At almost all stages of human development, society faces the main question: “How and in what quantities, with limited resources, to maximize productivity?” To solve this problem, economic systems and their types have been invented. Each of these systems solves this issue in its own way. They have pros and cons. Let's consider in more detail. Evaluation of the economic system - important nuance in the politics of the state.
The economic system is the unifying of all economic processes, relations of production structure that exists in society. This concept should be understood as an algorithm, as well as a way of production, which, on the one hand, determines the relationship with consumers, and on the other hand, establishes links between producers.
It should be noted that the concept economic system"and its types strongly depend on what scientific school we are talking about. In some, it is considered with the help of macroeconomic concepts, in others - due to human influence, in others, attention is focused on what are the mechanisms of the economic system: systemic, and so on.
In any economic system there will be basic processes of production, distribution, exchange and consumption. In any of the available systems there is a production process that is created with the help of special resources. However, some elements in this matter are different. We are talking about what mechanisms of production are used, the motivation of the producer himself, and also how difficult the nature of socio-economic relationships is.
The most important thing in the analysis of the described term should be called typology. The characteristic of each type of systems has 5 main parameters by which they are compared with each other. Below, the types of economic systems and their characteristics are described in detail, but for now let's focus on more important information.
We are talking about the mechanisms by which the system functions: about social parameters, that is, about the amount of working and free time, about how labor protection and real income are carried out. Relationship between planning and market regulation is also taken into account. Also, this should include relations in the field of ownership, as well as parameters of a technical and economic type. Thanks to this data, economists were able to identify the main economic systems. We are talking about traditional, market, mixed, as well as command-planning.
This system of economy was the very first. She was born in ancient times. At that time, the system was based on subsistence farming. Now the traditional type is almost nowhere to be found. Sometimes it can be found in third world countries, as well as in some regions of America, Asia and Africa. In order to sustain this economic system, it is necessary to use hunting, gathering, together with low-productive farming, which is completely based on the manual method of work. Technologies are practically not used here, if you do not take into account the most primitive ones. At the same time, trade is practically not developed, if it exists at all. Features of the economic system of this type are only in its dignity.
The only advantage of this economic system is that there is no environmental pollution during operation. In addition, the burden on nature is practically not carried out.
This system is also called centralized. It also refers to historical types of economic systems. At the moment, it is impossible to find it in its pure form. Previously, it was found in the Soviet Union, and was also used in some countries of Europe and Asia. Other types of economic systems and their characteristics allow us to conclude that this policy is completely unprofitable.
Now scientists highlight the disadvantages of the system more than its advantages. We will review them.
Firstly, the manufacturer has no freedom, that is, how much and what to produce, only higher authorities could decide. It is impossible to meet the wide-ranging economic needs of buyers. Some items are in short supply. A black market is emerging. His appearance is a reaction to the above nuances. It is also impossible to quickly and efficiently introduce new technologies into the process in order to increase production, and so on.
It is because of this that, as a rule, this system economy is always left behind by competitors who work in a different way, entering the global market. Although there is one of the few advantages: this system makes it possible to achieve social stability for every inhabitant of the country.
Anyone who understands even a little about economics understands that the market is a rather complex system. It is now inherent in almost all countries in the modern world. It is also called capitalism.
The main function of the economic system is the principle of individualism, entrepreneurship, as well as competition, which arises in the presence of demand, supply and in the production of products. As a rule, the market is always dominated by only private property, and the incentive to produce any goods is to make a profit.
Even with these advantages, such a system of economics is not ideal. There are shortcomings, for example, incomes are distributed unevenly, social inequality and insecurity of some citizens are relevant. Also, the market economic system is rather unstable. It can cause a crisis. Natural resources suffer from it (because of the barbaric attitude towards them), and practically no one finances unprofitable programs.
Economists distinguish a fourth type - mixed, which assumes that both the state and the private sector have the same role in society. The function of the economic system is that the state supports unprofitable but important enterprises: they finance science, culture, unemployment, and many other functions, while the private segment is engaged in the production of mass goods and provides the services necessary for everyone.
Be sure to consider modern countries that work with a particular economic system. Since these data are unofficial, and it is impossible to judge for sure which system of the economy they belong to with an accuracy of 100%, economic figures are still trying to determine as correctly as possible the type of economy with which this or that state works.
For example, Vanuatu, Barbados, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and other countries that are not very developed in this regard are still working with the traditional type of economy.
The planned one is more inherent in the USSR; India also used this type until the early 1990s. In addition, Nazi Germany worked with the same economic system.
Market type in almost many countries that are currently leaders in the economy. These are the USA, Japan, France, Canada, the Republic of South Africa and so on.
Mixed type in China and Russia. More details about the types of economic systems and their characteristics above.
Let's take a closer look at Russia. At the moment, it is impossible to say exactly what economic type the state is working with, but professors from Moscow State University characterize the country's politics as a "mutation of late capitalism." Today adopted the economy Russian Federation taken as a transition, it should be noted that it is quite successful, as the market is developing at a tremendous speed.
It would be fair to consider the transitional economy as well. It combines changes within the current system and the acquisition of some characteristics from any other that exists.
At the moment, in order to produce the formation of an economic system transitional type market, it is necessary to reform the public sector, introducing privatization and leasing of property. Attention should also be paid to the creation of a market infrastructure that will satisfy the market and make production more efficient if certain resources are available.
It is also important that it is necessary to develop small and medium business and encourage people if they choose to be entrepreneurial. Work with manufacturers who have different forms property: private or public. You should also pay attention to the issue of pricing. It is necessary to introduce market mechanisms.
The article discusses economic types, examples and features. It is important to note that the type of economic systems is an interesting question, given that many states do not announce which mechanism they work with.
The market economic system will be the most effective, as it allows you to develop the economy from the best side, and its shortcomings are gradually reduced to a minimum. If a country begins to enter the global market with its products, then it will be able to pull the whole country out of any situation, improve the economy and put people's lives in order.
Also, don't forget about business development. It is important to encourage all entrepreneurs who are engaged in it. Through the introduction of such activities, it is possible to reduce the costs of producing widely demanded devices, but also to benefit from the functioning of this activity.
According to some reports, Russia belongs to countries with a mixed economy, according to others - with a transition. The types of economic systems described above and their characteristics should already be clear to the reader. It should be noted that, one way or another, the market in the country is really very well developed, so it is unlikely that any problems will arise in the economic sphere in the near future.
1. Read the text and do the tasks.
The telegraph, as you know, appeared long before the telephone and quickly became a popular means of transmitting information. But few people know that in the XIX century. there was an attempt to make a business of selling telegraph sets, promoting them to the market as devices for personal household use. Such a business did not take place, since each buyer of the device had to learn Morse code and acquire communication skills in this "non-human language". Engineer A. Bell, seeing that society needed means of communication, soon invented the telephone, providing a simple and natural way for people to communicate. With the use of the telephone, the communications business began to expand rapidly.
(According to the materials of the Encyclopedia for Schoolchildren)
How in this particular situation the main issues of the economy were solved:
1) What and how much to produce?
In large quantities, what the people need and convenient.
2) How to produce?
Economically, for the benefit of themselves and customers.
3) For whom to produce?
For people.
2. Explain the meaning of the concepts.
Economic efficiency is the ratio between the results obtained by the manufacturer and labor costs.
The economic system is a set of organizational methods of coordination economic activity people to solve the main issues of the economy .
3. Name several ways to improve production efficiency.
Optimization of technology, increasing the level of personnel, etc.
4. Fill in the table using the text of the textbook.
5. Analyze situations and determine the type of economic system.
1) In country W, the main wealth is land that is owned by the community. The production process is carried out in accordance with the customs of the ancestors. Everything necessary for the life of the family is produced on their own farms. Commodity-money relations are not developed.
Traditional economy.
2) In country N, all natural and economic resources are owned by the state. Planning and pricing issues are dealt with centrally.
command economy.
6. Compare market and command economy. Select and write down in the first column of the table the serial numbers of the features of their similarity, and in the second column the serial numbers of the features of the difference between a market economy and a command economy.
1) domination state form property
2) solving the problem of limited resources
3) production of goods and services
4) competition of commodity producers
7. In the section "The wise say" the statement of the American economist V. Leontiev is given (see p. 160 of the textbook). Analyze the words of the author.
1) How do you understand the meaning of this statement?
A person does it on his own initiative and decides where he will take it. Private initiative is decisive.
2) Write down two or three social science terms that can help explain the meaning of this statement.
Independent choice, demand, supply.
3) Give some examples to illustrate this statement.
The man opened the store and runs it himself.
economic system
economic system(English) economic system) is the totality of all economic processes that take place in society on the basis of the property relations that have developed in it and economic mechanism. In any economic system, the primary role is played by production in conjunction with distribution, exchange, and consumption. In all economic systems, production requires economic resources, and the results economic activity distributed, exchanged and consumed. At the same time, there are also elements in economic systems that distinguish them from each other:
The main types of economic systems are listed below.
The concept of an economic system (its content, elements and structure) depends on the economic school. In the neoclassical paradigm, the description of the economic system is revealed through micro- and macroeconomic concepts. The subject of the neoclassical is defined as the study of the behavior of people who maximize their utility in the environment. limited resources for unlimited needs. The main elements are: firms, households, state.
Economic systems are also studied from the point of view of other theoretical schools directly related to economic theory. From the point of view of researchers of the modern post-industrial society, the post-industrial economy (neo-economics, "information society" or "knowledge society") is born as a special technological order that significantly modifies economic and social systems as a whole. In the “development economics” paradigm, a special group of “third world” countries stands out, where there are a number of important patterns: institutional structure, macroeconomic dynamics, and a special model. Thus, development economics considers a class of special economic systems. In contrast to the dominant concepts of neoclassicism and neoinstitutionalism, the historical school emphasizes the historical differences in national economic systems.
Economic systems are studied from the point of view of technological structures. In terms of structure, these are: pre-industrial economic systems, industrial and post-industrial economic systems. An important parameter for post-industrial systems is the degree of development of creative activity and its role in the economy. It is usually measured using measurable parameters of the level of education, for example, the proportion of persons with higher education, the structure of professional employment, etc. The most important characteristic is the assessment in the economic system of a measure for solving environmental problems. Demographic parameters allow answering questions related to the approach of the economic system to a post-industrial society, and these parameters are directly related to: life expectancy, infant mortality, morbidity, and other parameters of the health of the nation. Specific gravity post-industrial technologies is usually calculated by the share of people employed in the production of various industries in the total GDP.
These parameters are especially relevant for countries with economies in transition. A description is given of the mechanisms of state planning of the economy, the development of commodity-money relations, measures for the development of natural economy, a measure of the development of the shadow economy. Characteristics of market development: a measure of the development of market institutions, a measure of market self-organization (competition), market saturation (no shortage), market structure. Regulatory development measures: antimonopoly regulation; measure of development state regulation(selective regulation, anticyclic regulation, programming); a measure of the development of regulation by public associations. A more detailed study of the role of the state in the economy is carried out in the theory of public choice, which considers the decision-making process of the government, the system of social contract (constitutional economics), and so on. .
When analyzing economic systems, a characteristic is given of the ratio of the shares of state, cooperative and private enterprises. However, this characterization is formal; for a deeper characterization of the economic system, qualitative and quantitative characteristics are used to describe the essence of the forms and methods of controlling property and its appropriation. For example, for countries with economies in transition, such a characteristic can be given by answering the following questions:
Over time, the economic system can democratize, with more ownership and appropriation given to businesses and individuals.
An important characteristic of property relations is the form of ownership, what is the share of enterprises: wholly owned by the state; joint-stock enterprises, the controlling stake of which is in the hands of the state; cooperatives and collective enterprises; joint-stock enterprises, the controlling stake of which is in the hands of employees; joint-stock enterprises, where the controlling stake is owned by individuals and private corporations; private personal enterprises using hired labor; based on the personal labor of owners; enterprises owned by foreigners; property of public organizations; various types of joint ventures.
Level and dynamics of real incomes . "Price" of the received real income(length of the working week, family working time fund, labor intensity). The quality of consumption (market saturation, time spent in the sphere of consumption). Share of free time, directions of its use. The quality and content of work. The development of the socio-cultural sphere, the availability of its services. Development of the scientific and educational sphere and its accessibility.
The market is a complex economic system of social relations in the sphere of economic reproduction. It is due to several principles that determine its essence and distinguish it from other economic systems. These principles are based on the freedom of man, his entrepreneurial talents and on the fair treatment of them by the state. Indeed, there are few of these principles - they can be counted on the fingers of one hand, but their importance for the very concept of a market economy can hardly be overestimated. Moreover, these foundations, namely: the freedom of the individual and fair competition, are very closely connected with the concept of the rule of law. Guarantees of freedom and fair competition can only be given in the conditions of civil society and the rule of law. But the very essence of the rights acquired by a person under the rule of law is the right to freedom of consumption: every citizen has the right to arrange his life the way he imagines, within the framework of his financial capabilities. It is necessary for a person that the rights to property be inviolable, and in this protection of his rights he himself plays the main role, and the state assumes the role of protecting against illegal encroachments on the property of a citizen of other citizens. This alignment of forces keeps a person within the law, since ideally the state is on his side. A law that is beginning to be respected, whatever it may be, becomes fair at least for the one who respects it. But, protecting the rights of citizens, the state should not cross the border, both totalitarianism and chaos. In the first case, the initiative of citizens will be restrained or manifested in a perverted form, and in the second, the state and its laws can be swept away by violence. However, the "distance" between totalitarianism and chaos is quite large, and in any case the state must play its "own" role. This role lies in the effective regulation of the economy. Regulation should be understood as a very wide range of measures, and the more effective its use, the higher the credibility of the state.
Distinctive features:
In economically weak developed countries there is a traditional economic system. This type of economic system is based on backward technology, widespread manual labor, and a multistructural economy.
The multistructural nature of the economy means the existence of various forms of management under a given economic system. In a number of countries natural-communal forms are preserved, based on communal management and natural forms of distribution of the created product. Small-scale production is of great importance. It is based on private ownership of productive resources and the personal labor of their owner. In countries with a traditional system, small-scale production is represented by numerous peasant and handicraft farms that dominate the economy.
In conditions of relatively underdeveloped national entrepreneurship, foreign capital often plays a huge role in the economies of the countries under consideration.
Traditions and customs illuminated by centuries, religious cultural values, caste and class divisions prevail in the life of society, holding back socio-economic progress.
Solution key economic tasks It has specific features within various settings. For traditional system characteristic feature is the active role of the state. Redistributing a significant part of the national income through the budget, the state allocates funds for the development of infrastructure and the provision of social support to the poorest segments of the population. The traditional economy is based on traditions passed down from generation to generation. These traditions determine whether goods and services are produced, for whom, and how. The list of benefits, production technology and distribution are based on the customs of the country. Economic roles members of society are determined by heredity and caste. This type of economy is preserved today in a number of so-called underdeveloped countries, into which technical progress penetrates with great difficulty, because, as a rule, it undermines the customs and traditions established in these systems.
Benefits of the traditional economy
Disadvantages of the traditional economy
Distinctive features:
Traditional economic system: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Benin. These are the least developed countries in the world. The economy is oriented towards agriculture. In most countries, the fragmentation of the population in the form of national (folk) groups prevails. GNP per capita does not exceed $400. The economies of the countries are represented mainly by agriculture, rarely by the mining industry. Everything that is produced and extracted is not able to feed and provide for the population of these countries. In contrast to these states, there are countries with a higher income, but also focused on agriculture - Azerbaijan, Côte d'Ivoire, Pakistan.
This system dominated earlier in the USSR, the countries of Eastern Europe, and a number of Asian states.
The characteristic features of the ACN are public (and in reality - state) ownership of almost all economic resources, monopolization and bureaucratization of the economy in specific forms, centralized economic planning as the basis of the economic mechanism.
The economic mechanism of the AKC has a number of features. It assumes, firstly, the direct management of all enterprises from a single center - the highest echelons of state power, which nullifies the independence of economic entities. Secondly, the state completely controls the production and distribution of products, as a result of which free market relationships between individual farms are excluded. Thirdly, the state apparatus manages economic activity with the help of mainly administrative and administrative (command) methods, which undermines the material interest in the results of labor.
The complete nationalization of the economy causes the monopolization of production and marketing of products, unprecedented in its scale. Giant monopolies established in all areas National economy and supported by ministries and departments, in the absence of competition, do not care about the introduction of new equipment and technology. The scarce economy generated by the monopoly is characterized by the absence of normal material and human reserves in case the balance of the economy is disturbed.
In countries with ACN, the solution of general economic problems had its own specific features. In accordance with the prevailing ideological attitudes, the task of determining the volume and structure of products was considered too serious and responsible to transfer its decision to the direct producers themselves - industrial enterprises, state farms and collective farms.
Centralized distribution of material goods, labor and financial resources was carried out without the participation of direct producers and consumers, in accordance with pre-selected public goals and criteria, based on central planning. A significant part of the resources, in accordance with the prevailing ideological guidelines, was directed to the development of the military-industrial complex.
The distribution of created products among the participants in production was strictly regulated by the central authorities by means of a universally applied tariff system, as well as centrally approved standards for funds to the fund. wages. This led to the prevalence of an egalitarian approach to wages.
Main features:
The main features of the economic mechanism:
This type of economic system is typical for: Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea. Centralized economy with an overwhelming share public sector depends more on Agriculture and foreign trade. GNP per capita is slightly over $1,000.
A mixed economy is an economic system where both the state and the private sector play an important role in the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of all resources and material goods in the country. At the same time, the regulatory role of the market is supplemented by the mechanism of state regulation, and private property coexists with public and state property. The mixed economy arose in the interwar period and to this day represents the most effective form of management. There are five main tasks solved by a mixed economy:
Distinctive features:
This type of economic system is typical for Russia, China, Sweden, France, Japan, Great Britain, USA.
The basic problem of economics can also be presented as a problem of choice. Indeed, if each factor used to satisfy various needs is limited, then there is always the problem of alternative use of it and the search for the best combination of factors of production, that is, the problem of choice. This problem is reflected in the statement three main questions economy.
The three main economic questions are:
What? – goal setting problem. – Which of the possible goods and services should be produced in a given economic space and at a given time?
How? – production problem.– With what combination of production resources, using what technology, selected from options goods and services?
For whom? – distribution problem.– Who will buy the selected goods and pay, benefiting from them? How should the gross income of society from the production of these goods and services be distributed?
The fourth question, which also inevitably confronts every society, is the question: How? How to get rid of waste generated in the process of life, how, without reducing the level of consumption, to maintain the ecological balance in nature. it recycling problem.
The production possibilities of an economic system are limited by the rarity of the resources used. Moreover, the limited nature of all economic resources remains and even increases as society develops. This is due not only to the depletion of irreplaceable natural resources, but also to the fact that consumption constantly gives impetus to the development of production, that is, new goods and services are created, their quality characteristics, which causes an increase in demand for consumer and investment goods. And every time society is forced to decide which of these goods to produce with available resources and on what scale.
The problem of choice in any economic system (be it a family, a firm, a state) can be illustrated using economic model "Production Possibility Frontier". And also, this model allows you to visually demonstrate such fundamental economic concepts as limited resources, opportunity costs.
To build a model, we will plot the number of commodities (X) along the abscissa, and the number of means of production (Y) along the ordinate (see Fig.).
Means of production (Y)
Consumables (X)
O X B X S
The ABCD curve is called production possibilities frontier, characterizes the maximum possible volumes of production of means of production and consumer goods with the full use of all available resources. Each point on this curve represents a certain combination of these two types of goods (for example, point B represents a combination of X B units of commodities and Y B units of capital goods.
The production possibility frontier graph illustrates the fact that an economy that is fully utilizing productive resources cannot increase the production of any good without sacrificing another good. The functioning of the economy at the frontier of its production possibilities testifies to its efficiency.
Based on this, the choice of a combination corresponding to point F is regarded as unsuccessful for a given society, since it does not allow it to efficiently use production resources. Having chosen such a point, we would resign ourselves either to the presence of unused resources (for example, unemployment), or to the low efficiency of their use (for example, with large losses, including working hours). Production on the basis of the choice of point E is generally not feasible, since this point lies beyond the border of the production possibilities of this economic system.
Compare points B and C. By choosing point B, we prefer to produce fewer commodities (X B) and more capital goods (Y B) than choosing point C (X C, Y C). More precisely, when moving from point B to point C, we will receive additional Δ X = OX C - OX B units of consumer goods, sacrificing for this ΔY = OY B - OY C units of means of production. The amount of one good that must be sacrificed to increase the production of another good by one is called opportunity cost or cost of missed opportunities.
Curve ABCD is convex. This is due to the fact that one resource can be used more productively in the production of commodities, others - the means of production.
If new technology, new technological processes are introduced simultaneously and evenly in all industries, then the production possibility frontier AD will shift to the position of the dotted line A 1 D 1 , the production possibilities of both means of production and consumer goods with the same resources will increase approximately equally ( see fig.).
If, on the other hand, innovations are carried out mainly in industries that produce means of production, the increase in the area of production possibilities will be skewed to the right (see Fig.).
“What?”, “How?”, “For whom?”
In order to solve the main problem of the economy - the distribution of scarce resources, each economic system in its own way answers the following three questions (Fig. 3.2).
Rice. 3.2. Basic questions of the economic system
The traditional economy is based on traditions passed down from generation to generation. These traditions determine what goods and services are produced, for whom, and how. The list of benefits, production technology and distribution are based on the customs of a given country. The economic roles of members of society are determined by heredity and caste. This type of economy persists today in some of the so-called underdeveloped countries, where technical progress penetrates with great difficulty, since it, as a rule, undermines the customs and traditions established in these systems.
A market economy is characterized by private ownership of resources and the use of a system of markets and prices to coordinate and manage economic activity. What, how and for whom to produce is determined by the market, prices, profits and losses of economic entities.
The manufacturer strives to produce ("what") the product that satisfies the needs of the buyer and brings him the greatest profit. The consumer himself decides what product to buy and how much money to pay for it.
Since, under conditions of free competition, price setting does not depend on the manufacturer, the question “how?” to produce, the business executive responds by striving to produce products at a lower cost than his competitor in order to sell more and at a lower price. Technology and organization of production, the use of technical progress, and various management methods are aimed at solving this problem.
The question "for whom?" decided in favor of consumers with the highest income.
In such an economic system, the government does not interfere in the economy. Its role is reduced to the protection of private property, the establishment of laws that facilitate the functioning of free markets.
A command or centralized economy is the opposite of a market economy. It is based on state ownership of everything material resources. From here everything economic decisions accepted government bodies through centralized (directive) planning. For each enterprise, the production plan provides for what, in what volume to produce; certain resources, equipment, labor, materials, etc. are allocated, which determines the solution of the issue of how
A mixed economy involves the use of the regulatory role of the state and economic freedom manufacturers. Entrepreneurs and workers move from industry to industry by their own decision, not by government directives. The state carries out antimonopoly, social, fiscal (tax) and other types of economic policy which contributes to some extent economic growth country and improve the living standards of the population.
Modern world characterized by a wide variety of mixed models. For example, the Swedish system is known, in which the core is social policy. The Japanese economic model is characterized by a developed indicative (recommendatory) planning and coordination of government and private sector activities.
AT American economy the state plays an important role in approving the rules of economic activity, regulating business, and developing education and science. But most decisions are made based on the situation on the market and pricing on it.
The modern world is characterized by the presence of a variety of economic systems, which are classified using various criteria. Today, the formational and civilizational approaches are the most well-known.
The formational approach made it possible to identify regular steps in the historical development of society and identify five ways material production(primitive communal, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist and communist) on the basis of the assertion that the decisive role belongs to the direct process of production, or mode of production.
It is interesting to note that K. Marx in a letter to Vera Zasulich singled out only three large formations:
1) primary (archaic), where he attributed the primitive communal and Asian modes of production;
2) secondary, based on private property (slavery, serfdom, capitalism);
3) communist. According to Marx, communism is not an "ideal mode of production", as many imagined, but a historical epoch that includes a number of modes of production, the main content of which is the destruction of private property. The communist ideal, according to Marx, - "The free development of everyone is a condition for the free development of all" - was realized only after the end of the era of communism in the new era of "positive humanism". According to the ideas of K. Marx, F. Engels, and then V.I. Lenin, communism consists of two phases, the lowest of which is socialism.
In connection with what is happening in our country and countries of Eastern Europe The events raised questions: is the teaching of Marxism about the socialist transformation of society true and is the communist idea itself not a utopia? These questions are answered differently today. Some believe that socialism in the former socialist countries, in fact, was not, rather, socialism was in Western developed countries, so they talk, for example, about the model of "Swedish socialism". Others argue that there was socialism, there was a world socialist system, but the socialist economic system was significantly deformed. At present, in world practice, journalism and economic literature, one can increasingly come across the term “post-communist” or “post-socialist” countries, which indicates the recognition of the existence of socialism in these countries until the recent past.
Today, the classical distinction between five modes of production is questionable for a number of reasons, including because it only applies to Western Europe and is of no general importance. The Asian mode of production, the civilization of China and India, does not fit here, with a big stretch, Russia can also be included here. Therefore, consideration of the processes of world development at the level of formation, the method of material production, with all its theoretical and historical significance, cannot cover the entire complex range of events taking place in the world. There are obvious limitations to this approach. Therefore, attempts are being made in the economic literature to use other criteria for analyzing the phenomena and processes of social life.
Undoubted interest in explaining the various forms of economic systems is the theory of the cyclical development of society, the change of civilization.
According to this theory, seven civilizations are distinguished: Neolithic, the duration of which is 30-35 centuries, and in Russia 20-30 centuries; eastern slave-owning (Bronze Age) - with a duration of 20-23 centuries in the world, in Russia - 15-16; antique (Iron Age) - 12-13 centuries in the world and 11-12 centuries in Russia; early feudal - respectively 7 and 7 centuries; pre-industrial - 4.5 and 2.5 centuries; industrial - 2.3 and 1.5 centuries; post-industrial - 1.3 and 1.4. The change of civilizations can be represented graphically (Fig. 3.3).
Rice. 3.3. Change of civilizations in the world
This theory allows us to take a fresh look at the processes taking place today in the world in general and in Russia in particular. It allows us to draw the following conclusions.
1. Since the market took place in all civilizations (although its role was different), the essence of the modern transitional period is not reduced to the transition to the market (it is impossible to move from market to market), but to the change of one civilization by another. The statement about modern transition Russia krynku testifies that we are in captivity of primitive stereotypes, clichés, according to which it was believed that socialism (including the one built in Russia) is incompatible with the market, the plan and the market are antipodes, etc.
2. The duration of the transition economy, if it is understood as a stage of crisis and the displacement of the outgoing and the birth of a new civilization, according to the calculations of the Leningrad economists V.I. Kuzmin and A.V. Zhirmunsky, is 1/4 of the total duration of the cycle, therefore, Russia will enter the new civilization approximately in 2010.
3. Due to the fact that Russia later entered this or that civilization, but went through them much faster, we can assume that the peoples of Russia perceive progress faster than is commonly thought. It is wrong to represent the peoples of Russia as lazy, worthless and inert people. The evolution of civilizations shows the opposite.
In the economic literature, views on the trends in the development of economic (economic) systems are different. Some believe that the defining trend in the development of systems is the trend towards uniformity, the unification of all structural elements. So, E. Preobrazhensky wrote that various management systems can exist within the framework of national economy on the basis of complete economic equilibrium between them, but such an equilibrium cannot exist for a long time, because one system must devour the other.
Other economists believe that the coexistence of different economic systems mutually enriches these systems, and this leads to economic growth and the emergence of a qualitatively new economic system. Thus, N. Bukharin found the deepest meaning of NEP in the fact that for the first time the possibility of mutual fertilization of various economic forces was discovered, on the basis of which growth was ensured. The modern theory of convergence is based on the thesis that different economic systems in the process of their own development and improvement will eventually merge and create a new economic system.
Such inconsistency of views reflects the inconsistency of the development of economic systems, when one trend replaces another. Modern development many countries confirms this theoretical conclusion: general nationalization is replaced by denationalization; universal planning - the rejection of it; centralization - decentralization, etc. The stronger the fluctuations, the greater the difficulties in the development of the country's economy.
Representatives of institutionalism are interested in two main problems: economic power and control over the economy, in connection with which they use the concept of "institutions".
Economic institutions are usually understood as the rules of the game in society, or more formally created by people restrictions that shape the interaction of people.
Institutions create a structure of incentives for exchange, social, political or economic. Institutions are both formal laws (constitutions, laws, property rights) and informal rules (traditions, customs, codes of conduct). Institutions were created by people to ensure order and eliminate uncertainty in exchange. Such institutions, together with the standard constraints adopted in the economy, determined the set of alternatives and thus determined the costs of production and distribution and, accordingly, the profitability and probability of being attracted to economic activity. Jack Knight believes that institutions are a set of rules that structure social relationships in a special way, the knowledge of which should be possessed by all members of a given community.
Formal institutions are often created to serve the interests of those who control institutional change in market economy. The pursuit of self-interest by some may have a negative effect on others.
Public institutions that fulfill ideological and spiritual needs often influence social organizations and economic behavior. Attempts by the state to manipulate public institutions, for example, norms, for their own purposes often proved unsuccessful. An example is the upbringing of Soviet people in the spirit of the moral code of the builder of communism.
Institutions can be thought of as social capital that can change through depreciation and new investment. Formal laws can change quickly, but enforcement and informal rules change slowly. And here Russia can serve as an example, adapting for market model suitable economic institutions of capitalism. Informal rules, norms, customs are not created by the authorities, they often develop spontaneously.
Institutions are slow to adapt to changes in the environment, so institutions that were effective become ineffective and remain so for a long time, since it is difficult to turn a society from a historical path that was set long ago.
There is a difference between institutions and organizations. While institutions are a set of rules and laws that govern interactions, actions individuals, organizations are corporate actors who themselves may be subject to institutional constraints. Organizations have an internal structure, an institutional framework that determines the interaction of the individuals that make up the organization. Some collective associations can thus be both institutions and organizations, such as a firm, a government bureaucracy, a church, or an educational institution.
The concept of transaction costs is essential to understanding the relationship between institutions and production efficiency. The term transaction costs was introduced into scientific circulation by the Nobel Prize winner R. Coase (b. 1910). These costs are not associated with production as such, but with the costs associated with it: the search for information on prices, counterparties of economic transactions, the costs of concluding economic contracts, monitoring their execution, etc.
Modern Western societies already have systems of contract law, mutual obligations, guarantees, trademarks, sophisticated monitoring systems, and effective mechanisms for enforcing laws. As a result of all this, servicing transactions consumes huge resources (although these costs are small per transaction), but the productivity associated with gaining from trade increases even more, thanks to which Western societies have been able to grow and develop rapidly.
Increasing specialization and division of labor necessitate the development of institutional structures that allow people to take action based on complex relationships with other people - complex both in terms of individual knowledge and in terms of time span. The development of a complex network of social relationships would be would be impossible if such institutional structures did not reduce the uncertainty associated with such situations.Institutional soundness is of fundamental importance because it means that, despite the constant expansion of the network of interdependence due to the growth of specialization, we can be sure of the results that inevitably become more more and more removed from the circle of our individual knowledge.
High transaction costs are very often associated with weak institutions (weak social enforcement of laws), but high transaction costs can also be associated with strong institutions that leave agents little power. The main goal in choosing institutions is to minimize transaction costs. Voluntary exchange will be based on more trust if the government minimizes transaction costs by creating and clarifying property rights.
The effectiveness of coordination methods must be considered not from the point of view of normative assessments (bad or good), but from the point of view of saving transaction costs. Of course, this is not the only criterion, but it helps to understand why the attempt to build all social production according to the type of a firm or a “single factory”, as V. I. Lenin wrote, turned out to be untenable. For regulation from the center (Gosplan) is accompanied by huge transaction costs, due to the inability to concentrate all the information scattered in society about resources, consumer preferences, etc. in a single center.
1. A specially ordered system of relations between producers and consumers of material and non-material goods and services constitutes the economic system. At the same time, the economic system is a set of mechanisms and institutions for making and implementing decisions in economic activity.
2. Essential elements economic system is economic activity, productive forces, industrial relations, economic resources, production possibilities, results and efficiency.
3. Due to limited economic resources major problem economic system is a problem of choice. The essence of this problem is that if each economic resource used to meet diverse needs is limited, then there is always the problem of alternative use of it and the search for the best combination of scarce resources. What we give up is called the opportunity cost of the expressed result.
4. The production possibilities of the economic system, limited by the rarity of the resources used, do not change as society develops.
IOiibKU are not preserved, but may increase. The production possibilities of an economic system are characterized by a production possibilities curve.
5. Economic efficiency is the ratio of results and costs and economic activity. The result is an economic product, and the costs are the spent economic resources. Economic efficiency characterizes the Pareto optimum - this is a state in which no one can improve their condition without worsening the position of at least one of the market participants.
