THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC SYSTEMS IN MODERN CONDITIONS

O. Yu. Michurina

THE PLACE AND ROLE OF INTEGRATION PROCESSES IN THE WORLD ECONOMY

The formation and development of large integrated structures is one of the significant trends in the transformation of the modern economy. In a general sense, integration contributes to the development of new territorial markets, the creation of joint ventures in developed territories, and increased sustainability national economies, association of suppliers and consumers, production and sales of products. Often, the largest integrated structures act as strategic partners of the state in pursuing industrial policy, and government reforms in general. The economy of developed countries is based on the activities of the largest integrated entities, in contact with which entire networks of medium and small business structures inevitably function. “National capital gains a chance to act as a competitive force in world markets if a significant part of it is structured into financial, industrial and commercial corporate cores, effectively regulated and supported by the state.”

In modern conditions, the concept of “integration” no longer allows economists, analysts, and historians to grasp the full scale of integration processes taking place in the world economy. Currently, we everywhere encounter the concepts of “globalization”, as well as “international economic cooperation”, “international economic integration” and “internationalization of economic life”. For example, I. G. Vladimirova interprets the relationship between these concepts as follows.

The internationalization of economic activity is based on strengthening the relationship and interdependence between the economies of individual countries, the influence of international economic relations on national economies is expanding, and individual countries actively influence the conduct of the world economy. Internationalization of the economy involves both international economic cooperation and international capital flows. In the process of international economic cooperation, sustainable economic ties are developing between countries and peoples, reproductive process goes beyond national boundaries.

International economic cooperation leads to international economic integration, which is characterized by: deepening the international division of labor; internationalization of capital; increasing freedom of trade and the degree of openness of national economies; globalization of scientific and technological progress; complete or partial unification of national economies various countries; eliminating barriers to the movement of goods, services, resources, capital, and labor; the formation of common markets between different countries; lack of discrimination against national partners, etc. Thus, international economic integration can be understood as the process of economic interaction between countries, which leads to rapprochement economic mechanisms, which is a fairly high and promising level of internationalization of economic relations.

The next stage in the internationalization of economic activity is the globalization of the world economy, the core of which is economic integration, and further development is towards the formation of a single market for the majority of transnational companies, for which the majority of regions are open. The globalization of international relations is characterized by increased interdependence and mutual influence of various spheres public life in the field of international relations, including economics, politics, social sphere, culture, ecology, lifestyle, etc. No country currently can form and implement an economic development strategy without taking into account international norms of behavior and development priorities of the main participants in global economic activity.

Modern globalization, based on objective economic integration, is also an objective pattern and represents a certain natural historical process of increasing interdependence of global economic entities as a result of expanding financial flows between countries, improving information technology, expanding the volume and range of goods and services offered. According to a number of researchers, the process of globalization has a fairly long history, and by the end of the 19th century. One could observe the forms of a single world space created by the market civilization of exchange. Substantiating this idea, A. S. Panarin writes: “The appearance of a mechanical loom in England resulted in the ruin of millions of weavers in India, the emergence of the republican idea in France began to undermine the thrones of the eastern monarchies, and in Russia it inspired the Decembrist movement.” Thus, integration processes, changing forms and quantitative parameters, continue to expand and deepen in the global economic and sociocultural space.

Many countries are currently voluntarily renouncing full national sovereignty in order to form integration associations with other states. This process is based on the desire to increase economic returns from production, and integration itself is primarily of an economic nature. Modern developed countries do not try to fully provide themselves with all necessary goods, but specialize in the production of individual goods, often acquiring missing goods through trade. Moreover, certain types of products are produced jointly by workers from different countries. Then, in the form of components, these types of products participate in the creation of a single subject of labor, therefore, the labor resources of different countries take part in the same production process. All these are examples of the internationalization of production, which includes the international division and international cooperation of labor.

Economic integration, which underlies both the internationalization of economic activities of modern enterprises and the globalization of the world economy, contributes to the strengthening of close economic relations between countries, the unification of national economies, conflict-free interaction between countries, and the implementation of a unified economic policy. Economic integration, which goes beyond the boundaries of one region, i.e. involving many regions and countries in the integration process, goes through the following stages of development of integration groupings:

1) creation of a free trade zone, which is characterized by a reduction in internal customs duties between the participating countries; refusal to protect national markets in relations with association partners; maintaining economic sovereignty; interaction between two closely cooperating countries, which are then joined by new partner countries (for example, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - a free trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico, based on the model of the European Union (EU));

2) the creation of a customs union, in which external tariffs are unified, a unified foreign trade policy is pursued, part of the foreign economic sovereignty of the participating countries is lost, national customs tariffs between the participating countries are abolished, a single customs territory is formed, the countries agree on the creation of interstate bodies that carry out coordinated foreign trade policies (for example, the EU association with Turkey - a customs union between the European Economic Community (EEC, now the EU) and Turkey, created in 1963);

3) the creation of a common market, when in addition to the minimization of internal duties, the elimination of restrictions on the movement from country to country of various production resources - labor, raw materials, capital, information, etc. is added (for example, the Central American Common Market is a trade and economic union uniting since 1961 Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador. The Common Market Agreement was signed by six European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) in Rome in 1957 (Treaty of Rome));

4) the creation of an economic union, when the level of taxes is equalized for the participating countries, economic legislation, technical and sanitary standards are unified, national financial and credit structures and social systems are coordinated, the importance of supranational management structures is increased (for example, the European Parliament

in the EU), which have the power not only to coordinate the economic actions of governments, but also to make decisions on behalf of the entire integration bloc. Here are some examples of economic unions:

Benelux is an economic union that has existed since 1948, uniting Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg;

Arab Maghreb Union - formed in 1989 by the participating countries - Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia;

The European Union (from 1957 to 1993 - the European Economic Community) is the most developed economic bloc in the world. The founding countries of the European economic communities system are France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. In 1973 they were joined by Great Britain, Denmark and Ireland. In the late 70s and 80s. Greece, Spain and Portugal also became members of the European Community (as the entire association began to be called then), and in the 90s. - Austria, Finland and Sweden. The next stage of EU enlargement was the accession of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia to the EU in 2004, and in 2007 - Bulgaria and Romania. Currently, the EU, transformed from the EEC on the basis of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, consists of 27 states;

5) development of a political union - the highest level of regional integration, in which a single market space turns into an integral economic and political organism, a new multinational subject of international economic and political relations, which speaks from the position of all participants in the political union, expresses their interests and political will. So far, no regional integrated bloc has reached such a high level of development that a political union is required, but the closest thing has come to it is the EU, sometimes called the “United States of Europe.”

These examples were given by us to demonstrate the highest level achieved by integration processes throughout the entire world economy, to demonstrate the so-called macro level of integration. The subject of our research is primarily microintegration. To illustrate the place and role of integration processes in the world, we propose to use a diagram (Table 1), which will help us structure the above-described relationship between the concepts of “international division of labor”, “international labor cooperation”, “international economic integration”, “international economic cooperation” , “globalization of the world economy” and reflects the author’s point of view on the issue under study.

Table 1

Stages and levels of integration of economic activities*

Stage I. Component I. Division of Labor

A historically established process of isolation, modification, and consolidation of certain types of labor activity, leading to sustainable specialization. Promotes the progress of productive forces, increased labor productivity, concentration of production, and increased efficiency.

International division of labor is the specialization of countries in the production of certain types of goods, for the production of which the country has cheaper factors of production and preferable conditions in comparison with other countries.

The process is presented at the micro and macro levels.___________________________________________________________________________

Micro level

At the micro level, the division of labor occurs between individual companies, as well as within one enterprise. At the same time, internationally, transnational companies take an active part in the division of labor at the micro level._______

Macro level

At the macro level, one can observe international specialization between countries, in which large countries usually specialize in several areas, and small ones - in a narrow area in which they are consolidated due to the high quality of the goods supplied. For example, Luxembourg specializes in the production of high-quality dentures, Switzerland - in the production of watches and low-current equipment. Russia is currently a major exporter of oil, gas, timber, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, fertilizers, weapons, etc._________________________

Stage I. Component II. Labor cooperation

Cooperation of labor and production is an objective historical process, characteristic of all methods of production, countries with any socio-economic system; presupposes unity and coordination of the joint actions of individual workers, their teams, or even national economies in the process of reproduction of socially necessary goods.

International labor cooperation is a stable exchange between countries of products produced by them with the greatest economic efficiency, based on the international division of labor. International labor cooperation is completely based on the international division of labor and cannot exist independently. This form of interaction between global economic entities has become an accelerator for the structural restructuring of industry, its sectoral and interdepartmental complexes on a new technological basis, including the widespread use of electronic and information technologies.

The process is presented at the micro and macro levels.__________________________________________________________________________

Continuation of the table. 1

Micro level

At the micro level, labor cooperation occurs between individual companies, as well as within one enterprise. At the same time, internationally, transnational companies take an active part in labor cooperation at the micro level.

Macro level

At the macro level, cooperation takes place between national economies, during which advanced ideas and achievements in the fields of fundamental science, research and development work, production, design, management and information technologies are combined and materialized, as well as products of specialization of different countries are purchased and consumed for the needs of national economies.

Stage II. Economic cooperation

Economic cooperation is based primarily on economic cooperation and may include the provision of licenses, the creation of enterprises or production lines; development of new types of technologies and provision of information related to these types of technologies; production, marketing, joint projects or joint bids for contracts, etc.

International economic cooperation is an objective process of developing diverse economic and scientific-technical ties between transnational companies, individual countries, groups of countries on the principles of independence, equality and mutual benefit of the parties.

International economic cooperation can be presented at the micro and macro levels._________________________

Micro level

International economic cooperation at the micro level is defined as relations between enterprises from different countries, based on long-term common interests. Important features will be the long-term (repeated) nature of economic relations, their direct focus on production material goods, joint or technologically related activities with the aim of saving costs, improving production, increasing labor productivity, quality of products and production efficiency. In this case, cooperation can extend both to production itself and to activities preceding the production process or related to it in another way, for example, to the sale of finished products.______________

Macro level

International economic cooperation at the macro level implies the emergence of stable economic ties between countries and peoples and may include foreign trade at the level of the national economy, credit relations between national economies, cooperation and cooperation between countries in the field of development natural resources, compensation transactions, as well as broad scientific and technical cooperation: trade in licenses for production of products and technological methods, joint scientific developments, implementation of large technical projects, construction of enterprises, structures and other facilities, geological exploration, etc.

Stage III. Economic integration

Uniting economic entities, deepening their interaction, developing connections between them. It manifests itself both in the expansion and deepening of production and technological ties, the sharing of resources, the pooling of capital, and in creating favorable conditions for each other to carry out economic activities, and removing mutual barriers. The mechanisms, forms and types of integration are studied in detail in. A cyclical model is also proposed there, demonstrating the endless cycle of the process of economic integration and characterizing a single integration process as an element of the objective pattern of social development.

International economic integration is a process of economic interaction between countries, leading to the convergence of economic mechanisms, taking the form of interstate agreements and coordinatedly regulated by interstate bodies.

Economic integration takes place both at the level of national economies of entire countries (macro level), and between enterprises, firms, companies, corporations (micro level)._______________

Micro level

At the micro level, international economic integration is associated with the activities of transnational companies in the field of:

Vertical integration, in which they are united from suppliers to buyers, ideally covering the entire chain - from a resource-extracting enterprise to a distribution network that sells the finished product to the end consumer;

Horizontal integration, in which enterprises of the same industry are united in order to increase market coverage, suppress competitors, promote brands, etc.;

Circular integration, in which enterprises from different industries are united in order to increase the value of companies, diversify the portfolio of products, reduce the risks of ineffective activities, etc.;

Integration of enterprises producing goods that complement each other.

Macro level

The macro level of international economic integration is characterized by a deepening of the international division of labor; internationalization of capital; increasing freedom of trade and the degree of openness of national economies; globalization of scientific and technological progress; complete or partial unification of national economies of different countries; eliminating barriers to the movement of goods, services, resources, capital, and labor; the formation of common markets between different countries; no discrimination against national partners, etc.________________

Stage IV. Globalization of the world economy

Globalization of the economy is one of the laws of world development. Associated with the formation of an economic space where sectoral structure, the exchange of information and technology, the geography of the location of productive forces are determined taking into account global conditions, and economic ups and downs acquire planetary proportions.

Occurs under the influence of external factors (economic, social and cultural) on the reproduction of all countries participating in this process, the formation of a single world market (markets) without national barriers and the creation of uniform legal conditions for all countries.

The main consequences of globalization are the global division of labor, migration (and, as a rule, concentration) throughout the planet of capital, human and production resources, standardization of legislation, economic and technological processes, as well as the rapprochement and fusion of cultures of different countries. This is an objective process that is systemic in nature, that is, it covers all spheres of social life. As a result of globalization, the world is becoming more connected and more dependent on all its subjects.

Globalization can be represented at the micro and macro levels.____________________________________________________________

End of table. 1

Micro level

Expanding the activities of companies beyond the domestic market, the need to meet consumer demand in any country, regardless of borders and nationality. The various stages of design, production and marketing of products can be located in different countries and unified on an international scale. Transnational corporations are the main subject of globalization processes at the micro level._________________________________

Macro level

The desire of states and their associations for economic activity beyond their borders through trade liberalization, the removal of trade and investment barriers, the development of interstate coordinated measures to form a global economic market space, standardization of legislation, etc.

Stages and levels of integration processes of world economic activity, formulated and displayed in table. 1, allow us to state the following:

1) integration processes are an objective pattern modern development an economy based on historically established and widespread objective processes of division and cooperation of labor, development of economic cooperation;

2) integration processes are characteristic of both the internal development of the country’s economy and the external economy. This is illustrated by the international division and cooperation of labor, international economic cooperation, international economic integration and globalization of the world economy;

3) integration is a multi-level phenomenon that affects both individual enterprises (micro level) and entire regional and national economies (macro level);

4) economic integration not only permeates all aspects of economic relations between economic entities and takes place at all levels of interaction; it forms the core of the process of globalization of the world economy, which, in turn, is the highest stage of world economic integration, implying a qualitative change in the picture of the world.

The spread of integration and the growth of globalization processes throughout the world is facilitated by modern telecommunication technologies, the development of communication means and their unification. In modern conditions, information about events that occurred in one region of the world can be and is transmitted almost immediately to any other region. This is relevant for events taking place on stock exchanges, currency and commodity markets, political arena, in the field of scientific discoveries. The distance between partners from each other is currently not an obstacle to their integration interaction. In addition, modern telecommunications costs for processing, transmission, storage and use of information have decreased hundreds of times over several decades of the 20th century. “The cost of a three-minute call between London and New York fell (in real terms) from $300 in 1930 to $1 in 1998. Cost computer processing units of information for... 20 years (from 1975 to 1995) decreased annually (in real terms) by 30%.” Information interaction between business entities is directly related to the development of electronics - the creation of the Internet, e-mail, electronic billing systems and plastic cards, satellite and fiber-optic communications, etc. Modern control systems make it possible to manage production located in different countries from a single center, to solve operational, technical, commercial, financial problems at the same speed as they would be solved within one production facility.

Another driving force of integration processes is the spread of cooperation policies for the sake of strengthening the competitiveness of the economic structure in both domestic and foreign markets. Nowadays, many companies no longer try to compete alone, as was common practice just a few decades ago. The highest speed of development and implementation of new products, ensuring high quality at low costs, the ability to access the latest technologies, resource and other key opportunities are not given to all companies at the same time and at the same level when trying to enter a given market. Independent formation competitive advantages requires companies to spend a lot of time and significant costs, and the globalization of the world economy, the rapid development of technology, the emergence of opportunities

in emerging markets, the privatization of individual national economies is opening up new prospects. Under these conditions, the optimal way to allow companies to quickly close the gap in competitive capabilities compared to leaders is to combine resources and capabilities and establish integration relationships. Relationships based on integration allow partners to quickly respond to technological innovations and new trends in the market, increase the reliability of the information received, gain access to new skills and competencies, and expand their capabilities by combining resources.

Any modern large enterprise is a system of interconnected economic structures, small, medium or even large production and financial complexes. Operating in an open, aggressive economy, modern enterprises are in a relationship of either production cooperation with each other, or financial dependence or contractual supplies, and are often directly included in the structure of a large financial and industrial association. Currently, industrial, financial-industrial, financial-construction and other integrated groups in most cases have an intersectoral, multifaceted structure. “According to the most rough estimates, there are about 40,000 inter-industry associations in the world that have the characteristics of financial and industrial structures, which have approximately 180 thousand branches in 150 countries. They control from one third to half of industrial production, over half of the foreign trade of developed countries, approximately 80% of all patents and licenses for the latest technology, technology, know-how. The five hundred largest of them concentrate approximately 50% of all foreign investment, over half of the annual turnover of goods and services."

The study of the world practice of establishing integrated structures gives us a picture of the stage-by-stage, systematic, objective development of integration processes in the world economy (Table 2). The earliest examples are related to the formation of associations of individuals, which, in principle, is not the subject of our study, but is of undoubted interest for considering the history of the formation of associations in the most general sense of the word.

table 2

Historical facts of the formation of integrated structures in the world economy

Overall in the global economy

Middle Ages Creation of trade guilds to specialize in the activities of merchants. The purpose of creating these trade guilds was to temporarily unite merchants and their funds to limit the risks of individual investors. Guilds bore corresponding joint and several liability based on the general conditions of joint activity. Guilds were characterized by the presence of internal rules of business life, turnover and relationships.

10th-12th centuries In the Mediterranean, there was a flourishing of trade, associated with the activities of two groups of traders - merchants of the Maghreb and merchants of the cities of Northern Italy, who created networks of trading agents to represent the interests of a particular merchant in a particular city. Agents had considerable power in determining the terms of transactions. In fact, the entire Mediterranean region was shrouded in a horizontal network of agents, in which the same merchant could be both an independent merchant and an agent for other merchants. Unlike the Maghreb merchants, who acted alone and relied on their network of agents, the merchants of northern Italy created a system of family firms (some of which lasted for centuries). During this period, the principle of collective responsibility of the members of the association was in effect in relations between the entrepreneurs themselves.

12th century In the south of France, flour-milling corporate associations were formed on a share basis, where shares were freely alienable, there was a governing body elected by shareholders, who, in turn, formed the highest control body - the general meeting of shareholders. In Germany, mining partnerships were created, the right to participate in which was obtained by acquiring a share (share), subject to free alienation, but considered as real estate. The number of shares could exceed a hundred. Shareholders formed general meetings at which issues were resolved by a majority vote.

13th century The emergence of Chinese business networks (“bamboo networks”). Since China occupied the position of the leading trading power in Southeast Asia, large communities and associations of Chinese entrepreneurs were observed in all countries of Southeast Asia. Communities of Chinese entrepreneurs were characterized by informal relationships based on trust.

Continuation of the table. 2

Time period Facts of the formation of integration processes and integrated structures

Overall in the global economy

15-17 centuries Creation of maritime partnerships for the purpose of joint construction, acquisition or operation of a ship. The organizer of the partnership, who decided to build a ship, invited other persons to participate in the partnership and announced the characteristics of the object and the proposed association - the size of the ship, its cost, the number and size of shares. The shares were recognized as equal to each other. During the same period, Italian corporate associations of state creditors - maons - became widespread in Italy, the greatest flourishing of which was observed in Genoa.

1600 The English East India Company is created, becoming the recognized predecessor of modern corporations.

1602 The Dutch East India Company is created, also the generally accepted prototype of modern corporations.

Early 17th century In Holland, England, France, a number of joint-stock corporations were formed under the names of the East Indies, West Indies, Suriname, Canada, etc. These corporations were branches of the state economy, were of a public nature and often found subscribers for shares with unrealistic promises of huge and quick profits.

Late 18th century In the United States, 259 different corporations were established with a total share capital of $48.4 million by 1803, of which 8 were industrial corporations, 29 were banking corporations, and the rest were trading corporations.

1804 In the French Civil Code, in Title IX “On Society” in Chapter 3 “On Simple Partnership”, it is assumed that participants without the right of a legal entity, without registration, can unite into a company, which is given the name of a simple partnership. This association was defined as a subject of law and was mainly of a trading nature.

1820 The emergence of holdings in Europe, Belgium.

20s 19th century In the USA and England, entrepreneurial associations flourished in the form joint stock companies, the rise of railway joint stock companies (for example, the Manchester and Liverpool Railway).

1879 The emergence of the first US trust, Standard Oil, which acquired complete features in 1882. Participants transferred shares of their enterprises to a special committee of “trustees” and received trust certificates in return. The Standard Oil association, created by John R. Rockefeller, virtually completely monopolized the American oil production market. The trust concentrated about 90% of US oil refining capacity and almost as many oil transportation pipelines.

1884 1885 1887 Following Standard Oil, other trusts began to spread in the USA: - oilseed-cotton trust, - oilseed-linseed trust; - vodka, sugar, lead trusts.

1890 The Sherman Anti-Trust Act in the United States in the first section provides that any contract, association in the form of a trust or any other form, or conspiracy to restrain trade or commerce among the several states or with foreign countries is declared illegal. Violation of this norm implied both administrative liability in the form of a fine or confiscation of the property united by the participants, and criminal liability in the form of imprisonment for persons who entered into a conspiracy.

1897 In the Commercial Code in Germany, in book 3 “Regulations for all merchants” in article 290, concerns were mentioned, which included enterprises that were under the sole management of the parent company within the country and if the parent company owned shares in other (subsidiaries) enterprises. The mentioned article of the German Commercial Code obliged the parent company to maintain a balance sheet for the concern and a report on the state of affairs of the concern as a whole, i.e., to maintain consolidated accounting and tax reporting.

18981909 In the United States, there was a surge in the creation of holding companies as a result of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) and subsequent court decisions to terminate the existence of monopoly trusts or transform them. During this period, many joint stock companies grew so quickly that they were later transformed into transnational companies.

1900 1909 End of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. - in the USA there is a concentration of industry within associations created in the form of joint stock companies: - a steel corporation monopolizes 70% of the iron mines in the Great Lakes region; - the tobacco trust produces 90% of all national tobacco products.

1905 In Russia there are about 400 cartels and syndicates that have a common organization for selling products.

1926 The giant trusts “Vereinigte Stahlwerke” are created in Germany.

1930s The Morgan and Rockefeller financial group owns 56% of the total American share capital - $22 billion in shares.

19381947 In the United States, securities issuance is monopolized by a small number of banks - 17 investment banks and corporations controlled 69% of all securities issuance operations. Permanent consortia were created, specializing in specific types of investments, in the securities of one country. For example, the Rothschild group placed loans from the Austro-Hungarian government, and the Mendelssohn group placed loans from the Tsarist government of Russia.

First half of the 20th century. Along with consortia (contractual associations), concerns (holding associations) were actively formed in England and the USA, headed by a large organization or governing body that owned blocks of shares and shares of the authorized capital of the companies included in the concern. Examples of concerns headed by large organizations include: in the USA - the Morgan concern with a central body - the banking house "J. P. Morgan and Co.; in England - the Rothschild concern with its central body - the banking house "Rothschild and Son"; in Belgium - the Solvay concern with its central body - the banking house Solvay and Co., etc.

Continuation of the table. 2

Time period Facts of the formation of integration processes and integrated structures

Overall in the global economy

18261905 19111929 1929 19301931 1934 First half of the 20th century. - cartels form the basis of economic life in all industrial countries: - in Germany there are 250-385 cartels, respectively; - in Germany the number of cartels increases to 550-1,500, respectively, and after the crisis in 1929, the process of creating cartels accelerates - up to 2,100 cartels; - there are up to 200 international cartels and syndicates, among which is the European Steel Cartel, which controls 2/3 of European and 1/3 of global steel production; International Copper Syndicate -90% of world production; European Aluminum Syndicate - 100% European and 50% global production; International Rail Cartel; International Potash Cartel; Spanish-Italian mercury cartel, etc.; - in England there are 170 industrial cartels, in France - 80, in Austria - 100, in Czechoslovakia - 120, in Hungary - 70, in Switzerland - 85. In Germany, more than 2,000 cartels control about 50% of all industrial production. In some industries, production and sales were virtually completely monopolized by cartels and syndicates. Thus, the Rhine-Westphalian Coal Syndicate controlled up to 74.5% of all national coal production, 90% of coke production and 82% of coal exports; Nitrogen cartel - 100% of national production; Steel Trust - almost 100% of raw steel production. In Poland, 114 cartels control about 40% of national production. The International Paint Cartel is formed, uniting German and French competitors and controlling 90% of the world's paint production (excluding the USSR); - The World Nitrogen Cartel and the International Rubber Association are formed.

Overall in the global economy

After 1945 Large-scale development of transnational corporations in the USA and Europe.

1947 In Japan, the antitrust law, as amended in 1953, encouraged the formation of business associations as crisis and rationalization cartels.

1955 In Japan, the law “On Emergency Measures for Rationalization in the Coal Industry” provides the opportunity for joint actions to limit production and set prices for coal, i.e., state regulation of the activities of monopolies is observed.

1948 1964 1965 Examples of state regulation of antimonopoly activities in antitrust legislation in England: - legislative act“On monopolies and restrictive practices”; - legislative act “On resale prices”; - legislative act “On monopolies and mergers”.

After 1945, the development of the Japanese model of corporate integration, Japanese transnational corporations (TNCs), the vast majority of which are regional, i.e., they concentrate their activities in the countries of Southeast Asia. Japanese TNCs play an important role in the development of the region and contribute to the dissemination of Japanese operating standards and management methods; new technologies originating in Japan are spreading throughout Southeast Asia through Japanese multinationals.

18951904 The first wave of mergers and acquisitions in the United States. Horizontal mergers predominated, the main motives of which were increasing power and prestige, monopolistic profits and economies of scale. 3,012 liquidations of firms through mergers were recorded, the total capitalization of new companies amounted to $6.91 billion. In 1989, about a third of this activity was recorded - 1,208 liquidations through mergers, $2.26 billion in capitalization. This period was characterized by horizontal integration, as a result of which one large corporation was formed with a dominant position in the industry. Thus, US Steel united 170 individual firms and gained a market share of 65%; 162 firms were absorbed by the American Tobacco Corporation, which resulted in about 90% of the national market; The 65 liquidated firms were transformed into DuPont with a market share of 85%.

19051929 The second wave of mergers and acquisitions in the United States. The main motives for mergers were geographic expansion of the market or expansion of the range, expansion into third world countries. Mergers occur slowly, with the number of annual liquidations through mergers ranging from 50 to 200. Beginning in 1921, merger activity increases and reaches a peak by 1929 with 1,245 annual liquidations through mergers. After 1929, merger activity came to an abrupt end. This is largely due to the passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914, which increased pressure on monopolies and was designed to protect competition.

19501970 The third wave of mergers and acquisitions in the United States. Was associated with the end of World War II. Merger activity increased gradually from 126 merger liquidations in 1949 to 1,496 liquidations in 1967. Conglomerate mergers during this period accounted for 70-80% of the merger market in the United States. The mergers of this period occurred against a backdrop of increasingly stringent enforcement of antitrust laws. In 1945, the Supreme Court revised the "balanced approach" rule, under which companies that did not abuse their monopoly power could survive. From then on, in order to fall under a court decision, it was not necessary to abuse monopoly power; it itself was declared illegal. A major role among the motives for mergers of this period was played by speculative motives based on the possibility of achieving excess profits with new issues of securities put into circulation during mergers.

End of table. 2

Time period Facts of the formation of integration processes and integrated structures

Waves of mergers and acquisitions in the USA (late 19th - early 21st century)

Late 1970s -1980s The fourth wave of mergers and acquisitions in the United States. Conglomerate mergers accounted for 50-60% of the US merger market. The main area of ​​merger activity was the service sector - the investment and banking sectors, insurance business, retail and sweatshop trade, medicine and healthcare, and the media sector. Overall, the role has increased financial institutions During the process of reorganization of companies, there was an active and large-scale use of borrowed capital in financing transactions. Corporations have seen a shift to a decentralized management structure.

1990 -2000s The fifth wave of mergers and acquisitions in the United States. Mergers of this period are influenced by world globalization, labor migration, liberalization of the movement of capital, and reduction of customs tariffs. In terms of the volume of mergers, transactions between companies related to the provision of information services take first place. Since 1993, the growth rate of the number of transactions and their volumes has been growing exponentially.

In the 2000s. The newest stage of the global mergers and acquisitions market has begun. If in the early 1990s. The global value of mergers and acquisitions is in the range of 400-450 billion dollars per year, then in 1998 it was over 2.4 trillion dollars and in 2006 -3.7 trillion dollars, of which 1.7 trillion dollars come from the US mergers and acquisitions market and 1.7 trillion dollars from Western Europe. According to the UN, there are more than 400 thousand parent transnational companies in the world, which control about 250 thousand subsidiaries, branches and branches abroad.

Currently, the United States ranks first in the world in terms of annual corporate income, some of which reach $219.8 billion per year. On the one hand, the antitrust laws that we mentioned above continue to operate in the United States - the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act. Huge US companies, whose position is approaching a monopoly, inspire Americans with fears for freedom of competition, for the functioning of small and medium-sized enterprises, and there is also a danger of monopolistic price gouging. In accordance with national legal acts, a threat to US public interests arises when the market share controlled by a company reaches 30%, however, with the caveat that if other companies have shares comparable to 30%, then this company is not considered a monopolist. On the other hand, there continues to be a constant consolidation of capital around the largest American companies. “In 1999, seven corporate American giants had more than $2 trillion in assets at their disposal. Monopolization occurs mainly through mergers and acquisitions, often of a hostile nature.” As a result, corporate activities in the United States are strictly regulated by legislation, driven both by the growing power of corporations and by fears of business monopolization. The legal framework for the activities of corporations in the United States, firstly, defines a corporation as a specific legal form of business with the need to register and publicly post data about its financial condition. Second, corporations are required to pay taxes, with holding corporations paying taxes on the profits of their subsidiaries. US corporations are characterized by the placement of shares among a huge number of shareholders - for example, big company may be owned by more than a million people.

Japan is a traditionally corporate country. Large monopolies play a dominant role in the economic and political life of Japan. The efficiency of Japanese corporations is facilitated by a capacious and growing domestic market, based on the growth of domestic consumption, and the foreign integration policy of corporations is often aggressive. In foreign expansion, Japan may use measures such as "gaining the largest market share at the expense of profit maximization and cartel pricing agreements, the existence of which is difficult to prove." Relatively new for Japan, which became widespread in the 1980-1990s, areas of integration processes in industry were the concepts of integrating production, logistics and sales with the widespread use of modern information technologies, which allowed Japanese companies to reduce transaction costs. Informal associations between suppliers and buyers in the production of goods have also become characteristic of Japanese corporations.

components and assembly of finished products at the main enterprises. Relations between enterprises included in the alliance do not affect property rights, but are based on concluded agreements and trust. In general, we can name the following characteristic features of Japanese manufacturing corporations:

Most of the firms included in the business structure are formally independent and do not represent branches of parent companies;

Valid closed system purchase and sale of shares. Firms included in the group own a certain percentage of the company's shares;

Control is diversified, i.e., none of the companies completely controls the entire business group, which is weakly centralized;

Ownership and management are separated, i.e. the property is in the hands of a specific family, and the companies are managed by professionals.

Korean corporations in their formation use the principles of conglomerate integration. They are usually a group of formally independent firms owned by specific families and under single administrative and financial control. Korean corporations, on the one hand, maintain a rigid hierarchical structure under the leadership of the family clan, and on the other, they strive for maximum diversification. At the same time, one of the family members must head the corporation and, accordingly, the companies included in the corporate structure.

A characteristic feature of corporations in EU countries is the unification of national rules and traditions. In 2000, the regulation of a “European company” was approved, which can be established on the basis of: the merger of at least two public companies with assigned liability from at least two member countries; formation of a holding company by private or public limited liability companies from at least two EU countries; formation of subsidiaries by companies from at least two EU countries; privatization of a state limited company with subsidiaries in other EU member states.

The EU leadership has developed uniform legislation for companies directly related to corporations. The legislation includes 13 directives, which establish: the procedure for registering a “European company”; merger order; minimum size authorized capital(at least 25 thousand euros); rules for uniting firms from different EU member countries into a “European company” based on economic indicators; procedure for creating limited liability companies; the order of relationships between the parent company and subsidiaries and branches; the procedure for the creation and functioning of a two- and three-tier structure of bodies of joint-stock companies; mandatory participation of workers in the management of a company with at least 1,000 employees; regulation of exchange purchase transactions controlling stake shares or all shares. Unification of requirements for the creation of integrated companies in the EU provides significant opportunities for “European companies” due to a simplified package of measures for mergers, unified management and financial reporting, reduction of administrative costs, easier crossing of national borders of EU member states in case of need for re-registration, etc. “ According to experts, the annual economic effect from the introduction of legislation on the “European company” in the EU amounts to $300 billion.” .

An analysis of global experience in the formation of integration processes and integrated structures, as well as some features of the functioning of corporations abroad, is necessary for further research into the theoretical foundations of the formation of integration processes and methodological problems in the development of integrated structures.

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The article was received by the editor on October 14, 2010

PLACE AND ROLE OF INTEGRATION PROCESSES IN THE WORLD ECONOMY

O. Yu. Michurina

Integration processes - objective law of modern development of the economy, based on the historically developed objective processes of division of labor and labor co-operation, economic cooperation development. Integration processes are characteristic for internal development of national economy and for foreign economy. As an illustration of it the international division and labor co-operation, the international economic cooperation, the international economic integration and globalization of economies are taken. Integration is the multi-level phenomenon affecting both the individual enterprises (microlevel), and the whole national economies (macrolevel). Economic integration is the center of the process of globalization of the world economy. Research of world practice of formation of the integrated structures and some features of functioning of corporations abroad gives a picture of stage-by-stage, systematic, objective development of integration processes in the world economy.

Key words: integration processes, the international economic integration, economic cooperation, globalization, integration levels, history of formation of the integrated structures, features of functioning of corporations abroad.

Introduction ..................................................... ........................................................ ...page 3

I. Historical foundations of integration processes..................................page 4

II. Prerequisites, goals and signs of integration..........................................................page .6

III. Stages and types of integration.................................................. ...........................page 9

IV. Obstacle to the development of integration processes..................................page 12

Conclusion................................................. ........................................................ ....page 13

Bibliography................................................ ........................................................page 15

INTRODUCTION

The development of international economic and political relations throughout the history of mankind has led to new general trends in the development of the world economy at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st centuries - regionalization and globalization. They lead to large-scale changes in the functioning and management of economic activities. National economies are guided by international standards; new forms of production emerge in the form of transnational corporations (TNCs); International information systems and systems of international standards are being created. On the other hand, there is economic rapprochement and interaction between countries at the regional level, large regional structures, developing towards the creation of relatively independent centers of the world economy.

The word "integration" comes from the Latin. integratio - replenishment or integer - whole. Integration is a special stage in the process of internationalization (strengthening the interconnection and interdependence of national economies) of economic life, which leads to the creation of a new quality - the integrity of a separate economic complex of several states. This is a process of bringing together the economies of countries at the regional level, forming the prerequisites for global interaction of groups of countries in the process of development of the world economy. By considering and analyzing the prerequisites, structure and prospects of integration processes, this work reveals the essence of integration processes and the importance of studying the development of individual integration associations for understanding and managing integration processes in the modern economy, more successful use of the tools offered as a result of the convergence of economies for economic growth and global integration into the world economic and political space.

The goals of this work are to reveal the concept and structure of integration processes in the world, their goals and obstacles to their implementation, to draw conclusions about the prospects and trends in the development of integration processes in the world economy.

One of the main trends in the global internationalization of the world economy as a result of the development of the international division of labor and international cooperation of production is manifested in the formation of vast zones of influence of one or another power or group of the most developed countries. These countries and groups of states become a kind of integration centers around which other states are grouped. Thus, complex integration processes are formed both at the regional and global levels.

I. Historical foundations of integration processes in the world economy

International economic integration is a characteristic feature of the current stage of development of the world economy. It has become a powerful tool for accelerating the development of regional economies and increasing the competitiveness of countries that are members of integration groups in the world market. International integration can be defined as a process of economic and political unification of countries based on the development of deep stable relationships and division of labor between national economies, the interaction of their reproductive and management structures at various levels and in various forms.

The starting point of the integration process is direct international economic ties at the level of primary subjects of economic life, which, as they develop, ensure the gradual merging of national economies at the initial level.

Economic cooperation between peoples began to develop approximately 10 thousand years ago, and at first affected only the sphere of circulation. The history of international integration begins with the beginning of the rapprochement of countries and regions due to the emergence of the international division of labor. It represents the specialization of individual countries in the production of certain types of products. Surplus manufactured products began to be exchanged first among neighboring tribes, individual families and individuals, and then between states. The initial processes of rapprochement were associated with trade and exchange of goods. With the development of statehood and the strengthening of economic ties within individual regions, prerequisites arose for closer interaction between the economies of individual states. The first agreements that were mutually beneficial arose with the goal of mutually beneficial improvement of the terms of trade.

These were the first attempts to bring peoples closer together, largely due to differences in natural factors in the choice of economic direction. The real interaction began at early stages development of capitalism. The previously established bilateral and trilateral foreign trade relations are beginning to develop into worldwide communications. In the era of the industrial revolution, the interconnection of national economies increases, their development into the world market both on the basis of natural and human factors of activity.
As the large machine industry developed, the scale of production increased, and specialization deepened in the industry itself, it became impossible to produce an ever-increasing range of products within individual countries. The most developed forms of intra-industry specialization are becoming widespread in industry itself. The further development of the world productive forces led to a tendency towards a deepening of the international division of labor. Each country has a certain amount of natural resources, historically accumulated intelligence of people (knowledge, skills, experience). The first argument in favor of exchanging the results of economic activity between two such countries will be the difference in production conditions: one country has something that the other does not have, but without which modern industry cannot develop.

The second argument in favor of exchange is production costs. The costs of producing a particular product vary from country to country. For example, the cost per unit of power for a passenger car is lower in Japan compared to the US auto industry. This is due to many factors. South Korean and Taiwanese electronics are cheaper than Japanese ones, primarily due to the low cost of labor. It is more profitable to buy abroad than to produce everything in full within the country. Adam Smith reinforced this point with a simple example: “It is quite possible,” he wrote, to produce grape wine in Scotland, but the expense would be excessive. It’s more profitable to produce oats in Scotland and exchange them for wine from Portugal.” David Ricardo based this principle on the labor theory of value and proved that both countries benefit from specialization. Ultimately, the entire population benefits from specialization, since it leads to the accumulation of capital, which leads to economic growth and increased demand for labor.

The primary unification of economies is inevitably followed by mutual adaptation of state economic, legal, fiscal, social and other systems, up to a certain merging of management structures. Thus, integration from the economic level moves to the political and social, forming unification processes in all spheres of human activity.

Economic integration as a form of internationalization of economic life that arose in the twentieth century. after the 2nd World War - an objective process of interweaving national economies and pursuing a coordinated interstate economic policy. It includes the development of industrial and scientific-technical cooperation, trade, economic and monetary and financial relations, the creation of various interstate associations of a political and economic nature, regional economic groupings, free trade zones, customs unions, economic and monetary unions.

Thus, the following conclusions can be drawn: integration processes are a natural consequence of strengthening world economic ties between states and the desire for efficient functioning of national economies based on the international division of labor. The emergence of integration processes leads to the acceleration of economic development in all spheres, contributes to the modernization of production and the creation of new economic structures that are the result of the interaction of national economies.

II. Goals, prerequisites and signs of integration

processes in the modern world economy.

Today, integration is a complex system of interaction between states based on close cooperation and interpenetration of individual national economies, ensuring conditions for the concentration of production and interweaving of capital, and pursuing a coordinated interstate economic policy.

The main goals of participation in the integration process:

1). Integrating countries are guided by the possibility of increasing the efficiency of the functioning of national economies due to a number of factors arising in the course of the development of regional international socialization of production, and also have as their goals:

2). Take advantage of economies of scale. Ensure expansion of market size and other benefits based on the theory of economics of scale. This, in turn, will attract foreign direct investment, which is more willing to come to markets of significant size, in which it makes sense to create independent production that meets their needs. The goals of increasing regional scales are especially clearly expressed among the integration groups of Central America and Africa.

3). Create a favorable foreign policy environment and a stable environment. The most important goal of most integration associations is to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation of the participating countries in political, military, social, cultural and other non-economic fields. For countries that are geographically close to each other and have similar development challenges, having good relations with neighbors, backed by mutual economic commitments, is a top political priority. The countries of Southeast Asia and the Middle East, when creating integration associations, set themselves precisely this goal.

4). Solve trade policy problems. Regional integration is often seen as a way to strengthen the bargaining power of participating countries in multilateral trade negotiations. It is believed that concerted speech on behalf of a bloc of countries is more powerful and leads to more desirable consequences in the field of trade policy. Moreover, regional blocs create a more stable and predictable environment for mutual trade than multilateral trade negotiations, where the interests of participants vary greatly. Integration groups in North America, Latin America and Southeast Asia have particular hopes for collective efforts in multilateral trade negotiations.

5). Promote structural restructuring of the economy and accelerate its growth rate. The connection of countries creating a market economy or carrying out deep economic reforms to regional trade agreements of countries with a higher level of market development is considered as the most important channel for the transfer of market experience, a guarantee of the invariability of the chosen course towards the market. More developed countries, by involving their neighbors in integration processes, are also interested in accelerating their market reforms and creating full-fledged and capacious markets there. Many Western European countries pursued such goals when joining the EU in one form or another.

The main prerequisites for the emergence of integration processes:

1). Territorial proximity of states. Integration processes most easily arise at the regional level on the basis of a historically established regional community, which presupposes territorial proximity, similarity of economic-geographical and economic-cultural complexes, demographic structures, ethnic history, etc. This commonality creates objective opportunities for the formation of large political and economic formations adequate to the time.

2). Similarity of levels of economic development of countries. With rare exceptions, interstate integration develops either between industrial countries or between developing countries. Even within industrial and developing countries, integration processes are most active between states that are at approximately the same level of economic development. Attempts at integration-type associations between industrial and developing states, although they are taking place, are at an early stage of development, which does not yet allow us to draw clear conclusions about the degree of their effectiveness. In this case, due to the initial incompatibility of economic mechanisms, they usually begin with various kinds of transitional agreements on association, special partnership, trade preferences, etc., the validity of which extends over many years until the less developed country market mechanisms have been created that are comparable in maturity to those in more developed countries.

3). Commonality of economic, political, social and other interests, problems and tasks. This facilitates the development of common economic strategies and agreements, contributes to the development of common economic and social policy. Economic integration is designed to solve a set of specific problems that the integrating countries actually face. It is obvious, therefore, that, for example, countries whose main problem is creating the foundations market economy, cannot integrate with states in which market development has reached such a level that it requires the introduction of a common currency.

Availability of complementary economic structures of integrating countries. 4). A similar structure of socio-economic institutions, the presence of mining and manufacturing industries that complement each other, specialization in the production of certain goods and services that create conditions for mutually beneficial trade and industrial cooperation, contribute to the acceleration of economic growth and the development of integration processes.

5). Demonstration effect. Under the influence of the successes of certain integration associations (accelerating economic growth, reducing inflation, increasing employment, etc.), as a rule, other states also have a desire to join this organization. The demonstration effect manifested itself, for example, most clearly in the desire of many countries of the former ruble zone to become members of the EU as quickly as possible, even without any serious macroeconomic prerequisites for this.

6). "Domino effect". Since integration leads to a reorientation of economic ties of member countries towards intraregional cooperation, neighboring countries that remain outside the association experience some difficulties, and sometimes a reduction in trade with countries included in the group. As a result, they are also forced to join the integration association.

Integration is characterized by some essential characteristics, which together distinguish it from other forms of economic interaction between countries:

Elimination of restrictions on the movement of goods, as well as services, capital, and human resources between the countries participating in the agreement;

Coordination of economic policies of participating countries;

Interpenetration and interweaving of national production processes, the formation within the region of technological unity of the production process;

Wide development of international specialization and cooperation in production, science and technology on the basis of the most progressive and deep forms, joint financing of the development of the economy and its innovation mechanism;

Related structural changes in the economies of the participating countries;

Convergence of national legislations, norms and standards;

Purposeful regulation of the integration process, development of bodies governing economic interaction (both interstate and supranational management mechanisms are possible: as in the case of the EU);

Regional spatial scale of integration.

Drawing conclusions from the above, it should be noted that when entering the integration process, countries are guided by the prospects for the development of their national economies and accelerating the implementation of the goals of economic growth and development. In the process of integration, goals are agreed upon and new ones are formed, which become the basis for a common economic policy and more effective implementation of national goals.

III . Stages of the integration process, types of integration

Integration associations of various types received their greatest development in the second half of the twentieth century. Despite the differences in approaches, ideology, definitions and names of certain integration processes and groupings, some common features and patterns can be identified in them. Historically, integration evolves through several main stages, each of which indicates the degree of its maturity.

Main stages of the integration process:

1). At the first level, when countries are just taking the first steps towards mutual rapprochement, preferential trade agreements are concluded between them. Such agreements can be signed either on a bilateral basis between individual states, or between an already existing integration grouping and an individual country or group of countries. In accordance with them, countries provide more favorable treatment to each other than they provide to third countries. In a sense, this is a departure from the most favored nation principle, which was sanctioned by the GATT/WTO under the so-called temporary agreements leading to the formation of a customs union. Preferential agreements, which provide for the preservation of national customs tariffs of each of the countries that have signed them, should be considered not even as the initial, but as a preparatory stage of the integration process, which becomes such only when it takes on more developed forms. No interstate bodies are created to manage preferential agreements.

2). At the second level of integration, countries move to the creation of a free trade zone, which no longer provides for a simple reduction, but a complete abolition of customs tariffs in mutual trade while maintaining national customs tariffs in relations with third countries. In most cases, the terms of a free trade zone apply to all goods except agricultural products. A free trade area can be coordinated by a small interstate secretariat located in one of the member countries, but often does without it, coordinating the main parameters of its development at periodic meetings of the heads of the relevant departments. A classic example of such a free trade area is the European Free Trade Association, which has existed since I960.

3). The third level of integration is associated with the formation of a customs union - the agreed abolition by the group of national customs tariffs and the introduction of a common customs tariff and a unified system of non-tariff regulation of trade in relation to third countries. The Customs Union provides for duty-free intra-integration trade in goods and services and complete freedom of their movement within the region. Typically, a customs union requires the creation of more than developed system interstate bodies coordinating the implementation of a coordinated foreign trade policy. Most often, they take the form of periodic meetings of ministers heading the relevant departments, which in their work rely on a permanent interstate secretariat.

4). When the integration process reaches the fourth level - the common market) - the integrating countries agree on the freedom of movement not only of goods and services, but also of factors of production - capital and labor. Freedom of interstate movement, under the protection of a single external tariff, of factors of production requires an organizationally significantly higher level of interstate coordination of economic policy. Such coordination is carried out at periodic meetings (usually once or twice a year) of the heads of state and government of the participating countries, much more frequent meetings of the heads of ministries of finance, central banks and other economic departments, supported by a permanent secretariat. Within the European Union, for example, these are the European Council of Heads of State and Government, the EU Council of Ministers and the EU Secretariat.

5). Finally, at the fifth, highest level, integration turns into an economic union, which, along with a common customs tariff and freedom of movement of goods and factors of production, also provides for the coordination of macroeconomic policies and the unification of legislation in key areas - foreign exchange, budgetary, monetary. At this stage, there is a need for bodies endowed not only with the ability to coordinate actions and monitor economic development, but also to make operational decisions on behalf of the group as a whole. Governments consistently renounce some of their functions and thereby cede part of state sovereignty in favor of supranational bodies. Such interstate bodies with supranational functions are vested with the right to make decisions on issues relating to the organization without coordination with the governments of member countries. Within the EU, this is the EU Commission.

Monetary union is a form and at the same time a major component of an economic union. The characteristic features of a monetary union are: 1) coordinated (joint) floating of national currencies; 2) establishment by agreement of fixed exchange rates which are purposefully supported by the Central Banks of the participating countries; 3) creation of a single regional currency; 4) formation of a single regional bank, which is the emission center of this international currency unit. In developing countries, monetary union refers to clearing agreements. Today, the so-called “Euro area” is the most striking example of a monetary union.

6). It is fundamentally possible for the existence of a sixth level of integration - a political union, which would provide for the transfer by national governments of most of their functions in relations with third countries to supranational bodies. This would effectively mean the creation of an international confederation and the loss of sovereignty by individual states. However, not a single integration group has not only reached such a level of development, but does not even set itself such tasks. Most of the integration groups existing in the world are still at the stage of formal integration, that is, they are going through the second and third stages of the integration process.

Thus, integration is a multi-level process, at each level providing for the unification of various sectors of national economies, and in the future, areas of government. The integration process takes place in stages due to differences in the structure and development of individual economies. At each level there is its own system of criteria for assessing the effectiveness and depth of integration processes, which allows us to talk about the degree of interpenetration of the economies of national states.

IV. Obstacles to the development of global integration processes.

As follows from the examples described above, the emergence and development of integration groupings of sovereign states is a complex and contradictory process. Its main contradiction is the contradiction between national, state-formed, and international economic interests. The first is an objective consequence of the emergence and development of sovereign states and national economies, the second is distinguishing feature internationalization of economic life, a consequence of the increasing integrity of the world economy, the emergence and development of international production, economic transnationalization and globalization. The indicated contradiction is the main contradiction of the entire process of internationalization of economic life, which is revealed at each stage in specific concrete manifestations.

At the stage of interstate integration, this contradiction manifests itself, firstly, in a clash of economic interests of states within an integration entity, secondly, as a contradiction in the interests of various regional integration groups, and thirdly, as a contradiction in the interests of regional integration and international economic organizations and corporations.
The manifestations of the main contradiction are greatly influenced by: the level of socio-economic development of the countries participating in the integration; the scale and pace of economic and political transformation; the nature of market and political reforms; contradictions between economics and politics, caused by subjective factors (including national ambitions, the desire to use power for personal purposes by the leading elites of individual states); the state of international economic and political relations, in particular, the nature of global market conditions. The economic interests of states collide when determining prices and customs duties on goods and services, conditions for foreign investment, lending to projects, when solving problems of the use of intellectual property, problems of developing international production, creating free economic zones, when developing and implementing international treaties and joint legislative acts in within the framework of integration leading to some limitation of sovereignty. At the same time, national interests often conflict with international interests when solving global problems of ecology, development of transport and energy, conversion of military production, use of scientific achievements, scientific and technological progress, education, healthcare, etc.

CONCLUSION

The creation of international integration associations based on complex multi-level integration processes is one of the defining trends in the development of the world economy on the threshold of the 21st century. Based on the premises, features and examples of the development of integration processes in the world, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. International economic integration is a characteristic feature of the current stage of the world economy. At the end of the 20th century. it has become a powerful tool for the accelerated and harmonious development of regional economies and increasing the competitiveness in the world market of countries participating in integration groupings. International economic integration is the process of merging the economies of neighboring countries into a single economic complex on the basis of stable economic and political ties and interaction at various levels.

2. Classic forms of international economic integration:

Free trade zones, when trade restrictions are abolished: between countries participating in the integration association and, first of all, customs duties are reduced or abolished altogether;

A customs union, when, along with the abolition of foreign trade restrictions, a single customs tariff is established and a unified foreign trade policy is pursued in relation to third countries;

The Common Market, marked by the signing of a treaty covering the “four freedoms” of crossing national borders - for goods, services, capital and people;

Economic and monetary union, when agreements on a free trade zone, customs union and common market are supplemented by agreements on the implementation of a common economic and monetary policy, and supranational institutions for managing the integration association are introduced.

Further development and improvement of forms of international economic integration may lead to a political union, i.e. to the transformation of an integration association into a confederal state with all the ensuing consequences, including the formation of central bodies with even greater powers and power than supranational governance institutions.

3. As an economic, monetary and political union, the EU is by far the most developed integration grouping in the world with the closest economic ties between countries, a monetary union and developed governance bodies. Using the example of this integration association, we can see prospects for the development of global integration processes in other regions of the world, since deepening integration is one of the main trends in the world economy.

4. ASEAN and APEC are the most promising and large-scale integration associations in the Asia-Pacific region.

5. International integration processes contribute to the acceleration of economic growth and development of trade and production of participating countries; structural restructuring of economies and transition to a new technological level; development of the international division of labor and country specialization; formation of the world market.

6. Using examples of integration processes in modern world it is clear that the main contradiction is the contradiction between national, state-formed, and international economic interests. Political relationships and attitudes towards the development of cooperation between governments of different countries can also become an obstacle to the desire for integration (as we see in the example of the CIS). The task of states participating in integration processes in the modern world is to develop strategies that unite and reconcile the interests of countries and international interests in order to create conditions for effective cooperation and development of the economies of countries and the world economy as a whole.

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13. “Eurasian economic community: stages of formation” // Bulletin of foreign commercial information. – 12/24/2003

14. Shishkov Yu. V., “Foreign economic relations in the twentieth century - from decline to globalization.” 2001

At the interstate level, integration occurs through the formation of regional economic associations of states and coordination of their domestic and foreign economic policies. The interaction and mutual adaptation of national economies is manifested, first of all, in the gradual creation of a “common market” - in the liberalization of the conditions for the exchange of goods and the movement of production resources (capital, labor, information) between countries.

Reasons and forms of development of international economic integration.

If the 17th - first half of the 20th centuries. became the era of the formation of independent national states, then in the second half of the 20th century. the reverse process began. This new trend first (from the 1950s) developed only in Europe, but then (from the 1960s) spread to other regions. Many countries voluntarily renounce full national sovereignty and form integration associations with other states. The main reason for this process is the desire to increase the economic efficiency of production, and integration itself is primarily of an economic nature.

The rapid growth of economic integration blocs reflects the development of the international division of labor and international production cooperation.

International division of labor- this is a system of organizing international production in which countries, instead of independently providing themselves with all the necessary goods, specialize in the production of only some goods, acquiring the missing ones through trade. The simplest example would be the car trade between Japan and the United States: the Japanese specialize in the production of economical small cars for poor people, the Americans specialize in the production of prestigious expensive cars for the wealthy. As a result, both the Japanese and the Americans benefit from a situation where each country produces cars of all varieties.

International production cooperation, the second prerequisite for the development of integration blocks, is a form of production organization in which workers from different countries jointly participate in the same production process (or in different interconnected processes). Thus, many components for American and Japanese cars are produced in other countries, and only assembly is carried out at the main factories. As international cooperation develops, transnational corporations are formed that organize production on an international scale and regulate the world market.

Rice. The effect of economies of scale: with a small volume of output Q 1, only for the domestic market, the product has a high cost and, as a consequence, a high price; with a larger volume of output Q 2, using exports, the cost and price are significantly reduced.

The result of the international division of labor and international production cooperation is the development of the international socialization of production - the internationalization of production. It is economically beneficial because, firstly, it allows the most efficient use of resources from different countries ( cm. exposition of theories of absolute and relative advantages in trade in the article INTERNATIONAL TRADE), and secondly, it provides economies of scale. The second factor is the most important in modern conditions. The fact is that high-tech production requires high initial investments, which will only pay off if the production is large-scale ( cm. Fig.), otherwise the high price will scare away the buyer. Since the domestic markets of most countries (even such giants as the USA) do not provide a sufficiently high demand, high-tech production that requires high costs (automobile and aircraft manufacturing, the production of computers, video recorders...) becomes profitable only when working not only for domestic, but also for external markets.

The internationalization of production occurs simultaneously both at the global level and at the level of individual regions. To stimulate this objective process, special supranational economic organizations are created that regulate the world economy and intercept part of the economic sovereignty of national states.

Internationalization of production can develop in different ways. The simplest situation is when stable economic ties are established between different countries on the principle of complementarity. In this case, each country develops its own special set of industries in order to sell their products largely abroad, and then use foreign exchange earnings to purchase goods from those industries that are better developed in other countries (for example, Russia specializes in the extraction and export of energy resources, importing consumer goods manufactured goods). The countries receive mutual benefits, but their economies develop somewhat one-sidedly and are heavily dependent on the world market. It is this trend that now dominates the world economy as a whole: against the backdrop of overall economic growth, the gap between developed and developing countries is widening. The main organizations that stimulate and control this kind of internationalization on a global scale are the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international financial organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A higher level of internationalization implies equalization of the economic parameters of the participating countries. Internationally, economic organizations (for example, UNCTAD) under the United Nations seek to guide this process. However, the results of their activities still look rather insignificant. With a much more tangible effect, such internationalization develops not at the global, but at the regional level in the form of the creation of integration unions of various groups of countries.

In addition to purely economic reasons, regional integration also has political incentives. Strengthening close economic relations between different countries and merging national economies extinguishes the possibility of their political conflicts and makes it possible to pursue a unified policy towards other countries. For example, the participation of Germany and France in the EU eliminated their political confrontation, which had lasted since the Thirty Years' War, and allowed them to act as a “united front” against common rivals (in the 1950s–1980s - against the USSR, since the 1990s - against the USA). The formation of integration groups has become one of the peaceful forms of modern geo-economic and geopolitical rivalry.

In the early 2000s, according to the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO), 214 regional trade agreements of an integration nature were registered in the world. International economic integration associations exist in all regions of the globe; they include countries with very different levels of development and socio-economic systems. The largest and most active existing integration blocs are the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization in the Pacific.

Stages of development of integration groups.

Regional economic integration in its development goes through a number of stages (Table 1):

Free trading zone,
Customs Union,
Common Market,
economic union and
political union.

At each of these stages, certain economic barriers (differences) between countries that have joined the integration union are eliminated. As a result, a single market space is formed within the boundaries of the integration bloc; all participating countries benefit by increasing the efficiency of firms’ activities and reducing government spending for customs control.

Table 1. Stages of development of regional economic integration

Table 1. STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
steps	Essence	Examples
1. Free trade zone	Cancellation of customs duties on trade between countries participating in the integration grouping	EEC in 1958–1968 EFTA since 1960 NAFTA since 1988 MERCOSUR since 1991
2. Customs union	Unification of customs duties in relation to third countries	EEC in 1968–1986 MERCOSUR since 1996
3. Common market	Liberalization of the movement of resources (capital, labor, etc.) between countries participating in the integration grouping	EEC in 1987–1992
4. Economic Union	Coordination and unification of the internal economic policies of the participating countries, including the transition to a single currency	EU since 1993
5. Political union	Carrying out a unified foreign policy	No examples yet

First it is created Free trading zone– internal customs duties on trade between participating countries are reduced. Countries voluntarily renounce the protection of their national markets in relations with their partners within the framework of this association, but in relations with third countries they act not collectively, but individually. While maintaining its economic sovereignty, each participant in the free trade zone sets its own external tariffs in trade with countries not participating in this integration association. Typically, the creation of a free trade area begins with bilateral agreements between two closely cooperating countries, which are then joined by new partner countries (as was the case in NAFTA: first, the US-Canada agreement, which was then joined by Mexico). Most of the existing economic integration unions are on this point initial stage.

After the completion of the creation of a free trade zone, the participants in the integration bloc move to the customs union. Now external tariffs are being unified, a unified foreign trade policy is being pursued - the members of the union jointly establish a single tariff barrier against third countries. When customs tariffs in relation to third countries are different, this makes it possible for firms from countries outside the free trade zone to penetrate through the weakened border of one of the participating countries into the markets of all countries of the economic bloc. For example, if the tariff on American cars in France is high, and in Germany is low, then American cars can “conquer” France - first they will be sold to Germany, and then, due to the absence of domestic duties, they will be easily resold to France. The unification of external tariffs makes it possible to more reliably protect the emerging single regional market space and act in the international arena as a cohesive trading bloc. But at the same time, the participating countries of this integration association lose part of their foreign economic sovereignty. Since the creation of a customs union requires significant efforts to coordinate economic policies, not all free trade zones “grow” into a customs union.

The first customs unions appeared in the 19th century. (for example, the German customs union, Zollverein, which united a number of German states in 1834–1871), on the eve of the Second World War more than 15 customs unions functioned. But since at that time the role of the world economy in comparison with the domestic economy was small, these customs unions did not have much significance and did not pretend to be transformed into something else. The “era of integration” began in the 1950s, when the rapid growth of integration processes became a natural manifestation of globalization - the gradual “dissolution” of national economies in the world economy. Now the customs union is not considered as an end result, but only as an intermediate phase of economic cooperation between partner countries.

The third stage of development of integration associations is Common Market. Now, in addition to minimizing internal duties, the elimination of restrictions on the movement from country to country of various factors of production - investments (capital), workers, information (patents and know-how) is added. This strengthens the economic interdependence of the member countries of the integration association. Freedom of movement of resources requires a high organizational level of interstate coordination. The common market was created in the EU; NAFTA is coming closer.

But the common market is not the final stage of integration development. To form a single market space, there is little freedom of movement across state borders for goods, services, capital and labor. To complete the economic unification, it is still necessary to equalize tax levels, unify economic legislation, technical and sanitary standards, and coordinate national credit and financial structures and social protection systems. The implementation of these measures finally leads to the creation of a truly single intra-regional market of economically united countries. This level of integration is usually called economic union. At this stage, the importance of special supranational management structures (such as the European Parliament in the EU) increases, capable of not only coordinating the economic actions of governments, but also making operational decisions on behalf of the entire bloc. Only the EU has so far reached this level of economic integration.

As the economic union develops in countries, the prerequisites for the highest level of regional integration may emerge - political union. We are talking about transforming a single market space into an integral economic and political organism. During the transition from an economic union to a political one, a new multinational subject of world economic and international political relations arises, which acts from a position expressing the interests and political will of all participants in these unions. In fact, a new large federal state is being created. While there is no regional economic bloc with such a high level of development, the closest thing to it is the EU, which is sometimes called the “United States of Europe.”

Prerequisites and results of integration processes.

Why in some cases (as in the EU) the integration bloc turned out to be strong and stable, but in others (as in the CMEA) - not? The success of regional economic integration is determined by a number of factors, both objective and subjective.

First, there must be similarity (or similarity) in the levels of economic development of the integrating countries. Typically, international economic integration occurs either between industrialized countries or between developing countries. The combination of countries of very different types in one integration bloc is quite rare; such situations usually have a purely political background (for example, the unification in the CMEA of the industrialized countries of Eastern Europe - like the GDR and Czechoslovakia - with the agricultural countries of Asia - like Mongolia and Vietnam) and end with “ divorce" of dissimilar partners. More sustainable is the integration of highly developed countries with newly industrialized countries (USA and Mexico in NAFTA, Japan and Malaysia in APEC).

Secondly, all participating countries must not only be similar in economic and socio-political systems, but also have a sufficiently high level of economic development. After all, the effect of economies of scale is noticeable mainly in high-tech industries. That is why, first of all, integration associations of highly developed countries of the “core” are successful, while “peripheral” unions are unstable. Underdeveloped countries are more interested in economic contacts with more developed partners than with those like themselves.

Thirdly, in the development of a regional integration union it is necessary to observe the sequence of phases: free trade area - customs union - common market - economic union - political union. It is possible, of course, to get ahead of ourselves when, for example, there is a political unification of countries that are not yet completely united economically. However, historical experience shows that such a desire to reduce the “birth pangs” is fraught with the emergence of a “stillborn” union, which is too dependent on the political situation (this is exactly what happened with CMEA).

Fourthly, the association of participating countries must be voluntary and mutually beneficial. To maintain equality between them, some balance of power is desirable. Thus, the EU has four strong leaders (Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy), so weaker partners (for example, Spain or Belgium) can maintain their political weight in controversial situations by choosing which of the strong leaders is more profitable for them to join. The situation is less stable in NAFTA and in the EurAsEC, where one country (the United States in the first case, Russia in the second) surpasses all other partners in economic and political power.

Fifthly, a prerequisite for the emergence of new integration blocks is the so-called demonstration effect. Countries participating in regional economic integration typically experience faster economic growth, lower inflation, increased employment, and other positive economic developments. This becomes an enviable role model and has a certain stimulating effect on other countries. The demonstration effect was manifested, for example, in the desire of Eastern European countries to become members of the European Union as soon as possible, even without serious economic prerequisites for this.

The main criterion for the stability of an integration group is the share of mutual trade of partner countries in their total foreign trade(Table 2). If the members of a bloc trade mainly with each other and the share of mutual trade increases (as in the EU and NAFTA), then this shows that they have achieved a high degree of interconnection. If the share of mutual trade is small and, moreover, tends to decline (as in IVF), then such integration is fruitless and unstable.

Integration processes lead, first of all, to the development of economic regionalism, as a result of which certain groups of countries create for themselves more favorable conditions for trade, movement of capital and labor than for all other countries. Despite the obvious protectionist features, economic regionalism is not considered a negative factor for the development of the world economy, unless a group of integrating countries, simplifying mutual economic ties, establishes conditions for trade with third countries that are less favorable than before the start of integration.

It is interesting to note examples of “overlapping integration”: one country can be a member of several integration blocs at once. For example, the United States is a member of NAFTA and APEC, and Russia is a member of APEC and EurAsEC. Small blocs are preserved within large blocs (like Benelux in the EU). All this is a prerequisite for bringing closer the conditions for regional associations. Negotiations between regional blocs are also aimed at the same prospect of gradual development of regional integration into international internationalization. Thus, in the 1990s, a draft agreement was put forward for a transatlantic free trade area, TAFTA, which would connect NAFTA and the EU.

Table 2. Dynamics of the share of intraregional exports in the total exports of participating countries of some integration groups in 1970-1996

Table 2. DYNAMICS OF THE SHARE OF INTRAREGIONAL EXPORTS IN THE TOTAL EXPORTS OF COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN SOME INTEGRATION GROUPS IN 1970-1996
Integration groups	1970	1980	1985	1990	1996
European Union, EU (until 1993 – European Economic Community, EEC)	60%	59%	59%	62%	60%
North American Free Trade Area, NAFTA				41%	47%
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN	23%	17%	18%	19%	22%
South American Common Market, MERCOSUR				9%	20%
Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS		10%	5%	8%	11%
Economic Cooperation Organization, ECO (until 1985 – Regional Development Cooperation)	3%	6%	10%	3%	3%
Caribbean Community, CARICOM	5%	4%	6%	8%	4%
Compiled by: Shishkov Yu.V. . M., 2001

Thus, economic integration at the beginning of the 21st century. occurs on three tiers: bilateral trade and economic agreements of individual states - small and medium-sized regional groupings - three large economic and political blocs, between which there are cooperation agreements.

The main modern integration groups of developed countries.

Historically, international economic integration received its most profound development in Western Europe, where in the second half of the 20th century. a single economic space – the “United States of Europe” – was gradually created. The Western European community is currently the “oldest” integration bloc; it was its experience that served as the main object for imitation by other developed and developing countries.

There are many objective prerequisites for Western European integration. The countries of Western Europe have a long historical experience in the development of economic ties, as a result of which there has been a comparative unification of economic institutions (“rules of the game”). Western European integration was also based on similar cultural and religious traditions. A significant role in its emergence was played by the ideas of a united Europe, which were popular back in the medieval era as a reflection of the unity of the Christian world and as a memory of the Roman Empire. The results of the First and Second World Wars were also important, which finally proved that forceful confrontation in Western Europe will not bring victory to any one country, but will only lead to a general weakening of the entire region. Finally, geopolitical factors also played a significant role - the need to unite Western Europe to counter political influence from the east (from the USSR and Eastern European socialist countries) and economic competition from other leaders of the “core” of the capitalist world-economy (primarily the USA). This complex of cultural and political preconditions is unique and cannot be copied in any other region of the planet.

The beginning of Western European integration was laid by the Paris Treaty on the Establishment of European Coal and Steel Community(ECSC). In 1957, the Treaty of Rome creating European Economic Community(EEC), which came into force in 1958. In the same year, it was formed European Atomic Energy Community(Euratom). Thus, the Treaty of Rome united three large Western European organizations - the ECSC, the EEC and Euratom. Since 1993, the European Economic Community has been renamed the European Union. (EU), reflecting in the name change the increased degree of integration of the member countries.

On first stage Western European integration developed within the framework of a free trade area. During this period, from 1958 to 1968, the Community included only 6 countries - France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. At the initial stage of integration between the participants, customs duties and quantitative restrictions on mutual trade were abolished, but each participating country still retained its national customs tariff in relation to third countries. During the same period, coordination of domestic economic policy began (primarily in the field of agriculture).

Table 3. Correlation of forces in the EEC and EFTA, 1960

Table 3. RELATION OF POWERS IN THE EEC AND EFTA, 1960
UES			EFTA
Countries			Countries	National income (billion dollars)	National income per capita (USD)
Germany	51,6	967	Great Britain	56,7	1082
France	39,5*	871*	Sweden	10,9	1453
Italy	25,2	510	Switzerland	7,3	1377
Holland	10,2	870	Denmark	4,8	1043
Belgium	9,4	1000	Austria	4,5	669
Luxembourg			Norway	3,2*	889
			Portugal	2,0	225
TOTAL	135,9	803		89,4	1011
*Data are for 1959. Compiled by: Yudanov Yu.I. The struggle for markets in Western Europe. M., 1962

Almost simultaneously with the EEC, since 1960, another Western European integration group began to develop - European Free Trade Association(EFTA). If France played a leading role in the organization of the EEC, then Great Britain became the initiator of EFTA. Initially, EFTA was larger than the EEC - in 1960 it included 7 countries (Austria, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden), later it included 3 more countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Finland). However, the EFTA partners were much more heterogeneous than the EEC participants (Table 3). In addition, Great Britain was superior in economic strength to all its EFTA partners combined, while the EEC had three centers of power (Germany, France, Italy), and the most economically powerful EEC country did not have absolute superiority. All this predetermined the less successful fate of the second Western European group.

Second phase Western European integration, the customs union, turned out to be the longest - from 1968 to 1986. During this period, the member countries of the integration group introduced common external customs tariffs for third countries, establishing the level of rates of a single customs tariff for each product item as the arithmetic average of national rates. The severe economic crisis of 1973–1975 somewhat slowed down the integration process, but did not stop it. The European Monetary System began operating in 1979.

The successes of the EEC have made it a center of attraction for other Western European countries (Table 4). It is important to note that the majority of EFTA countries (first Great Britain and Denmark, then Portugal, and in 1995 three countries at once) “crossed over” to the EEC from EFTA, thereby proving the advantages of the first group over the second. Essentially, EFTA turned out to be a kind of launching pad for most of its participants to join the EEC/EU.

Third stage Western European integration, 1987–1992, was marked by the creation of a common market. According to the Single European Act of 1986, the formation of a single market in the EEC was planned as “a space without internal borders in which the free movement of goods, services, capital and civilians is ensured.” To achieve this, it was planned to eliminate border customs posts and passport control, unify technical standards and taxation systems, and carry out mutual recognition of educational certificates. Since the world economy was booming, all these measures were implemented quite quickly.

The outstanding achievements of the EU in the 1980s became a model for the creation of other regional integration blocs of developed countries fearing their economic lag. In 1988, the USA and Canada signed an agreement North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA), Mexico joined this union in 1992. In 1989, on the initiative of Australia, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization was formed, whose members initially included 12 countries - both highly developed and newly industrialized (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea , Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, USA).

Fourth stage Western European integration, the development of an economic union, began in 1993 and continues to this day. His main achievements were the transition to a single Western European currency, the euro, completed in 2002, and the introduction in 1999, in accordance with the Schengen Convention, of a single visa regime. In the 1990s, negotiations began on “eastern enlargement”—the admission of ex-socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the Baltics into the EU. As a result, in 2004, 10 countries joined the EU, increasing the number of participants in this integration grouping to 25. Membership in APEC also expanded during these years: by 1997, there were already 21 countries, including Russia.

In the future it is possible fifth stage development of the EU, a Political Union, which would provide for the transfer by national governments of all basic political powers to supranational institutions. This would mean the completion of the creation of a single state entity - the “United States of Europe”. A manifestation of this trend is the growing importance of supranational EU governing bodies (the Council of the EU, the European Commission, the European Parliament, etc.). The main problem is the difficulty of forming a unified political position of the EU countries in relation to their most important geopolitical rival - the United States (this was especially evident during the US invasion of Iraq in 2002): if the countries of continental Europe gradually increase criticism of America’s claims to the role of “world policeman” , then the UK remains a strong ally of the US.

As for EFTA, this organization did not advance beyond the organization of duty-free trade; in the early 2000s, only four countries remained in its ranks (Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway), which also seek to join the EU. When Switzerland (in 1992) and Norway (in 1994) held referendums on joining the Union, opponents of the move won only a narrow victory. There is no doubt that at the beginning of the 21st century. EFTA will completely merge with the EU.

In addition to the EU and the “moribund” EFTA, there are other, smaller Western European blocs such as the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg) or the Nordic Council (Scandinavian countries).

Table 5. Comparative characteristics of the EU, NAFTA and APEC

Table 5. COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF EU, NAFTA and APEC
Characteristics	EU (since 1958)	NAFTA (since 1988)	APEC (since 1989)
Number of countries at the beginning of the 2000s	16	3	21
Integration level	Economic Union	Free trade Area	Formation of a free trade zone
Distribution of forces within the block	Polycentricity with overall German leadership	Monocentricity (USA is the absolute leader)	Polycentricity under the overall leadership of Japan
Degree of heterogeneity among participating countries	Lowest	Average	Highest
Development of supranational governance bodies	System of supranational governance bodies (EU Council, European Commission, European Parliament, etc.)	There are no special bodies of supranational governance	Bodies of supranational governance already exist, but do not play a big role
Share of world exports in 1997	40%	17%	42% (without NAFTA countries – 26%)

There are significant differences between the largest modern regional economic blocs of developed countries - the EU, NAFTA and APEC (Table 5). Firstly, the EU has a much higher level of integration, which is a result of its longer history. Secondly, if the EU and APEC are polycentric groupings, then the asymmetry of economic interdependence is clearly visible in NAFTA. Canada and Mexico are not so much partners in the integration process as competitors in the American market for goods and labor. Third, NAFTA and APEC are more diverse than their EU partners, since they include the newly industrialized countries of the Third World (APEC even includes even less developed countries, such as Vietnam and Papua New Guinea). Fourthly, if the EU has already developed a system of supranational governing bodies, in APEC these bodies are much weaker, and North American integration has not created institutions regulating mutual cooperation at all (the United States does not want to actually share management functions with its partners). Thus, Western European integration is stronger than the competing economic blocs of other developed countries.

Integration groups of developing countries.

In the “third world” there are several dozen regional economic unions (Table 6), but their importance, as a rule, is relatively small.

Table 6. Largest modern regional integration organizations of developing countries

Table 6. THE LARGEST MODERN REGIONAL INTEGRATION ORGANIZATIONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Name and date of foundation	Compound
Integration organizations of Latin America
Latin American Free Trade Area (LAFTA) – since 1960	11 countries – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) - since 1967	13 countries - Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, etc.
Andean Group - since 1969	5 countries – Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador
Common Market of the Southern Cone Countries (MERCOSUR) – since 1991	4 countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
Integration associations of Asia
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) – since 1964	10 countries – Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - since 1967	6 countries – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines
BIMST Economic Community (BIMST-EC) – since 1998	5 countries – Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand
Integration associations of Africa
East African Community (EAC) - since 1967, again since 1993	3 countries – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – since 1975	15 countries - Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, etc.
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) – since 1982	19 countries - Angola, Burundi, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, etc.
Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) – since 1989	5 countries – Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia
Compiled by: Shishkov Yu.V. Integration processes on the threshold of the 21st century. Why are the CIS countries not integrating?. M., 2001

The first wave of bloc formation took place in the 1960s and 1970s, when “self-reliance” seemed to underdeveloped countries to be the most effective tool for countering “imperialist enslavement” by developed countries. Since the main prerequisites for the unification were of a subjective-political rather than objective-economic nature, most of these integration blocs turned out to be stillborn. Subsequently, trade relations between them either weakened or froze at a rather low level.

Indicative in this sense is the fate of the East African Community: over the next 10 years, domestic exports fell in Kenya from 31 to 12%, in Tanzania from 5 to 1%, so that by 1977 the community collapsed (it was restored in 1993, but without much effect). The best fate turned out to be the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), created in 1967: although it failed to increase the share of mutual trade, this share remains stably at a fairly high level. It is especially noteworthy that by the 1990s, in the mutual trade of the countries of Southeast Asia, finished products began to predominate, rather than raw materials, which is typical for groups of developed countries, but in the “third world” is so far the only example.

A new wave of creation of integration blocs began in the “third world” in the 1990s. The era of “romantic expectations” is over; now economic unions have begun to be created on a more pragmatic basis. An indicator of increasing “realism” is the tendency to reduce the number of countries participating in integration blocs - it is more convenient to manage economic rapprochement, of course, in small groups, where there is less difference between partners and it is easier to achieve agreement between them. The most successful bloc of the “second generation” was the Common Market of the Southern Cone Countries (MERCOSUR), founded in 1991.

The main reason for the failure of most integration experiences in the Third World is that they lack two main prerequisites for successful integration - similar levels of economic development and a high degree of industrialization. Since the main trading partners of developing countries are developed countries, the integration of Third World countries with each other is doomed to stagnation. The best chances are for the newly industrialized countries (they are the ones that predominate in ASEAN and MERCOSUR), which have approached the level of development of the industrialized ones.

Integration groupings of socialist and transition countries.

When the socialist camp existed, an attempt was made to unite them into a single bloc not only politically, but also economically. The organization regulating the economic activities of socialist countries was the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), created in 1949. It should be recognized as the first post-war integration bloc, ahead of the emergence of the EEC. It was initially created as an organization of socialist countries only in Eastern Europe, but later it included Mongolia (1962), Cuba (1972) and Vietnam (1978). If we compare the CMEA with other integration blocs in terms of the share of world exports, then in the 1980s it was in second place, far behind the EEC, but ahead of the next EFTA, not to mention the blocs of developing countries (Table 7). However, these seemingly attractive data concealed serious flaws in “socialist” integration.

Table 7. Comparative data on integration groups of the 1980s

Table 7. COMPARATIVE DATA ABOUT INTEGRATION GROUPS OF THE 1980s (data on CMEA for 1984, all others – for 1988)
Integration groups	Share in world exports
European Economic Community (EEC)	40%
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA)	8%
European Free Trade Association (EFTA)	7%
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)	4%
Andean Pact	1%
Compiled by: Daniels John D., Radeb Lee H. International business: external environment and business operations. M., 1994

In theory, national economies were supposed to act in the CMEA as components of a single world socialist economy. But the market mechanism of integration turned out to be blocked - this was hampered by the foundations of the state-monopoly economic system of the socialist countries, which did not allow the development of independent horizontal connections between enterprises even within the same country, and impeded the free movement of financial resources, labor, goods and services. A purely administrative mechanism of integration, relying not on profit, but on obedience to orders, was possible, but its development was opposed by the “brotherly” socialist republics, who did not at all want complete subordination to the interests of the USSR. Therefore, already in the 1960–1970s, the positive potential for the development of CMEA was exhausted; subsequently, the trade turnover of the countries of Eastern Europe with the USSR and with each other began to gradually decline, and, on the contrary, to grow with the West (Table 8).

Table 8. Dynamics of the structure of foreign trade turnover of six CMEA countries in Eastern Europe

Table 8. DYNAMICS OF THE STRUCTURE OF FOREIGN TRADE TURNOVER OF THE SIX CMEA COUNTRIES OF EASTERN EUROPE (BULGARIA, HUNGARY, GDR, POLAND, ROMANIA, CZECHOSLOVAKIA), in %
Export objects	1948	1958	1970	1980	1990
USSR	16	40	38	37	39
Other European CMEA countries	16	27	28	24	13
Western Europe	50	18	22	30	33
Compiled by: Shishkov Yu.V. Integration processes on the threshold of the 21st century. Why are the CIS countries not integrating?. M., 2001

The collapse of the CMEA in 1991 showed that the thesis of Soviet propaganda about the integration of national socialist economies into a single entity did not stand the test of time. In addition to purely political factors, the main reason for the collapse of the CMEA were the same reasons due to which most integration groupings of the “third world” countries do not function: by the time they entered the “path of socialism”, most countries had not reached that high stage of industrial maturity, which presupposes formation of internal incentives for integration. The socialist countries of Eastern Europe used their participation in CMEA to stimulate their economic development mainly through financial assistance USSR - in particular, through the supply of cheap (compared to world prices) raw materials. When the USSR government tried to introduce payment for goods into the CMEA not at conditional, but at real world prices, then, in conditions of weakened political dictatorship, the former Soviet satellites chose to refuse to participate in the CMEA. They created their own economic union in 1992, Central European Free Trade Agreement(CEFTA), and began negotiations on accession to the EU.

In the 1990–2000s, hopes for economic integration of Russia with the countries of Eastern Europe were completely buried. Under the new conditions, some opportunities for the development of economic integration remained only in relations between the former republics of the USSR.

The first attempt to create a new viable economic bloc in the post-Soviet economic space was the Union of Independent States (CIS), which united 12 states - all ex-Soviet republics, except the Baltic countries. In 1993 in Moscow, all CIS countries signed an agreement on the creation of an Economic Union for the formation of market fundamentals single economic space. However, when in 1994 an attempt was made to move to practical action by creating a free trade zone, half of the participating countries (including Russia) considered it premature. Many economists believe that the CIS, even in the early 2000s, performs mainly political rather than economic functions. The failure of this experiment was largely influenced by the fact that they tried to create an integration bloc in the midst of a protracted economic recession, which lasted in almost all CIS countries until the end of the 1990s, when the “every man for himself” sentiment prevailed. The beginning of economic recovery created more favorable conditions for integration experiments.

The next experience of economic integration was Russian-Belarusian relations. Close relations between Russia and Belarus have not only an economic, but also a political basis: of all the post-Soviet states, Belarus is most sympathetic to Russia. In 1996, Russia and Belarus signed the Treaty on the Formation of the Community of Sovereign Republics, and in 1999, the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, with a supranational governing body. Thus, without consistently going through all the integration stages (without even creating a free trade zone), both countries immediately began to create a political union. This “running ahead” turned out to not be very fruitful - according to many experts, the Union State of Russia and Belarus existed in the first years of the 21st century. more on paper than in real life. Its survival is, in principle, possible, but it is necessary to lay a solid foundation for it - to go through all the “missed” stages of economic integration in sequence.

The third and most serious approach to the integration union is the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), created on the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev. The Treaty on the Formation of the Eurasian Economic Community, signed in 2000 by the presidents of five countries (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan), turned out (at least at first) to be more successful than previous integration experiences. As a result of lowering internal customs barriers, it was possible to stimulate mutual trade. By 2006, it is planned to complete the unification of customs tariffs, thereby moving from the stage of a free trade zone to a customs union. However, although the volume of mutual trade between the EurAsEC countries is growing, the share of their mutual trade in export-import operations continues to decline, which is a symptom of an objective weakening of economic relations.

The ex-Soviet states also created economic unions without the participation of Russia - the Central Asian Economic Community (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan), GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova - since 1997), the Moldovan-Romanian free trade zone, etc. d. In addition, there are economic blocs that unite the former republics of the USSR with “foreign” countries, for example, the Economic Cooperation Organization (Central Asian countries, Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey), APEC (Russia became a member in 1997).

Thus, in the post-Soviet economic space there are both attraction factors (primarily interest in sales markets for goods that have little competition in the West) and push factors (economic inequality of participants, differences in their political systems, the desire to get rid of the “hegemony” of large and powerful countries, reorient to a more promising world market). Only the future will show whether the integration ties inherited from the Soviet era will continue to die out or whether new supports for economic cooperation will be found.

Latov Yuri

Literature:

Daniels John D., Radeb Lee H. International Business: External Environment and Business Operations, ch. 10. M., 1994
Semenov K.A. . M., Yurist-Gardarika, 2001
Shishkov Yu.V. Integration processes on the threshold of the 21st century. Why are the CIS countries not integrating?. M., 2001
Kharlamova V.N. International economic integration. Tutorial. M., Ankil, 2002
Krylatykh E., Strokova O. Regional trade agreements within the WTO and the CIS agricultural market. – World economy and international relations. 2003, No. 3



Hello, dear readers of the blog site. There are many terms that we insert inappropriately and inappropriately into our speech, without knowing exactly what they mean.

The concept of “integration” also applies to these. Let's figure out what defines this term and in what areas it is used.

The concept of "integration"

Translated from Latin, “integration” is “ insert, connection" Reasoning logically, we conclude that “integrate” means inserting some part into a single whole.

And “integrate” means to combine, merge (for example, companies), intertwine, insert, add, connect, etc.

A simple example: when putting together a puzzle, we integrate its fragments into a single picture. The development of human society is also a series of integrations and (division of the whole into its component parts).

You can integrate something two ways:

1. By introducing an element into an already existing system. Example: The USSR was formed in 1922 as part of 4 republics, and by 1929 there were 7 of them. That is, the new ones were integrated into the USSR.
2. Creating a unified system from disparate fragments. An example is the already mentioned folding of a puzzle.

By what principles can you integrate

Integration can take place based on several principles. Let's consider the main ones in more detail.

Integration in various areas

Integration is a process that is relevant for all areas of human life.

And there are many examples of this:

Integration in the economy

Economic integration (EI) is the bringing together (or unification) of enterprises, industries and regions. If EI goes beyond the boundaries of one country, then we are talking about international economic integration (IEI).

This is a creation mutually beneficial economic relations between states. Regulated by agreements at the international level. Such cooperation gives EI participants increased access to material, labor and financial resources, to the latest technologies and markets.

MPEI forms are presented in the diagram:

What and how can be integrated in politics

Political integration (PI) is the bringing together of the activities of political units (states, political parties), the goal of which is mutual cooperation to achieve certain results that are close to all members of the integration community. There are 2 types of PI:

1. domestic: this is integration at the level of parties, as well as political and social movements within a single country;
2. interstate: cooperation between different countries to achieve certain goals, for example, for defense (NATO).

Integration in science and pedagogy

The essence of things and phenomena is an endless process. The deeper and more accurate the scientific research, the more obvious it is that a full-fledged study of any object cannot be carried out within the framework of only one scientific discipline.

Biochemistry is one example of two sciences - biology and chemistry. It is impossible to understand the principles of life of biological organisms without knowledge of the chemical processes occurring in their cells and tissues.

Let us give more examples: geophysics, biophysics, cybernetics, etc. Consequently, integration of sciences is combining knowledge accumulated within several scientific disciplines into a single whole to enable a comprehensive study of objects, phenomena, and processes.

The desire to understand the world in which we live dictates the need for scientific integration. And this applies not only to the exact sciences. For example, social science is a complex of disciplines that study all aspects of human society:

1. jurisprudence,
2. economy ( ?),
3. political science,
4. sociology,
5. psychology, etc.

Integration in social science is a consideration of the object being studied not within the framework of any of the listed sciences, but in their totality.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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ME Integration – This is a process of uniting countries based on the development of deep sustainable relationships, division of labor between national economies and the implementation of a coordinated interstate economic policy. Integration is aimed at creating an effective structure of national economies, gradually bringing closer and equalizing the levels of their economic development. The ultimate goal of integration is to improve the standard of living of the population of a given country.

Reasons influencing integration:

1. Deepening the international division of labor.

2. Scientific and technical process and scientific and technological progress associated with it.

3.Internationalization of ME.

4.Increasing the degree of openness of national economies.

Main characteristics, which together distinguish it from other forms of economic interaction between countries:

eliminating restrictions on the movement of goods, as well as services, capital, and human resources between the countries participating in the agreement;

harmonization of the economic policies of the participating countries;

interpenetration and interweaving of national production processes, the formation within the region of technological unity of the production process;

broad development of international specialization and cooperation in production, science and technology on the basis of the most progressive and deep forms, joint financing of economic development;

related to this structural changes in the economies of participating countries;

convergence of national legislations, norms and standards;

targeted regulation of the integration process, development of bodies governing economic interaction (both interstate and supranational management mechanisms are possible);

regionality of the spatial scale of integration.

Main types of integration :

1. Free trade zone (FTA). Within the framework of the FTA, trade restrictions between the participating countries are abolished, and above all this concerns customs duties.

2.Customs union. Along with the functioning of the FTA, a unified foreign trade tariff is established and a unified foreign trade policy is pursued in relation to third countries. Interstate relations concern only the sphere of exchange in order to provide the participating countries with equal opportunities in the development of mutual trade and financial settlements.

3. A more complex form of integration is the creation of a common market (FTA, Customs Union + free movement of capital and labor, as well as coordination of economic policies).

4.Economic and monetary union (EMU): Common market + harmonization of economic policies.

The most significant integration economic organizations in the main regions of the world economy:

European region

European Union (originally European Economic Community)

European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

Central European Free Trade Area (CEFTA)

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)

North American region

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Asian-Pacific area

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

South American region

Latin American Integration Association (LAI, formerly Latin American Free Trade Association - LAST)

Andean Group, or Andean Pact Caribbean Community and Caribbean Common Market

Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR)

6 Integration processes in the CIS and the prospects for their development.

The severance of established ties as a result of the collapse of the USSR was very painful (it is estimated that from 1/3 to 1/2 of the drop in GDP in the CIS member countries in 1992-1995 was due to the consequences of the destruction of these ties).

At the first stage, they manifested themselves in attempts to protect, at least partially, the former single economic space from disintegration processes. These attempts primarily affected areas where the cessation of ties had a particularly adverse impact on the state of the national economy (transport, communications, energy supplies, etc.). Integration trends in the post-Soviet space are generated by the following main factors: division of labor, which could not be changed in a short period of time; the desire of the broad masses of the population in the CIS member countries to maintain fairly close ties; technological interdependence, uniform technical standards.

The decision to create the CIS was made by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine simultaneously with the signing of the Belovezhskaya Agreements on the dissolution of the USSR at the end of 1991. Subsequently, all former Soviet republics, except the Baltic ones, joined the CIS. Russia is the natural core of the CIS. Of all the post-Soviet republics, it accounts for over 3/4 of the territory, almost 1/2 of the population and about 2/3 of GDP.

The institutional foundations for the implementation of integration processes within the CIS are laid down in the Agreement on the Establishment of an Economic Union, signed in September 1993, as well as in the documents specifying and developing it - the Agreement on the creation of a free trade zone and the Agreement on assistance in the creation and development of industrial, commercial, credit -financial, insurance and mixed transnational associations (April 1994), the Agreement on the implementation of a coordinated antimonopoly policy and the Agreement on cooperation in the field of investment activities (December 1993) and a number of others.

The Charter defines the goals of the Commonwealth: to promote the integration of CIS members in the economic, political and humanitarian fields, to maintain and develop contacts and cooperation between people, government institutions and enterprises of the member countries. The CIS is an open organization for other countries to join.

There are many problems within the CIS. The main obstacles to integration are the reluctance of member countries to make any restrictions on their sovereignty, without which real integration is impossible or has an extremely narrow framework, economic difficulties, and the incompleteness of the construction of a new socio-economic system.

Structure of CIS bodies: Council of Heads of State, Council of Heads of Government, Councils of Foreign Ministers, Defense Ministers and Border Force Commanders, Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Economic Court, Economic Council and Executive Secretariat.

Prospects for the CIS Apparently, positive aspects in the regionalization of the CIS still prevail, and they may well be combined with general integration processes, and often stimulate them.

The final result of the interaction of integration and integration processes in the post-Soviet space will depend on many reasons, including the results of reforms, the state of the economy, the policies of the ruling circles of the CIS member countries, people's awareness of the importance of rapprochement, the policies of third countries, and other factors, both within the CIS , and beyond. But the main factor will be the results of the development of the Russian economy and systemic reforms in Russia - the natural integration core of the CIS.

The potential for increasing exports of finished products outside the CIS is extremely limited due to the low competitiveness of manufacturing products and fierce competition in world markets. But the technological division of labor and uniform standards, the popularity of manufactured products, the nature of the general engineering training of personnel, etc. are the basis for expanding mutual exchange. . A significant reduction in mutual trade turnover compared to inter-republican supplies in the Soviet period and a reorientation of foreign economic relations to third countries do not mean the disappearance of the objective basis for integration into the CIS. These changes were a natural reaction to the inconsistencies of the previous division of labor, aggravated by the difficulties of the transformation period and the peculiarities of the political development of the CIS member countries. But now this reorientation is being completed, and centripetal tendencies are beginning to appear more and more. The objective prerequisites for closer integration will certainly strengthen after the completion of reforms and economic recovery in these countries. The obstacles on this path are the same as at the level of the entire Commonwealth: first of all, the reluctance to limit one’s sovereignty and properly take into account the interests of partners, doubts about the benefits of rapprochement.