons". In 1998, Russia also joined APEC - as they sometimes write, "jumping on the footboard of the last carriage." This is because after its accession, a temporary moratorium was declared on the admission of new members. APEC's goal is to create a free trade system by 2020.
There is nothing surprising in the fact that the most significant groupings have developed in foreign Europe, in North and Latin America, in the Asia-Pacific region. Nevertheless, special mention should be made of the integration groupings that have emerged on the territory of the CIS countries. The main one is the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) gt; which includes eight CIS countries. This association is based on the economic, political and strategic interests of its member countries. The EurAsEC continues to work on the creation of a customs union, and in the future - a single economic space. The Eurasian Development Bank was established. The core of the Community is formed by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The EurAsEC is gradually turning into one of the world's most stable zones of economic development. Let's also call the Organization of Central Asian Cooperation
economic integration
(OCAS), as well as GUAM, comprising Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. We will also mention the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which includes not only five CIS countries headed by Russia, but also China and four more Asian countries (as observer countries).
Summing up the consideration of regional economic integration, we can draw one very important conclusion. Above, we characterized the modern world economy as a set of national economies of the countries of the world. But now it is obvious that it can also be viewed as a kind of combination of integration regions or as a macroeconomic system.
There are also quite a few sectoral integration groupings in the world. They are especially characteristic of developing countries, which, with the help of various kinds of cartel agreements between producers and exporters of copper, tin, bauxite, iron ores, sugar, coffee, bananas, etc. trying to maintain their positions in the world commodity markets. However, as you should know, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which includes 13 countries of the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, occupies a very special place among such industry groupings. This special place is determined by the fact that OPEC controls the bulk of oil supplies to the world market, * as well as its prices. Who of you follows the media, could not help but notice how much of a place they give to OPEC.
It is interesting that in 2006-2007. some developing countries also proposed creating a "gas OPEC" - a cartel of the largest producers and exporters of natural gas comprising Russia, Iran, Qatar, Algeria, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, which together provide more than 50% of world production. But many countries, including the United States, opposed the implementation of this project.
The opinions of domestic experts on the creation of such a "gas club" were divided. Some consider it quite expedient, especially given the fact that today the West and, above all, the United States, set their sights on the withdrawal of hydrocarbons from the countries that possess them. Therefore, consolidation is needed, firstly, for the sake of protecting its resources, secondly, in order to coordinate their production and, thirdly, to determine a balanced pricing policy... Others consider such a step unjustified. Nevertheless, at the end of 2008, a "gas OPEC" (Russia, Iran, Qatar and other countries) was created.
In today's lecture, we touched only on the "basics" of the topic declared in it, but it can and should serve as a basis for their further deepening. I hope that is exactly what you do. Then Boris Pasternak's line "In everything I want to get to the very bottom ..." will become a kind of motto for each of you.
Control questions Explain why N.N. Baransky called the international geographical division of labor the “soul” of the world economy. Give a definition of MGRT and characterize its dual nature. Prove that international economic integration is the highest stage of MGRT. Describe the main regional and sectoral integration groupings in the world.
