The real sector is the backbone of the Russian economy, which determines its level and specialization. It is dominated by the raw material and fuel extraction and energy and material production industries. The foreign market is focused on the fuel and energy complex, metallurgy, a significant part of chemistry, the timber industry, the military-industrial complex and the industries serving them (pipeline and sea transport), the rest of the industries are focused on the domestic market.
The bulk of agricultural land has been privatized and passed into the hands of agricultural organizations, farmers, and individual citizens. Nevertheless, in general for the 1990s. agricultural output declined radically and began to recover only in the next decade for most types of agricultural products.
It is the backbone not only of the real sector, but of the entire Russian economy. Our country produces 10-11.5% of the world's primary energy, supplying approximately half for export and half for the domestic market. The fuel and energy complex is represented by both a fully developed fuel industry and a powerful electric power industry, including nuclear.
A greater contribution to exports is made by, and. All of them produce less products than in Soviet times due to a decrease in demand on the domestic market, although they managed to significantly compensate for the decline in domestic demand by increasing export supplies.
In the past two decades, it has found itself in the most difficult situation of all branches of the real sector, although there are exceptions. In the 2000s. domestic demand for machine-building products began to grow, but it is largely satisfied by imports, which is primarily caused by the low technical level of Russian machine-building products.
The output of military products in Russia is about a third of the pre-reform level, and the number of those employed in the defense industry has decreased more than fourfold over the years. The core of the complex was formed by holdings and concerns, uniting companies fully or partially owned by the state. They manufacture both defense and civilian products.
The deindustrialization of Russia has led to a strong curtailment capital construction, i.e. construction and installation and other works for the construction, expansion, repair, reconstruction and modernization of non-residential buildings and engineering structures. Growth in demand for housing in the 2000s helped rebuild housing construction. But in general, the volume of construction remains much lower than before the collapse of the USSR, and the number of people employed in construction has declined.
In the 1990s. cargo and passenger turnover of transport has sharply decreased common use, which began to recover only in the next decade, however, much less Soviet indicators remain. In the turnover of goods, pipelines (50%) and railways (43%) dominate. The weakest point of the Russian transport system is the insufficient development of the transport network and its low technical level.
Communications and telecommunications are developing contradictory: mail and space communications are lagging behind, telephony and the use of the Internet are growing dynamically.
The specifics of the real sector in Russia
As in the rest of the world, in Russia the real sector is the basis national economy, which determines its level and specialization. It employs the population and produces about the same part of GDP.
The real sector is represented by a wide range of industries. However, it is dominated by the extraction of raw materials and fuels and the production of energy and materials. On the one hand, this is a consequence of natural resources, especially mineral ones, which allows Russia to actively use its natural competitive advantage. On the other hand, this is the result of the deindustrialization of Russia: the preservation or slight reduction of the primary industries in the last two decades was accompanied, in contrast to Soviet times, not by the growth of other (non-primary) industries, but by their strong decline. The commodity industries have been better able to weather the catastrophe of the 1990s. and take more active advantage of the rise of the early 2000s. due to the high demand of the world market for their products. The products of the rest of the sectors of the Russian real sector for the most part are insufficiently competitive (although there are exceptions, especially the defense industry complex). Before the crisis of 2008-2010. the volume of output in many sectors of the real sector was radically less than the pre-reform ones, especially in mechanical engineering (the production of machinery and equipment reached only half of the pre-reform level).
As a result, the real sector remains split into two parts:
- sectors oriented to the external market - export-oriented (fuel and energy complex and metallurgy, a significant part of chemistry, timber industry and defense industry) and the sectors serving them (pipeline and sea transport). This part of the real sector is small in terms of the number of employees (about 5%), but it brings more than half of all profits in the country, thus providing the bulk of the state budget revenues and a very noticeable part of effective demand in the domestic market;
- industries focused on the domestic market (all others). This part of the real sector is unprofitable due to its low competitiveness (except for trade and construction, which actively satisfy the domestic demand of workers in the first sector), the incomes of its workers are therefore low, which determines the generally low domestic effective demand of the bulk of the population and enterprises in Russia.
A similar situation is typical for the “Dutch disease” with its redistribution of income and economic resources in favor of export-oriented raw materials and industries serving them, as well as the replacement of local production with imports. This disease does not affect all countries with large reserves of raw materials (there are many of them in the USA, Canada, Australia, Norway), but countries with imperfect economic and political institutions (bad governance), the elite of which is not able to withstand the "big money" from the export of raw materials and agree postpone modernization and an active industrial policy (in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, oil exports even slowed down economic growth, giving rise to the so-called resource curse).
The cure for the "Dutch disease" is active support of the manufacturing industry, especially the knowledge-intensive, however Russian government did little to do with industrial policy and only in recent years turns to it more as part of the country's modernization strategy. Thus, the Concept-2020 highlighted high-tech industries in which Russia has or claims to have serious competitive advantages - the aviation industry and engine building, the rocket and space industry, shipbuilding, the nuclear energy complex, the radio-electronic industry, information, communication and medical technologies, as well as energy efficiency and energy saving.
The real sector of the Russian economy includes:
- agro-industrial complex;
- machine-building complex;
- fuel and energy complex;
- military-industrial complex;
Metallurgical, chemical and timber industry complexes
After the fuel and energy complex, the largest contribution to the export-oriented part of the real sector is made by the metallurgical, chemical and timber industry complexes. All of them produce less products than in Soviet times, due to a decrease in demand on the domestic market, although they managed to significantly compensate for the decline in domestic demand by increasing supplies for export (see the above example with the production of mineral fertilizers).
Metallurgy produces about 5% of Russian GDP and provides about 14% of domestic exports. Ferrous metallurgy in 1988 produced 94 million tons of steel, in the 1990s. reduced its output by half, but by the end of the next decade it increased to 72 million tons (2007), second only to China, Japan and the United States, and ranked third in world exports. However, for the production of special steels and alloys intended mainly for mechanical engineering, production volumes have decreased significantly, the equipment is outdated and worn out, and some of the technologies have been completely lost.
In nonferrous metallurgy for the production of aluminum (about 4 million tons), Russia is second only to China, in the export of aluminum it takes the 1st place, in the production (0.3 million tons) and the export of nickel - also the 1st place in the world (largely due to its large geological reserves). In gold production (about 160 tons per year, i.e. at the pre-reform level), Russia occupies only 5th place, although it has the third largest gold deposits in the world and has a good chance of increasing gold production to 250 tons per year. The transition from depleting alluvial deposits to abundant but long-term development of ore gold deposits is constrained by a lack of funds and technologies.
Good export earnings allowed in the 2000s. to re-equip metallurgy with modern equipment (mainly imported), therefore, the wear of fixed assets here is 44% for ferrous metallurgy and 42% for non-ferrous ones, i.e. at the level of developed countries.
The Strategy for the Development of the Metallurgical Industry of the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2020, prepared in 2009, predicts an increase in the production of all metals in the country, primarily due to own funds metallurgical companies, since many of them have an abundance of them, actively acquiring metallurgical assets abroad.
Chemical complex covers a wide range of industries (primarily mineral fertilizers, chemical plant protection products, synthetic resins and plastics, synthetic rubber, tires, industrial rubber goods, artificial and synthetic fibers and threads, paints and varnishes, synthetic detergents). All these industries together account for about 2% of Russia's GDP and 6-7% of exports. As in the Soviet era, the problem remains that the primary processing of natural resources has been established in domestic chemistry, the secondary processing is worse, and even weaker is the higher processing. As a result, the country ranks only 20th in the world in the production of chemical products, although it exports large volumes of simple goods, primarily mineral fertilizers, synthetic rubber, synthetic resins and plastics, while importing more complex chemical goods by about the same amount.
Export supplies helped to support the aforementioned chemical industries, and rapidly growing domestic demand stimulated the production of tires, but the production of chemical fibers and threads, varnishes and paints, crop protection chemicals and a number of other industries was unable to to withstand foreign competition and significantly decreased (in 2008, the capacity for the production of paints and varnishes was loaded by 38%, chemicals for plant protection - by 26%).
The strategy for the development of the chemical and petrochemical industry of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2015 provides for the growth of almost all chemical industries on the basis of their modernization and development of research and development, but without increasing government funding.
Adjacent to the chemical complex (but not included in its composition) pharmaceutical industry. It is in severe decline, which began in the Soviet decades due to the growing inability of this industry to meet the country's needs for modern medicines. As a result, the share of domestic drugs on the domestic market is 68% in physical terms and 19% in monetary terms (2008).
The Strategy for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry of the Russian Federation for the Period until 2020, approved at the end of 2009, envisages increasing this share in monetary terms to 50% due to the modernization of the industry based on foreign and domestic technologies, and with tangible state financial support, and even predicts a sharp increase the current small export of Russian pharmaceuticals.
Timber industry complex(forestry, woodworking and pulp and paper industries) provides 2.5-4% of Russian exports. The volume of production in the forest industry is gradually growing - in 2007, the export of commercial timber from the forest reached 134 billion cubic meters (excluding large illegal logging), although it is unlikely that in the future it will be able to approach the Soviet volume (250-280 billion cubic meters ) due to the transition of the economy to other structural materials and more rational use of wood. About 40% of unprocessed timber and lumber is exported.
The recovery of domestic demand, especially in construction, helped the growth of the woodworking industry, but it is hampered by the low quality of products, which does not allow increasing exports (for example, domestic furniture).
In the pulp and paper industry, which has long been export-oriented (half of its production is exported), and, moreover, with a noticeable presence of foreign capital, these problems are fewer, but nevertheless, this industry is not even one of the top ten world producers and largely due to this that domestic pulp and paper mills (165 pulp and paper mills) still do not produce many high-grade products in noticeable volumes, for example, coated paper, high-quality cardboard. The problems of the timber industry are largely a consequence of the lack of roads (they do not provide good access to glued raw materials), credit, as well as the rapid growth of tariffs for the required pulp and paper mill in large quantities.
Light industry
Russian light industry is very much dependent on the situation in the world markets. On the one hand, this industry is highly subject to competition from Asian manufacturers, some of whose products are generally imported into the country illegally. On the other hand, Russian light industry relies mainly on foreign raw materials, components and equipment.
Domestic production of clothing has declined several times (suits, jackets) and dozens of times (coats, dresses, shirts) and tends to further decline. It was possible to stop the sharp drop in the production of fabrics and partially restore it, although the production volumes are incomparable with the Soviet level (2.5-2.8 billion square meters per year compared to 8.4-8.7 billion square meters). A breakthrough has been achieved in the production of leather footwear, and it is growing (almost doubled in the 2000s - up to 58 million pairs in 2009), although here, too, production volumes are radically inferior to Soviet ones (385 million pairs in 1990). ... The situation is better in the production of carpets and rugs - it is 2/3 of the Soviet level.
Building complex
This complex consists of both capital (investment, industrial) and housing construction, as well as the production of building materials. The deindustrialization of Russia led to a strong curtailment of capital construction, i.e. construction and installation and other works for the construction, expansion, repair, reconstruction and modernization of non-residential buildings and engineering structures. Growth in demand for housing in the 2000s helped rebuild housing construction (see Ch. 12). But in general, the volume of construction remains much lower than before the collapse of the USSR, and as a result, the number of people employed in construction has decreased from 7 to 5-5.5 million people.
The decrease in construction volumes led to a decrease in the output of basic building materials, the recovery of production of which began to occur only in the first decade of the XXI century: the output of cement in 1985 amounted to 84.5 million tons, in 2000 - 32 million tons, in 2007 - 60 million tons, building bricks - 24, 11 and 13.5 billion pieces, respectively. conditional brick.
Transport complex
In the 1990s. Freight and passenger turnover of public transport decreased by more than 40%, which began to recover only in the next decade, but much less Soviet indicators remain. Pipeline transport (50%) and railroad (43%) dominate in the turnover of goods. The weak point of the Russian transport system is the underdevelopment of the transport network and its low technical level, due to which an amount exceeding 3% of GDP is lost annually, and the mobility of the population is sharply reduced.
V rail transport dominated by the state-owned company Russian Railways, which, together with its subsidiaries (do not operate at state tariffs), accounts for about half of the transported cargo. The rest is transported mainly by private companies. The Strategy for the Development of Railway Transport in the Russian Federation until 2030, approved by the government in 2007, provides for a 1.6-fold increase in freight turnover based on the construction of 16-21 thousand new railways and an increase in passenger traffic through the construction of high-speed highways.
Automobile transport occupies a small share in freight turnover, but dominates in terms of traffic volume, since it transports goods mainly over short distances. This is largely due to the fact that in Russia the network of paved roads remains small (about three times less than the needs), technically outdated (only 56% of federal highways meet the necessary strength criteria) and, moreover, is slowly increasing ( annually put into operation 1-2.5 thousand km of new and repaired roads, which is many times less than in Soviet times). The state company Russian Highways (Avtodor), established in 2009 for the construction and reconstruction of highways and high-speed roads, has plans for construction and reconstruction in 2010-2015 approved by the government. about 1.4 thousand km of federal highways. It is planned to spend 1.5 trillion rubles on this, i.e. 1 billion rubles each for each kilometer (several times more expensive than in Germany and the USA), and besides, some of these roads are planned to be toll roads. According to the Concept-2020, in 2015-2020. 5-10 thousand km of roads will be commissioned annually.
Domestic transportation of goods and passengers by water transport(sea and inland waterways) ceased to play a noticeable role due to a more than threefold decrease in the volume of these traffic. This was due to the increase in tariffs and the deterioration of the fleet, port facilities and inland waterways. In addition, Russia lost most of its own ports on the Baltic and Black Seas and sharply reduced the "northern delivery" due to the termination of the development of the North. True, the role of water transport in external transport is much more noticeable, since sea transport provides the bulk of the volume of Russian foreign trade (67% of exports and 9% of imports). Although Russia controls a maritime transport fleet with a deadweight of 18 million tons, 67% of the tonnage is operated under foreign flags in order to avoid taxes, and as a result, ships under the Russian flag carry only 5% of the volume of domestic foreign trade cargo, on which Russian shipping companies lose annually $ 9-11 billion
Air Transport after the decline in the 1990s. four times the number of passengers began to increase their transportation (in 1990 - 91 million people, 2000 - 23 million people, 2008 - 51 million people). The problem of updating the fleet is acute here, which is largely obsolete and therefore the number of foreign-made mainline aircraft is growing in it (in 2008 there were 320 of them, and their share in the total passenger turnover reached 50%).
Pipeline transport is developing most dynamically: the network of main oil and gas pipelines continues to grow due to the intensive construction of new export pipelines.
Communications and telecommunications
This kind economic activity in Russia it is developing in a contradictory manner. Launching many foreign satellites annually on commercial terms, Russia has been unable for many years to bring the domestic global navigation system (GLONASS), an analogue of the American GPS, to the required number of satellites. Domestic mail, which is dominated by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Russian Post", is in a poor state, largely due to a decrease in subscriptions to newspapers and magazines by 18 times, and sending parcels by 3 times.
At the same time, over the post-Soviet years, the number of telephones in the public network has doubled (up to 46 million), the number of connected telephones cellular communication- significantly exceeded the population (about 200 million), and the number of Internet users exceeded 40 million.
Trade and consumer services
Trade and repair (vehicles, household goods and personal items) employs many workers - almost 18% and produces a very large share of GDP - about 21%.
The large number of people employed here is partly explained by the fact that in the conditions of high unemployment in Russia and neighboring countries, this type of activity is a kind of "buffer" that absorbs unnecessary workers willing to receive low wages.
As for the high contribution of trade to GDP, then, of course, the main reason is the market nature of the Russian economy. But in Russia, a constant motive is the complaints of manufacturers about a large number of intermediaries in the sale of their goods. It can be assumed that this is a consequence of the power of the bureaucracy, which, with the hands of entrepreneurs affiliated with it, organizes chains of intermediary firms, which the supplier cannot bypass because of the administrative resource of the bureaucracy. Another reason is the frequent (to minimize taxation) separation from producers of sales companies (an example would be trading companies in the oil and gas sector), whose activities are carried out in statistics as trade.
Russian trade also shows us an important macroeconomic feature - a high share of imported goods in retail turnover (45-47% of all retail turnover in the pre-crisis years). For a large economy with a relatively capacious market and large exports, this is evidence of the low competitiveness of domestic consumer goods and the orientation of the economy towards “eating up” export earnings, rather than investing it.
Real sector analysis methodology
Although the SNA is based not on industries, but on types of economic activity, when analyzing the real sector, the sectoral approach remains a common approach, more precisely, based on grouping individual industries (types of economic activities) into sectoral complexes (for example, the timber-industrial complex) or into enlarged sectors ( for example, light industry). In Russia, this approach prevails partly because our country in statistical records only since 2003 switched from the All-Union Classifier of National Economy Sectors (OKONKh) to the All-Russian Classifier of Economic Activities (OKVED) in accordance with the recommendations of the SNA. But the more important reason is that industry analysis provides a better description of the real sector.
In the practice of studying the national economy, a different division of the real sector into sectoral complexes and enlarged sectors has developed. Here's one of the options:
- agro-industrial complex (agro-industrial complex);
- fuel and energy complex (FEC);
- metallurgical complex;
- chemical complex;
- timber industry complex;
- machine-building complex;
- the military-industrial complex (MIC), often referred to as the military-industrial complex (MIC), although the former refers to the defense industry and military R&D, and the latter refers to the alliance of the army, the state apparatus and the military industry;
- light industry;
- construction complex;
- transport complex;
- communications and telecommunications;
- trade and catering, hotels and consumer services.
A simpler division of the real sector is also possible: agriculture, industry (mining and processing), construction, transport and communications, trade. It is used when the national economy is small or when national statistics are weak.
Agro-industrial complex(APK). The agro-industrial complex covers:
- Agriculture;
- industries supplying material resources for Agriculture(tractor and agricultural engineering, production of fertilizers and chemicals for agriculture);
- branches that process agricultural products (food industry, primary processing of agricultural raw materials for light industry, for example, cotton ginning plants);
- infrastructure activities serving agriculture (procurement, transportation, storage and trade of agricultural products, etc.).
The more developed a country is, the smaller is the share of agriculture in the entire agro-industrial complex. However, the publicly available AP K statistics will provide detailed data primarily on agriculture itself. When using this statistics, mistakes are often made and, above all, such as focusing on annual rather than average annual indicators of agricultural production. But agriculture is highly dependent on weather conditions, and therefore it is advisable to use average annual data for three years, even better - for five years.
The foregoing also applies to indicators of agricultural efficiency - first of all, the yield of leading agricultural crops and milk yield per cow (for countries with a temperate climate). In turn, the efficiency of agriculture depends on the level of agricultural technology, the indicators of which include, first of all, the application of fertilizers, chemicals and saturation with tractors and agricultural machinery.
In the absence of direct data on the efficiency of agriculture, one can also use a comparison of the share of agriculture in the country's GDP with the share of people employed in this sector.
Fuel and energy complex (FEC) consists of the electricity and fuel industries, which include the extraction of coal and peat, oil and gas. The fuel and energy complex in a number of countries constitutes the bulk of such activities (according to the SNA) such as "Mining" and "Production and distribution of electricity, gas and water".
The study of the country's fuel and energy complex implies a study of the balance of electricity production by power plants and the balance of energy resources. The first balance gives an idea of how electricity production is distributed by type of power plant (hydroelectric power plant, thermal power plant, nuclear power plant). Let us also pay attention to the fact that the production of electricity per capita of the population correlates with the level of socio-economic development of the country (but does not coincide, because the country can trade electricity with neighboring states). Therefore, there is a higher correlation between the indicator of electricity consumption per capita and the level of development of the country, although it is not equal to one.
Table 1. Post-Soviet countries: electricity consumption per capita in 2004, kWh
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Belarus |
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Moldavia |
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For reference: |
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Azerbaijan |
world average |
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average across OECD countries |
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Kazakhstan |
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Kyrgyzstan |
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Tajikistan |
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Turkmenistan |
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Uzbekistan |
Brazil |
The balance of energy resources of the country consists of rows and columns: the rows cover production, reserves, exports, imports and consumption of energy resources, and the columns contain different types of energy resources - natural fuel (oil and gas condensate, natural gas, coal and peat), fuel products, combustible by-products, electricity, heat. A simpler version of the balance of energy resources is a breakdown of energy consumed in the country by type (in Russia in 2005, of the total energy consumed in the amount of 647 million tons of oil equivalent, natural gas accounted for 54%, oil and gas condensate - 21%, coal - 16 %, nuclear energy - 6%, hydropower, solar, wind and geothermal - 2%, biomass and waste - 1%) ".
Metallurgical complex covers both ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy of the country. Chemical complex consists of a fairly large number of subspecies of economic activity, as well as a timber industry complex. A particularly large number of subspecies of economic activity is included in machine-building complex.
Defense Industrial Complex (MIC) is not represented by individual types and subspecies of economic activity, so it can be difficult to separate military products from civilian ones. Due to the fact that the defense industry complex is developed in few countries, it is often omitted when analyzing the real sector. We add that in countries with a developed defense industry, mechanical engineering is sometimes divided into civil and military.
Light industry is represented primarily by the production of fabrics (textile production), clothing, footwear, leather and leather goods. Sometimes the production of fabrics and clothing is combined under one term - "textile production".
Building complex covers construction (new construction and renovation) as well as the building materials industry. The construction itself is often divided into industrial, civil (for example, the construction of office buildings) and residential.
Transport complex (transport) are traditionally divided into railway, automobile, aviation, sea, river, pipeline transport. When analyzing transport, such indicators are used as the carriage of goods (in tons or in cubic meters in the case of natural gas), freight turnover (in ton-kilometers, i.e. in the tones of the transported goods multiplied by the distance over which they were transported) and the passage and turnover (the number of passengers carried).
Communications and telecommunications as an industry complex, it covers various types of economic activities, existing primarily on the basis of mail, telephony and the Internet.
Science and scientific services included as a subspecies in such a type of economic activity as "Operations with real estate, rent and provision of services." The problem of combining the analysis of economic resources and industry is especially applicable to science and scientific services. V this case such approaches to its solution are also possible - to move the analysis of science and scientific services into the analysis of scientific resources or combine them together in the analysis of the real sector.
Trade and catering, hotels and consumer services as an intersectoral complex occupies a very prominent place in developed countries, however, in a number of post-Soviet countries its significance is even greater. For example, trade weighs more in Russian GDP than in US GDP. This is primarily due to the fact that retail trade (especially individual entrepreneurship) is a reservoir of hidden unemployment. Another reason for the particularly high weight of trade is the active use by a number of countries of their transit position (an example is Kyrgyzstan, which re-exports to neighboring countries a huge part of the Chinese consumer goods it purchases).
Recreation and entertainment, culture and sports as a complex cover a wide range of industries, including tourism.
In conclusion, we note that when studying the real sector, the concept is used "Production infrastructure"... It covers electricity, gas and water supply, transport complex, communications and telecommunications.
At the Polytechnic Institute, we techies were given a short course in economics. After comprehensible formalized technical disciplines, this science seemed to be a collection of primitive concepts with which they unsuccessfully tried to explain the complex processes taking place in society. Much later it became clear to me the reason why these attempts remained unsuccessful. Clarity began to appear after I drew attention to the history of the formation of foreign and then domestic economic thought. It turned out that even the first economists were not initially focused on the study of real socio-economic processes. Economics, like no other science, has depended and continues to depend on progress in understanding many fundamental concepts that determine the general culture of thinking in people. Her development has always been hampered by reasons beyond her control, and she could not change this situation on her own. Without general progress in the culture of thinking, the economy, as it began with works devoted to financial and accounting operations, remained at this qualitative level. Therefore, financiers and accountants are in demand, while academic economists remain aloof from real economic processes. And it is no coincidence that, having passed a certain historical path of its evolution, the science of economics is now more and more inclined towards psychology, jurisprudence, civil and criminal law. As a result, the "product", which is still the cornerstone of this science, before our eyes turns into a right transferred to another person, legally justified for something. As they say - it was yours, but it is ours! And that's it! For the one who passed on the latter, all the achievements of the economy here and come to an end finally, forever. But if suddenly someone needs it, then not academic economists, but lawyers who have become proficient in law, will always be found and explain to all participants in such an exchange its expediency and legality. The laws of modern economic science are unique in that they are absolutely subjective, since they are closed by a certain archaic culture of people's thinking. Archaism lies in the fact that thinking does not distinguish between the main thing - the meaning of collective labor. For this kind of thinking, the meaning of the collective labor of all people is limited by the design of the elite. Each elite strives to keep people's thinking unchanged, in accordance with historically formed traditions, through politics, science, religion, culture and, in particular, economics. The problem is that the existing archaic culture of thinking among people is artificially restrained everywhere and remains qualitatively unchanged for centuries. And it is not surprising that all economists agreed in a unanimous opinion to consider not the meaning, the idea of collective labor, but the movement of goods and everything connected with it. It is clear that in science, where a similar culture of thinking is taken as a basis for its adherents, there is no question of any collective work and cannot be. For them, as well as for the former Minister of Finance, Doctor of Economics A.Ya. Lifshits ”The economy is like a woman. Can you understand her? "
Many questions have accumulated for modern economic science. Is it the same as physics and chemistry, or is it something completely different? Is there something in common between the natural sciences and economics that makes them similar? Or is it a different type of knowledge altogether?
During the passing 20th century, economic science has strengthened its positions both from the point of view of its "internal" development, and from the position of social significance. The breakthrough made in the development of the economy was so great that it allowed it to take one of the first (if not the first!) Places among other sciences. Despite this, many of its methodological features remain not fully comprehended. So, on the one hand, economic research is fundamentally different from research in the natural sciences, and on the other hand, it has a lot in common with them. Roughly the same is true for economics and other social disciplines.
The differences between economics and other sciences begin with the object of research, affect the methods of studying the economic world and the very structure of science, and end with the methods of practical use of the results obtained and the forms of influence on social ideology and the real course of events. At the same time, it would be a gross mistake not to see those general methodological points that make economics akin to exact disciplines and allow it to harmoniously integrate into the general building of modern scientific research. This state of affairs forms a very peculiar and complex interaction of the economy with other sciences, both natural and social. This article is devoted to the disclosure of such general and specific points in economics.
It should immediately be stipulated that there will be few personal ideas of the author in this work; in most cases, references to authoritative opinions of recognized scientific luminaries will appear here. This approach seems to be quite justified, since most of the issues raised by us were discussed in detail earlier, thereby depriving us of the opportunity to say something fundamentally new. Nevertheless, a systematic and compact presentation of modern views on economic science is still lacking, which determines the relevance and significance of the presented article.
SUBJECT, TASKS, IDEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE
Consider the subject and tasks of economics. Only by clearly outlining the contours of what science does, it is possible to move further towards understanding its specifics.
Proceeding from the position of A. Poincaré that any science is a system of relations, the task of economic science is to collect facts, systematize, interpret them and derive appropriate conclusions from them. To understand the essence of economics, J. Schumpeter's thesis that its roots lie, on the one hand, in philosophy, and on the other, in disputes about pressing problems and difficulties, is very useful.
The first approximation to a constructive understanding of the subject of economics is the assertion of J.S. Mill that this discipline views a person as engaged in the acquisition and consumption of wealth. An equally capacious and compact definition is given by A. Marshall, saying that the economy considers wealth as a tool for satisfying "needs" and as a result of "efforts." Its more detailed definition reads: "Economic science (Economics) deals with the study of the normal life of human society; it studies the sphere of individual and social actions, which is closely related to the creation and use of the material foundations of well-being. Therefore, on the one hand, it represents is a study of wealth, and on the other, it forms part of the study of man. ”An important commentary and addition to this definition serves the following Marshall maxim: "Economics is concerned with the study of how people exist, develop and what people think about in Everyday life... But the main subject of her research is those incentives that most strongly and most steadily affect human behavior in the economic sphere of his life. "
Despite the fact that the above definition of A. Marshall is the most accurate and comprehensive, it still needs some clarifications. First of all, modern economics studies not only normal, but also abnormal effects in social life, as well as not only material, but also non-material foundations of well-being.
It is this broad interpretation of the subject of research that is characteristic of today's economic science. This is due to the fact that modern economists, having already penetrated deep enough into the bowels of social phenomena, are trying to explain especially complex effects that were left unattended in the time of A. Marshall (for example, anomalous effects in pricing, anomalous emergence of inflationary tendencies, an anti-natural inhibition of crisis processes etc.). At the same time, extremely subtle aspects of human behavior are touched upon, many of which are intangible in nature (for example, the consideration of human capital as a factor of production and consumption, the role of time and information in the economic cycle, etc.).
There are other, narrower ideas about the subject of economics. For example, according to R. Barr, economic science is the science of managing rare resources. According to L. Stoler, "finding ways to make the best use of national resources has become the very definition of economic science." Such definitions, while not fundamentally erroneous, still cannot serve as a guide in understanding the subject. modern economy... Nevertheless, they very accurately highlight the tasks of modern economic analysis than justify their existence.
The fusion of the subject, tasks, categorical apparatus and methodological tools of economic science leads to the formation of its ideology. By the latter, we mean a certain methodological approach or a certain specific angle of scientific analysis, which is so universal that it can be applied when “cleaving” any social problem. The economic ideology has a "two-tier" structure and, in general, can be formulated as follows: all observed changes in the socio-economic system can be explained by two types of shifts - shifts in the level of prices and incomes (the first "link") and shifts in the level of results and costs (second "link"). In accordance with this approach, any political, social, military, ethnic and other social metamorphosis can be translated into economic language, interpreted in appropriate terms and explained with the help of the theories, principles and laws available in the arsenal of economic science.
Specifying the tasks of economic analysis automatically determines the structure of the economy, which, like any other science, aims to describe, explain and foresee facts, as well as direct our actions. Accordingly, the theories she uses are based on four classes of models: descriptive, explanatory, predictive, and decision-making models. Although such a division of economic theories and models is somewhat arbitrary (some models may belong simultaneously to several classes), it still quite well illustrates the structure of modern economic science and allows us to clearly define in it the place and role of each specific study.
In turn, the general body of economic knowledge can be divided into three large groups. In accordance with the classification of J.N. Keynes, the following scientific strata are distinguished: positive economics as the sum of systematized knowledge about what exists; normative economics as the sum of systematized knowledge about what should exist; economic art as a system of rules to achieve a set goal. Only the first group and small parts of the second and third groups belong to economic science. This is due to the fact that the transition from a descriptive (positive) economy to a normative (recommendatory) economy and from a normative economy to economic policy(to the art of decision-making), the level of scientific uncertainty rises sharply. For natural and technical sciences, this state of affairs is less typical.
LAWS AND PRINCIPLES: THEIR ESSENCE AND DIALECTICS OF RELATIONSHIP
Any serious science should contain its own specific laws in its arsenal. Economics is no exception. Moreover, according to A. Marshall, science itself is moving forward by increasing quantity and precision their laws, subjecting them to ever more stringent scrutiny and expanding their scope. This logic of the development of scientific knowledge is determined by the simple fact that "if some law is correct, then with its help you can discover another law." The very possibility of "stringing" some laws onto others is associated with the fundamental properties of human thinking, for the "law itself is a method, way of perception the mind is a series of phenomena and this process takes place in our mind. "
To understand the originality of economic laws, let us first find out what a law is in general. There are many definitions on this score, but, perhaps, none of them provides comprehensive information. In this regard, we will consider a certain set of opinions on this issue, which ultimately will give a fairly complete picture of the law.
At the most elementary level, the understanding of the essence of the law was well disclosed by R. Feynman: “the phenomena of nature have their own shape and rhythms inaccessible to the eye of the beholder, but open to the eye of the analyst; we call these forms and rhythms laws. " The generally accepted definition is as follows: "a law is an internal, essential and stable connection of phenomena, which determines their orderly change." In S. Vivekananda's interpretation, “the law is the tendency of phenomena to recurrence”. According to A. Poincaré, “a law is a relationship between a condition and an effect; it is a constant connection between the previous and the next, between the present state of the world and the immediately advancing state. "
As well as laws there are so-called scientific principles, which are understood as some extremely general and universal provisions regarding the nature of the course of the phenomena under study, which have the widest possible scope of application. The dialectic of law and principle, in our opinion, is exhaustively disclosed by R. Feynman: “the variety of individual laws is permeated with some general principles that are somehow contained in each law”. Thus, any science should include some basic principles about its subject of research and various laws that reflect certain aspects of this subject. Otherwise, the area of knowledge turns into a meaningless collection of disparate information.
The existence of laws automatically presupposes a certain mathematization of science. This is due to the fact that any relations and connections are expressed by equations, and if the equations remain valid, then the sought relations retain their reality. In other words, any relationship can be represented by a geometric curve. Consequently, any law makes sense as such only if it is expressed in mathematical form. Experience shows that practically any meaningful verbal formulation of laws can be successfully translated into the language of mathematics; otherwise, verbal constructions turn into a banal statement of some primitive facts and cannot pretend to be universal laws.
Let us summarize what has been said: any science consists of some generalizing principles of the functioning of the system under study, as well as specific laws that establish in mathematical form the connection between individual phenomena.
Specifying what has been said in relation to economics, let us point out that among the fundamental economic principles H. Becker, for example, distinguishes the following: the principle of maximizing behavior of the subject (the principle of rationality), the principle of market equilibrium and the principle of stability of tastes and preferences of economic agents. These principles are implicitly present in various economic laws. For example, the laws of L. Walras, J.-B. Say and D. Hume are "hung" on the principle of market equilibrium, the laws of J.M. Keynes, G. Gossen and J. Hicks, and so on, are attached to the principle of rationality.
INACCURACY OF ECONOMIC LAWS
Economic science, like any other science, consists of specific laws and principles. At the same time, among economists, the so-called “ignorance paradox” is observed everywhere, according to which many qualified specialists cannot name at least a dozen economic laws. The existence of such a paradox in economics is a unique phenomenon that justifies a cruel joke addressed to the representatives of this science: "Some economists know that they do not know anything, while others do not even know that."
The "weakness" of economic knowledge has always provoked various comparisons of economics with other sciences. For example, A. Marshall believed that economics does not have a close resemblance to any physical science; it is rather a broadly interpreted branch of biology. M. Blaug believes that in terms of the status of the criterion of refutability, economics is approximately halfway between psychoanalysis and nuclear physics. Quite often, economics is compared to meteorology, which operates with dynamic effects that are equally difficult to predict. G. Soros went even further, arguing that the very term "social sciences" is a false metaphor; in his opinion, economics is a kind of alchemy, rather than science in the strict sense of the word.
Such comparisons are fully justified and, moreover, absolutely fair. But what underlies this mistrust of economic knowledge?
The answer to this question lies in the specificity of the economic laws themselves. So, even A. Marshall wrote that “there are no economic laws, precision comparable with the law of gravitation ", they should be compared with the laws of sea tides, and not with a simple and precise law of gravitation.
A fact that is very often overlooked should be emphasized here. Almost all laws known to mankind are, to one degree or another, imprecise... So, for example, every physicist "knows that even in laws that are considered well established, weak points can arise, that new features can be discovered in a well-studied phenomenon." At present, many physical laws are known, which, as it turns out, are not fulfilled in reality. For example, the notorious law of gravitation at a distance of one meter does not apply. Even R. Feynman put forward the concept of inaccuracy of physical laws and physical formulas. In his opinion, for a correct understanding of physical laws, one should understand that they are all to some extent approximations... Indeed, "as soon as you say something about an area of experience that you did not directly touch, you immediately lose confidence." However, "to prevent science from turning into simple protocols of experiments done, we must put forward laws that extend to as yet unexplored areas." And, as R. Feynman sarcastically remarked, "there is nothing wrong here, only science turns out to be unreliable because of this."
To paraphrase R. Feynman, we can say that for a correct understanding of economic laws, one should constantly keep in mind that all of them are largely approximations... And to a much greater extent than the laws of natural sciences, "for the economy deals with constantly changing, very subtle properties of human nature." The immediate result of this state of affairs is the extremely limited effect of economic laws. The latter are not universal theses that are true everywhere and always. On the contrary, they are fundamentally relative and make sense only under strictly defined conditions; going outside the limits of these conditions means an automatic violation of the formulated laws. This fact was fully realized by the classics of political economy. Thus, A. Marshall wrote: “Economic laws are a generalization of tendencies that characterize human actions under certain conditions. it is much more difficult for science than for natural science to clearly formulate these conditions. " Accordingly, in economics, the task of not spreading any relations to all cases comes to the fore, but defining the "fields of application" of these relations, that is, cases when such a spread is legitimate.
To what has been said it should be added that the boundaries of economic laws, as a rule, are immeasurably narrower than in the natural sciences. The consequence of this is the frequent exit of the system beyond the boundaries of the validity of the laws under consideration, which predetermines their lesser significance and applicability in comparison with the laws of the exact sciences. Nevertheless, economic laws cover the most probable, most typical states of the system, which determines their value. Difficulties associated with delineating the boundaries of the operation of economic laws give rise to the problem of distinguishing between correctness and applicability economic theory. And if the first depends on the logic of reasoning, then the second requires the provision of conditions necessary for the implementation of the law.
To illustrate what has been said, let us take as an example the law of demand: an increase in the price of a product leads to a decrease in demand for this product. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the formulated law works flawlessly. Nevertheless, in economic practice, there are cases when an increase in the price of a product is accompanied by an increase in demand for it (the Giffin effect). And although such goods are an exception to the rule, they still exist and thereby severely limit the scope of the law of demand. Determining the general conditions for the implementation of this law is generally problematic.
MATHEMATIZATION OF ECONOMY; DIALECTICS OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
As mentioned above, economic laws, generally speaking, should be expressed in mathematical form. In this regard, apparently, it will not be erroneous to say that the main (but not the final!) the goal of modern economic science is to find quantitative relationships between economic variables, because only on this basis can one count on the "conquest" of the economic world with its inherent stochastics and uncertainty. From this fact, it follows that the economy is more likely to be accurate than to humanitarian disciplines. The same opinion is shared, in particular, by M.Alle, who points out that economic science now appears before us as a science of efficiency and, therefore, as a science. quantitative... Confirmation of this thesis is the abundance of numbers, tables, models, diagrams, formulas, equations and theorems, which are overflowing with modern economic literature. Thus, from the point of goal setting and the methodological tools used, economics is an exact, quantitative science.
At the same time, the economy still remains quality(humanitarian) science, for "the substance on which the economist works remains economic and social." Such an amorphous and complex subject of research largely denies the high accuracy of the constructed economic models and calculations. Thus, according to A. Gray, economic science differs from other sciences, first of all, in that it does not have an inevitable transition from lesser to greater reliability; it does not have an inexorable desire to go to the end, to the truth, which, once revealed, will be the truth for all time. This is primarily due to the fact that economic science "deals with constantly changing, very subtle properties of human nature." Paraphrasing A. Govinda, we can say the following: an unknown factor always participates in the formation of economic realities, a directing creative force that cannot be observed or subjected to scientific analysis, a principle that is not reducible to a mathematical formula or mechanical theory. As F. Perrou rightly said, "the human is not limited to quantity."
Thus, the economy, using quantitative methods, works with social phenomena mainly at a qualitative level, which predetermines a kind of dialectic of quantitative and qualitative. So, for example, it is obvious that life cannot be squeezed into mathematical formulas, but in mathematical formulas you can reflect essence life. It is impossible to cram all the diversity of social life, all its forms and colors into abstract formulas, but key aspects of social life can be incorporated into formulas. Revealing this contradiction between quantitative and qualitative in economics, as well as the dialectic of their existence in mathematical constructions, A. Marshall warned: to reflect by a number of equations any complex problem of real life entirely or at least a significant part of it is doomed to failure, since many important aspects, especially those related to the various influence of the time factor, are not easy to express mathematically, so they will either have to be omitted completely, or squeezed and trimmed in such a way that they look like conventional birds and decorative art animals. This tends to misrepresent economic proportions ... This is a danger the economist must constantly be aware of more than any other. However, to avoid it completely would mean to limit the use of the main means of scientific progress ... ".
In this regard, economics, along with purely quantitative, mathematical tools, widely uses other means of analysis. So, in addition to rigorous models and mathematical theories built on their basis, economics contains in its arsenal a lot of qualitative concepts and theories that reveal the basic laws of the functioning of economic mechanisms and provide a certain general scheme for analyzing ongoing processes. The highly mathematized economic theories include, for example, the theory of profit sharing by M. Weizmann, the theory of time allocation by G. Becker, etc., and the qualitative theories are the theory of reflexivity by J. Soros, the theory of multilevel economics by Yu. V. Yaremenko, etc. A priori, it is impossible to give an unambiguous preference to one of the above two classes of theories, in connection with which they are in a state of peaceful coexistence.
Generally speaking, the use of various scientific instruments in economic research presupposes their rather complicated hierarchy. So, for example, according to M.Alle, “if to understand the economy it would be necessary to choose between owning economic history or possession of mathematics and statistics, then one should, no doubt, choose the first. " At the same time, the economist must always keep in mind the subordinate and limited nature of each of the scientific instruments he uses. This is especially pronounced when using the mathematical apparatus, which for economic science is only an auxiliary means of expression and reasoning - no more.
I must say that the mathematization of economics makes it very similar to physics. For example, the following analogy is characteristic: both the direction that later received the name of mathematical physics branched off from general physics, and mathematical economics emerged from general economic theory. There are also personnel parallels in these sciences. Thus, many modern theoretical physicists, being carried away by mathematics, are increasingly detached from physics; quantum field theorists are often retrained as mathematicians. Likewise, many modern model economists are gradually moving into the caste of "pure" econometrics and statisticians. All this suggests that in the depths of economics sometimes there are undesirable overflows of form into content.
WEAK FORM OF ECONOMIC LAWS; QUALITATIVE CALCULATION IN THE ECONOMY
One of the most important features of economics is the predominantly weak form of many economic laws. As already mentioned, the highest form of any law is an equation, a specific formula. However, most economic laws are formulated in a "weak", non-rigid form, that is, in the form inequalities... In addition, as the analysis of infinitely smalls penetrates into the economy, many economic laws are written in differential form.
The following can be cited as examples of inequality laws in incremental (differential) form: the law of satisfaction of social needs - demand (D) creates supply (S), that is, dS / dD> 0; J.-B. Say's law - supply creates its own demand, that is, dD / dS> 0; D. Hume's law - an increase in exports (J) of a country leads to an increase in its imports (I), that is, dI / dJ> 0; the law of demand - an increase in the price of a product (P) leads to a drop in demand for this product, that is, dD / dP<0; закон предложения - рост цены товара ведет к росту предложения данного товара, то есть dS/dP>0; Gossen's law - the marginal utility of the good (X) decreases as the consumption of this good grows, that is, d 2 U / dX 2<0 (U - полезность экономического блага X); закон А.Вагнера - по мере возрастания объемов производства (Y) доля государственных расходов в валовом продукте (g) возрастает, то есть dg/dY>0; Keynes's law - as income (Y) increases, the increase in consumption expenditures (C) decreases, that is, d 2 C / dY 2<0; закон Дж.Хикса - по мере роста потребления товара x предельная норма замещения товара y товаром x уменьшается, то есть çd 2 y/dx 2 ç<0 и др.
The weakness of economic inequality laws is obvious. For example, the law of demand says that an increase in price leads to a decrease in the amount of demand, but does not say how much demand will decrease. Such a "weak", clearly insufficient mathematization of economic laws is a natural consequence of heterogeneity economic objects and incomplete information about them.
The weak form of economic laws underlies the whole area of economic analysis, which, with the light hand of P. Samuelson, was called "qualitative calculus". In accordance with this direction, many quantitative studies are aimed not at obtaining specific digital results, but at clarifying the qualitative situation. In other words, economists in this case are not faced with the task of predicting magnitudes this or that variable, and predictions directions its possible change as a result of various disturbing influences. Thus, it is formed a fundamental understanding of the possible course of events without quantifying the overall picture... In this case, researchers are only dealing with signs derivatives, which are determined based on the marginal inequality laws available in the arsenal of economic science. In works of this kind, the dialectic of quantitative and qualitative in economics is clearly manifested.
CONCEPT OF LAW AND ADJACENT CATEGORIES: REGULARITY, HYPOTHESIS, THEORY, MODEL, EFFECT
The formal vagueness of most economic laws leads to the fact that many of them are implied, but not formulated in an explicit form. As a result, many laws are contained in economic science in a latent form, which greatly complicates their widespread use. This state of affairs provokes the assertion that the very term "economic law" is misleading, because by default it presupposes a high degree of accuracy, universality, and even moral justice. In this regard, along with the concept of "law" in economics, there are other categories that claim a similar role. For example, C.R. McConnell and S.L.Brew use the terms “law,” “principle,” “model,” and “theory” as synonyms. Representatives of the old German school operated mainly with some "regularities", and Antonelli considered it expedient to move from the concept of "law" to the concept of "effect". Currently, the opinion is widespread, according to which there are no economic laws at all and cannot be due to the too great complexity of economic processes. In this case, the goal of economics is proclaimed the study of the behavioral properties of the economic system, based on some fundamental "principles" and "hypotheses".
In our opinion, equating all of the above concepts with laws is illegal and creates confusion in economic science itself. Since the difference between laws and principles has already been mentioned above, we will dwell only on the differences between other concepts.
First of all, about the lack of identity between by law and regularity... In our opinion, the law is a more universal thesis, bearing timeless character as opposed to a pattern that occurs only within a certain period of time. In addition, even within a certain time interval, the pattern is more often violated than the law. In this regard, the law is formulated on the basis of a fundamental analysis of economic mechanisms, while the pattern is established on the basis of empirical facts. Difference between by law and hypothesis lies in the degree of verification. So, a law is a fact, that is, a position, the truth of which has been tested by time and proven in practice; a hypothesis is an assumption, that is, a statement that needs additional verification.
Concepts theories and the law cannot be mixed at all. The dialectics of these categories can be viewed in three dimensions. First, the law is a rather narrow and content-limited thesis, while a theory is a collection of numerous theses linked together into a logically consistent system. Secondly, any particular theory, as a rule, is based on many laws. This is due to the causal vastness of the theory, which links many facts in a complex logical chain. The law is just a link in this chain. Third, economic laws, due to their universality, can permeate many theories. This is due to the fact that any theory has a limited scope. Indeed, each theory is purposefully created to solve well-defined problems and problems, and, as a rule, it is not suitable for explaining phenomena that lie outside the original problem. Currently, the prevailing opinion is that there is no unified economic theory and cannot be; it is just that each problem must have its own theory. Laws, on the contrary, apply to the overwhelming number of economic phenomena and remain valid in relation to many problematic sections, which allows them to be used as an initial "building material" for creating a variety of theories.
Now let's look at how the concepts “ law" and " model", As well as the concepts of" model "and" theory ". A model is a schematic reflection of a certain piece of reality. The theory is always based on one or several models, and in this sense the theory is broader than the model. In this case, the model acts as the primary building material for the theory, and therefore the same model can be used in different theories. In addition, the theory assumes meaningful conclusions and recommendations, and the model serves only as a tool for obtaining these conclusions. The relationship between law and model is somewhat more complex. For example, the model itself can serve as a source for the formulation of new laws. On the other hand, when analyzing the model, already known laws can be used, which allows one to draw important and interesting conclusions about the functioning of the economic system. Sometimes, at the stage of model construction, certain laws can be used as initial postulates. Strictly speaking, any highly formalized model in itself reflects a certain law in accordance with which the modeled system operates. However, the law of such a high degree of abstractness, as a rule, turns out to be useless for understanding reality, in connection with which a deeper analysis of the model is carried out and more concrete conclusions and laws are formulated.
Concerning the connection of the concepts “ law" and " the effect»We can say that there is no identity here either. In the general case, the concept of an effect is much broader than the concept of a law. It can be said that laws indicate typical effects that are predominantly binding. At the same time, in economics, various anomalous effects are often considered, which rarely occur, in contrast to those effects that are fixed by economic laws.
Thus, economic science consists of an extensive set of laws, hypotheses, principles, patterns, models, theories and effects, which are intertwined in complex ways. Thus, various theories, laws and models can be used to explain some complex effects; the action of various principles and effects can lead to the emergence of specific patterns; the use of certain hypotheses and models leads to the creation of economic theories, etc. This section of the problem complements the above ideas about the structure and structure of economic science.
LACK OF WORLD CONSTANTS IN ECONOMIC SCIENCE
The weak form of economic laws is closely related to the fact that there are no universal economic constants in economic science. This fact is key to understanding the methodological difficulties faced by economists. So, for example, in order for any law to acquire practical significance, it must be expressed in a strong form (that is, in the form of equality), which, as a rule, presupposes the presence of certain coefficients of proportionality. If these coefficients are constants, then the law expressed with their help acquires a timeless meaning and can be applied to any period of time. It is these laws that are characteristic of the natural sciences and, above all, for physics. For example, in quantum mechanics, the constants of Planck, Rydberg, fine structure, screening, etc. appear as universal physical constants; in astrophysics - the constants of Oort, Boltzmann, Roche, Hubble, Lyapunov, gravity, the speed of light, etc.
In economics, such universal determinants, which D. Shimon aptly called "world constants", simply do not exist. However, it is the world constants that cement scientific theories; without them, there is simply nothing to "catch on" in analytical constructions and forecast calculations. As J. Soros justly noted, “without constants there is no tendency to equilibrium either.” As a result of this state of affairs, the typical course of economic events follows an irregular boom-bust pattern. It is quite obvious that a stable prediction of such fluctuations is impossible.
The absence of world economic constants is based on the fact that, unlike inanimate nature, which is constant in its manifestations, man and society do not have stable laws of behavior. In the latter case, we are faced with a fundamental limitation in the use of the mathematical apparatus to describe socio-economic processes. In fact, mathematics is a highly effective means of studying relatively primitive worlds (mechanical, physical, chemical); supercomplex processes occurring in economic systems are difficult to mathematize. For this reason, many even purely theoretical studies of economic laws are carried out using simulation (behavioral) models based on the cybernetic concept of large systems.
However, again, one should not think that economics is completely different from the natural sciences. For example, in astrophysics, the Hubble constant is not precise; its value is in a certain interval, however, it has not yet been possible to perform a point identification of this constant. In economics, the specified "uncertainty interval" for the corresponding constants is simply very much expanding.
ECONOMIC (LOGICAL) AND ECONOMETRIC (STATISTICAL) LAWS
The problems of the weak form of economic laws and the absence of world constants in practice are partially eliminated by constructing econometric dependencies. However, the latter are not universal and act only for a limited period of time. In this case, the dialectic of economic and econometric laws is manifested, which, generally speaking, should not be identified. Thus, according to L. Stoler, "an econometric law is primarily a law based on correlations of the past, while an economic law is a law based on reflections on the behavior of economic units." A similar position is adhered to by R. Barr, who calls economic laws logical because they follow from qualitative (abstract) analysis, and econometric - statistical, because they are obtained as a result quantitative (empirical) analysis.
Of course, the distinction made between the two types of laws is somewhat arbitrary, since there is a constant connection between theoretical reflections and facts. We only emphasize that the division of laws into economic (logical) and econometric (statistical) is based on the concepts causality and correlations... So, if the econometric law fixes correlations between phenomena and shows their systemic interdependence, which can be temporary and random, then the economic law reveals deep cause-and-effect relationships. At the same time, economic and econometric laws complement each other. The dialectic of this process is roughly the following.
Due to their weak form, most economic laws require numerical refinement. This is achieved by obtaining the corresponding econometric dependencies, in which specific coefficients appear, which make it possible to compensate for the absence of world constants and thereby fill the quantitative "windows" of economic laws, transferring them from the weak form (the form of inequalities) to the strong one (the form of equalities). For example, the economic law of demand is: dD / dP<0, то есть рост цены ведет к падению спроса. Чтобы уточнить, насколько сильно влияет цена на объем спроса на основе данных ретроспективных рядов можно построить простейшую эконометрическую зависимость: D=bP+a. Теперь экономический закон спроса запишется в следующем эконометрическом виде: dD/dP=b. Параметр b в данном уравнении играет роль мировой константы. Таким образом, исходный экономический закон на определенном временном интервале конкретизируется эконометрическим законом, что позволяет проводить прикладные расчеты.
On the other hand, in practice, there is always a need to limit the study of correlations, knowing in advance the interdependent quantities. Here economic laws come into play to reveal possible relationships between variables, so it remains only to check valid communication by obtaining a satisfactory degree of correlation. Thus, economic laws allow you to save energy, time and other resources when conducting specific research.
ASYMMETRY OF ECONOMIC DEPENDENCES
The effective mathematization of the economy, among other things, is greatly complicated by the asymmetry of many functional dependencies. Let us explain what has been said with a simple example. The demand curve D = D (P), which establishes the dependence of demand on price, in the overwhelming majority of cases is characterized by a negative slope due to the law of demand, that is, dD / dP<0. Чисто формально цена может быть представлена функцией, обратной к функции спроса - P=P(D). В этом случае при возрастании спроса на товар цена на него должна уменьшаться, то есть dP/dD<0. Однако в реальности имеет место прямо противоположная ситуация: рост спроса ведет к росту цены, то есть dP/dD>0. Thus, we have arrived at a substantial contradiction. Thus, most economic dependencies "work" only in one direction, reflecting either direct or inverse relationship between economic variables. It is clear that a primitive "frontal attack" of the economy from the side of mathematics is possible only in exceptional cases.
Another fact complicating the application of formal methods in economics is the existence of a hysteresis effect in many phenomena. Here the problem arises even within the framework of one functional dependency. For example, the price curve P = P (D) in this case, as it were, “bifurcates”: one of its trajectories shows the change in prices with increasing demand, and the other with falling demand. This kind of "hysteresis" asymmetry of economic dependences further limits the thoughtless, mechanistic use of mathematics to model complex socio-economic processes.
INVERTIBILITY OF MANY ECONOMIC VARIABLES
One of the most "terrible" problems of economics is either complete or partial unverifiability of many fundamental economic variables and, as a consequence, basic laws. So, for example, modern economic analysis actively operates with such "vague" categories as: demand, utility of goods, labor burden, inflation expectations, preferences, fundamental conditions, information, knowledge, final goods, human capital, educational level, etc. For all their seeming comprehensibility and even obviousness, the listed concepts are either directly unobservable or fundamentally non-computable. For example, how to quantify the usefulness of a particular good? How do you measure the amount of useful information? Even the volume of demand is problematic to calculate for a situation when the demand in the market exceeds the amount of supply. In this case, the demand acts as some abstract needs that were not satisfied.
But if, for example, we cannot evaluate the usefulness of some good, then how can we find out the truth of Gossen's law, which deals with its marginal utility? If we cannot calculate the volume of demand, then how can we check the validity of the law of demand? Of course, in practice, various indirect methods of assessment are used, but their legitimacy is always in doubt, since in some cases they do not even give an approximate assessment of the true state of affairs. In addition, it is rather difficult to check analytical constructions of a microeconomic nature, since most of the available statistical information is macroeconomic, aggregate.
The problem of unverifiability of many economic variables does not mean that they should be excluded from the arsenal of economics. In this case, all economic knowledge would automatically turn into a formless mass of empirical facts, since it is these poorly verified indicators that give conceptual integrity to all economic constructions. As K. Boulding aptly noted, "a theory without facts may be empty, but facts without theory are meaningless." In order to maintain integrity and meaningfulness, modern economic science, along with well-measurable variables and parameters, is forced to use unverifiable characteristics.
However, one should not think that the above economic categories are somehow especially speculative and abstract. In our opinion, there is a certain analogy between utility in economics and energy in physics, as well as between demand in economics and the wave y-function in quantum mechanics. Despite the fact that these quantities cannot be directly measured, they still objectively exist and help in scientific research. However, unlike the natural sciences, social disciplines lack the ability to conduct a controlled experiment. As a result, in order to test and finally discard any theory, economists simply need much more facts than, for example, physicists.
One of the features of economic science is the subjective and ideological coloring of the practical recommendations arising from it. In this regard, the comparison made by R. Karson is appropriate. In his opinion, economists are usually seen as either doctors or auto mechanics. Physicians study medicine to cure disease and improve human health; auto mechanics must be able to determine the cause of malfunctioning mechanisms and repair cars. Accordingly, economists study economics and must know how to heal or repair it - no more and no less. However, the recommendations of economists, "even if they are made with the utmost impartiality in assessing the available data, ultimately can be interpreted differently, either from the point of view of their own or the prevailing worldview in society." The last point is especially important, since in fact every economist has his own view of the world, his own “personal equation”.
In other words, economic theory is, in the words of R. Barr, "a box with tools." Everyone can have such a box, but everyone can use it in their own way. Likewise, economics does not give ready-made conclusions, being just a method, a way that allows you to draw correct conclusions from facts.
In general, it can be stated that “economics, as the study of human behavior and beliefs, cannot avoid biased judgments”; it is "a discipline that cannot be free of ideology." Simply put, the main problem arises when, according to the figurative expression of S. Lem, a lofty idea comes into contact with a rough reality. Thus, in practice, economics turns out to be not so much a science as an art, because it is based on subjective judgments, and not formal evidence. One might even say that the objectivity of economics ends at the decision-making stage; then the realm of the subjective begins.
ONTOLOGICAL SELF-VALUE OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE
The weakness of economic laws discussed above does not allow for accurate forecasts. In addition, economics has one more feature that severely limits its predictive capabilities. In this case, we are talking about thinking, which, according to G. Soros, plays a double role. On the one hand, people strive to understand the situation in which they are involved; on the other hand, their understanding serves as the basis for making decisions that affect the course of events. These two roles constantly interfere with each other. In fact, this means that the thinking of the participants in the events introduces uncertainty into the subject of research.
If we add to the above the fact of subjectivity of all practical recommendations arising from economic theory, then the question of the value of economic science involuntarily arises. Since economic science does not allow predicting future events and does not give unambiguous recommendations, then maybe it has no value at all?
Apparently, E. Leroy can be considered the founder of scientific pragmatism, who argued that science is only a rule of action. Hence, the understanding of the value of science follows logically: “either science does not provide an opportunity to foresee, in this case it is devoid of value as a rule of action; or it allows one to foresee (in a more or less imperfect way), and then it is not devoid of meaning as a means to knowledge. " P. Bragg adhered to a similar opinion: “science is reason in action”. With regard to economics, this position was expressed by M. Friedman in 1953: the significance of economic theory is determined solely by the accuracy of its predictions. Finally, "scientific pragmatism" was transferred to economic science in 1956 by L. Rogin, according to which the objective significance of economic theory lies in its recommendations for practical policy.
The main negative of these views is that, thanks to them, the criterion of the value of scientific doctrines begins to replace the ultimate goal of economic science, which is fundamentally wrong. As Poincaré rightly noted, it is not action that is the goal of science, but rather the opposite: knowledge is the goal, action is the means. There is also a quite definite methodological danger in the cultivation of "scientific pragmatism". The point is that “a science created exclusively for applied purposes is impossible; truths are fruitful only when there is an inner connection between them. If you are looking for only those truths from which you can expect immediate results, then the connecting links elude and the chain breaks up. "
In other words, the absence of predictive and managerial applications of economics does not negate its value. For example, many economic theories lack specific empirical content and serve only to streamlining information. There are also a number of important economic theses and theorems that, while identifying important points in economic behavior, still do not allow it to be directly predicted. In this case, Mach's assertion that the role of science consists in saving thought, just like a machine creates a power saving. In this regard, it is appropriate to recall the well-known aphorism of F. Knight: "The most harmful thing is not ignorance at all, but the knowledge of a hell of a lot of things that are actually wrong."
Speaking about the role of economic science, P. Heine rightly noted that "economists know how different things are related to each other." J. Hicks, opposing primitive empiricism in economics, also emphasized the "intrinsic value" of theoretical constructions and the importance of the analysis of cause-and-effect relationships as such. According to M. Blaug, the true significance of economic science lies primarily in the fact that the functioning of the economic system is now understood much better than ever before. Thus, the main value of economics is the possibility correct understanding economic reality, because, as the famous aphorism says, "the best practice is a good theory."
Indeed, one should not think that the purely cognitive, ontological aspect of economic science has nothing to do with economic practice. In this regard, the views of M.Alle, who, speaking about such an abstract concept as a competitive economy, believed that the latter is not even an image of reality, look very fresh and relevant; she happens to be frame of reference helping us to understand to what extent the society where we live does not use its capabilities. Thus, even the most abstract theoretical constructions of economics sometimes contribute to correct orientation in understanding practical problems.
ECONOMIC THEORY AS A BASIS OF SOCIAL FORECASTS AND MANAGEMENT DECISIONS
However, the role of economics is by no means exhausted by its ontological potential. One can, in particular, talk about its special place in comparison with the rest of the social sciences for predicting social phenomena. The fact is that quite often many sciences consider alternative ways of developing the same process in their own ways. At the same time, they evaluate probability the onset of certain events. However, events that are quite probable from the standpoint of one of the sciences turn out to be completely impossible from the standpoint of others. Following the approach of V. Leontiev, the region possible the development of the process from the point of view of individual sciences can be geometrically depicted by squares of various areas. Their mutual location will have nested a structure like the one shown in Fig. 1. In accordance with this approach, the value of economics lies in the fact that the area of possible development of events it outlines is, as a rule, much narrower than for other sciences. This means that the economy has a more significant "sifting potential" of events and thus allows leaving a rather narrow band of possible strategies for the development of the system. Thus, economic forecasts are more realistic, which allows them to play a dominant role in social forecasting.
The ability of the economy to determine the possible and desirable (that is, the most effective) through development also predetermines its capabilities in terms of the formation of practical recommendations in terms of management decisions. In this sense, the development of economic science provides a certain guarantee against gross economic mistakes and miscalculations. “Describing the economic laws that govern the use and formation of resources in a given period of time, identifying the boundaries created by the current situation for the future, it is possible to outline the area of possible development paths step by step. Economic theory urges to exclude from these options some development strategies that would lead to the waste of resources. " Thus, the economy allows, on the one hand, to build the most realistic, easily foreseeable forecast scenarios, and on the other hand, to choose the most rational among them.
Of course, making forecasts and choosing the optimal paths of development cannot be fully formalized. These procedures are usually a complex, iterative, informal process. However, the use of the entire arsenal of economic science allows you to gradually go through all the stages of this process and get the desired solution.
SOCIAL ROLE OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE
Speaking about the social role of the economy, one can recall the statement of J.M. Keynes about the impact of economic ideas on the process of political decision-making: "Practitioners who sincerely believe in their intellectual independence are in fact usually slaves to the ideas of some deceased economist." This thesis was beautifully supplemented by EF Heckscher: "economic policy is determined not so much by economic reality, but by ideas about this reality in the minds of people." This clearly shows the danger that faulty economic theories and erroneous famous economists can pose. “A physicist who is only a physicist can still be a first-class physicist and a most valuable member of society. However, no one can be a great economist by being only an economist. And I can't help but add: an economist who is just an economist is more likely to become a boring (if not dangerous) person. "
Thus, both correct and erroneous economic theories play a huge role in the construction and restructuring of a particular economic system. As biological evolution proceeds under the influence of genetic mutations, so, according to J. Soros, historical processes are formed by the wrong concepts and mistakes of their participants.
However, in addition to the simplest practical mistakes due to the use of incorrect economic doctrines, the problem of applying economic theory is seriously complicated by the following two facts.
First, there is a multivariance of optimal management decisions. This means that most practical economic problems can be successfully solved in various ways, among which it is very difficult to choose the best one. The following simple analogy is appropriate here. The quadratic equation has two roots; in the cubic equation, the number of solutions increases to three. As the degree of the algebraic equation grows further, the corresponding increase in the number of its roots occurs. In this case, the roots of the equations under consideration are absolutely "equal" and none of them can be given preference based on the consideration of the roots themselves. So in the process of making management decisions, there are many different ways to achieve this goal. This fact is reflected in economic science in such a concept as Pareto optimality.
Secondly, the effectiveness of a particular decision often depends not on how correct this decision is, but on how it is implemented. Quite often, wrong decisions lead to positive results, while the right strategies end in complete fiasco. “In the field of natural phenomena, the scientific method is effective only if the correct theory is used; but in the area of social, political and economic issues, wrong theories can also be effective. Although alchemy as a natural science has failed, social science as alchemy can succeed. " Thus, the effectiveness of economic decisions to a decisive extent depends on the volitional efforts of the individual, conducting them, as well as on the specific forms and mechanisms of their implementation.
ECONOMY AND PROBLEM OF INTERACTION OF SCIENCES; ECONOMIC IMPERIALISM
One of the features of economics is its "borderline" nature. In fact, none of the definitions of economic science makes it possible to clearly outline its boundaries and "radius of action". Indeed, economics is organically intertwined with such sciences as history, political science, psychology, sociology, biology, geography, technology, law and philosophy. Schematically, this process can be represented by the “rose of sciences”, in the center of which is the economy (Fig. 2). Methodologically, this means that the economist must constantly abstract from the secondary (non-economic) aspects of the studied reality, which are in the competence of other sciences. However, it is impossible to achieve a satisfactory understanding of social life if you do not have a synthetic picture that allows you to enter into a single framework the results obtained in various fields of knowledge. Moreover, according to M.Alle, "it is on the path of synthesis that social sciences can achieve the greatest success today."
It is indisputable that the role of that synthetic social "super-science", which accumulates in itself all the achievements of private social sciences, is increasingly being played by economics. Such a tendency towards the globalization of science objectively leads to an ever greater "capture" by the economy of "foreign" territories. Such a process in the development of economic science has even received a special name - "economic imperialism." Not only political science, sociology, history and law, but even biology and science of science have already undergone the "colonization" of economists. At the same time, economic science is increasingly acquiring a planetary-cosmological coloration. So, for example, the modern economy of world economic relations is forced to take into account the modern theory of mutagenesis, according to which each new ethnos arises as a result of a sudden change in the gene pool of living beings, which occurs under the influence of external conditions in a certain place and at a certain time. In particular, LN Gumilyov's theory of passionarity successfully explains the numerous shifts that have taken place in the world economy. In this case, it is extremely important that “a passionary impulse, if it occurs, never affects one country, one ethnic group. As a global, planetary phenomenon, the explosion of ethnogenesis covers extended narrow strips on the earth's surface, passing through different regions inhabited by different peoples. It is on these strips stretching for thousands of kilometers that the genesis of different peoples begins at the same time. " On the other hand, according to L.N. Gumilyov, "without taking into account the factor of international trade, the history of not only Khazaria, but the whole world is incomprehensible." The given example illustrates well, on the one hand, the encyclopedic nature of modern economics, and on the other hand, its synthesizing role, which is manifested in the “gluing” of various social sciences into a single whole.
Recently, economics has even been “digging into” anthropology and physiology. For example, the problem of the distribution of time between leisure, work and sleep falls into the sphere of economic analysis. According to current research, sleep time appears to be influenced by income and replacement effects. Moreover, in the time triad "work-leisure-sleep" the main factor is precisely the working hours, which gradually subordinate the logic of their economic functioning (efficiency, utility, productivity) to the other components of the daily time budget of individuals.
An interesting cut of economic analysis is the theory of distribution of time by H. Becker, which reveals the fundamental properties of time formation (in the sense of organizing time) in social systems. Methods and forms of mastering time play a huge role in the economic development of all countries and peoples. It is even believed that the so-called "temporary wars" (changes in ideas about space and time) determine the course of economic events and the politics of tomorrow. So, for example, economic studies of time streams and their perception by individuals make it possible to fairly fully and subtly explain a number of complex economic phenomena. Thus, studying such problems, economic science enriches our understanding of the essence and properties of time, which was originally considered the prerogative of physicists and philosophers.
Guided in its advancement by the thought that in order to achieve a satisfactory explanation of reality it is necessary to use all the methods of scientific cognition, economic analysis in the methodological plan is closely connected with mathematics, statistics, cybernetics, and even, paradoxically, with physics. It will not be a mistake to say that in terms of the degree of scientific "saturation" and methodological diversity, economics is the undisputed leader among all sciences. In this regard, the works of M.Alle attract attention. By his own admission, the search for fundamental factors underlying fluctuations in "precipitation" of the most proven economic models led him to understand the fact that all fluctuations in natural and social phenomena result from the resonance effect mainly from the influence of countless vibrations that permeate our inhabited space and whose presence today is a reliable fact. This, it turns out, can largely explain the seemingly incomprehensible structure of fluctuations in exchange quotations. Such an interpretation of socio-economic effects on the basis of the "fine" structure of the Universe is truly cosmological in nature and points to the outlined synthesis of social and natural sciences in general and economics and physics in particular.
SOCIAL PORTRAIT OF A CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIST SCIENTIST
The consequence of the large-scale expansion of the economy into other sciences is its expansion both in breadth and in depth. This fact imposes special requirements on the professional qualifications of an economist. A classic portrait of a scientist-economist was given in his time by J.M. Keynes: “Talented or simply competent economists are the rarest breed. The subject is easy, but those who succeed in it are few. The paradox is explained by the fact that the economist must have a rare combination of talents. He must achieve a level of excellence in several different directions and possess abilities that are rarely combined. He must be a mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher ... He must understand the language of symbols and express his thoughts in clear terms. He must consider the particular from the point of view of the general and approach the abstract and the concrete in the same movement. He must study the present in the light of the past, with the future in mind. He should not be alien to any part in the nature of man and his institutions. He must certainly strive for a practical and completely disinterested goal: to be detached and incorruptible, like an artist, but sometimes be as practical as a politician. "
Complementing this detailed characterization with the “ethnic” characteristics of the ideal scientist, M. Allera advocated the training of economists “possessing the qualities inherent in different nations: attention to the facts of the Anglo-Saxons, the erudition of the Germans, the logic of the Latins”.
On the basis of the foregoing, one involuntarily suggests a comparison of an economist with a kind of equilibrist, masterly juggling with all possible scientific instruments and at the same time not losing the main goal and logical thread of his reasoning. In this regard, it can be stated that one of the most essential features of an economist is an internal, one might say, an innate sense of proportion. Thus, an ideal economist, to use the terminology of K. Castaneda, must possess four magical qualities of a true stalker: ruthlessness, dexterity, patience and gentleness. Here we mean the following: ruthlessness in the statement of facts, dexterity in dealing with any scientific methods, patience in constructing logical schemes and selection of facts, gentleness in relation to their opponents. The latter fact is especially important, since all economic truths are very relative and to insist on them means to make a mistake, because, according to A. Govinda's apt remark, "dead truth is no better than a lie, for it causes inertia, the most difficult to grasp form of ignorance."
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Having outlined and assessed the situation in the modern mainstream, we would like to conclude by placing neoclassics in the context of other areas of modern economic science and present a classification of the main schools and areas of the latest stage in the development of economic theory.
In the modern history of economic doctrines, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between scientific programs characterized only by a general, albeit innovative, posing of questions and individual original conclusions, scientific schools, which appear in the form of an established unity of their own methodology, theory and practical program, and, finally, scientific directions, uniting several scientific schools or consisting of a single, but influential school.
Based on the experience of preparing the five-volume edition "World Economic Thought" and taking into account the data of the latest publications, we will try to offer our own vision of the evolution of the recent history of Western economic theory.
The general idea of the proposed tables is to try to connect the theoretical content of the main currents and schools of Western economic theory with socio-political practice, as was the case in many publications of Russian scientists. Theoretical "streams" in the economic teachings of the West are located in each of the figures from left to right (that is, from bottom to top) - from left revolutionaryism (E. Mandel) to the ultra-liberalism of F. Hayek, L. Mises and their followers. The table includes: the left flank (Western Marxism and radical left criticism); center-left trends (social democratic economic theories, traditional institutionalism, evolutionism, French dirigism and regulationism, A. Sen's unorthodox theory of welfare, etc.);
Centrist concepts (mainly the theory of "social market economy", representing the ideological core of modern German neoliberalism, as well as the economic views of numerous followers of J. M. Keynes); right-liberal flank, represented mainly by modern neoclassicism and ultra-liberalism of the neo-Austrian school.
A relative innovation is the inclusion in the general scheme of a very broad "institutional-evolutionary direction" (64). In addition to modern followers of Veblen's institutionalism and French dirigisme, the institutional-evolutionary complex includes the school of French regulationism by R. Boyer, the center-left theory of welfare of A. Sen, which has many followers, as well as varieties of modern evolutionism: neo-Schumpeterianism (R. Nelson, S. Winter), historical neo-institutionalism (D. North, R. Vogel), "qwerty-nomics" by P. David and B. Arthur.
The basis for bringing all these theories and schools into a single current is the presence of a similar methodology in them - with an emphasis on the variability, mobility of private economic structures separately and the entire national economy as a whole; the use of a close categorical apparatus with special attention to social institutions; verbal (not mathematical) modeling of economic situations; a general critical, sometimes downright negative, attitude towards the neoclassical mainstream, a moderately reformist practical economic program.
Note that the schemes in the figures are built on the opposition of the theoretical and economic mainstream to the anti-mainstream, or, following the apt expression of A. M. Libman, - "economic unorthodox".
At the same time, the mainstream is not limited to the modern neoclassical direction, but also includes schools that once competed with neoclassicism, but now assimilated with it (to one degree or another): neoclassical synthesis (P. Samuelson, J. Tobin), neoinstitutionalism (R. Coase, O Williamson, G. Becker), behavioral economic theory (G. Simon and others), neo-Austrian school. The generic feature of all schools and trends of the mainstream is the individualistic methodology (the doctrine of the "economic man"), the general theory of marginalism, primarily the concept of maximizing benefits by a rational individual, expressed in varying degrees of the desire to justify the status quo (in relation to capitalism as a system ), a conservative center-right or ultra-liberal economic program.
Economic theory, having gone through a complex evolution, differentiating itself into many directions and schools, consistently reproduced a significant difference in approaches, the immediate subject, and the features of analysis. As a result, on the one hand, a detailed analysis of the functioning of economic systems in the process of using limited resources was formed and, on the other hand, an analysis of the socio-economic structure and content of the economy in its real forms and in close relationship with other relations and institutions of society.
The structure of economic theory today is, firstly, the result of economic development from the simplest to complex economic systems of a mixed type. Secondly, it is the result of the increasing complexity and variety of models. Third, modern theory is the result of the development of scientific methods. At the end of the 19th century, a whole set of qualitative and quantitative methods arose that significantly expanded the possibilities of science. It becomes more and more obvious that the object and subject of economic theory is multifaceted, that attempts to describe the economy based on one approach, one method are unproductive and not promising.
Modern economic theory is a system of economic sciences related by a common subject -. Moreover, each component of economic theory has its own immediate subject.
The following can be distinguished as the main structural parts of modern economic theory.
The theory of rational (efficient) use of limited resources is an analysis of the functioning of economic relations at the micro level () and macro level ().
Socio-economic theory - analysis of the economy as a socio-economic system, in the unity of economic and social content, analysis of the economic system and specific models of the economy.
Institutional economic theory, which considers primarily organizational and economic relations, the relationship between economic and other institutions and their impact on the development of the economic system.
A special place in economic theory is occupied by the history of economic theory, designed not only to give a historical view of the development of economic science, but also to integrate various approaches as links of a single holistic view of the economy. Economic theory is a general theoretical science of economics, in contrast to private economic sciences, which study sectoral, specific economic problems. The latter disciplines also have a theoretical part, however, it is based on the general conclusions of economic theory. At the same time, in modern conditions, the theoretical basis for a comprehensive study of economics is both courses that set out the basics of the rational use of society's limited resources (Economics), and disciplines that study the socio-economic structure of society in its real forms and contradictions.
Due to the fact that economic theory is studied by various disciplines, the question arises about the name of "economic theory" and its constituent parts. At the same time, the subject of discussion is often the question of the relationship between Economics and political economy and their relationship with the main constituent parts of economic theory.
The names of the disciplines that make up the economic theory should be approached taking into account history and its real economic content at one stage or another in the development of society. History shows that one and the same name of science often hid opposite directions of economic theory, different methodological principles of its analysis and interests.
Initially, economic theory received the name "political economy" at the beginning of the 17th century. after the title of the work of Antoine Montchretien "A Treatise on Political Economy, Dedicated to the King and Queen", published in 1615 in Rouen. The current understanding of the subject of political economy, which has grown together in the XX century. with the analysis of socio-economic, industrial relations, has little to do with what A. Montchretien had in mind, using the term "political economy". His desire to emphasize the need not only for skillful management of the economy, but for a state national economy and explains the appearance of the word "political" in the name of economic science. And here the appeal to this term was fully justified: after all, "politics" from the Greek "politike" means the art of government. However, there were other, deeper reasons for the emergence of the name of our science in the 17th century. A. Montchretien was a mercantilist, and representatives of this trend in the history of economic thought were unanimous in the need for a state approach to the economy, in the need for the state to pursue a policy in order to grow the nation. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the name of economic theory as the science of wealth became characteristic of the period of mercantilism. And although, ideas about wealth, about measures of state policy varied from early to developed mercantilism, such an understanding of economic science was present in the titles of the main works of all the largest representatives of mercantilism (T. Mena "The wealth of England in foreign trade, or the balance of our foreign trade as a regulator of our wealth ", IT Pososhkova" The book about poverty and wealth ", etc.).
Economic science for a long time in its name remained the science of wealth, judging by the titles of the works of its prominent representatives: P. Boisguillebert ("Discourse on the nature of wealth, money, payments"), A. Turgot ("Reflections on the creation and distribution of wealth") , A. Smith ("Investigation of the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations"), etc. However, it should be noted that the "official signboard" of the titles of these works is deceptive - the same name of science hid the ideas of both mercantilists and physiocrats (Turgot), and classical English political economy (Smith).
With the decomposition of mercantilism, the emergence of capitalism, the subordination to it of not only the sphere of circulation, but also of production, economic science more and more turned into the science of studying the relations of production, the reasons for the antagonistic nature of the distribution of the product, the essential socio-economic contradictions of society. As a result, in the 19th century, the name "Political Economy" changed its former name for science and became typical for all areas and schools of economic theory. The works of the classic of English political economy D. Ricardo, subsequent economists T. Malthus, J.S. Mill, J. McCulloch, G. Carey, the founders of marginalism K. Menger, L. Walras, W. Jevons, representatives social school in Germany F. Oppenheimer, A. Amonn and theoretical works of prominent representatives of pre-revolutionary economic thought in Russia Y. Zheleznov, A. Chuprov, M. Tugan-Baranovsky. And in modern conditions, a number of areas of socio-economic thought use the term "political economy" to designate a new subject of research - the influence of politics, income distribution and other social factors on economic growth and development.
Economic theory today uses various names to refer to its subject matter. With regard to academic disciplines, these are, first of all, Economics courses, which offer a systematic presentation of the theory of the efficient and rational use of limited resources. The classical name of science is also used - "political economy" (R. Barr. "Political economy" in 2 volumes. M., 1994) R. Temmen. "Fundamentals of the doctrine of economics". M., 1994). There are other variants of the names of economic theory.
2. Implementation of the principle of complexity in municipal management
3. Practical part
List of used literature
1. The concept of "real economy"
municipal management management planning
The real economy is an economy directly related to material production, making a profit and filling the budget.
Today the real sector of the Russian economy is experiencing a deep recession. At the same time, the financial sector is growing at the fastest pace, sometimes the highest in the world. These "scissors" in the profitability of the virtual and real sectors of the economy constitute the very "bulldozer" that destroys even quite efficient factories in Russia.
Production in the real sector of the economy is shrinking due to a contraction in effective demand, a decrease in real money supply, high lending rates, termination of lending, high tariffs for electricity, gas and water.
Whole industries turned out to be unprofitable - metallurgy, mechanical engineering, wood processing, production of building materials, textiles and clothing, leather and footwear, pulp and paper, chemical, rubber and plastic products.
Having begun in the financial sector, the current crisis is destroying not just financial capital, but real production, the profitability of which is lower than the profitability in the field of financial speculation. This deepens the fundamental cause of the crisis, namely the colossal overaccumulation of capital, which does not correspond to the values actually produced.
In many countries of the world, similar processes are observed. Where consumption has exceeded production, the real sector continues to decline everywhere. Confirmation of this comes constantly. In the USA, Europe, Japan, against the backdrop of growing stock markets, many enterprises in the real sector are going bankrupt. For example, in the United States, the bankrupt concern GM alone will close 11 factories, dissolve 40% of dealerships and lay off 21 thousand people. Many of GM's foreign partners will suffer.
But the fact that this is not only a problem for Russia is not very reassuring. The branches of the real sector were too dependent on bank lending. Now, in thousands of still operating enterprises, there is a rapid increase in bank debts and arrears in wages. A critical mass is accumulating, which in the near future, possibly already this fall, may destroy entire industries.
The government and the Central Bank of Russia have poured trillions of rubles into the financial system in previous months. Now, fighting against the inevitable inflation as a result, they are tightening monetary policy. And the tightening of credit conditions, naturally, hits the real sector. Although the rise in inflation has stopped so far, the price of this suspension has been a contraction in effective demand and a drop in trade turnover.
At the beginning of the year, to curb inflation, the Central Bank raised ruble interest rates. Enterprises receive funds at 22-25%, and in some cases at 30% per annum . Naturally, in a crisis, such loans are unbearable for the real sector.
He, "addicted" in recent years to the needle of loans, is not able to get new ones. In the context of a sharply reduced demand for products and services, many companies will not be able to repay loans taken before the crisis and will face the prospect of bankruptcy. Only financial speculators can survive in an environment of such high interest rates, which, incidentally, they demonstrate.
The current situation is radically different from the 1998 crisis. In particular, the fact that over the past six months we have not seen a sufficiently serious development of import substitution - despite the almost twofold decrease in import volumes and the collapse of the ruble. Moreover, as we have already said, the contraction of real production continues and the conditions for development for the manufacturing sectors of the economy are deteriorating. We began to eat and buy a little less goods, but did not produce more.
On the contrary, production is shrinking, as is investment in fixed assets. The situation in the labor market and in the transport sector is deteriorating. On the other hand, financial markets are growing rapidly, which in 1999 were generally in their infancy.
Dynamics of the first stage of post-crisis recovery of real sectors of the Russian economy in January-May of this year relative to the same period last year,%
| January-May 1999 | January-April 2009 | |
| Industrial output | 101,5 | 82,9 |
| Agricultural products | 96,0 | 101,5 |
| Fixed capital investments | 98,0 | 85 |
| Freight turnover of transport enterprises | 102,6 | 82,3 |
| Retail turnover | 84,7 | 97,8 |
| Real disposable cash income | 73,8 | 99 |
| Officially registered unemployed | 96,6 | 171,7 |
Of course, there is some good news as well. The situation in agriculture has slightly improved. In May, there were signs of stabilization in certain sectors of the manufacturing industry. The population is gradually adapting to the conditions of the crisis. Perhaps the adoption of a number of measures of customs and tariff regulation helped this. But all these successes are insignificant, import substitution is sluggish and will in no way compensate for the general deepening of the recession in the real sector. And in agriculture, the situation is generally extremely neglected. Even with the complete cessation of the import of products, our village will not be able to work better without tractors, combines, other equipment, fertilizers.
2. Implementation of the principle of complexity in municipal management
The principle of complexity. This principle is important for the integrity of the construction of the structure and requires the analysis of the structure to proceed primarily from the integrity of a particular function. This is especially important in the case when the performance of the function is distributed among different structures or during the performance of this function all structures of the administration are used.
The integrated socio-economic development of municipalities is referred to the powers of local self-government by the Federal Law "On the General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation." The complex socio-economic development of a municipality is understood as a controlled process of changes in various spheres of the life of a municipality, aimed at achieving a certain level of development of the social (including spiritual) and economic spheres on the territory of the municipality, with the least damage to natural resources and the highest level of satisfaction of collective needs. population and state interests. In this direction, the following actions are carried out: local target programs are approved and implemented, municipal orders are given, forms of participation of enterprises and organizations in the development of the municipality are agreed, contracts are concluded, etc.
The management of the integrated socio-economic development of a municipality is understood as the management of mutually agreed programs (projects) for the development of all spheres of life of the municipality, agreed on resources, terms in accordance with the priorities adopted by the population, as well as those adopted for execution on the basis of agreements or by law by federal and regional development programs.
No matter how continuous the process of development and management may seem, the general fundamental feature of the process of managing the development of municipalities is its cyclical nature. In the issue of managing the development of a municipal formation, two approaches (or two strategies) are considered:
First approach. If the development management cycle has sufficiently clear boundaries, that is, the beginning of the development management cycle and its end. In this case, the full cycle of management of complex socio-economic development can be conditionally divided into the period of development of the program of complex socio-economic development and the period of implementation of this program.
Second approach. In large municipalities, the program of integrated socio-economic development can be so complex that it becomes necessary to consider the entire development management process as a combination of two relatively independent management processes: program development and its implementation. Obviously, these two processes, developing relatively independently, must be strictly coordinated in terms of time.
However, no matter how complex the management process may be, it can always be broken down into separate specific small-scale projects, in the management of which the following main stages (cycles) of managing the complex socio-economic development of the municipality can be distinguished as relatively independent:
during the development program development period:
Collection and processing of information;
Goal setting (goal setting);
Elaboration of strategic guidelines and development criteria;
Assessment of development potential and resource;
Development of the concept of complex socio-economic development of the municipal formation;
Development and adoption of a program for the integrated socio-economic development of the municipality
During the implementation of the development program:
Development and adoption of the development budget;
Execution of the development budget in accordance with the program of integrated socio-economic development;
Control, collection and processing of information and development of proposals for adjusting the program (concept).
So, the main feature of planning and distribution by stages of the process of complex socio-economic development of the municipality is that the periods of planning and adjustments of plans must be coordinated with the characteristic time cycles of the life of the municipality, such as the development and adoption of the budget, the term of office of local governments. and etc.
In the context of the transition to market relations, one of the main goals of the ongoing economic reforms is to improve management. The formation of market relations is associated with the development of new forms of management based on a variety of forms of ownership. This presupposes radical changes in the economic mechanism and methods of regional management, especially at the micro level.
Therefore, in these conditions, among the branches of scientific knowledge, municipal management is of particular importance - a scientific discipline in the system of economic knowledge that studies the management of regional socio-economic systems. The very concept of "management" is considered in modern economic science as the most effective type of management that meets the objectives of a market economy.
Municipal management uses knowledge of other scientific economic disciplines studied in economic universities: management, marketing, foundations of economic theory, economics and sociology of labor, statistics, etc. Municipal management uses their methods and conclusions for its own development and at the same time enriches these industries economic knowledge with their data.
One of the important issues under the jurisdiction of the municipal management of local self-government are management issues, namely, the construction of a management system that is most acceptable and effective for each municipal formation; development and adoption of the charters of the municipality and control over their observance; financial and economic support of the municipality.
3. Practical part
Socio-economic situation of the Chelyabinsk region
The development of the economy of the Chelyabinsk region in 2008 was characterized mainly by positive dynamics, in most of the main socio-economic indicators, growth was achieved to the level of 2007. At the same time, the growth rates in 2008 were slightly lower than in 2007, and there was a decrease in the volume of industrial production.
In general, practically in all spheres of economic activity, the main reasons for this situation were: a fairly high base of 2007 (in 2007 the Chelyabinsk region had very high indicators of the development of industrial production, construction, transport, trade and foreign economic activity) and the developing world economic crisis, the impact of which on the economy of the region began to manifest itself already from the III quarter and especially in the IV quarter of 2008.
The current crisis presupposes a serious renewal of the structure of the world and regional economy. The downward trend in the status of socially significant, science-intensive types of activity testifies to the degradation of the structure of industrial production in the direction of an increase in the role of raw materials industries, namely, metallurgical production.
The industrial production index in 2008 compared to 2007 amounted to 96.8% (in 2007 compared to 2006 - 112.8%). The largest reduction in production volumes occurred in extractive industries - by 4.7%, in manufacturing industries - by 3.3%, in organizations for the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water - by 2.9%.
The foreign trade activity of the Chelyabinsk region is characterized by the preservation of the hypertrophied nature of raw materials production in the export structure (the share of ferrous and non-ferrous metals in the export volume is more than 88%) and, as a consequence, dependence on world prices. In general, in 2008 the volume of exports increased by 16.6% (in 2007 - by 31.3%), the volume of imports - by 43.5% (in 2007 - by 64.5%). The volume of foreign trade turnover in 2008 increased by 24.3%, which is 14.9 percentage points below the 2007 level.
In 2008, 178.4 billion rubles of investments in fixed assets were directed to the economy of the Chelyabinsk region at the expense of all sources of financing. The growth to the level of 2007 was 112.4%. At the same time, by the end of the year, there was a tendency to reduce the volume of investments.
The following types of economic activities remain the most attractive for investors who channel funds into fixed assets: "Manufacturing", "Transport and communications", "Production and distribution of electricity, gas and water", "Real estate transactions, rent and provision of services" ...
The volume of foreign investments in the non-financial sector of the economy of the Chelyabinsk region (including ruble investments recalculated in US dollars) in 2008 increased 2.4 times against the level of 2007 (2007 - 90.6%).
In total, in 2008, the non-financial sector of the region received 3,166.6 million US dollars of foreign investment (including ruble investments recalculated into US dollars). Of the foreign investments received in 2008, only 37.0% of their total volume was used. The main areas of use are payment for raw materials, materials, components (18.7% of the total amount of foreign investments received), investments in fixed assets (9.9%), repayment of bank loans and loans (0.8%).
The overwhelming part (99.2%) of foreign investments received was directed to the development of industrial activities, of which 59.3% to the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water. As of the end of December 2008, the foreign capital accumulated in the regional economy amounted to USD 3305.6 million (at the end of December 2007 - USD 1676.4 million).
The volume of work performed in the "Construction" type of activity in 2008 amounted to 80.5 billion rubles, an increase over the last year - 120.5% (in 2007 - 136.2%).
In 2008, 5516 residential buildings with a total area of 2,024 thousand square meters were built in the region, which is 21% more than in 2007. Individual developers commissioned 736.9 thousand square meters of living space, an increase to the level of 2007 amounted to 106.1%. On average, 577 square meters of housing were commissioned per 1000 residents of the region.
Freight turnover of public transport over the past year amounted to 71.4 billion t-km and increased by 0.6%.
The volume of agricultural production in 2008 amounted to 62.7 billion rubles, or 101.8% of the 2007 level.
According to the Ministry of Finance of the Chelyabinsk Region, the territorial budget expenditures amounted to 111.4 billion rubles, revenues - 105.5 billion rubles, the deficit amounted to 5.9 billion rubles. A significant part of the budget revenues is formed by taxes on the profits of organizations and the income of individuals (60.8%). In the expenditure side of the budget, the main share is occupied by expenditures on education (23.3%), which decreased by 1.7 percentage points in comparison with 2007. Compared to 2007, the share of expenditures on housing and utilities increased in the structure of expenditures. economy by 3.1 pp and amounted to 15.3%, social policy - by 0.5 pp (14.1%). The share of expenditures on health care and sports decreased by 4 pp and amounted to 14.5%, on culture, cinematography and the media - by 0.5 pp (2.3%).
In the structure of tax revenues in 2008 compared to 2007, there was an increase in taxes on personal income (by 7.4 percentage points), their share was 34.2%, property taxes (by 1.1 percentage points) .) - 10.0%. The largest share of tax revenues to the regional budget is still made up of corporate income taxes - 40.8%.
In 2008, organizations (excluding small businesses, banks, insurance and budget organizations) received a balanced profit (profit minus loss) before tax at current prices in the amount of 53.8 billion rubles. Its volume in comparison with the level of 2007 has decreased by 2.5 times. The largest contribution to the formation of the balanced financial result was made by the organizations of manufacturing industries (65.1%), at the same time, compared to 2007, they allowed the most significant decrease among the basic types of activity (by 59.8%) in the volume of profits. Almost every fourth organization (27.9%) as a result of economic activity in the past year was unprofitable. The share of unprofitable organizations in 2008 compared to 2007 increased by 3.7 percentage points, the amount of loss - by 6.1 times.
In 2008, price growth in all sectors of the economy exceeded the level of the previous year.
In the consumer market of goods and services, prices increased by 12.8%, including for services - by 17.8% (in 2007 - by 12.2%), food products - by 16.1% (by 16.1%). %), non-food products - by 6.4% (5.7%).
In the manufacturing sector, the largest increase in prices (18.6%) was noted for construction products and industrial goods, of which the price of chemical production increased by 30.8%, metallurgical production - by 20.7%.
Freight tariffs increased by 21.1%.
In the consumer market of goods and services of the region, the growth of the physical volume of retail trade turnover remains. The retail trade turnover in 2008 increased by 22.4% compared to the previous year and amounted to 347.4 billion rubles. The retail turnover of food products increased by 19.3%, non-food products - by 24.6%.
The trend of slowing growth dynamics was observed during 2008 in the field of paid services to the population. In general, for the year, the index of the physical volume of paid services to the population amounted to 102.3% (in 2007 - 110.0%).
Last year, real disposable money incomes of the population increased by 14.6% in comparison with 2007.
The high differentiation of the population in terms of income continued to grow. The incomes of the most well-off group of the population in 2008 exceeded the incomes of the least well-off group of the population 14.7 times (in 2007 - 13.9 times). The 10% of the richest population accounted for 29.8% of the total cash income, and the 10% of the poorest population - 2.0% (in 2007 - 29.2% and 2.1%, respectively). About every tenth inhabitant of the Chelyabinsk region had cash incomes below the subsistence minimum.
In 2008, the average monthly nominal accrued wages (without social payments) increased by 24.6% compared to last year (in 2007 - by 27.2%), real accrued wages increased by 8.8%. Differentiation of wages by type of economic activity remains quite high. Thus, the highest wages were 4.2 times higher than the lowest.
In the IV quarter of 2008, a number of organizations in the region, due to the lack of their own funds, had overdue wage arrears. As of November 1, 2008, the total amount of wage arrears (for the range of observed types of activities) amounted to 4.4 million rubles, as of January 1, 2009 - 70.1 million rubles. On average, organizations owe 12,474.0 rubles to each employee owed to them.
An analysis of the formation of the labor force in the Chelyabinsk region based on data on the number of the economically active population based on the materials of sample surveys of the population on employment problems showed that the population providing the labor force supply increased by 7.4% compared to last year and amounted to 1,877.1 thousand . human.
In the economically active population, 1,794.9 thousand people are people who have a job or a profitable occupation, and 82.2 thousand people are persons who do not have a job or profitable occupation, who are looking for a job and are ready to start it, who, in accordance with methodology of the International Labor Organization are classified as unemployed.
The number of employed population in 2008 compared to the previous year increased by 5.3% and amounted to 95.6% of the economically active population.
In 2008, the number of unemployed has almost doubled, and the unemployment rate by 1.9 percentage points. and amounted to 4.4%.
The level of registered unemployment by the end of December 2008 amounted to 1.8% of the economically active population in the region as a whole, exceeding the same indicator in 2007 by 0.2 percentage points.
The main directions of anti-crisis measures are:
1. Support for the real sector of the economy.
2. Implementation of large investment projects to increase the competitiveness of the regional economy.
3. Stabilization of the situation on the labor market.
4. Attracting funds from the federal budget, increasing the efficiency of using budget funds.
5. Improving the quality of life of the population. Implementation of national projects.
First, more than 320 enterprises of the real sector of the economy were provided with targeted support from the regional budget. Support was provided, first of all, to city-forming enterprises in cities: Asha, Karabash, Satka, V-Ufaley, Zlatoust, Katav-Ivanovsk, Kyshtym, Nyazepetrovsk, Ust-Katav, Bakal, Minyar and others. As a result, it was possible to preserve jobs and labor collectives at the enterprises that received targeted support.
The profit tax refund - more than 10 billion rubles - became a serious support to the enterprises. from the regional budget, despite a sharp drop in its revenues.
Work has been organized with the federal center to provide state support to the backbone enterprises included in the federal list. As a result:
Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant received a loan of 80 million euros for the construction of a rail and structural steel mill.
ChTZ - a decision was made to subsidize loans in the amount of 484 million rubles, of which 114 million rubles. already received. State support was provided to "Ufaleinickel", where production fell by more than 3 times from the pre-crisis level, in the acquisition of its products in the state reserve.
The situation with the financing of the state defense order has changed for the better, although the full volumes have not been achieved.
The governor sent more than 100 letters to various departments in support of industrial enterprises.
To receive state support from the federal budget, packages of documents on 19 regional enterprises were sent to the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia.
For 6 "sick" enterprises (Zlatoust Metallurgical Plant, Katav-Ivanovsky Mechanical Plant, Vekhneufaley Metallurgical Engineering Plant, Ashinsky Metallurgical Plant, Nyazepetrovsky Crane Plant, Strommashina), the Governor, owners and management of enterprises signed separate protocols on anti-crisis measures, and control their implementation. In pursuance of the Governor's anti-crisis plan to rescue ZMZ:
A plenipotentiary representative of the Governor was sent to the plant;
Electric steel-making, rolling production, open-hearth shop were launched;
Wage arrears have been repaid;
Found a strategic investor - Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant.
As a result, 4 times more metal products will be sold in August than in July, more than 6 thousand people returned to their jobs, who did not replenish the labor market of Zlatoust.
Particular attention was paid to supporting small businesses, the role of which as one of the main sources of creating new jobs and replenishing local budgets during the crisis has increased significantly. In order to reduce administrative barriers, in February the Governor signed an order to suspend scheduled inspections, and unscheduled inspections - only in agreement with the prosecutor's office.
Reduced from 15 to 10% the tax rate for entrepreneurs working on the "simplified" system.
In order to increase the availability of loans, a guarantee fund began to operate, for interaction with which 7 partner banks were attracted. With the allocated 110 million rubles. budget funds, taking into account the multipliers declared by the banks, guarantees will be provided to small businesses in the amount of more than 500 million rubles. Lists of regional and municipal property were approved for leasing to entrepreneurs on a long-term basis and on preferential terms (which is more than 1,800 objects with an area of 744 thousand sq. M.).
259 decisions were made to buy out leased property by entrepreneurs, and 77 sales and purchase agreements have already been concluded. In May, a business incubator was opened for small businesses from among the socially unprotected segments of the population, where 30 enterprises are already working (these are 142 new jobs).
Due to the measures taken in the first half of the year, more than 8 thousand new jobs were created.
Secondly, the main thing in the current conditions is structural changes in the economy, the creation of new industries for the production of competitive products. As part of supporting investment activities:
Mechanisms of interaction with investors on the principle of "one window" and public-private partnership have been launched;
State support was provided to 9 enterprises implementing investment projects.
List of used literature
1. Comprehensive report "Socio-economic situation of the Chelyabinsk region" January-November 2009
2. Bartenev S.A. "Economic theories and schools (history and modernity): A course of lectures". - M .: Publishing house Bek, 2006 .-- 352s.
3. Borisov EF Fundamentals of economic theory. - M .: new wave, 2004.
4. Glazyev S.Yu. Support for science is a priority of Russia's economic policy. M., 2007.
5. Nosova S.S. - M .: Humanities. ed. center VLADOS, 2005 .-- 519 p. - (Textbook for universities).
6. Path to the XXI century: Strategic problems and prospects of the Russian economy. - M .: Economics, 2009 .-- 793 p. - (Systemic problems of Russia).