MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

MOSCOW BANKING INSTITUTE

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC THEORY

COURSE WORK

ON ECONOMIC THEORY

ON THE TOPIC: COMPETITIVENESS IN THE WORLD ECONOMY.

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Moscow 2010

Introduction ______________________________________________________________________ 3

1. Formation of competitiveness in the world economy _______________________4

2. Definition of competitive sectors of the world economy _____________________________________________________________________ 8

3. Factors hindering the growth of the competitiveness of the economy ________________ 13

4. Prospects for increasing competitiveness ________________________________15

Conclusion .___________________________________________________________________ 18

References _____________________________________________________________ 21

Introduction.

Currently, passing under the sign of globalization, the problem of the competitiveness of national economies has arisen. It is safe to say that for most countries, the growth of national competitiveness will be one of the top priorities for the coming decades. And in world economic thought, the problem of competitiveness over the past 20 years has become one of the most actively developed and discussed.

Competition is one of the most important features of the market economy. It is competition that ensures the creative freedom of the individual, creates conditions for his self-realization in the economic sphere through the development and creation of new competitive goods and services. The issue of the competitiveness of the economy at the present stage is one of the central issues in the development of a strategy for the country's economic development.

The basis of a competitive economy is a competitive industry. All actions: developed programs and legislative acts, procedures of state regulation and measures of state support should be subordinated to the main and priority goal for today - ensuring the competitiveness of the competitiveness of the economy and the country as a whole.

Competition is one of the most important features of the market economy. It is competition that ensures the creative freedom of the individual, creates conditions for his self-realization in the economic sphere through the development and creation of new competitive goods and services. In modern conditions of the intensifying process of globalization and internationalization, the problems of international competition come to the fore.
An indicator of the recognition of the leading role of competition for the successful functioning of the market economy is the fact that most countries of the world, including countries with economies in transition, have now adopted competition laws and established national authorities to deal with these issues.
Country and sectoral competitiveness ultimately depends on the ability of a particular manufacturer to produce a competitive product.

The competitiveness of the economy is the basis for development . The competitiveness of the economy is, first of all, the activation of exports. Export development is the most important task of the Government.
Industrial competitiveness is a flag to be carried in the hands as the main symbol of economic transformation. This is the idea that can unite people, regardless of their political preferences and position in society.
There will be a competitive industry, there will be:

• export and foreign exchange earnings (independence from the state of international commodity markets);
• stable tax revenues to the budget;
• employment;
• social and political stability;

well-deserved position in the international arena

1. Formation of competitiveness in the global economy.

Russia is part of the world economy, and it is a fait accompli. Consider competitiveness in the global economy using the example of Russia.
The most important goal of the Russian Government is to create a competitive economy that ensures the country's leadership in the international market.

In international ratings of competitiveness, Russia traditionally belongs to the group of developing countries characterized by increased political and economic instability, an unfavorable investment climate, and extremely high risks of economic activity.

In modern conditions, the competitiveness of a country is an indicator of the state

and the prospects for the development of the economic system, determines the nature of its participation in the international division of labor, acts as a guarantor of economic security and, in general, represents the country's ability in conditions of free competition to produce goods and services that meet the requirements of the world market, the implementation of which increases the welfare of the population. Deepening financial and economic ties, openness of national economies, their complementarity and rapprochement determine the strategic landmark of Russia's development - to "enter" the world economy not as a raw material appendage, but as an economically developed country with a high level of technological development, strong financial institutions, developed infrastructure and the information sector. In addition, Russia's integration into the world economic community as a competitive economy will contribute to the implementation of a long-term program for achieving sustainable

economic growth.

In view of the above, the task of

full and effective entry of Russia into the world economy, increasing

the level of competitiveness of the country in general and economic entities in particular,

which requires new research on this issue, identifying features

competition in modern economic conditions, as well as analysis of the prerequisites and

restrictions on the formation of Russia's competitive advantages.

A general definition of a country's competitiveness can be formulated

based on the concept proposed by A. Z. Seleznev: “competitiveness

- this is due to economic, social, political and other

factors, the position of the country and its individual producers on the domestic and

external markets, reflected through indicators (indicators) that adequately characterize this state and its dynamics. "

Competitiveness is an objective process that reflects the continuity and dynamism of the development of the economic system.

National competitiveness is defined as a resulting relative indicator reflecting the level of efficiency of production, distribution and sale of goods both within the country and abroad in order to increase its own economic potential and the level of socio-economic development. Based on the presented interpretation, it follows that the essence of the country's competitiveness presupposes a certain level of competitiveness of domestic companies and the goods they produce.

Firms and industries are “producers” of competitive advantages, therefore

only they can implement them. The state acts as a "holder"

competitive advantages in terms of creating an environment, conditions for them

formation (macro level). Accordingly, the state cannot directly

to retain and develop the created competitive advantages, this is the field of activity

companies (micro level). Analysis of the essence of the concept of "international

competitiveness of the country "allows us to conclude that the most reasonable

the approach to determining the competitiveness of the economy is presented on the basis of

identifying factors of competitiveness.

At the same time, a combination of objective and subjective factors is beneficial

distinguishing subjects and objects of economic activity (country, region, company,

product) from their competitors represents a competitive advantage. In conditions

the globalization of the economy significantly changes the nature of the factors of the country's competitiveness, their ratio and interrelation. Internal structure

economic system becomes flexible and easily adapts to external factors

environment, while the system itself is aimed at the formation of promising (future)

competitive advantages determined by new technological structures, new

markets, human capital development, etc. It is obvious that an adequate change

the internal structure of the economy becomes possible due not only to factors

extensive growth, but also, above all, qualitative changes and innovative

development.

In international practice, developed and constantly improved

three main centers for the study of global competitiveness: Institute

strategy and competitiveness at Harvard University (USA),

International Management Development Institute (MIRM) and World Economic

forum (VEF). If the first institute studies competitiveness in corporate

plane, then the other two compose their ratings of the competitiveness of countries and

regions based on their own exclusive research methodologies.

By the competitiveness of a country, MIRM understands the ability of a nation to create and

support the environment in which a competitive business emerges. Annual

MIRM has been conducting analytical research since 1989 in collaboration with research

organizations around the world. Each state is assessed based on an analysis of 331 criteria in four main areas: the state of the economy, the effectiveness of the government, the state of the business environment and the state of infrastructure. Each of them includes five factors. Thus, the overall competitiveness ranking is based on 20 different indicators from four key aspects of a country's economic life.

has not changed since 2008. The United States has remained the world leader in competitiveness for 16 years. Then there are Hong Kong and Singapore - in second and third places, respectively. In 2009, Russia dropped from 47th to 49th place in the world competitiveness rating of the World Institute of World Technologies. It is ahead of Italy - 50th, Colombia - 51, Greece - 52, Croatia - 53, Romania - 54, Argentina - 55, Ukraine - 56 and Venezuela, which is in 57th place and closes the list of competitiveness of the world's leading economies.

Studying the problem of improving the state of the world economic systems on

the basis of measuring and summarizing the activities of national economies included in it

also deals with the World Economic Forum - an independent international

an organization established in 1971. The heads of state take part in the work of the WEF,

leading politicians, economists and financiers, which leads to high prestige

this organization. The WEF report presents two indices based on which

Competitiveness Index, GCI) and the Business Competitiveness Index (Business

Competitiveness Index, BCI). The main tool for the generalized assessment of the competitiveness of countries is the GCI, created for the World Economic

Forum by Columbia University professor Xavier Sala-y-Martin and for the first time

Switzerland. The United States moved down one position (in last year's ranking

country ranked first) and ranked second due to weakening

financial markets and declining macroeconomic stability. Singapore,

Sweden and Denmark round out the top five of the leading countries. Russia went down in 2009

immediately by 12 positions in comparison with 2008 - from 51st to 63rd place. The country is now in

In Russia, the situation is only with macroeconomic stability (5.2 points on

seven-point system), health care and primary education (5.6 points) and

market size (5.8 points). Corruption is cited as Russia's biggest shortcomings,

difficult access of enterprises to finance, low guarantees of rights protection

property and tax regulation.

Due to a number of their limitations, analytical information from MIRM and WEF can be useful only in conjunction with an analysis of country specifics,

opportunities for internal potential and strategies for external economic development

country. Thus, despite the differences in approaches to determining

competitiveness, its modern understanding is associated with strengthening

interdependence of national economies in the context of deepening processes

globalization. Within the framework of the task of forming competitiveness, this concept can

be defined as the ability to create conditions for sustainable development

national economy.

The downgrade was caused by the budget deficit and a decrease in tax collection, and the dependence on external financing (a drop in capital inflows and investment) and the resource sector also affected. Raw materials dependence is Russia's weakest point, says Roslett-McCauley.

Russia occupies the lowest lines of the rating in terms of the level of economic diversification (57th place), the average annual growth rate of consumer prices (11.7% in 2009, 55th place), availability of credit funds for business (55th) and the top - by the level of bureaucracy (2nd), corruption (3rd). In terms of favoring the development of competition, legislation and state regulation are in 56th place; business in terms of efficiency is also recorded among the world outsiders: 58th in consumer satisfaction, social responsibility, corporate ethics, 54th - in the ability to generate an innovative product.

Russia's strengths are low public debt (5th place), volume of reserves (3rd), cheap energy tariffs for companies (4th), number of nurses per capita (8th). At the top of the rating are the state of the labor market (18th place), the effectiveness of fiscal policy (14th). Russia ranks first in the world in terms of stock market growth (by 128.6%) and in insignificant tax burden on individuals.

According to experts from the World Economic Forum and Harvard University, Russia has a very strong international position in the iron and steel industry; strong ones - in non-ferrous metallurgy, electric power industry, petrochemicals, timber and defense industries; mediocre - in chemistry, in auto and shipbuilding, general mechanical engineering, instrument making; the weak ones are in the aviation industry, electronics, and the textile industry.

Thus, Russia has the necessary prerequisites for creating products that are competitive in quality and prices on the world market. However, further strengthening of the export potential is closely related to the solution of the general problems of economic development of Russia, the implementation of measures to improve trade, insurance and credit services, the improvement of conditions for R&D and the implementation of their results in a specific production technology.

2. Definition of competitive sectors of the world economy

To determine the competitive sectors of the world economy, it is necessary, first of all, to determine the “field” of the industries in which the choice has to be made. It is proposed to proceed from the assumption that the choice will have to be made from the basic sectors of the Russian economy. These today include:

• Industry
• Building
• Agriculture
• Transport
• Retail

Russia possesses a significant part of the planet's resource potential and this is its indisputable advantage. On a per capita basis, Russia ranks first in the world in terms of the availability of mineral resources. The wealth of minerals in Russia largely compensates for a number of factors that impede its development, including the severity of climatic conditions, leading to a significant increase in the cost of functioning of the economic system.

Labor and intellectual resources, which are also commonly referred to as the basic factors of national competitiveness, are not taken into account in this case. Reason: these are not natural competitive advantages. It must also be admitted that at present there is an overestimated self-esteem regarding Russia's uniqueness in terms of our labor and intellectual resources.

The following basic sectors of the world economy will be distinguished by the outstripping rates of development in the long term:

• Industry
• Building
• Connection
• Trade and catering

Average growth rates of gross value added in these sectors in the period 2003-2012 are predicted as follows:

• Industry - 8.6%,
• Construction - 7.7%,
• Communication - 13.1%,
• Trade and public catering - 7.2%.

Taking into account the fact that, on the whole, the average annual GDP growth in the specified period may amount to 6.9%, it is these sectors that should be considered sectors with outstripping growth rates. The growth rates of the costs of the above industries are higher than average, which gives grounds to single them out as potentially competitive.

The accelerated development of industry, construction, communications, trade and public catering will lead to the fact that their share in the country's GDP by 2012 will increase significantly: industry - from 26.5% to 30.1%, construction - from 7.2% to 7 , 9%, communications - from 1.8% to 3.0%, trade and public catering - from 22.8% to 25.7%.

However, only the accelerated development of industries to classify them as competitive is not enough. It is also necessary that the industries under consideration have, as noted above, natural competitive advantages. Neither communications, nor construction, let alone trade and public catering have such advantages. Transport has, as already noted, but its development in the long term cannot be called accelerated (the average growth rate of the gross added value of transport for the period up to 2012 is 4.3%).

Thus, it turns out that only one branch of the economy - industry - meets the two main criteria (accelerated development and natural competitive advantages).

Prior to the entry into force of the new OKVED classifier, Rosstat distinguished the following industries:

• Power engineering
• Fuel
• Ferrous metallurgy
• Non-ferrous metallurgy
• Chemical and petrochemical
• Mechanical engineering and metalworking
• Forestry, woodworking and pulp and paper
• Building materials industry
• Glass and porcelain-faience
• Easy
• Food
• Microbiological
• Flour and cereals and feed
• Medical
• Polygraphic
• Other

Since the set of industrial sectors has developed historically as a result of more than half a century of development of production systems, it is advisable to maintain continuity when choosing the criteria for determining their competitiveness.

The first criterion: the presence of natural competitive advantages. This is what distinguishes these industries favorably, which predetermines their leading position in the market, first of all - external, which characterizes export opportunities.

The natural competitive advantage of a number of Russian industries is their rich raw material base. It is for this reason that such industries as the oil industry, gas industry, logging, non-ferrous metallurgy can and should be classified as competitive. Already at present, the overwhelming part of the country's export earnings comes from the sale of products of these industries. Russia ranks 1-2 in the world for the export of their products. Currently, Russia exports most of the oil produced - 54.1%, a significant part of gas - 30.6% and other raw materials.

Despite the remoteness of the main oil fields from export terminals, the relatively low cost of producing Russian oil ensures its high competitiveness, especially in the European market. According to the Ministry of Industry and Energy of Russia, on average in Russia, the cost of oil production is about $ 4 per barrel, which is significantly lower than the cost of production in the USA, Norway and the UK - $ 6-7 / barrel (according to international sources, the cost of oil production in Western Siberia is roughly equal to production costs in North America and the North Sea).

The issue of the competitiveness of Russian gas on foreign markets is not so unambiguous. This is due to the prospect of gas production reaching regions with high fuel costs, the development of offshore deposits and, in the future, gas hydrates.

Aluminum, as the largest export item in this industry, is supported by the relative cheapness of energy, privileges on transport tariffs, and tax optimization. The high share of exports (up to 80% or more) almost eliminates the VAT for the industry.

Russia, being the third producer of aluminum after the United States and China, does not have sufficient resources of its own of high-quality bauxite and today is forced to import significant volumes of alumina. Despite this, the aluminum industry in Russia has serious prospects for its development and can thus become a "growth pole" that can lead to the growth of other sectors of the economy.

Russia ranks first in the world in the production and export of nickel. Its share in the world export of nickel reaches 30-35%. Growth in world consumption of non-ferrous metals is predicted: aluminum, due to an increase in demand from the aviation, automotive, electrical industries, and the construction sector; nickel from stainless steel producers.

In terms of foreign exchange earnings, the timber industry consistently ranks fifth or sixth in Russia among other exporters of the country. However, while maintaining a high export potential, mainly raw materials and semi-finished products are exported.

The priority area of ​​work of the timber industry complex is the export of timber. So, in 2000, 83.9% of produced wood pulp was exported, newsprint paper - 68.8%, unprocessed timber - 39.3%.

Meanwhile, possessing about a fifth of the world's forest plantations, Russia is still not efficient enough in the world market. At present, its share in world timber exports does not exceed 2-3%. At the same time, Russia traditionally mainly exports raw materials and semi-finished products, and imports products of advanced wood processing.

The growth in the volume of export of commercial timber with the growth of its production confirms the competitiveness of this product in the world market. The North-West and the Far East have the greatest export potential for industrial timber. As a result, round timber is mainly supplied to two markets: Scandinavian and Asia-Pacific.

The recognition of these industries as competitive should be regarded not as an annoying necessity, but as a natural and reasonable choice. If a country is rich in the most important types of raw materials, this must be taken into account in the implementation of industrial policy. Diversification of the economy, understood as the intensive development of not only raw materials, but also processing industries, should not artificially restrict the development of some industries in favor of others.

The second criterion: the presence of a significant scientific and technological groundwork, which is the basis for promoting the products to the market - first of all, again to the external one, where the implementation of export opportunities directly depends on its competitiveness.

Determining the industries according to this criterion is a much more difficult task. Assessment of the degree of significance of scientific and technical groundwork is a rather subjective thing. Almost every industry has a corresponding scientific and technical groundwork. There are historical factors behind this state of affairs. In Soviet times, the country was forced to independently develop all branches of production and conduct the necessary research. And although during the time of market reforms in many areas of science and technology, the former positions have been lost, there is confidence that there are scientific and technological groundwork at present. The validity of this assumption should be confirmed in the presence of export potential.

Unfortunately, we have to admit that the number of industries that meet this criterion is extremely limited. In fact, these today include the following:

• atomic;
• military-industrial complex;
• aerospace.

It is necessary to make a reservation that at present only the part that is connected with the space component, as well as the military aircraft industry, has real competitiveness in the aerospace industry. What is related to civil aviation can be attributed to the competitive segment rather in advance. Nevertheless, due to the close conjugation of these two components, the aerospace industry can and should be classified as competitive.

The domestic nuclear industry is competitive. This refers to nuclear engineering and the supply of a number of goods and services, where the Russian position is really strong (services for uranium enrichment, for the supply of fuel for nuclear reactors, services for the development and design of nuclear reactor systems, etc.). It is predicted that in the medium and long term, the range of services provided for export in the field of irradiated nuclear fuel and leasing of fresh fuel will be expanded.

In recent years, there has been a tendency for an annual increase in the physical volumes of industry exports. The share of uranium products, including uranium enrichment services, in the annual export volume is about 60%. Exports of nuclear fuel and technical assistance in the construction of facilities abroad are important in terms of volumetric indicators.

The production of competitive products in the nuclear industry is largely determined by advances in the production of high technology products. The consumers of domestic technologies in the nuclear field are the USA, France, Germany, and China.

A significant part of the export of fuel cycle services is the export of uranium enrichment services (export of separation work). Currently, 40% of the separation capacities available in the industry are used for these purposes.

Thus, the main condition for classifying a particular industry as competitive is the presence of significant export potential. If the industry's products are exported, then they have advantages over other competing counterparts. This means that the industry as a whole is competitive.

The use of the above criteria will make it possible to take into account in the choice of competitive industries the fact that competitiveness can be ensured either by price characteristics (the consumer, other things being equal, chooses cheaper products), or by technical characteristics (consumer qualities).

So, the industries with significant export potential and, therefore, are the most competitive today: fuel (oil, gas), non-ferrous metallurgy (aluminum, nickel-cobalt), timber, woodworking and pulp and paper (logging), mechanical engineering (nuclear , military-industrial complex, aerospace).

3. Factors hindering the growth of the competitiveness of the world economy

To begin with, let us single out the well-known factors that hinder the growth of the country's competitiveness: low technical and technological level of production, a high degree of physical and moral wear and tear of equipment operated in existing production, a chronic lack of investment for the reconstruction of obsolete capacities, a deepening of the innovation lag of production from global trends, etc. ... We will consider a number of other, equally important factors below.

1) Insufficient volumes and low "innovative" quality of investments in the development of national competitive advantages.

In terms of the scale of annual investments in science, Russia does not compare with the main highly developed countries.

For example, the United States annually invests in R&D over $ 280 billion, EU countries - about $ 190 billion, Japan - more than 100, China - 60, Germany - 54, Russia - about $ 4 billion. R. Kuchukov, Problems of competitive development // Economist 2007 №8 p.37

The Russian Federation still retains its unique scientific, technical and educational potential, but the effectiveness of their practical use to create a national innovation system is extremely low.

2) Insufficient development of important components of national competitiveness, which complicates the release of existing competitive advantages:

· Poor quality of infrastructure, especially in the field of communications and modern information technologies;

· Low quality of corporate governance, especially in the area of ​​corporate ethics, reliability, relationships with shareholders, work with consumers and marketing, social responsibility;

· Nontransparent structure of corporate and state property, which prevents the inflow of domestic and foreign capital into production;

· Low efficiency of the financial system.

3) No less negative impact on the state of national competitiveness is exerted by systemic factors associated with the low efficiency of government regulation methods, the lack of a competitive market environment in Russia, normal market infrastructure, high transaction costs of economic and investment activities of enterprises. Their elimination today would contribute to the emancipation of entrepreneurial initiative, open up wide opportunities for the development of the competitiveness potential of domestic industries.

4) Ineffective customs administration system

(as well as the low efficiency of the entire system of tariff regulation), which does not provide protection for domestic producers both from "organized" importers and practically legalized dumping from unorganized shuttle trade. As a result, many domestic industries in the consumer sector naturally suffer.

Meanwhile, according to the opinions of the heads of a number of enterprises, Russian products are already capable of quite successfully competing with the products of manufacturers from non-CIS countries. Whereas a real threat to them is represented by unorganized (shuttle) imports from developing countries, exempted not only from customs payments, but also not burdened by a system of other taxes.

5) Factors due to underdeveloped market infrastructure,

the lack of effective mechanisms for cross-sectoral capital outflow and the low capacity of the banking and credit system of Russia, which directly impede the manifestation of the competitive advantages of a number of domestic products. Due to the current situation, primarily products of power engineering, shipbuilding, aircraft construction and others, which are in demand in the markets of many developing countries, are losing their competitive positions.

6) Monopolization of the domestic economy, high administrative barriers to doing business, weak tax administration, ineffective protection of property rights and its "opaque" structure, confusing legislation, etc. As a natural result, they have high transaction costs for Russian producers, which also prevent the manifestation of their price competitive advantages and capital inflows into production.

But it is worth saying that in recent years the government has been making great efforts to overcome the indicated imbalances and create a "field" of equal competitive opportunities in the country. Y. Kormnov. On increasing the competitiveness of Russia // Economist, 2006, no. 15. Suffice it to recall:

clearing administrative "blockages" and barriers that impede the formation of a field for normal entrepreneurial activity and the entry of investors into the market, the implementation of a set of measures to de-bureaucratize the economy; improvement of the tax and depreciation system; the abolition of a number of "turnover" taxes, reduction of the tax pressure, etc.

7) Problems of the reproduction process. V. Kondratyev. Macroeconomic problems of Russia's competitiveness // World Economy and International Relations 2001, No. 3 P.30 After 1990, the reproduction process in the country ceased to be expanded. Over the years of reforms, unfortunately, in terms of its share in the world national product, Russia has been thrown back many years. So, if in the 1970s. the country produced 8% of world GDP, in the 1990s. - 5.5, in 2000 - 2.7, then in 2008 - 2.4-2.5%.

There has been a large-scale structural, raw material imbalance in the economy.

Thus, we have identified the main factors and problems that limit the competitiveness of Russia at the present stage. These are: insufficient funding for the development of national competitive advantages; low efficiency of state regulation methods; absence in Russia of a competitive market environment, normal market infrastructure; high transaction costs of economic and investment activities of enterprises, ineffective system of customs administration, monopolization of the domestic economy, problems of the reproduction process.

4. Prospects for increasing competitiveness

It is necessary to develop a national policy of international competitiveness P, formed jointly by representatives of the state, business, science and public organizations. It is necessary to determine the most competitive spheres of business, where national capital could enter Western transnational corporations, as well as competitive sectors in which it is advisable to create TNCs of the Western type under the auspices of Russian capital. This is currently possible for energy and fuel corporations. Highly competitive firms can be formed in the military-industrial complex by creating horizontal corporate structures. Finally, it is necessary to actively form the companies of the "new economy", to develop Internet technologies with modern competitive advantages.

Competitiveness in world markets cannot be ensured without involving the state in this process as a subject of market relations and completing a fundamental reform of Russian firms. At the same time, it is necessary to carry out a radical technical reconstruction of the morally and physically outdated production apparatus of the country, along with the institutional reform of enterprises. Otherwise, it is practically impossible to move to a new higher level of labor productivity.

In turn, they are hampered by the lack of effective government levers to stimulate economic growth. It is clearly revealed that the economy cannot function effectively and become viable without the state, and the state is unthinkable without an economic system.

Studying the problems of state regulation of the economy requires taking into account the general ideas and patterns of evolution of the economic role of the state and the specifics of the implementation of this role in the conditions of a transitional economy, the reality that has developed in the country in the course of market transformation.

A competitive economy cannot develop successfully without government intervention. Many instruments of the economic policy of the Russian state are now in a state of formation. With the strengthening of integration economic relations, the state regulation of the economy will also undergo changes. The economic functions of the state will increasingly focus on strengthening the role of the competitive mechanism, mitigating market “failures”, and more fully realizing the growing interconnection of economic and social relations.

The primary basis for solving the problems of increasing the competitiveness of the economy is the development of science. Achievements of science, its discovery and implementation of results in production, an increase on this basis in the share of science-intensive products and receipts on the domestic market of the country and the world market is the leading trend of the 21st century. The share of high technology products in the world market fluctuates only within the range of 0.3-0.8%. It is possible to achieve an increase in the competitiveness of our country, Russian economic entities, their products - goods and services, relying on the achievements of domestic science in various fields of knowledge, on our intellectual resources. It is known that there is interest in the research results of our scientists in the countries of the world, including the leading ones.

Russian scientists are in demand abroad. Among them are those who work in a number of major scientific centers in the world. Quite a few scientists have gone abroad, and those who pay for their work, labor and talent use everything acquired in their entrepreneurial activity with considerable benefit. Breakthrough work is usually backed by a brilliant scientist who attracts talent. A scientific school capable of generating new knowledge is being formed around it. The cost of remunerating a competitive scientist is repaid a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold, at the production and implementation stage of the innovation process. This is what determines the current intentions and actions already beginning in our country to increase budgetary spending on academic science within the framework of the RAS reform. But only a salary cannot achieve competitive innovative success in science and economics. It is also necessary to have modern advanced technology, without which it is impossible to make competitive discoveries, not to embody their results.

Successes in science give Russia a chance to become a country with a highly developed economy, a high standard of living and "human potential", an exporter of intellectual services.

In Russia, enterprises operating in the scientific, technical and innovation spheres are poorly protected. Those of them that enter the world commodity markets often become victims of pirates who steal inventions of Russian scientists and engineers. This is facilitated by the underdeveloped system of copyright protection in the country. But this is where help comes from the state. The government intends, for example, to compensate for up to two-thirds of the costs associated with the registration of domestic inventors in foreign organizations of their intellectual property rights. Kormnov Yu. On increasing the competitiveness of Russia // Economist 2006 №8 С18

The innovative activity of Russian business entities requires support from the state, federal and regional authorities in various forms. And for this it is necessary in the legislative, regulatory and legal order to consolidate the definition of the concept of innovative activity of enterprises. Science, scientific research precede innovative activities, especially at the forefront of "revolution" discoveries and the first steps to master them. These include, for example, the development of nanotechnology and their application in various fields of activity S. Glazyev. Prospects for the Russian economy in the context of global competition // The Economist 2007 No. 5 p.13. Also, do not forget about informatics and biotechnology.

The reform of technical regulation in our country is directly related to solving the problems of increasing the international competitiveness of Russian goods and services. According to its concept, it is aimed at the transition to new standards of product quality and the modernization of the service sector.

Also, one of the important factors in the growth of competitiveness is the improvement of the quality of vocational education. The most competitive were and remain in the countries those industries, the development of which was largely based on the use of personnel with specialized education and professional training in the relevant industries. Among them are the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavian countries, Japan, South Korea and many others. The favorable climate created a high level of state educational standards, the growth of the prestige of teachers and researchers, the improvement of vocational and technical training, the involvement of national corporations in vocational training of young people and retraining of established personnel.

In our country, the authorities are aware of the need to create a competitive educational system, support those higher educational institutions that implement innovative programs, as well as finance the largest universities through special development funds and the formation of a system of educational loans. The Russian education system has long been isolated from the rest of Europe. Russian universities often provide information that was relevant 10-20 years ago. Many universities graduate young, educated unemployed. The potential of Russian universities should be opened for cooperation with educational institutions of other countries, especially European ones.

World experience shows a close relationship between the increase in the competitiveness of the economies of countries and the increase in the number of qualified personnel in them, between the level of the accepted general educational standard and the improvement of the quality of life in the country.

According to experts, our schools now do not provide the knowledge that could be successfully applied in practice, and many universities do not leave professionals who are in demand on the labor market. Therefore, bringing educational activities in line with the increasing demands of life, "growing" competitive specialists with a broad interdisciplinary outlook, deep knowledge of the business they study in school, colleges and universities is a problem of paramount importance.

Thus, the main ways to solve the problem of competitiveness can be identified:

Development of a national policy for international competitiveness;

Involvement in the process of increasing the competitiveness of the state;

Development of science and innovation, as well as improving the quality of vocational education.

Conclusion

Ensuring a high level of competitiveness of the world economy should become the main task of the state and be implemented on the basis of the state strategic comprehensive program. Among the possible rational directions for the progressive transformation of the economy along the path of innovative development, the following should be highlighted:

Efficient use of natural resources as a basis for economic development;

Providing the country and society with science-intensive goods and services; optimization of the commodity-technological structure of the economy based on a marketing study of the structure of production needs;

Stimulating the development of national production in the real sector of the economy towards the production of competitive high technology products, the creation and use of innovation and investment potential;

Satisfaction of internal needs at the expense of goods and services of Russian manufacturers, protection of the internal market;

Strengthening national security.

The idea of ​​achieving leadership in world markets and integrating the development strategy of the country and firms are related to each other as a goal and a means of achieving it. The course towards achieving competitiveness will contribute to the solution of two problems: the way out of the transformational crisis and the long-term development of the country. Long-term goals will be associated with the solution of specific tasks and the achievement of short-term goals.

The historical experience of many countries proves that such a combination is quite possible. Roosevelt's New Deal; the national development program in post-war Japan, Erhard's reform in Germany, strategic planning in South Korea after the American-Korean war, five-year plans to restore competitiveness in post-war France, and Russia's own historical experience of economic recovery and development after two world wars is a confirmation of this.

Analyzing the problem of the competitiveness of the national economies of various countries, M. Porter came to the conclusion that there are several stages in the development of competitiveness: on the basis of factors of production, investment, innovation and on the basis of wealth. Countries such as Switzerland, Germany, the United States are at the stage of innovation and are moving towards the stage of wealth. Japan, Italy, Denmark, Sweden have also reached the stage of innovation, and Japan has gone through all the stages in the short post-war period. Korea is in the investment stage, and Italy has already passed it. The UK is in the wealth stage, but this is by no means a boon for its national economy, since, unlike the previous three stages, the wealth-based competition stage leads to recession.

Russia is mainly at the initial stage of competitiveness based on factors of production with a number of elements of investment and innovation stages, which is associated with the technological diversity of the domestic economy. Despite the prevalence of the third and fourth technological paradigms, in order to build a competitive economy, it is necessary to focus on the goals and levels of the higher stages, based on the value system, directions and areas of science, technology, technologies of the higher, fifth technological order and the stage of competitiveness based on innovations.

Each stage of the competitiveness of the national economy is characterized by its own set of industries and its own development strategy for firms. The role of the state is also different at each stage.

The real level of competitiveness and the complexity of the economy determine the multidimensional integral nature of the movement towards achieving competitiveness on a global scale. The leadership strategy organically combines with the development of a promising direction the necessary tightening of the elements of the lower stages of competitiveness and technological paradigms. Such a concept for the development of the national economy presupposes the development of domestic demand, the pulling up of the lower stages to the higher through the interaction of related and supporting industries, and effective export.

To achieve the global competitiveness of the national economy, it is necessary to: concentration of political and material resources in promising areas that exceed the world level; creation of a chain of sectoral relationships and related organizational structures; implementation of a system of administrative and market measures, orienting firms from leading industry clusters to form development strategies in line with the national program; achieving a multiplier effect at the nodal points of growth, expanding the competitiveness of the market segment.

Based on forecasts and expert assessments, the following areas were identified as promising for the world economy: space technologies, new materials, new energy sources, environmentally friendly technologies, fundamental research in the field of energy, software development. In the mainstream of energy research, two more areas have been identified: energy-saving technologies and new technologies for the extraction and processing of oil and gas. Based on the analysis of opportunities and competitive advantages, it makes sense to focus efforts on the development of such competitive industries as nuclear power engineering, aerospace engineering, rocketry and military aircraft engineering, oil and gas engineering, the creation of engines for aerospace engineering, diesel engines and gas turbine units for power engineering.

Expanding innovation opportunities is one of the mechanisms for integrating the innovation strategy of the country and firms. The most successful example of this within the framework of national programs was demonstrated by Japan, where a Japanese center for key technologies was created, an organization for the development of new energy sources, the Technopolis project was implemented, laws were passed on the consolidation of research systems in the field of industrial technologies, on the location of key scientific institutions , effective macroeconomic levers are involved, such as financing priority areas of development, low interest rates, etc. The business philosophy of Japanese firms is initially focused on innovation.

At one time, Japanese businessmen very successfully adopted the ideas of organizing production and scientific research in the Soviet Union. And today there is no fundamental reason why Russia could not use the experience of its eastern neighbor to integrate its efforts in the search for innovative opportunities. An economic policy aimed at achieving leadership in world markets by Russian firms could become a unifying national idea that promotes the integration of the interests of significant forces and social groups in Russian society.

Entering the trajectory of sustainable economic development and the welfare of society is possible only on the basis of the concentration of resources in breakthrough areas of the formation of a new technological order, a multiple increase in innovation and investment activity, improving the quality of government regulation, and raising the labor, creative and social activity of people.

Bibliography

1. Belousov R., Russian economy in the foreseeable future // Economist 2007, no.

2. Glazyev S. On the strategy of economic development of Russia // Economic Issues 2007, No. 5

3. Glazyev S. Prospects of the Russian economy in the context of global competition // The Economist 2007 No. 5

4. Gubanov S. Systemic choice of Russia // The Economist 2007, no.

5. Kondratyev V. Macroeconomic problems of Russia's competitiveness // World Economy and International Relations 2008, no.

6. Kormnov Yu. On increasing the competitiveness of Russia // The Economist 2008 №8

7. Kurenkov Y., Popov V., Russia's competitiveness in the world economy // Economic Issues 2007, no.

8. Kuchukov R., Problems of competitive development // The Economist 2007 №8

10. Yasin E., Yakovlev A., Competitiveness and modernization of the Russian economy // Economic Issues 2004, No. 7

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15. Seleznev A. Z. Competitive positions and infrastructure of the Russian market. - M .: Jurist, 2005.

The concept and significance of the competitiveness of the national economy

Remark 1

The national economy is a complex, multistage system that covers the entire socio-economic complex of the state. In general terms, it can be defined as a historically established system of social reproduction of the country.

The national economy should be understood as an interconnected set of economic agents and types of economic activity, covering all forms of social division of labor. Its basic features are:

• community of economic space;
• territorial certainty with a common economic center;
• close economic ties between business entities.

The fundamental goal of the national economy is to ensure the economic growth of the country's economy by maximizing opportunities for the formation of favorable conditions for the life of the country's population.

The national economy has various characteristics, one of which is its competitiveness. In a general sense, competitiveness is understood as the ability to be better than your competitors. It is always based on the presence of certain competitive advantages.

With regard to the sphere of social reproduction, the term “competitiveness” takes on a slightly different meaning. Most often, the competitiveness of the national economy is usually considered as three components:

• the ability of the state to achieve high rates of economic growth that are sustainable in the medium term;
• the level of productivity of the country's factors of production;
• the ability of business entities to compete successfully in world markets.

Remark 2

In a general sense, the competitiveness of the national economy should be understood as the competitiveness of the system of social, state and political and legal structure of the country and regulation of all aspects of public life. It can also be defined as the ability of the state to ensure sustainable, dynamic development of the national economy, which presupposes the material well-being of members of society that meets world standards.

The competitiveness of the national economy is based on three basic elements (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Fundamentals of ensuring the competitiveness of the national economy. Author24 - online exchange of student papers

The competitiveness of the national economy is ensured by the effectiveness of the state economic policy, the development of the knowledge production economy and the growth of competition in foreign and domestic markets.

Stages of growth in the competitiveness of the national economy

According to the classical approach outlined by M. Porter, there are four basic stages of the competitiveness of the national economy. In general, they are presented in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Stages of competitiveness of the national economy. Author24 - online exchange of student papers

Each of the stages presented corresponds to four basic incentives (driving forces) that predetermine the development of the national economy. At the same time, the first three stages are distinguished by an increase in the competitiveness of the national economy, and the last one predetermines its stabilization.

At the first stage of growth, the achievement of competitive advantages of the national economy is ensured through the use of production factors (economic resources). It is characterized by vulnerability and volatility of competitive advantages. The very same economic system of the state is characterized by high sensitivity to random events that occur in the world space, such as the movement of transnational capital, changes in exchange rates, economic crises, etc.

At the second stage of growth, the achievement of competitive advantages is ensured through investments, through the implementation of an effective investment policy. In this case, competitive advantages are more sustainable, and the development and implementation of new technologies become more widespread.

The third stage is characterized by the reliance of competitive advantages on innovation, stimulation of innovation, as well as the growth of scientific organizations focused on the specific needs of industries and firms. In general, it is characterized by a higher and more difficult to achieve level of competitive advantages in comparison with the previous stages.

Factors of competitiveness of the national economy

The competitiveness of any state economic system is based on certain factors. Otherwise, they are usually called factors of the competitiveness of the national economy. All of them are divided into factors of lower and higher order. Currently, there are two main approaches to their definition:

• neoclassical approach (according to M. Porter);
• institutional approach (according to O. Williamson).

According to the neoclassical approach, voiced by M. Porter, the factors of competitiveness of national economic systems are divided into basic and developed ones. The former exist objectively, and their creation requires little private and / or public investment. These factors include natural and climatic resources, economic and geographical location of the country, labor force, etc. Often, the advantages formed by such factors are unstable, and the profit from their use is low.

Developed factors are considered higher order factors. Their creation, as a rule, requires highly qualified personnel and highly developed technologies. On the basis of developed factors, complementary developed factors can be created.

In accordance with the institutional approach of O. Williamson, the factors of competitiveness of the national economy can be general (universal) and specific. The first includes those factors that can be used in a wide range of activities, and the second - those that find application in one industry or their limited number.

Remark 3

Generally, shared factors create a limited competitive advantage. Specific factors are based on general factors and form a more long-term, fundamental basis for ensuring the competitiveness of national economic systems. They are often more risky and more targeted.

In the external market, it is a complex mechanism for realizing competitive advantages based on the effective use of available resources in order to increase the volume of production and sale of goods and services in the world market.

Country competitiveness factors

The concept of "competitiveness of a country" implies the production of goods that meet the needs of the international market and specific consumers. These products must be of high quality and meet the level of world standards.

It should be borne in mind that any product, after entering the world market, begins to gradually spend its competitiveness potential. In order to slow down this process, it is necessary to constantly improve the quality and operational characteristics of the product, and the production of a new product should be carried out in a planned manner in order to create conditions for its entry into the world market.

To ensure the country's competitiveness in the international market, it is necessary to constantly study the situation on the world market and the level of development of competition in accordance with the phases of the product life cycle. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the advisability of releasing a new product before the old one has exhausted its capabilities.

Thus, the country's competitiveness in the world market is characterized by a set of parameters of a product offered for sale in the external market, which distinguish this product from analogue products in terms of the degree of satisfaction of consumer demands and the level of costs for its acquisition and operation.

• the ability of a country to produce more material assets than their competitors in world markets;
• the degree of a country's ability to produce goods and services under conditions of a free and fair market (Commission on Industrial Competitiveness under the President of the United States);
• economic opportunity to pay for the funds received (World Development Bank);
• the country's ability to produce goods and services that meet the requirements and create conditions for increasing public resources at a rate that allows for sustainable GDP growth rates and at the level of world values.

Factors that determine the country's competitiveness:

• the dynamism of the economy, assessed by such indicators as the rate of economic development, the position of the national currency, the volume of production of the most important goods per capita, etc .;
• industrial production efficiency:
• the dynamism of the market, assessed by indicators of the level, volume of consumer spending per capita, etc .;
• the state and development of the country, assessed based on the activities of commercial banks;
• determined on the basis of the size and growth rate of the population and, the skill level of the labor force, etc .;
• the role of the state, assessed by the degree of impact based on the study of the level of taxation, the share of the public sector in the national income of the country, etc .;
• resources and infrastructure - the provision of the country with various types of resources with the degree of infrastructure development is investigated;
• the socio-political situation in the country - indicators that characterize it are the amount of income and its distribution, labor relations in industry, etc.

Competitiveness structure each country varies greatly, since no state can be competitive in all, or at least in the majority. Ultimately, countries succeed in certain industries because their domestic conditions are, where appropriate, the most dynamic and promising.

In contrast to the categories of competitiveness of products, goods, enterprises related to the field of microeconomics, the competitiveness of the national economy has a pronounced macroeconomic character.

At the present stage of economic development, ensuring the country's competitiveness is the most important problem that characterizes not only the country's position in the world market, but also determines it to a large extent.

Competitiveness rating of the countries of the world

Assessment of the country's competitiveness

Among the most common methodological approaches to assessing the level of a country's competitiveness are the methods of the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.

1. The World Economic Forum, 1986, estimates by 8 groups of aggregated factors (381 indicators):

• internal economic potential;
• foreign economic relations;
• government regulation;
• credit and financial system;
• infrastructure;
• control system;
• scientific and technical potential;

Indicators for assessing the stage of development of a country's competitiveness:

• characterizing the level of development of the economy and the rate of its growth;
• characterizing labor resources (the share of the active population, the level of labor productivity, wages, personal income);
• R&D expenditures,% of (growth rate of expenditures, education expenditures, number of patents);
• characterizing exports (the country's share in world exports, export growth rates; the share of labor-intensive and raw-material industries, capital-intensive industries, high-tech industries; the share of services in GDP);
• investment (share of domestic investment,% of GDP: investment abroad,% of GDP: foreign investment,% of total investment; share of taxes in GDP).

2. The World Bank assesses the country's competitiveness according to 9 criteria (the sum can be up to 100 points):

• political risk (money back);
• economic prospects;
• external debt;
• debt due to default or debt restructuring;
• access to banking resources;
• access to capital markets;
• provision of forfeiting services.

The country's competitiveness is calculated using the formula:

100 points = 25 + 25 + 10 +10 + 10 + 5 + 5 + 5 (Table 1).

Table 1. Assessment of the country's competitiveness

Indicators	Component elements	Evaluation criterion	Note
1. Political risk, / p	Possibility of non-payment for the supply of products (provision of services) Non-payment of loans, financial obligations, dividends Impossibility of repatriation of invested capital	max = 25 points
2. Economic prospects, / e	Development forecast for this year Forecast for the next year	max = 25 points
3. External debt, / s / z = A + (B x 10) - (C x 10)	The ratio of the country's total debt to GDP, A Debt to export ratio, V Current account balance of payments to GDP, С	max = 10 points	The lower the numerical value according to the formula, the higher the rating
4. Debt due to default or in connection with debt restructuring, / d	Fulfillment (non-fulfillment) of financial obligations or postponement of payment for all debt	max = 10 points	Countries that have not had payments receive the maximum score; 0 points - for whom the failure to fulfill financial obligations or the deadline has been postponed
		max = 10 points	Maximum points for the most solvent firms
6. Access to banking resources, / b	Ratio of private, long-term, non-guaranteed loans to GDP	max = 10 points	Source of estimates "Global Development Finance"
7. Access to short-term financial resources, / f	The ability to obtain resources on the capital market without problems The ability to obtain resources on the capital market without problems in 95% of cases Access is not a problem Access is possible depending on the situation on the capital market Access is not excluded under certain conditions Access is not possible at all	5 points 0 points
8. Access to forfeiting services, / ff	Access is risk-free	max = 5 points	Sources: Morgan Crenfell, Trade Finance, Standard Bank, Mc Kinsy branch (Moscow)

Fatkhutdinov R.A. the country's competitiveness is assessed by the formula:

• b i- the importance of factor i of competitiveness (i = 1.0);
• to i- the competitiveness of the factor (K j = P i / P ni);
• P i- absolute value;
• Ni- the normative value of the factor).

Indicators for assessing the country's competitiveness (1.0):

• expenditures from the state budget on R&D (in% of GDP);
• expenditures from the state budget for human development (education, health care, social sphere), in% of GDP;
• stability in the country, points;
• GDP per capita, thousand dollars;
• average life expectancy;
• resource efficiency; exports as% of GDP;
• place of the country in the world in terms of reserves of natural resources per capita.
• place of the country in terms of its share among the 250 largest competitive firms in the world.

Fundamentals of competitiveness management Mazilkina Elena Ivanovna

2.1. Competitiveness as an indicator of the development of the economic system

The transition to sustainable development, accompanied by global processes, presupposes the formation of a new level of regulation of economic relations. Therefore, in the context of the emergence of a new model of the country's socio-economic development, the issues of competitiveness and sustainable development of the Russian economy occupy a dominant place in the theory of national economy.

Institutional transformations carried out in Russia resulted in the formation of a significant system of market institutions. At the same time, in contrast to countries with a developed economic system, an institutional mechanism has not yet been developed in Russia. Institutional analogues of industrialized economic systems functioning in the domestic economic system are mostly implemented in abnormal forms, determining a significant amount of negative transaction costs.

World practice and the historical experience of Russia itself clearly show that the maximum economic efficiency, ensuring sustainable economic growth and an increase in the welfare of the nation, is achieved if partial initiative is maintained where market competition ensures the realization of private interests in the interests of society. Consequently, one of the main principles of structural policy is the formation of a competitive environment through overcoming the eclectic system of market institutions and creating equal conditions for all economic entities.

The main goal of Russia's sustainable development strategy should be formulated as the preservation of a single economic space and political integrity of the country based on the formation, development and management of competitive advantages. The development and implementation of a sustainable development strategy, depending on the depth of the study of the problem, can be carried out on the basis of a systematic approach. A successful strategy for sustainable economic development depends, first of all, on a reliable assessment of the real situation and the development of new methodological approaches to understanding the competitiveness of the economic system and the mechanism for managing it.

A systematic approach based on the recognition of competitiveness as the immanent imperative of the market environment for the functioning of multi-level economic systems and assuming that the influence of all factors on the sustainable development of the economy is taken into account makes it possible to design an integral system for the formation of national priorities and mechanisms for their implementation.

The area or area in which the competition is taking place is called the competitive field. The wide variety of fields of activity determines the corresponding variety of competitive fields. The concept of the so-called systemic competitiveness defines the framework of analysis and a set of determinants of competitiveness. Its initial premise is that long-term competitiveness is achieved not so much through the stabilization of macroeconomic conditions and the creation of appropriate incentive structures, but through the formation of such a system of relations that supports and concentrates purposeful collective national efforts on the development of individual firms or groups of enterprises. (clusters) and territories.

The creation of such an effective system of relations is a task that should come not only from the state. In this process, a leading role should be played by various non-state actors (organizations of their associations, non-profit organizations and technological communities). Moreover, the most effective will be such a regional economic system, in which the most important subjects will be able to find a common position on problematic issues, as well as make constructive decisions about improving the conditions of functioning.

Competitiveness is systemic if its determining factors can be understood only through interrelated exchange between elements that are formed at different levels of the social system. Therefore, it is not enough to consider only the micro- (enterprises, consumers and market transactions) and the macro-level (trade and exchange rate, government fiscal and foreign trade policies), which, of course, does not mean that these levels are of less importance. It is necessary to investigate the issues of the metalevel in order to determine why the state creates general conditions that are more or less favorable for sustainable economic development, what role different subjects of society play in this, how state and non-state institutions interact and what goals of economic development are pursued in the process of this interaction , and the meso-level to analyze measures that decisively affect the productivity of individual industries and territories. The resulting model of "systemic competitiveness" of the national economy includes four levels of analysis.

Rice. 2. The model of "systemic competitiveness" by L. Andreeva

In a systematic study of the concept of competitiveness, G. Azoev and A. Chelenkov distinguish a hierarchical structure that sequentially includes the assessment of a product, enterprise, industry and economy from the point of view of their superiority over similar competing objects (Fig. 3.)

Rice. 3. The hierarchical structure of competitiveness according to G. Azoev and A. Chelenkov.

With a certain degree of convention, M. Gelvanovsky proposes to divide the entire variety of competitive relations arising in the sphere of economics into three levels: microlevel (specific types of products, production, enterprises), meso-level (industries and their complexes) and macrolevel (country and international organizations) (Fig. 4.).

As can be seen from the above schemes, the methodology of Azoev-Chelenkov and M. Gelvanovsky can be considered almost identical, with the only difference that M. Gelvanovsky combined the competitiveness of a product and an enterprise into one category.

Rice. 4. The hierarchical structure of competitiveness according to M. Gelvanovsky

Consequently, competitive advantages are formed in the presence of proven and adequate to each other macroeconomic and microeconomic mechanisms. In practice, this means that at the national economic level and at the level of economic entities, certain conditions must be created under which investments, innovations, modernization and fair distribution of the income received would be possible.

A study of the experience of developed countries gives grounds with some confidence to name the macroeconomic conditions under which an active competitive strategy is possible ... The fundamental prerequisites for the activity of manufacturers in the development and implementation of competitive strategies are as follows:

- availability of a state strategy for the use of resources possessed by the country (irreplaceable and irreplaceable resources are saved to the maximum extent and reproducible resources are effectively used, which reduces the need for imports and allows foreign exchange earnings from exports to be used for strategic imports);

- availability of its own system of training highly qualified personnel, a base for the production of structural materials and high-tech investment machine building, instrument making, modern technologies and highly efficient information systems, an extensive network of non-material production;

- the existence of an extensive network of financial institutions capable of providing low-interest loans to the investment process and irrevocable financing of unprofitable but vital industries;

- functioning of the system of distribution of net income, which ensures complete certainty of the proportions of its division into the part that is centralized at the state level and left at the disposal of business entities;

- a fairly effective motivational system encouraged to scientific and technical creativity, as well as high social guarantees in society. Removing restrictions in the operation of motivational systems (the absence of such guarantees stimulates the brain drain);

- an active foreign economic policy, which allows not only to form, but also to maintain competitive advantages, at least for the period of recoupment of the costs for their provision;

- the presence in the economic mechanism of tools for strategic pressure on competitors and overcoming trade barriers.

At the level of business entities, the economic mechanism could be considered as stimulating the formation of competitive advantages under the following conditions:

1) the existence of a form of reproduction that puts all economic structures in economically equal conditions (the ratio of own and budget sources of financing should be clearly defined, investment loans should be available, and the interest rate 0 should not be higher than the loan payback ratio);

2) the presence of compulsory mechanisms for the use for investment purposes of those reproduction elements that cannot be eaten away;

3) the development of enterprises as industrial and social complexes capable of taking control of the expanded reproduction of highly qualified personnel, their social protection, health protection and normal working conditions;

4) the presence of a unified institutional system for organizing and stimulating creative work, state protection of intellectual property and stimulating intellectual activity.

The conditions for the operation of the economic mechanism aimed at the formation of competitive advantages are clearly not enough. The mechanism itself must be effective. Analysis of existing developments on this problem allows us to highlight the general features of economic mechanisms, to one degree or another, adapted to the needs of the formation of competitive advantages. These common features are:

- the formation of an infrastructure adequate to the innovative type of reproduction, including in the sphere of production and circulation;

- clear procedures for calculating, accumulating and using the amortization fund in the reproduction process;

- existence at the state level and at the level of economic entities of special funds of strict functional significance, including reserve funds and risk funds;

- revision of the "residual" principle of research funding;

- restoration of human resources in the field of research and development;

- development of the equipment leasing system;

- effective stimulation of rationalization and creative activities aimed at strengthening the positions of firms;

- restoration of organizational structures for conducting research and development in various fields of activity;

- availability of effective mechanisms for compensating costs with a long payback period.

In the current mechanism in Russia, there are no mutually adapted subsystems in which the above conditions, ideas and principles would be embodied.

Borrowing from the experience of other countries turned out to be completely unadapted to the specific conditions and traditions of Russian society, including the traditions of economic management. As for the strategy of forming competitive advantages, the most important condition for its implementation is the formation of infrastructures adequate to each other in production and circulation.

Nevertheless, the experience of recent decades shows that, depending on the ratio of technological paradigms that characterize the level of development of productive forces, the concept of competitiveness may differ in substance. In conditions of a predominantly extensive type of reproduction and expansion of the field of production, the criteria of costs, prices and quality prevail. The predominantly intensive (innovative) type of reproduction is characterized by new criteria - the absolute novelty of products, the timing of the possible deployment of their production by a competitor. However, in any case, competitiveness is determined by innovation, only the forms of its manifestation are different.

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Lecture number 4. Competitiveness of states in the world

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What determines the international competitiveness of a country? What are the factors behind it? What is the competitiveness of the national economy? Why have some countries made significant progress in their development, while others have not? Why are certain companies representing a rather small group of countries consistently leading the world market?

Many economists of the past and present have worried and continue to worry about these questions. It is quite easy to determine the competitiveness of one particular company, taking into account the profits it receives, the level of technology, market leadership, etc. But how to determine the competitiveness of an entire country? What macroeconomic indicators should be considered in this case? A stable exchange rate of the national currency, a surplus of the balance of payments, provision of natural resources?

The modern development of a number of leading countries poses many mysteries. Japan and the EU countries benefit from the depreciation of their national currencies against the US dollar. The US economy, despite its huge balance of payments deficit, has no equal in the world in terms of its potential. The history of the post-war development of countries such as Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea is the success story of states, most of which were defeated in World War II and were initially deprived of natural resources. So what is competitive advantage and where does it come from?

The answer to the above and similar questions is given by the theory of the famous American economist Michael Porter from the Harvard Business School. Working in the Commission on the Competitiveness of American Industry, created by US President Ronald Reagan, M. Porter set out to define the term “competitiveness” in relation to the state. As a result of his research, the famous book "Competitive Advantages of Nations" was published, in which the problems of modern international competition were examined in detail.

The novelty of M. Porter's approach was that he proposed to consider the competitiveness of countries through the prism of the competitiveness of companies representing these countries in the world market. According to M. Porter, the competitiveness of an individual state is related to the productivity of the nation, i.e. with the efficient use of all available resources - raw materials, labor, capital. The degree of the state's welfare should be considered from the microeconomic level - the level of one single firm, since, in the final analysis, the country's GDP and national income are created by manufacturing companies.

M. Porter noted that even in the most prosperous countries, not all industries and not all companies can prosper at the same time. The success of the development of the national economy depends on the activities of a certain core of companies characterized by high international activity. Moreover, these firms, as a rule, in each country represent a fairly small range of sectors of the national economy.

Since, according to M. Porter, it is not the countries that are initially competitive, but the national companies of these countries, then in order to be successful in the competitive struggle, firms must have one of two advantages: have low production costs or differentiate the quality of the product based on a high level of prices. Competition in the global market forces companies to constantly compare their activities with the success of competitors. At the same time, the country's international specialization is associated with those spheres of the economy in which its national producers are most competitive.

International trade thus redistributes the products of the most competitive industries in different countries. At the same time, even in the states with the highest level of development, there will certainly be such sectors of the economy in which national producers are not competitive. Therefore, the country's specialization in the most effective and promising areas is becoming an important task. Less viable sectors of the national economy can either be moved abroad or replaced with imports. All of this will contribute to a healthy process of national economic prosperity.

M. Porter proposed a “competitive diamond” model reflecting the relationship between the determinants of national competitive advantage and its variables (Fig. 1.1). Why countries are doing well in any given area are answered by four general country characteristics that shape the environment in which local companies compete. The environment can help create competitive advantages, or it can prevent them from emerging. The four properties - the determinants of the model - are:

• factor conditions;
• domestic demand conditions;
• availability of related and service industries;
• structure and strategy of firms, intra-industry competition.

Rice. 1.1.

The four properties all together, as well as each of them separately, create the environment in which the firms of a given country operate. Let's consider each of the determinants in more detail.

• RoPeg M. The Competitive Advantage of Nations. N. Y.: Free Press, 1990 (translated as Porter A /. International competition. M .: International relations, 1993).