What are the three tools state budget, influencing the stabilization of the economy, according to the concept of Keynes, the author calls? Based on the text and social science knowledge, name and justify the use of any two methods of state intervention in the regulation of a market economy at different stages business cycle.
Read the text and complete tasks 21-24.
The attitude to the state budget deficit is usually negative. The most popular idea is a balanced budget. Historically, three concepts have been put forward in relation to the state budget: 1) the idea of an annually balanced budget; 2) the idea of a budget balanced by the phases of the economic cycle (on a cyclical basis); 3) the idea of balancing not the budget, but the economy.
The concept of an annual balanced budget is that, regardless of the phase of the economic cycle, every year budget expenditures should be equal to income. This means that, for example, during a recession, when budget revenues (tax revenues) are minimal, the state must reduce government spending(government purchases and transfers). And since the reduction of both government purchases and transfers leads to a decrease in aggregate demand, and, consequently, output, this measure will lead to an even deeper recession. Conversely, if there is a boom in the economy, i.e., maximum tax revenues, then in order to balance budget expenditures with revenues, the state must increase government spending, provoking even more overheating of the economy and, consequently, even higher inflation. Thus, the theoretical inconsistency of such an approach to budget regulation is quite obvious.
The concept of a cyclically balanced state budget is that it is not necessary to have a balanced budget every year. It is important that the budget be balanced as a whole during the economic cycle: the budget surplus that increases during the boom, when budget revenues are maximum, should be used to finance the budget deficit that occurs during the recession, when budget revenues are sharply reduced. This concept also has a significant drawback.
The concept that the goal of the state should not be the balance of the budget, but the stability of the economy, has become most widespread. This idea was put forward by Keynes in his work "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" (1936) and was actively used in the economies of developed countries until the mid-1970s. According to Keynes, the instruments of the state budget (government purchases, taxes and transfers) should be used as anti-cyclic regulators that stabilize the economy at different phases of the cycle.
(according to T.Yu. Matveeva))
The author gives three concepts of the state budget. What concept does he consider the most common? Who is its author? How does the author define the traditional attitude to the problem of the state budget deficit?
Explanation.
A correct answer must contain the following elements:
1) Answer to the first question:
The concept that the state's goal should not be a balanced budget, but the stability of the economy, has become the most widespread;
3) Answer to the third question:
The attitude to the state budget deficit is usually negative.
Response elements can be presented both in the form of a quotation and in the form of a concise reproduction of the main ideas of the relevant text fragments.
Explanation.
1) the essence of the concept of an annual balanced budget:
Regardless of the phase of the economic cycle, every year budget expenditures must be equal to revenues.
2) examples of three any expenditure items in the budget, for example:
Providing social programs;
External debt payments;
Maintaining the country's defense capability.
Other expenditure items of the budget may be given
Explanation.
A correct answer must contain three examples:
The central bank of state Z issues additional money into circulation, with the help of which the state covers the excess of its expenses over income;
In state N, bonds were issued into circulation internal loan, which are distributed among the population through commercial structures;
The government of state S resorted to a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Other examples can be given
Explanation.
A correct answer must contain the following elements:
1) tools:
Government purchases, taxes and transfers;
2) methods and goals of state regulation, for example:
If there is a recession in the economy, then the state, in order to stimulate business activity and ensure economic recovery, must increase its spending and reduce taxes, which will lead to an increase in aggregate demand;
If there is a boom (overheating) in the economy, then the state must cut costs and increase taxes (revenues), which hinders business activity and “cools” the economy, leading to its stabilization.
Other methods may be given
First of all, it is important to distinguish between two main forms: direct intervention through the expansion of state ownership of material resources, lawmaking and management of industrial enterprises and indirect intervention through various measures. economic policy.
The direct intervention of the state is the adoption of legislative acts designed to streamline and develop relations between the elements of the market system. An example of state regulation of the economy through the issuance of legislative acts is the provision on cooperation in France.
indirect intervention. Depending on the purpose of the intervention, economic policy measures can be aimed at:
Stimulation of investments;
Ensuring full employment;
Stimulating the export and import of goods, capital and labor;
Impact on the general price level in order to stabilize it;
Support for sustainable economic growth;
Redistribution of income.
To carry out these various measures, the state resorts mainly to fiscal and monetary policy. Fiscal policy is budgetary policy. It can be defined as a policy pursued by manipulating government revenues and spending. Monetary policy is a policy implemented through regulation money supply in the circulation and improvement of the credit sphere. Both of these directions public policy are closely related to each other. However, this connection in a market and centralized economy differs significantly.
Countries with a market economy are constantly looking for the optimal combination of state regulation and the functioning of a naturally formed market mechanism.
In a market economy, taxes play such an important role that it is safe to say that without a well-established, well-functioning tax system, an efficient market economy is impossible.
What exactly is the role of taxes in a market economy, what functions do they perform? Answering these questions, they usually begin with the fact that taxes play a decisive role in shaping the revenue side of the state budget. It is, of course, so. But the first place should be given to the function, without which it is impossible to do without in an economy based on commodity-money relations. This function of taxes is regulatory.
The market economy in developed countries is a regulated economy. Imagine a well-functioning market economy in modern world not regulated by the state is impossible. Another thing is how it is regulated, in what ways, in what forms.
State regulation carried out in two main directions:
Regulation of market, commodity-money relations. It consists mainly in defining the "rules of the game", i.e. development of laws and regulations that determine the relationship between persons operating in the market, primarily entrepreneurs, employers and hired workers. These include laws, regulations, guidelines government agencies governing the relationship of producers, sellers and buyers, the activities of banks, as well as labor exchanges. This area of state regulation of the market is not directly related to taxes.
Development regulation National economy, social production when the main objective economic law operating in society is the law of value. Here we are talking mainly about the financial and economic methods of state influence on the interests of people, entrepreneurs, in order to direct their activities in the right, beneficial direction for society.
In market conditions, the methods of administrative subordination of entrepreneurs are reduced to a minimum, and the very concept of "superior organizations" that have the right to manage the activities of enterprises with the help of orders, commands and orders is gradually disappearing.
Maneuvering tax rates, benefits and fines, changing the terms of taxation, introducing some and canceling other taxes, the state creates conditions for the accelerated development of certain industries and industries, contributes to solving problems that are urgent for society. So, at the present time, perhaps, there is no more important task for us than the rise Agriculture, solving the food problem. In this regard, in Russian Federation collective farms, state farms and other agricultural productions are exempted from income tax.
Another example. It is well known that a well-functioning market economy cannot be imagined without the development of small businesses. Without it, it is difficult to create a favorable for the functioning of commodity-money relations economic environment. The state should promote the development of small business, support it by creating special funds for financing small businesses, concessional lending, preferential taxation.
Another function of taxes is stimulating. With the help of taxes and benefits, the state stimulates the technical process, an increase in the number of jobs, capital investments on the expansion of production
The next function of taxes is distributive, or redistributive. Through taxes, funds are concentrated in the state budget, which are then directed to solving national economic problems, both industrial and social, financing large intersectoral, comprehensive targeted programs - scientific, technical, economic, etc.
With the help of taxes, the state redistributes part of the profits of enterprises and entrepreneurs, the income of citizens, directing them to the development of industrial and social infrastructure, to investments and investments. The redistributive function of the tax system has a pronounced social character. A properly constructed tax system makes it possible to give a market economy a social orientation, as is done in Germany, Sweden and many other countries.
Course work
in the discipline "Economic theory"
on the topic: "State intervention in the operation of the market mechanism of the economy"
MOSCOW 2011
Introduction
1. Market mechanism and elements of its functioning;
2. State regulation of the market economy mechanism:
2.1 The boundaries of state intervention in the economy;
In the processes of market production and consumption, peculiar defects may arise that have no monetary expression and are not fixed by the market. These externalities disturb the market equilibrium and cause a suboptimal distribution of resources, which necessitates government intervention in the economy.
Functions performed by the state in organization monetary circulation, the provision of public goods, and the elimination of the consequences of externalities, constitute the maximum limits of its intervention in the free market economy. At the same time, these functions form the minimum necessary boundaries for regulating the real market. As you can see, there is no unregulated market at all, because even an ideal free market needs some influence from the state.
If we turn to the real competitive market, then new areas of economic life will be discovered, where the limitations of the market mechanism are manifested, which makes it necessary to have a wider participation of the state in economic processes. The totality of such areas determines the maximum allowable boundaries of intervention in the economy. Let us briefly outline these areas.
a) Redistribution of income.
The market recognizes fair income received as a result of free
competition in the markets for factors of production, the size of income depends on
the effectiveness of the investment of factors. In society, there are people who do not own land, capital, or labor (incapacitated, poor). They do not participate in competition, do not receive any income. There are also people who do not have a job, but are able-bodied, they cannot find a market application for their labor. The market distribution of income is not applicable to those who are engaged in the production of public goods, their content becomes the task of the state, not the market. In all of the above cases, the state has the right to intervene in the redistribution of income, because what is fair from the standpoint of the market
mechanism, unfair to the universal norms of morality, violates the human right to a decent existence in society.
The state takes on the task of providing a legal framework and some
the most important services that are a prerequisite for the effective functioning of a market economy. The necessary legal framework includes measures such as giving legal status to private enterprises, defining private property rights, and enforcing contracts. The government also establishes legitimate "rules of the game" that govern the relationship between businesses, resource providers and consumers. On the basis of legislation, the state performs the functions of an arbitrator in the field of economic
("3") links. The main services provided by the state include the use of police forces to maintain public order, the introduction of standards for measuring the weight and quality of products, the creation of a monetary system that facilitates the exchange of goods and services.
b) Competition serves as the main regulatory mechanism in the economy. In competition, individual producers and suppliers of resources can only adapt to the desires of buyers, which the market system registers and brings to the attention of sellers. Competing producers, subject to the will of the market system, are expected to profit and strengthen their positions; the lot of those who violate the laws of the market are losses and ultimately bankruptcy.
The growth of monopolies dramatically changes this situation. The state is trying to regulate the situation in two ways. It forms state commissions to regulate prices and sets standards for the services provided. The federal government also uses antitrust laws.
The mechanism of the market does not automatically realize the right to work for those who
may want to work. Note that the provision of this right is not
similar to providing all able-bodied members of society with guaranteed jobs. For the efficient operation of the market, an optimal reserve of labor is required; for a number of reasons, unemployment is inevitable in the market system, which poses many difficult problems for the state. It becomes his duty to regulate the labor market in order to maintain a certain level of employment, material support people who have lost their jobs.
c) Monopoly and inflation - these are two severe "chronic diseases" of the market economy, which needs antimonopoly and anti-inflationary prevention. The essence of the state counter-cyclical policy, or economic regulation, is to stimulate demand for goods and services, investment and employment during crises and depressions. For this, additional financial benefits are provided to private capital, and government spending and investment are increased. In the context of a long and rapid recovery in the country's economy, dangerous phenomena may arise - the absorption of commodity stocks, the growth of imports and the deterioration of the balance of payments, the excess of demand for labor over supply, and hence the unjustified increase in wages and prices. In such a situation, the task of state regulation of the economy is to slow down the growth of demand, investment and production in order to
e) The implementation of national interests in the world economy (regulation of foreign economic relations) involves the conduct of an appropriate foreign trade policy by the state, control over the international migration of capital and labor, influence on exchange rates, management of balance of payments, and much more.
These are, in general terms, the upper maximum permissible limits of state intervention in the market economy. These frameworks are wide enough for a reasonable symbiosis of state regulation and an effectively functioning market mechanism to solve the main socio-economic problems. modern society. If the state tries to do more than it is measured out by the market economy, it continues to distribute production resources, maintains administrative control over prices, forgives enterprises for debts, keeps jobs in technologically backward industries, conducts a fiscal tax policy, tries to ensure high social security of the population without taking into account real possibilities of the economy, then the backward structure of production, the low quality of products are conserved in the national economy, the lag behind the developed countries in the field of scientific and technological progress and the standard of living of the people increases. As a result, those suffering for whose sake the state went beyond the limits of reasonable intervention in the economy. Then, sooner or later, it becomes necessary to denationalize the economy, rid it of excessive state activity.
2.2) Goals of state regulation of the economy.
The general goal of state regulation of the economy is economic and social stability and strengthening the existing system at home and abroad, adapting it to changing conditions. From this general goal, a tree of so-called mediating specific goals extends, without the implementation of which the general goal cannot be achieved. These specific goals are inextricably linked with the objects of state regulation of the economy. The goal - the alignment of the economic cycle - is aimed at the object, i.e. at the economic cycle; improvement of the sectoral and regional structure of the economy - into sectoral and sectoral, regional structure; improvement of the environment - for the environment, etc. The above goals, firstly, are not the same in meaning and scale, and, secondly, are closely interconnected. Most often, one goal cannot be set and achieved independently of the others. For example, it is impossible to imagine the stimulation of fundamental scientific research without favorable conditions for the accumulation of capital, without the alignment of the situation, the improvement of the sectoral structure of the economy, and stable money circulation.
Specific private goals can serve as mediators for the achievement of other, higher current goals for a given moment. Thus, the specific goal - to provide additional capital investments for the modernization of coal mines - may be mediating for the stabilization and cost reduction in the domestic coal mining industry.
The goals may partially overlap each other, one may turn out to be temporarily more important and subjugate others, depending on the real economic and social situation, the level of awareness of this situation by the subjects of state regulation of the economy and on the established
government bodies at the moment the goal priority system.
programming, covering numerous goals and the entire set of tools for state regulation of the economy.
The main economic means are:
1) Regulation of the discount rate (discount policy implemented
central bank)
2) Establishing and changing the size of the minimum reserves that the financial institutions of the country are required to keep in the central bank;
3) Operations public institutions in the securities market such as
issue of government bonds, their trading and redemption.
With the help of these tools, the state seeks to change the balance of supply and demand for financial market(loan capital market) in the desired direction. With the relative decline in the role of free capital markets in the financing of capital investments, and especially in connection with the decrease in the role of the stock exchange and the growth of self-sufficiency of large companies with financial resources, the effectiveness of these instruments has recently weakened somewhat.
administrative funds. In the second method, such restrictions as the demand for products or the financial capabilities of the enterprise do not exist. The company is focused on the constant growth of production as an end in itself. It is not only the plan that pushes him to this, but also the prestigious considerations of the leaders. For them, increasing the volume of production is the main goal. The main criterion for such administrative regulation is usually quantitative growth. The enterprise receives the funds necessary for production (both current and capital investments) from the state, and therefore it does not have its own internal restrictions. The manager's task is to "knock out" more and more new means from higher authorities.
Under these conditions, it is impossible to imagine a director who would voluntarily refuse additional capital investments; because they are gratuitous, they cost nothing to the enterprise, they are in no way connected with its financial situation. The enterprise cannot be bankrupt: any losses are covered by the state, which acts as a universal Insurance Company. Administrative means are not associated with the creation of an additional financial incentive or the risk of financial damage. They are based on the power of state power and include measures of prohibition, permission and coercion.
Administrative means of regulation in developed countries with a market
economy are used on a small scale. Their scope
Monopoly profit, and often profit in general, is not the primary goal of the public sector in infrastructure, energy, raw materials, training and retraining of personnel, etc., since no one requires high profits from these industries, and losses are covered from budget. Therefore, the public sector has become a supplier of cheap services (for example, postal and telegraph services), electricity and raw materials, thus reducing costs in the private sector.
The public sector is actively used as a means of state regulation. Thus, in times of crisis, deteriorating market conditions, when private investment is reduced, investment in the public sector, as a rule, grows. Thus, government bodies seek to counteract the decline in production and the growth of unemployment. The public sector plays a huge role in government structural policy.
The state creates new facilities or expands and reconstructs old ones in those areas of activity, industries and regions where private capital does not flow enough.
On the whole, the public sector complements the private economy where and to the extent that the motivation for private capital is insufficient. As a result, the public sector serves to increase the efficiency of the national economy as a whole and is one of the tools for redistributing GDP.
Budget expenditures for economic purposes are also used as instruments of state regulation. These are, first of all, state loans, subsidies and guarantees (guarantees), as well as the costs of purchasing goods and services in the private sector.
indirect interference . Measures of indirect government intervention in the economy include stimulating investments, ensuring a normal level of employment, stimulating exports and/or imports, maintaining prices for vital products.
Fiscal policy is budgetary policy. It can be defined as a policy aimed at regulating aggregate demand through planned changes in government revenues (primarily taxes) and expenditures.
Monetary policy is a policy aimed at regulating
aggregate demand, in particular through changes in the issuance
activities. Both these areas of public policy are closely related to each other.
Taxes are the main tool for raising money to cover government spending. They are also widely used to influence the activities of economic entities. State regulation with the help of taxes depends to a decisive extent on the choice of the tax system, height tax rates as well as types and sizes tax incentives. Taxes in state regulation play a dual role: on the one hand, it is the main source of financing public spending, the material basis budget policy on the other hand, it is a regulatory tool.
("7") 3. The role of state regulation in modern Russia.
As world experience shows, the successful socio-economic development of the country largely depends on the organization government controlled Therefore, it is pointless to deny the role of the state and the modern Russian economy. The only question is whether this role should be primary or secondary. In the period before 1992, the command economy in Russia was already significantly weakened, previous reforms, especially laws on the enterprise, on cooperation, on rent, introduced a number of market relations. As you know, such a specific situation, when a command economy operates in a country simultaneously with market elements, cannot last for a long time: either the command economy wins, or the market economy. The fact is that directive planning, with all its institutions, is inherent in administrative - command economy cannot exist together with entrepreneurship and any market institutions, as they will contradict each other, thereby hindering the normal development of the country's economy as a whole. At that time, it became already meaningless and harmful to talk about strengthening the role of the state, which had practically lost the main levers of centralized
planning, and liberalization seemed then the only reasonable way out.
But let us turn to an earlier period of our history - the beginning of the 20th century. The country, bled dry by the ill-conceived policy of its leaders, the war and the imminent social instability, could not get out of the crisis on its own. When, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the country needed to urgently mobilize its forces, the administrative-command economy showed itself positively. In the difficult years of the war, when it is necessary to direct all resources to strengthening the military power of the state, central planning with all its institutions is simply necessary: state pricing, outfits, orders, etc. Most modern analysts tend to believe that for a modern state the only correct type of economy is market. In many ways, we can agree with them: the market economy creates a healthy climate for competition, free pricing, high production efficiency, etc. It has many positive aspects, but speaking about the efficiency of various types of economy, it is impossible to develop a standard point of view that is acceptable to all countries . You should always make adjustments for the state of the country's economy and specific historical conditions.
Returning to modern Russia, let's try to determine the boundaries of the necessary intervention of the state in the economy.
1. First of all, these are industries where it ceases to operate effectively
mechanism of market self-regulation. The mechanism of the free market allows you to meet the needs expressed in monetary terms through demand. But there are needs that cannot be measured in money: national defense, public order, the national communications network, etc., here you cannot do without state intervention. Also, close attention should be paid to the pricing of natural monopolies and monopolies in general. I would especially like to note those areas that are closer to the main part of the population - housing and communal services, which are also monopolies, but local government does not pay due attention to it.
2. Another of the most important functions of the state in a market economy is the redistribution of income. The market recognizes fair income received as a result of free competition in the market, while in society there are people who do not own land or capital and are not able to work. They do not participate in the activities of the market and do not receive income. There are also people who do not have a job, but are able-bodied, they cannot find a market application for their labor. The market distribution of income is not applicable to such people, so their maintenance becomes the task of the state. In all of the above cases, it has the right to intervene in the redistribution of income, since what is unfair from the point of view of the market mechanism is unfair from the standpoint of universal moral standards and violates the human right to a decent existence in society.
3. The state is obliged to take on the task of providing a legal framework:
granting legal status to private enterprises, respecting the right to private property, etc.
4. One of major responsibilities state is
financing of the defense industry and related scientific and technical bases.
After analyzing the above functions, we can conclude that the state in market conditions should control and support only those sectors of the economy in the development of which private firms are not interested or where it is dangerous to invest money. As a rule, these are branches of national importance - the military industry, scientific developments, etc. With monopolies and oligopolies, everything is much more complicated. They create problems more population than the state. The latter is more likely to benefit from the existence of monopolies, since the more they raise prices, the more taxes they pay. At the same time, consumers are in no way able to influence the price level with their demand. Ignoring this problem on the part of the state can lead to serious consequences, in particular to social explosions. Let's try to determine the reasons why the modern economy does not cope with its tasks. First, it is a colossal bureaucracy. Russia inherited from the Soviet Union a cumbersome, irrational structure of state administration. The virus of bureaucracy struck all echelons of power - from the lowest to the highest. And if in some countries bureaucratic structures perform constructive functions, in Russia bureaucratic traditions hold back the effective implementation of economic reforms, they are a brake on the path of market reforms. On the other hand, redistribution of property is carried out through bureaucratic structures, including in favor of the bureaucratic elite itself, which has unlimited access to the country's national wealth. In Russia, a whole segment has formed in the market of financial resources, where loans operate, which are managed by the bureaucratic elite. Obviously, there is a certain dependence between the degree of bureaucratization of state power and the degree of its corruption. Even in the most developed democracies, corruption often accompanies the processes of political and business life.
Not a single state, as practice shows, has managed to completely solve this problem. Corruption flourished in Russia at all times. For centuries, the entire population of Russia - from top to bottom - was guided in its pursuit of well-being not by property, but by power. Even at the dawn of the century, he wrote that “the dishonorable business of taking bribes has become a necessity and a need even for such people who are not born to be dishonest.”
These words, written a century ago, are strikingly accurate for the current situation in Russia. The current scale of corruption has reached
absolute limits. Under the current conditions, the inability to earn a living through honest labor pushes many officials onto the path of unearned income. For many of them, their position has become not only a source of money capital, but also an opportunity to participate in the redistribution of state property. Another of the most acute problems of the modern Russian economy has become the process of merging power with mafia structures. According to official data from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, out of 1,123 criminal groups identified in the mid-1990s, 374 used connections with corrupt officials. By the beginning of the third millennium, this figure had almost doubled. In 2000, about 52,000 economic crimes were committed in Russia. Corruption in the system public service increasingly becoming an epidemic. It does not allow all the reforms that are being introduced to work in full force, it has a devastating effect on the way of life of Russians, their legal awareness and social security.
Let's try to identify measures that would increase efficiency
state regulation in modern Russia. Primarily,
a radical restructuring of the administrative apparatus is required.
As a rule, in industrialized countries, despite differences in state structure, control functions economic processes vested in the executive branch, which is usually represented by ministries. The experience of many countries of the world shows that the optimal number of ministries is 12-15, of which the ministries are mandatory: finance, foreign affairs, defense, internal affairs, health, and the rest are created depending on the specifics of the country. The number of employees in these ministries should also be reduced. Corruption should be fought with the help of strict control over the activities of each official. This should be done by a separate ministry, which sends to each region a group of inspectors who are accountable to the president or another responsible person. A system of high fines should also be introduced; trial. In other words, everything should be done to make it more profitable and safer for officials not to take bribes and not have connections with criminal groups. These measures should not be of a long-term nature, but should be used only for 5-10 years (depending on the complexity of the situation).
("8") In general, it is difficult to overestimate the role of the state in the economy. It creates conditions for economic activity, protects entrepreneurs from the threat of monopolies, provides for the needs of society in public goods, provides social protection for low-income sections of the population, and resolves issues of national defense. On the other hand, government intervention can, in some cases, noticeably weaken the market mechanism and cause significant harm to the country's economy. Therefore, the main task of the state is to keep the “golden mean” at a stable time and the ability to make tough decisions in difficult situations.
Conclusion
The state in market conditions should control only those sectors of the economy in the development of which private firms are not interested or where it is dangerous to invest money (medicine, education, national defense, scientific and technical industries). In the modern Russian economy, many tools used in all countries of the world to regulate economic mechanisms do not work or are ineffective. The fact is that Russian economy has many features and, choosing the methods of regulation, it is impossible to blindly copy the models used in other countries, which are inapplicable in Russian conditions.
The experience of market transformation of the Russian economy has shown that the development of modern forms of the corporate economy, small and medium-sized businesses in the context of the historically established priority role of the state in the economy, on the one hand, and the heterogeneity of the Russian economic space deepening in the process of reforms, on the other hand, is blocked by a weak social orientation economy, underdevelopment in the regions of democratic forms of organizing economic life, a tendency to oust the mass of workers and entrepreneurs from the sphere of direct production management, monopolization of the management of the real sector of the economy by a small group of new owners and managers.
The following positive results should also be noted:
1) a class of owners has formed in the country;
2) there was a distribution and initial consolidation of property rights;
3) a large number of independent market entities have emerged;
4) a competitive environment has been created in many areas of the national economy;
5) the seller's market gave way to the buyer's market;
6) there are features of a new quality of economic growth, etc.
Thus, in the course of the reform, fundamental and irreversible transformations took place in the economic basis, economic mechanism and public consciousness of people.
An example of modeling the situation in a specific commodity market. Condition: there is a market for interchangeable goods: watermelons and melons. 1. Short term
Demand function equations:
on melons Csd \u003d 28 / Ksd
for watermelons Tssa = 22 / Ksa
Supply Function Equations:
on melons Cpd \u003d Efficiency -3
for watermelons Tspa = Kpa -9
1.2. The market situation has changed. Consumer incomes decreased due to the decrease in wages. The demand function is given by the equation: for melons - C2d = 12/K2d; watermelons - C2a \u003d 12 / K2a).
1.3. The market situation has changed again due to the introduction of new taxes for producers. The prices of melons and watermelons increased accordingly: for melons-Cd = 6 CU; for watermelons - Tsa \u003d 3 d. e. g)
1.4. For the purchase of melons and watermelons, an amount of CU24,000 has been allocated from the family budget (the amount consists of all types of budgets). The indifference curve is given by the function: Kd = 8 / Ka -3, where Ka - the need for watermelons, t; Kd - the need for melons, t.;
2. Long term.
2.1. The supply of melons and watermelons changes by a constant amount for each price compared to the previous supply.
2.2. A new sales region has been developed for the melon market, as a result of which there has been an increase in the number of sellers. The offer for melons changed by 5 tons, the offer for watermelons by 2 tons.
1.1. To plot the demand for melons and watermelons, it is necessary to determine the values of prices and volumes of demand in accordance with the formulas of demand functions.
("9") “Melons” “Watermelons” Tsd = 28 / Ksd Tssa = 22 / Ksa
Tssd (f. e.) | Tssa (f. e.) |
||
("10") By marking these points and connecting them, we obtain the demand curves for melons and watermelons.
“Melons” “Watermelons” Cpd \u003d Efficiency -3 Tspa \u003d Kpa -9
Cpd (d.u.) | Tspa (d.u.) |
||
("11") By marking these points and connecting them, we get the supply curves for melons and watermelons.
“Melons” “Watermelons” Cs2d=12/ K2d Cs2a=12/ K2a
Cs2d (f. e.) | Cs2a (f. e.) |
||
("12") By marking these points and connecting them, we obtain new demand curves for melons and watermelons.
1.3. The market situation has changed and prices have increased. The price of melons increased to 6 m.u. According to the supply curve for "Melon" we determine the quantity corresponding to the price Cpd \u003d 6 m. e, then Kpd \u003d 9 tons. Let's denote this point E1d. Similarly to the Melon market, we determine the quantity on the Watermelons market. Determine the quantity from the supply curve. If the price Tspa = 3 cu, then Kpa = 12 tons. Let's designate it on the curve of the application E1a.
1.4. To construct an indifference curve in accordance with the function of the indifference curve, we determine the values of the need for "Melons" and "Watermelons" and, based on these values, we construct this curve.
With 24 cu allocated from income, we find the volumes of goods at zero values for the purchase of one of the goods, given that the prices of melons and watermelons have risen. Kd = 0 t. => Kd = 24/ 6 = 4 t. Ka = 0 t. => Ka = 24 / 3 = 8 t.
The new prices for melons and watermelons are CU6 and CU3, respectively, at constant income. We connect the two found points, this is the budget constraint. The point of intersection of the indifference curve and the straight line of the budget constraint shows the new equilibrium volumes of Melons and Watermelons at new prices. Equilibrium values. Points E2: for Melon Tsa2 = 6 m.u. Ka2 = 4 t. for “Watermelons” Tst2 = 3 d.u.
Literature
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There are two main forms of state intervention in the economy:
Direct control methods are based on power relations and are reduced to administrative impact on the activities of business entities. These measures assume that economic entities will be forced to make decisions based not on independent economic choice but on state orders. Among the methods of direct state regulation, various forms of irrevocable targeted financing of certain sectors of the economy, regions and firms in the form of subsidizing non-state enterprises prevail; public investment in certain industries is also a form of direct regulation. The concept of state entrepreneurship is associated with public investment. They talk about state entrepreneurship when they mean the creation and functioning of state manufacturing enterprises in one industry or another. Usually enterprises state form ownership arise in capital-intensive and low-profit industries such as the coal industry, shipbuilding, railway transport, content highways etc., in industries that determine scientific and technical progress, accumulation and production human capital, scientific research. State entrepreneurship is developing in those areas where the functioning of any non-state form of ownership can lead to negative consequences. Thus, the state implements programs to support such areas as education, healthcare, environmental protection, which would develop more slowly without direct state participation in the form of state subsidies. A permanent object of subsidizing in many states is agricultural production, the extractive industry, etc. The implementation of direct regulation measures has its "pluses" and "minuses" - a high degree of efficiency due to the rapid achievement of economic results, on the one hand, and the creation interference with the operation of the market mechanism and its weakening, on the other.
Methods of indirect regulation suggest that the state lays down the conditions so that, with independent adoption economic decisions subjects of the economy gravitated towards options corresponding to economic goals states.
Based on the organizational and institutional features of the regulators applied by the state, the methods of state regulation can be divided into legal, administrative, economic. The legal levers of state influence on the economy are designed to provide its legal infrastructure, to create reasonable legal conditions for the functioning of the private sector - households and businesses. The legal regulation of the economy consists in the establishment by the state of the rules of economic behavior for manufacturing firms and consumers. The system of legislative norms and rules determines the forms and rights of ownership, the conditions for concluding business contracts, the procedure for registering and operating firms, ensures the protection of the competitive environment, etc. Administrative measures are divided into prohibition measures, for example, prohibitions on the production and trade in weapons, drugs, medicines, etc., permit measures, for example, a license giving the right to manufacture, trade in any product, or to carry out any type of activity, coercive measures, such as payment of taxes, installation of treatment facilities, etc. Administrative measures are not related to the creation additional financial incentive for the private sector and are based on the strength of state power. Administrative measures can be used in state control over prices, income, discount rate, exchange rate. Administrative measures of regulation in countries with developed market economies are used on a small scale, most often they are limited to environmental protection, social protection of the population. The role of administrative methods increases in critical situations - during the war, a difficult situation in the economy. Glazunov N.I. Public Administration System: Proc. Moscow: Unity - Dana, 2008 p.107
The analysis of the functioning of the economy at the micro, meso and macro levels, carried out in the previous chapters, already required a partial consideration of the role of the state in the market system. Now we have to summarize these parts and form, as far as possible, a more holistic view of the place of the state in modern economy. To this end, this chapter will address the following key issues:
17.1. Necessity and goals of state regulation of the economy
The need for state intervention in the economy stems, on the one hand, from the peculiarities of the functioning of the market system itself, which is unable to cope with the solution of a number of problems. important issues and situations (market failures), on the other hand, from strengthening the integrity of modern social systems, requiring an institutional representation of interests common to all subjects. The latter turns out to be especially significant in the conditions of modern scientific and technological revolution, the transition to a post-industrial civilization and a sharp increase in the internationalization of economic life.
What are the specific reasons for the possible intervention of the state in the economy?
First of all, it is necessary to recognize the role of the state in preserving and maintaining the very market environment. It is the state, through legal regulation, that ensures the establishment and observance of the "rules of the game" of the main economic agents, legally defines and protects the rights of owners, promotes the preservation of competitive principles in the economy, suppresses forms of unfair competition, regulates many aspects of economic activity, etc. The state ensures the normal functioning monetary system, which is especially important in the face of the abandonment of the gold standard. Elements of coercion, which are inevitably present in legal regulation, at first glance, limit the freedom of realization and the primacy of private interests, which are reasonably considered the foundation of a market economy. In fact, coercion turns out to be a way to reduce transaction costs (R. Coase) - the costs of negotiating, obtaining reliable information, the costs of risky actions of private structures, which would be extremely high in the absence of state control and guarantees. Such coercion is carried out by the state in the interests of all major economic entities and society as a whole. But, in turn, if the costs of public administration are higher than transaction costs, this is a reason for the state to withdraw from the relevant areas.
The next important reason for state intervention in the market system of self-regulation is the inevitable tendency for the market to monopolize, arising from the laws of competition, concentration and centralization of capital. The ambiguity of the consequences of monopolization (on the one hand, rising prices, costs, reduction in production volumes, irrational distribution of resources and income, in some cases, immunity to scientific and technical progress; on the other hand, cost reduction due to economies of scale, interest in scientific research and financial opportunities for conducting the latter , the ability to break into world markets) also creates a very contradictory attitude of the state to the assessment of the activities of monopolies. This finds expression in the difference in national antitrust laws: the most stringent attitude towards monopolies in the United States, European countries and Japan are taking a more tolerant approach to the problem, in large part because of the need to help national firms establish themselves in world markets. It is to the extent that a monopoly is destructive to the economic system that it becomes an object of state influence - through legislative restriction and suppression of monopoly activities (price regulation, division of firms), through the promotion of competition, the promotion of the creation of new enterprises, the implementation of an open economy policy.
The reason for the participation of the state in the economic life of society is also the problem of external effects (externalities). Under external influences economic theory refers to situations where the costs (or benefits) of private market transactions fall on third parties who are not direct participants in these transactions. Classical examples of these are numerous situations associated with environmental pollution (negative externalities), benefits received by society from the growth of the level of education, health, culture of people (positive externalities). From the point of view of the theory of microeconomics, in cases of external effects, there is an unjustified deviation of the demand and supply curves of the corresponding goods (and the equilibrium point) from the required position. With negative externalities, the market supply curve, based on the private costs of firms, does not take into account part of the costs of society (losses of third parties), due to which the volume of production and consumption of goods is overstated, prices are underestimated and, therefore, there is an excessive, unpaid and inefficient use of part of the resources . In the case of positive externalities (with the predominance of market relations in the areas of education, healthcare, culture), the situation is reversed: the presence of unpaid benefits underestimates the effective demand for goods and services, the volume of their production and consumption, and prices turn out to be lower than those required by society, resources in the industry are underconsumed. The problem of negative externalities, as the theory shows, could be solved in a purely market way (in the case of zero transaction costs), but under one important condition - the exact identification of all property rights to all resources (including clean air, unpolluted water of reservoirs, etc.). .). This idea is formulated in the Coase-Stigler theorem: with zero transaction costs and a clear establishment of property rights, regardless of how these rights are distributed among economic entities, private and social costs (taking into account the mentioned costs of “third parties”) will be equal. However, the difficulty lies precisely in the fact that either zero transaction costs are impossible, or it is difficult to establish and distribute property rights. Because of this, state intervention in such situations is inevitable. It is carried out in various ways. With the help of the policy of taxes, fines, direct prohibitions, the costs of firms artificially increase and the industry supply curve shifts, thereby reducing negative effects, and resources are redistributed in the optimal direction. The use of subsidies, subsidies, free provision of goods and services by the state expands the use of resources, the production and consumption of goods in industries with positive externalities. Thus, in this case, too, the state "tweaks" the market mechanism, contributes to the growth of the efficiency of the economic system, although it should be recognized that for a number of reasons it is not possible to completely eliminate external effects.
Another justified reason for state intervention in the economy is the need to produce so-called public goods. Public goods in economic theory are goods that have the following basic properties: non-excludability - benefits cannot be provided to one person so as not to make them available to other people, non-rivalry - being provided to one person can be provided to others without additional costs. The production and supply of such goods by private firms turns out to be unprofitable, if at all possible: most people will use such goods for free, there will be a problem of "hares". “Pure” public goods, for which these properties are fully applicable, include national defense, lighthouse services, street lighting, etc. parks, roads, etc. Sometimes such benefits also include education, medicine, and cultural sectors, although these are rather private benefits with high positive externalities. Public goods, by virtue of their properties, are produced either by the state or by state contractors and are provided for use free of charge, financed from the state budget. But at the same time, it is a very difficult problem to determine the volumes of production of goods and the corresponding costs of resources; the traditional market mechanism for identifying equilibrium volumes and prices does not work here.
The problem of income distribution also requires the participation of the state. The market mechanism, as you know, is very cruel and is not capable, and indeed should not solve the issues of social justice, guarantee a certain standard of well-being in accordance with the requirements of a modern democratic society. The state corrects this situation with the help of fiscal policy instruments: taxes, transfers, etc.
All these factors of state intervention in the economy are more likely to be microeconomics, as they characterize the problems individual markets. But there are actually macroeconomic situations that require state regulation. Moreover, in relation to the latter, there are much more contradictory judgments than in relation to microeconomic ones. These problems can be interpreted as manifestations of economic instability.
First, it concerns inflationary processes, which, as is known, have a very destructive effect on economic systems. As the practice of developed and developing countries, have a high anti-inflationary effect money-credit policy(limitation of the money supply), fiscal policy (reduction of the state budget deficit), structural policy, antimonopoly policy, etc. The fight against inflation is often the most important task of stabilization, without which the further development of the economy is unthinkable. Such stabilization is sometimes very expensive, accompanied by more or less economic recession, rising unemployment and other adverse consequences.
Requires government intervention and the existence of unemployment. Its high level, which exceeds the natural norm, is unacceptable in the economic system, both for purely economic reasons (loss of GNP) and for socio-political reasons: low incomes, poverty, high morbidity and mortality, social conflict; finally, it is a violation of certain democratic rights and freedoms. The policy of bringing unemployment to its natural level and maintaining the latter is also associated with many problems: a possible deficit of the state budget, inflation, as it requires stimulation of production, payment of social benefits, costs of creating and efficient work employment services, etc.
Strengthening the internationalization of the economy gives rise to another macroeconomic concern of the state - the balance of the country's balance of payments. As will be shown in the next chapter, the imbalance of foreign economic relations (primarily the balance of payments deficit) can create many unfavorable situations, worsen the state of the national economy, increase its dependence on the outside world, and require complex and painful macroeconomic adjustments. Therefore, the state is pursuing one or another policy of short-term and long-term balancing of the country's payments, resorting in some cases to emergency measures of foreign economic policy (see Chapter 18).
The need to stimulate economic growth as the basis for social progress is another possible reason state regulation of the economy. The market system, as history shows, quite often fails in this matter. The economic growth policy pursued by governments includes, in particular, the promotion of economic restructuring, scientific and technological progress, the implementation of investment government programs, countercyclical regulation. It requires a sound monetary and fiscal policy, but is often associated with adverse consequences such as inflation, structural unemployment, balance of payments deficit, especially in the short term.
In this chapter, there is no need to dwell in detail on how the state solves certain macroeconomic problems - they are covered in sufficient detail above, in other chapters. Let's pay attention to something else - the named reasons for macroeconomic regulation actually set the possible goals of such regulation, and these goals can be not only complementary, but also contradictory. Achieving one goal, as a rule, and it has already been shown, is accompanied by a deterioration in the state of the economy in some other direction, for example, when striving to ensure full employment, inflation can increase, and vice versa, the fight against inflation will require at least for a while to forget about economic growth etc. Such a peculiar state of affairs has received a very precise name in the economic literature - the magic quadrangle. The "corners" of this quadrangle are such goals as: price stability, effective full employment of the population, equilibrium of the balance of payments and ensuring economic growth. All this, of course, complicates the effective regulation of the economy by the state, as it requires the allocation of priority goals and certain victims. Well, if in reality the country is faced with the need to solve only one problem, for example, eliminating high inflation or a balance of payments deficit, then the losses can be insignificant. It’s another matter if all the problems of the magic quadrangle “heap” at the same time and very strongly: both economically and politically it turns out to be extremely difficult to solve them, since the choice of priorities can be extremely painful for society and leads to an aggravation of social economic situation. This state of affairs is very typical for countries with transition economy and many developing countries.
The considered reasons for state intervention in the economy, as already noted, simultaneously determine its main goals: maintaining a competitive environment, price stability, the economic growth etc. These goals, of course, can be refined by building a kind of tree of goals, to reveal the nature of the connections within this system. It is also necessary to single out the ultimate goal of state regulation - promoting an increase in the efficiency of the socio-economic system and the growth of the well-being of citizens. The specific goals of regulation for a particular country in a particular period of time are already determined on the basis of an analysis of the current situation in the economy and taking into account a number of non-economic factors, primarily of a political nature. The difficulties of such an analysis, the contradictions of political relations, the variety of interpretations of a number of problems by various economic schools make this process extremely complex. But this cannot eliminate the need for government intervention in the economic system. As a result of such interaction between the market and the state, a mixed economy is formed. In this economy, the principle of distribution of powers between the two mechanisms of regulation can be described quite simply: the market - as much as possible, the state - as much as necessary, but the very degree of such necessity is interpreted very differently.
And now let's turn to the methods and mechanisms of state participation in the economy, a significant part of which was also considered in previous chapters. Our task is to systematize this knowledge, and basically, regardless of the specific goals of regulation, since most of the methods are quite universal.
17.2. Methods of state influence on the economy
Under methods of state regulation of the economy we will understand the specific ways for the state as a public institution to achieve the set goals.
Very conditionally, all methods can be divided into two main groups - administrative based mainly on elements of coercion, restrictions economic freedom subjects, and economic, focused on the inclusion of mechanisms of their personal interest, although all methods, being ways of state influence, are implemented through a number of administrative acts. It should immediately be noted that the optimal ratio between administrative and economic methods very difficult to determine. It is clear that the same principle of economic benefit (but not only it) will be the most important at the basis of such a proportion: if administrative methods turn out to be more effective, they should be preferred, if economic ones, they should be used, although calculations of this kind are not easy. In general, since the modern mixed economy is based precisely on the market, the state is primarily focused on the use of economic instruments that to a greater extent guarantee the fundamental values of a democratic society, primarily economic freedom.
What specific means of influencing the economy does the state have?
First, it is the legal system. The state, through laws, establishes the basic rules by which the economic system functions, determines the areas and methods of illegal activity. There is practically no area of economic life that has not been subjected, to one degree or another, to legal regulation- starting from the production of goods and services, their distribution to, to a certain extent, consumption.
The second method of state intervention should be mentioned state property (including resources and capital facilities) and state enterprise. As an owner, the state assumes responsibility and risks for managing the relevant systems in the interests of society as a whole. As a rule, most often the objects of such property are either extremely significant systems for the economy (natural or artificial), the operation or creation of which requires high costs; unprofitable industries, the maintenance of which is considered necessary for one reason or another; production of public goods; new high-tech industries, unattractive at first for private business due to high risks.
This list may include the electric power industry, the nuclear industry, communication systems, maritime, rail, air transport, the coal industry, academic science, educational, cultural, healthcare institutions, mineral deposits, nature reserves, forests, waters, and so on. A specific set of objects of state property, the nature and methods of managing them follow from the state of the economy and the goals facing the state. Changing these factors is very often associated with nationalization or privatization procedures, the methods of implementation of which are also different and difficult.
Thirdly, the state in its economic activity relies on tax regulation, at least two main functions of taxes - fiscal and stimulating - contribute to the achievement of various goals - from promoting investment, economic growth, employment, balancing the balance of payments, etc., to social - ensuring standards of living standards, principles of justice. At the same time, the tax system itself, precisely because of the variety of areas of its application, cannot be universal and must change with the emergence of new priorities. economic development and be consistent and balanced.
Fourthly, one should recognize the extremely high importance of directions, methods of spending budget funds state. The amount of financial resources allocated to industries, regions, areas of non-production and social activities to a very large extent can contribute to their development or, conversely, curtailment. Government spending can cause economic growth, or restrain it, accelerate scientific and technological progress and economic restructuring, or lead to de-industrialization with significant budget deficits, contribute to breakthroughs in world economy or to preserve the backwardness of the national economy. And here it is very important to remember the priorities of economic policy goals, since the size of government spending is limited, and the budget deficit should be maintained within reasonable limits - 5 - 6% of GDP.
The next instrument of state regulation is the monetary mechanism: the impact on the economy through changes in the discount rate of interest, the norms of required reserves and operations on open market. In this case, the impact on the economy is through money - a kind of circulatory system of the economic organism. Such influence is carried out, first of all, in order to achieve price stability, encourage investment, counter-cyclical regulation, stabilize the balance of payments, etc.
The need to speed up economic growth also created such a specific instrument of state influence on the economy (on reproductive process), as accelerated depreciation of equipment, which contributes to the rapid renewal of equipment and creates additional demand.
In a modern mixed economy, the methods of forecasting and indicative planning, as well as economic programming, are very common and successfully applied. They allow concentrating the efforts of private business and the state for the implementation of any goals that are significant for the national economy and the implementation of major programs (regional, structural, scientific and technical, sectoral, foreign economic). Plans and programs, as a rule, are of a long-term nature, are not directive, but have a high degree of efficiency, since they are based on the whole range of incentive measures implemented by the state.
Of particular note are the specific methods of state regulation of foreign economic relations (for more details, see Chapter 18). This and the impact on exchange rate and payment balance(for example, foreign exchange interventions, gold transactions, customs policy), and international treaties and agreements regarding the movement of goods, capital, labor, currency relations, international integration.
The above classification of the instruments of government intervention in the economy is, of course, very conditional. Of the above methods, the first two are mainly direct administrative ways, and the rest - mainly to economic. This list, of course, is incomplete both in terms of breadth and depth of coverage of this problem. In the first case, other methods of state influence could be noted - for example, methods of the military economy, as well as methods mediated by other areas of public life - through culture, public ideology and psychology, religion, etc. (it is known that influencing public consciousness, the state can promote or suppress undesirable processes of a purely economic nature - for example, suppress inflationary expectations of citizens). In the second case, we are talking about the possible and necessary specification of regulation methods. Partially, this gap in the analysis was filled in the previous chapters, but a more complete acquaintance with such methods is possible only outside the curriculum of economic theory proper or in other academic disciplines, or with the help of special works of a scientific, methodological and normative nature.
In conclusion of this paragraph, it should be noted that all methods of both direct and indirect influence are actually integrated into the market mechanism and are elements of the most complex system of a mixed economy, and therefore inevitably interact with each other. At the same time, the complexity of the system itself does not allow us to fully trace and take into account all the existing possible direct and feedback links. Because of this, the methods of regulation (as well as the goals, as mentioned above) can in principle contradict each other, which is very often found in practice (for example, a discrepancy between adopted laws and their financing).
The inconsistency between the goals and between the instruments of state influence on the economy, as well as the goals and instruments among themselves, makes us turn specifically to the problems of state regulation of the economy. In this case, a number of other, still unknown moments will be revealed. At the same time, the ambiguity of assessing the role of the state in various theoretical schools will become more understandable, since the higher the significance of the adverse effects of state regulation is assessed, the more its expedient boundaries are interpreted.
17.3. Problems of state regulation of the economy
Comprehension of the theory and practice of state regulation of the economy allows us to identify a number of specific problems that require knowledge and consideration from both the regulatory authorities themselves and the citizens of the country, in whose interests, by definition, such a policy is implemented.
Let's start with the fact that the very definition of the goals of regulation presents difficulties, and no small ones. These difficulties are multifaceted. Thus, each of the goals reflects the interests of certain social groups, which are very different in terms of activity and ways of defending their interests. The choice of any one goal, giving a gain to some forces, to others can cause damage that the state is often unable to compensate for (distributive effect), although in theory it is possible to make political decisions based on the Pareto criterion (see Chapter 12), excluding loss of any parties, these are decisions within the framework of consensus (unanimity). The losses of any parties will not be significant also if the Kaldor-Hicks criterion is met. Namely, changes in economic policy signify an improvement if those who benefit from decision-making value their monetary gain higher than the "injured party" estimates their loss. This criterion does not necessarily imply that the winners actually compensate the losses of the losers (although this is possible and probably desirable), it requires only the potential possibility of this.
Further, the very procedure for making political decisions (mainly by a majority of votes), which should contribute to the choice of priority goals that are optimal for society, often turns out to be untenable due to the lack or distortion of information, at best ensuring decision-making in the interests of the average voter. It should be added to this that, as shown in the theory of public choice (D. Buchanan), state decisions are made not only in the interests of society as a whole, but also in many respects in the interests of politicians of various ranks, focused, in particular, on the need to preserve and strengthening its position in power structures. The consequences of such decisions can be very unfavorable. There is also a problem of a temporary nature: what should be given preference - the interests and goals of today or the future? Finally, there may simply be errors in the choice of goals caused by an inaccurate analysis of the current situation, the lack of development of the theoretical foundations of such an analysis, the inferiority of the information base, the incompetence of managers, etc. Often these difficulties already cause great skepticism regarding the very expediency of state regulation of the economy, creating a breeding ground for spreading the ideas of conservatism and liberalism.
This skepticism can be reinforced if one considers the high costs of government regulation. It really costs quite a lot, and without strict control on the part of society, the costs will only increase due to the natural tendency of the growth of bureaucratic structures. Such growth, in turn, will complicate the very adoption and effective implementation of decisions. If we also take into account the possible internal inconsistency of state regulation methods noted in the previous paragraph or their inconsistency, then its results may differ greatly from those planned. It should also be remembered that the concept tax burden, which reduces the gains to consumers and producers and reduces the overall benefits of trade.
Quite often, the uncertainty of the factors and instruments of state influence on the economy finds its expression in a kind of law of unforeseen consequences: the consequences of regulation are actually quite different from those planned. In its operation, economic lags are very significant, characterizing a certain inertia of the economic system. The internal lag is the time between the moment of economic shock and the time of the government's response, they are especially characteristic of fiscal policy associated with parliamentary deliberation procedures. The external lag - the period of time between the moment a decision is made on a problem and the beginning of the results from this measure - is very important in monetary and foreign economic policy, since they contain a complex transmission mechanism. The existence of such lags complicates the analysis of situations and the choice of adequate measures of state regulation.
The problems of state regulation are undoubtedly connected with the economic expectations of the main actors. Economic policy should take into account these expectations, but not only. She herself influences these expectations. Therefore, any macroeconomic models designed to reveal the mechanism of operation of the economic system are largely imperfect. In this regard, there is a specific term in economic theory - Lucas' criticism: traditional methods of economic policy analysis cannot adequately reflect the impact of political changes on economic expectations.
Such a phenomenon as the search for political rent is also associated with state regulation of the economy. Political rent is additional income private economic entities, caused by the adoption of certain political decisions (for example, the introduction of trade duties, government orders, the issuance of state licenses etc.). Since the search for political rent is cheaper for firms than traditional forms of competition, this kind of pressure on power structures is widespread both in the form of legal forms (lobbying) and in the form of shadow relations (corruption of the state apparatus). Lobbying is an activity aimed at ensuring the adoption of public decisions in the interests of the group. Such a group, having its own specific interests, acting cohesively and purposefully, can achieve solutions that are beneficial to the minority if their opponents are not organized and if the individual benefits of the latter are less than the costs necessary to obtain them. It is clear that these decisions may be contrary to the interests of society and, if implemented, cause significant damage to the economic system as a whole and certain social groups. The search for political rent involves the use of not only the practice of lobbying, but also logrolling - mutual support by groups of each other, as well as vote trading. Political rent can become a powerful factor in merging the state apparatus and shadow structures. The criminalization of the state apparatus is an extremely dangerous trend, especially for weakened economies.
The significant presence of the state in the sphere of direct production of goods and services is associated with another difficult situation - the low efficiency of state enterprises. As a rule, this is due to the lack of strong incentives that are typical for private entrepreneurship. The heads of state enterprises are less interested in the performance of their structures. This turns out to be an additional burden on the state budget.
By pursuing an antimonopoly policy in relation to some areas of activity, the state, by its actions, can inevitably create the basis for monopolization in other areas, and not only through the establishment of a state monopoly, but also through the mechanisms of licensing, protection intellectual property, state orders. At the same time, many of the negative consequences of restricting competition can cause significant damage to the economy. With the unbridled growth of the strength and power of state penetration into the economy, this creates the danger of total control over it with the destruction of the mechanisms of market self-regulation.
The problem of state regulation of the economy is also that the political business cycle (caused by the periodicity of election campaigns and the time of office of authorities) becomes a significant factor in macroeconomic fluctuations. Politicians strive to ensure that by the time of the elections a favorable socio-economic situation has developed with the help of fiscal and monetary policy instruments. It is clear that such actions are not always justified from the point of view of the logic of the development of the economic system itself.
And finally, government intervention can create a problem of imbalance between human freedom, primarily economic, and coercion. Violation of human rights with an excessive presence of the state in the economy can become too high and unjustified price even for an efficient economy.
Consideration of the problems of state regulation allows us to move on to the final part of the chapter - models of state participation in the economy. At the same time, the disagreements of individual economic schools on the issues already considered will manifest themselves to a much greater extent.
17.4. Models of state intervention in the economy
At the very beginning, it should be recognized that such a formulation of the question is not entirely correct and rather arbitrary: there are as many models of state participation in the economy as there are unique combinations of the main goals, their corresponding sets of regulation methods, determined by the specific situation in the country in a given period of time, taking into account social, political, national, religious, psychological and other factors. The theoretical generalization of such combinations is quite difficult to implement. Due to the ambiguity of historical analogies, it is even more difficult to use the results of such an analysis in practice. At the same time, some judgments regarding the main options for micro- and macroeconomic regulation by the state of the economy can still be made.
Under the model of state regulation of the economy, we mean the system of basic goals and methods for achieving them. Such models are directly related to the leading theoretical schools in economic theory. Therefore, initially, the following main models can be distinguished, corresponding to the concepts of modern mixed economy: Keynesian (liberal reformist) model and neoconservative (neoclassical). These models differ in the main priority goals, in the set and ratio of regulation methods and, accordingly, in the balance of forces of market and state influence and, which is very important, in possible socio-economic consequences, including adverse ones. Let's try to briefly consider these models.
The Keynesian model assumes active state intervention in the economy, since market system is considered within the framework of this school as internally unstable and non-equilibrium. As shown by D. M. Keynes, the market economy tends to be unstable due to the law of growth of the marginal propensity to save and insufficient flexibility of the labor market, rigidity wages and downward price inelasticity. Under these conditions, the demand is insufficient to purchase the entire volume of the produced product in society - crises of overproduction with chronic unemployment set in. It is the need to overcome economic crisis and unemployment in conditions of incomplete use of society's resources is the main goal of the Keynesian options for macroeconomic policy (it should be recalled that this theory itself arose precisely against the backdrop of such an economic situation in many countries of the world). And it was in solving data, and not any other problems, that this model played a leading role - suffice it to recall T. Roosevelt's "New Deal" (1933). The Keynesian model in its various interpretations dominated the economies of countries for quite a long time - from the 1930s to the 1970s. 20th century
Methods of state intervention within the framework of the considered liberal-reformist model were based, first of all, on the stimulation of aggregate demand. The most important role here was assigned to the state: government spending has a direct impact on the magnitude of aggregate demand and creates a strong multiplier effect on consumer spending. In practice, this manifested itself and can manifest itself in the implementation of public investment and procurement, public works (road construction, land reclamation, construction of ports and other large facilities, etc.), the production of public goods, high spending on social needs (for education medicine, social assistance). Against this background, state property and state entrepreneurship are significantly increasing, in particular, as a result of the nationalization of facilities and state investments. The nature of such interference indicates the importance of fiscal policy in regulation, which is also manifested in the widespread use of tax measures. Taxes, firstly, increase significantly, as budget expenditures increase, and become a way of counter-cyclical regulation: they increase during the upswing phase and decrease during the recession. Within the framework of the Keynesian approach, methods of deficit financing and related inflationary stimulation of the economy are also used.
Monetary policy is more modest in this model because it has a very complex transmission mechanism. Nevertheless, the importance of manipulating interest rates and other instruments was recognized for achieving certain goals, primarily for regulating the economic cycle. Keynesian approaches to the role of the state in the economy are inevitably accompanied by increased administrative measures of economic impact - the degree of legal regulation has increased economic relations, primarily in the field of labor, price regulation, antimonopoly policy. Considerable spread in the model under consideration is the use of methods of planning and programming of the economy.
The use of Keynesian concepts of state regulation of the economy, as shown by the long practice of their application, indeed ensured in most cases the achievement of the set goals. The liberal-reformist model had no alternative for a long time and was used in all countries with a market economy. But as the initial problems were solved, the macroeconomic situation changed, and the unfavorable consequences of the presence of the state in the economy began to accumulate. The bureaucracy has grown significantly. The inefficiency of the work of state enterprises was manifested. Growing government budget deficit caused by the government's expansionist policies, increasing public debt As a result, they led to serious financial problems and manifested themselves in a sharp increase in the rate of inflation - it got out of control and began its destructive effect on the economic system. The manipulation of tax and interest rates increased the unpredictability of the economy and caused capital flight abroad. Widespread methods of direct regulation and administration fettered business, reduced incentives entrepreneurial activity. High degree social security reduced incentives to work. Economic growth has stopped. There was stagflation. As a result, in the 70s. the Keynesian model entered a crisis state, giving rise to fundamentally new economic problems and not finding adequate ways to solve them. This crisis was also associated with the emergence of new important factors economic development: countries were faced with the need to implement deep structural transformations of the economy associated with mastering the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution, the transition to post-industrial development options; it was also necessary to take into account the growing internationalization of the economy, increasing its role in the socio-economic progress of society. Keynesianism was unable to find adequate answers to the changed situation. The question of changing models of economic development inevitably arose. It could not but be associated with new approaches to the role of the state in the economy: most of the problems of the 70s. one way or another associated with the "pro-state" economic policy within Keynesianism. There was a transition to a new neo-conservative model of state regulation, prepared by an alternative school of economic thought, which for a long time observed the development of reformist tendencies in the economy and gave a critical assessment of the approaches used within the framework of Keynesianism.
The main goals of the new model inevitably turned out to be different. The most urgent problem was the fight against inflation. It was necessary to carry out deep structural transformations in the economy, carry out reindustrialization on the basis of the scientific and technological revolution and thereby create new conditions for economic growth. The theoretical basis for solving these problems was the neo-conservative direction in economic thought - monetarism, the theory of rational expectations and the theory of supply-side economics, proving the decisive role of market self-regulation in the economic progress of society. The most prominent representatives of this trend are M. Friedman (monetarism), A. Laffer, D. Gilder (the theory of supply-side economics), R. Lucas, D. Muth, L. Repping (the theory of rational expectations). The main idea of the new model is to strengthen the positions of the market and intra-company planning in the organization of economic life by limiting direct government intervention in the economy and strengthening individualistic principles. Such profound changes are based on the return to the positions of neoclassical theory, which considers the market economy as a reliable self-regulating system that is able to ensure balanced growth with full use of resources, the absence of involuntary unemployment through price flexibility, wages, interest rates and other mechanisms of sustainability. The neoclassical model makes extensive use of the Fisher equation, which links the money supply, the velocity of money, the price index, and real GNP. It follows from this that maintaining equilibrium in the system implies control over the money supply as the basis for price stability and aggregate demand. These views of the monetarist school of economic thought are complemented by the idea of the need not only to control aggregate demand to fight inflation, but mainly to stimulate supply (the theory of supply-side economics). Rational expectations theory reinforces the already skeptical attitude of neoconservatives about the advisability of state intervention in the economy. Any macroeconomic policy, according to the main theorists of this school, can hardly improve the situation - economic agents adapt very well to changes in the environment, nullifying all government measures to change it, the effect can only be if the government and the central bank have comprehensive information.
Such theoretical positions also predetermined the corresponding system of measures of state influence on the economy. In line with the neoconservative models put into practice by the governments of R. Reagan in the USA, M. Thatcher in the UK, K. Tanaka in Japan, and others in the 80s. a whole range of measures was carried out to withdraw the state from the active "game" in the economic field and strengthen competitive principles. A large-scale privatization of state property was carried out, a radical reform of the management of state enterprises, deregulation of the economy took place - the revision and abolition of many legislative restrictions and regulations (especially in the field of labor and social relations, antimonopoly measures). The scale of the redistribution of national income through the state budget was reduced, both the revenue and expenditure parts of the budget were reduced. The fiscal policy of stimulating demand was recognized as untenable in the new conditions, the importance of fiscal policy as a whole has sharply decreased. Consistent tax cuts, a revision of the tax system and policy in general, in particular, a decrease in the progressiveness of taxation, made it possible to intensify private investment, negate the effect of crowding out (by public investment of private individuals) inherent in the Keynesian model, and simplify the solution of problems of structural restructuring of the economy, production growth. The reduction of the state budget deficit and domestic debt was based on a sharp reduction in government spending (primarily on social needs, on the maintenance of unprofitable state enterprises, on subsidies and grants to sectors of the economy, on the maintenance of the administrative apparatus) and really played its role in economic stabilization. The increase in aggregate supply that resulted from the implementation of such a policy, while limiting demand, contributed to the stabilization of prices and the overcoming of stagflation. But the main role in the fight against inflation was played by monetary policy - the consistent restriction of the money supply (including through targeting - the legislative determination of the growth rate of the money supply), an effective interest rate policy, etc. monetary policy became the main in system of measures of neoconservatives. A prudent foreign economic policy also contributed to the strengthening of competitive principles through models of liberalization of trade and other relations.
So, neoconservative approaches to state regulation are focused on achieving other priority goals and give preference not to direct regulation, but to indirect, not fiscal policy, but monetary policy. The role of the state in promoting structural and scientific and technical policy is unequivocally recognized - significant budgetary funds were allocated for these areas.
Assessing the results of the functioning of this model in practice, it should be noted that in most cases it turned out to be adequate to the situation and effective: inflation was suppressed, the restructuring of the economy was carried out, sustainable economic growth was outlined, i.e., the set goals were achieved. At the same time, neo-conservatism inevitably led to the aggravation of the problems of unemployment, the standard of living and social protection of the population, and social differentiation in society intensified. Potentially, this is seen as the basis for a possible certain tilt towards the Keynesian traditions. In any case, some economists already tend to see such changes in the policies of the Clinton administration.
So, consideration of two basic models of a mixed economy indicates that the nature of the model, its replacement by another, is caused by the needs of socio-economic development and is based on the provisions of the main schools of theoretical thought. As already noted, we can talk about other models - command (planned, socialist), and in its various modifications, for example, market socialism; fascist; models of social market economy in Germany (L. Erhard); the Swedish model (Swedish socialism); about models of economies of "new industrial states", etc.).
A separate problem is the model of state regulation in countries with economies in transition (post-socialist). It should be recognized that it is comprehended to the least extent. The absence of a coherent theory of the transition economy condemns the governments of countries to rely mainly on the trial and error method, which is fraught with great costs for society. The use of neoconservative recipes for these countries in modern conditions is just as unjustified as the Keynesian approaches.
Thus, based on the material presented, the following conclusions can be drawn.
Firstly, the need for state intervention in the economy and the goals of such intervention are determined by a whole range of reasons of a micro- and macroeconomic nature and are mainly related to overcoming the fiasco (failures) of the market.
Secondly, the methods of such regulation are based either on the system of legislative acts and state property - administrative measures, or on the system of internal incentives - indirect economic impact.
Thirdly, state intervention in the economy has a number of very significant negative consequences that should be taken into account when developing and implementing government programs.
Fourthly, the system of goals and methods for achieving them can be represented as a regulation model. The main ones for a mixed economy are the Keynesian model and the neoconservative one, based on the corresponding theoretical schools. The content of each of the models is determined by the specific conditions of the country's socio-economic development, which require the solution of certain priority goals, primarily overcoming unemployment and economic recession in the Keynesian model and inflation and restructuring the economy in the neoconservative one. At the same time, the first model is based on the recognition of the active role of the state in stabilizing the economy, the second assumes a predominantly passive position of the state and gives preference to the forces of market self-regulation.
Fifth, topical issue is the theoretical development and practical development of the model of state regulation in countries with economies in transition, since traditional recipes for state influence on the economy in many cases turn out to be untenable.
