World organizations for solving economic issues. International economic organizations. International economic organizations and their role in the development of the world economy

International economic organizations (MEO) regulate the work of transnational corporations, draw up cooperation agreements, develop legal norms and simplify work in the global market.

The globalization of the economy and the emergence of new industries increases the number of international agreements and the specifics of cooperation between countries. International economic organizations (IEO) regulate the work of transnational corporations, draw up cooperation agreements, develop legal norms to make work on the world market easier and more profitable.

The number and composition of the MEO changes depending on the political situation, the specifics of the development of the global market and the goals of cooperation in the organization. For example, the UN was created to maintain peace at the end of World War II, but over time, the organization's powers have expanded significantly. IN organizational structure added dozens of specialized MEOs working under the auspices of the UN.

Varieties

Depending on the range of tasks to be solved, such associations of states are divided into universal and specialized.

• Specialized ones regulate certain areas of international activity: trade (WTO, UNCTAD), currency relations (IMF, EBRD), export of raw materials and materials (OPEC, MSST), agriculture (FAO).
• Universal organizations are large associations that contribute to development international relations in general, facilitate access to the global market. For example, OECD - Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation.

Depending on the international legal status, MEO are divided into interstate and non-governmental organizations.

• Interstate ones are formalized by agreements concluded between several countries (or their associations) to solve the established list of tasks. For example, the UN system includes dozens of specialized international organizations that issue legislation for member states.
• Non-governmental organizations are associations of countries that do not imply the conclusion of agreements between the authorities. This type of MEO pursues humanitarian goals (Committee of the Red Cross), investigates human rights violations (Committee for Oversight of Human Rights), fights against caesura (Committee Reporters without Borders), preserves cultural heritage (Committee Memorial).

Functions

All international organizations are created to form a single world market, adapted to national legislation and their specifics. Individual states or their associations can be the subjects (participants) of IEE, and economic relations become the objects (subjects of cooperation) of such organizations.

Depending on the legal status and the list of tasks to be solved, there are five main functions of the MEO.

• Solving problems that are urgent for all countries of the world: fighting hunger, epidemics, poverty, unemployment, ensuring stable economic development. Such issues are resolved by the UN and its specialized organizations, the World Bank Group, and the Eurasian Economic Union.
• Solving economic, legal and social problems relevant to the region. For example, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is financing structural changes in the economies of Central and Eastern Europe.
• Creation of comfortable conditions for doing business in a separate market segment. Such organizations unite several countries that produce one group of goods for the world market. For example, OPEC is an association of oil exporting states that coordinates the sale of raw materials and controls the price level on the market.
• Informal and semi-formal groupings that have been created by several countries to solve narrow problems. For example, the Paris Club of Creditors is a financial union of leading economies to settle debt payments of individual states.

Most MEOs are formed and develop as markets expand, national borders in trade disappear, and new industries are created. For example, the massive introduction of Internet technologies has led to the creation of the European Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data (GDPR) of the user.

International economic integration (MEI) has found practical embodiment in a number of integration associations of the world, which determine the state and prospects further development the world economy in general and international economic relations in particular. The concept of "integration", i.e. "restoration, replenishment". It means the state of connectedness of separate differentiated parts and functions of the system as a whole. This concept also means the process leading to this state. Therefore, international integration can be defined as an objective, deliberate process aimed at rapprochement, interpenetration and merging of national economies of different countries of the region.

Integration is, first of all, interstate regulation of economic interdependence, as well as the formation of a regional economic complex with a structure and proportions addressed to the needs of the region as a whole; a process that frees the movement of goods, services, capital and labor from national barriers, leading to the creation of a single internal market, which ensures an increase in labor productivity and an increase in the standard of living in the countries of this integration association. MPEI reached its greatest maturity in the economic space of the European continent. Integration process in Western Europe after the Second World War, it was initiated by political decisions taken at the level of the leadership of the leading countries of the European region.

Global financial crisis 2007 2011 plunged the global and regional integration process into a special phase of survival of practically all integration unions in the world, especially the European Union.

European Union. The starting point for the creation of the EU and the formation of a common European economic space should be considered the Paris statement of May 9, 1950 by French Foreign Minister R. Schumann, who proposed placing all coal and steel production in Western Europe under a common interethnic leadership.

A new impetus to European integration was given in 1957 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome, according to which two more associations were established - the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Thus, the Treaty of Rome united three communities: ECSC, EEC and Euratom into a single economic bloc, which until 1992 was called the European Economic Community, and then renamed the European Union.

In the European Union, since January 1, 1993, national mechanisms for monitoring intraregional ties have been eliminated. Economic expediency has become the criterion of international economic activity throughout the EU, therefore, within the EU, the concepts of "export" and "import" have lost all meaning.

Over the years of the existence and development of the EU, a single market for financial services has also been created. In the tax area, gradually, by overcoming various difficulties, the harmonization of taxes and taxation systems of the EU countries continues.

The most important component of European economic integration has become the monetary integration of the EU countries. Achievements in the formation of a single regional economic complex served as the objective basis for currency integration. The formation of a monetary union within the EU and the introduction of the single European currency into non-cash circulation since January 1999 demanded from the EU countries and its governing bodies both a theoretical understanding and a practical solution to the problems of international monetary integration carried out for the first time in the world.

For the successful development of economic integration inland, it was necessary to develop and constantly implement a common integration policy for all EU member states in the following areas of economic interaction.

Agrarian policy. Agriculture is one of the most important areas of EU policy. The overwhelming majority of all regulations and directives relate to agricultural problems, this sector is directly or indirectly allocated most of the EU budget. Agrarian policy is based on a single price system that guarantees the establishment of a single minimum price for many agricultural products of the EU countries.

Industrial policy. It can be defined, based on the economic policy of the EU as a whole, as a set of interrelated decisions of the governing bodies of the EU, striving, using various business development tools, to achieve quantitative and qualitative medium- or long-term goals for the European industry.

union as a whole. The effectiveness of industrial policy as such can only be ensured through its interaction with the entire range of measures of the EU integration policy, and its goals should be subordinated and coordinated with general and local goals in all other areas of EU economic activity. The purpose of industrial policy is to strengthen and update the industrial base of European states and change its structure to increase the share of domestic consumption of products of advanced industries through its own production and increase the competitiveness of industrial goods of the EU countries in world markets.

Foreign economic policy is one of the most important tools for influencing the state and dynamics of development of European industry. It is based on a reasonable combination of measures to remove obstacles to the free international exchange of goods, services and factors of production, and measures to protect EU internal producers.

Foreign trade policy at the current stage, it provides the national governments of the EU countries with the following opportunities:

• introduce import quotas for goods from third countries;
• conclude agreements on the so-called voluntary export restrictions (primarily with countries that have extremely low prices for textile and electronic products);
• use, by agreement, import quotas for trade in textile fibers;
• maintain special trade relations with the former colonies of Great Britain.

Competition Regulation Policy. Regulation of competition has become one of the most important directions of the EU integration policy. The formal aim of this policy is not only to remove barriers to exchange between member countries, but also to stimulate optimal resource allocation and create more competitive structures.

The main purpose of the EU competition policy is to remove public and private barriers to the development of open and free competition, which is extremely important for stimulating intercountry economic cooperation in the interests of international business.

Foreign exchange policy. When the EU was created, a desire was expressed to come to a common monetary policy. However, concrete steps in this direction were not taken at first. In addition, a single monetary policy determines the implementation of a single economic policy, which the member states could not dare to do in the early stages of the EU's formation. The first step towards creating a European monetary system was the introduction in 1971 of the European unit of account - the ecu. In 1999, the ECU was replaced by a new currency unit of the united Europe - the euro. In this regard, the European Central Bank was created, located in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). The transition of 12 EU countries to the euro significantly facilitated the conduct of international business both within the EU and outside it. In 2015, the euro is used as the official currency in 19 European countries.

Regional policy. In the process of Western European integration in the 1990s. the role of regional policy... Now we are talking about the creation of a fundamentally new entity - "Europe of Regions", which is gradually moving towards the federal mud of the supranational system.

Expansion of the European Union to the East. Since 2004, the European Union has entered a qualitatively new stage in its development, and in 2004, 2007 and 2013. the number of its members expanded at the expense of the states of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Southern Europe and the Baltic States from 15 to 28. Given the accompanying geopolitical factors, such an event can be compared in importance with the creation of the Common Market itself over 40 years ago.

From 1957 to 2013, the European Union went through seven stages of expansion. The new quality of the last three stages is determined primarily by the fact that the countries that were building a socialist society 10 years ago joined the EU. Some of them (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) were part of the former USSR and directly interacted in the economic sphere with Russia, which is nearby geographically and provides them with financial, scientific, and logistical support. Since 2007, Bulgaria and Romania have been admitted to the EU, and since 2013 - Croatia.

The enlargement of the EU to the East will also have positive and negative consequences for Russia in the short and long term.

Note that 2009 was marked by the adoption of the Lisbon Act (treaty), which provides for a radical restructuring of the EU governance structure (introduction of the post of EU President, EU Foreign Minister and other changes). In the years of the current financial and economic crisis, the European Union has to take strenuous measures for anti-crisis regulation of the economies of a number of EU countries (Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal) with a single European currency - the euro. Despite the differences and differences of allies' opinions on ways and methods of solving the problems that have arisen, the leading EU countries (France and Germany) manage to contain the onslaught of crisis outbursts and keep the European ship "EU" afloat.

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). Integration process in North America has been developing for several decades, but the political institutions that contribute to the formation of this process have spread relatively recently. This is due to the fact that the main initiator of the integration process in North America is the United States with an exceptionally high level of economic development (US GDP amounted to $ 16.7 trillion in 2013). Until the end of the 1980s. The United States did not feel the need to conclude agreements with any countries.

The agreement on the creation of a free trade zone between the United States, Canada and Mexico represents a new stage in the development of international economic relations on the North American continent. This tripartite agreement had as its goal the formation of a single economic space by abolishing customs barriers between states, ensuring free movement of goods, services, capital and labor across their borders. The effectiveness of the Agreement can only be revealed after two decades, which is primarily due to the scale of the US economy compared to Canada and Mexico. IN last years In general, there is an increase in exports and imports between the United States and Mexico, there is an increase in employment and income levels in the NAFTA countries, and an increase in labor productivity is observed. In addition, there is a transfer of part of the business from the United States to Mexico with the simultaneous migration of labor from Mexico to the United States. All this can be explained to some extent by the positive impact of the formation of NAFTA on international economic cooperation in the North American continent.

Integration associations of Latin America. Integration in Latin America led to the creation in 1960 of the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAST). In 1980, LAST was reorganized into the Latin American Integration Association (LAI). Then the states of Latin America began to move from the practice of creating multilateral associations to organizing small groups. One of them is the Common Market (MERCOSUR) established in 1995 between Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Later, Paraguay joined MERCOSUR, and then Venezuela. In MERCOSUR, 95% of mutual trade is free of duties, and in the near future it is planned to abolish the remaining tariffs.

Thanks to the creation of MERCOSUR, there has been a significant increase in internal trade between the countries participating in this association, interaction with other interaction associations has increased (for example, in 1995 a Cooperation Agreement with the EU was signed), investment activity of both the parties to the Agreement and third countries has increased. In addition, a preliminary agreement was signed on the establishment of a free trade area between MERCOSUR and the South African Development Community.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Since the 1980s. The Asia-Pacific Region (APR) is attracting more and more attention from international business as an area of \u200b\u200bdynamic economic growth.

ASEAN is an international integration association formed on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok. It includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, then Brunei Darussalam (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos and Myanmar (1997), Cambodia (1999). Papua New Guinea has special observer status. ASEAN is one of the world's largest integration associations, with a total population of about 636 million people, and the aggregate GDP of the ASEAN countries reaches $ 3.8 trillion (2013).

In the economic sphere, the countries of the Association are pursuing a line on economic integration and liberalization in the region on the basis of the Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the Framework Agreement on the ASEAN Investment Zone and the Basic Agreement on the Industrial Cooperation Scheme. In accordance with the long-term development program of ASEAN, developed by an expert group consisting of leading politicians and scientists, military leaders and businessmen, it is envisaged to achieve a level of higher integration in ASEAN than in the European Union, i.e. full integration of the state banking sector, the armed forces and police, foreign policy and scientific and technological departments and other governing bodies.

Russia is showing a special interest in cooperation with the ASEAN bloc, as well as the ASEAN countries in partnership with our country in the most different areas... This was confirmed by the first ever Russia-ASEAN summit held on December 13, 2005 in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The main result of this summit was the signing of the Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between Russia and the ASEAN Member States, which includes, as an integral part, the Comprehensive Program of Action for the Development of Cooperation for 2006-2015. in the political, economic, military-technical and cultural fields.

At the same summit, the question of creating a new inter-country organization - East Asian Cooperation, or, as it is also called, Club 16 - was raised.

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

Rather active efforts are being made to develop international cooperation within the framework of the APEC forum, formed in November 1989. At the initial stage, it functioned as a ministerial meeting. Since 1993, regular meetings of heads of state and government have been held. Currently, 21 countries are participating in the forum: Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong (as a special zone of China), Indonesia, Canada, China, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Republic of China, Russia, Singapore, USA, Thailand, Philippines, Chile, Japan. Thus, it represents countries with a very significant and growing economic potential.

But its character, goals, and even the composition of APEC participants looks rather atypical. This economic association was created by states that differ greatly among themselves in terms and levels of economic development, structures of economies, traditions, ideology and even psychology of people. However, developed and developing countries cooperate here as equal partners. More than 2.5 billion people live in the APEC member countries, the total GDP of these countries exceeds $ 26 trillion. They account for more than 50% of world trade.

Russia traditionally attaches special importance to the development of relations with the APR states. Such attention is due to the direct belonging of our country to this dynamically developing region, the need for the economic recovery of Siberia and Of the Far East... Russia is seeking to intensify its cooperation with the main integration structures of the region, including APEC. At the APEC summit held in November 2009 in Singapore, the heads of 21 APEC member countries signed and announced a Declaration, which indicated their intention to create in the near future a free trade zone in the Pacific economic space from Chile to China.

CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)... After the collapse of the USSR, young states began to feel acutely the insufficient development of the productive forces, the growing dependence of their economies on the West. By joining forces in the fight against the unequal division of labor, former republics The USSR is striving for fairer economic relations. After the collapse of the USSR, the Commonwealth of Independent States - CIS was called upon to solve these new problems.

A very important integrating factor within the CIS is considered to be the existence of a jointly created, unified and integral infrastructure (transport, energy, communication systems). Violation of the unity of the infrastructure that existed in the USSR excludes the possibility of its effective exploitation for each of the states of the post-Soviet space. Of great importance are the fixed assets created according to uniform technical and economic conditions and state standards, the general system of training specialists and scientific personnel in all spheres of the economy. One of the main integrating factors remains the need to restore and develop closer trade and economic cooperation within the CIS.

The lack of realization of the potential for mutual cooperation is one of the main reasons for the low share of the CIS in the main indicators of the world's leading integration associations.

TO early XXI in. The CIS failed to fundamentally solve many vital tasks, including the organization of qualitatively new economic relations between sovereign states, the formation and preservation of a common economic space.

In October 2000, in Astana (Kazakhstan), the Presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), which is not only a form of legal and organizational registration of the unification of five states, but also the basis for the translation of their interstate cooperation to a new level. The community was formed on the basis of the experience of cooperation accumulated by partners in the trade, economic, social and humanitarian fields and the previously developed regulatory and legal framework. The goals of the EurAsEC were proclaimed: effective promotion of the process of strengthening the Customs Union and the common economic space, implementation of other tasks defined in the basic documents previously signed by the parties.

The EurAsEC existed from 2001 to 2014 and, in general, positively contributed to the formation of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space of the participating countries. The EurAsEC was liquidated due to the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union (ELES) as part of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia (August 12, 2015.

kyrgyzstan joined it). The Treaty on the EAEU provides that it ensures freedom of movement of goods, services, capital, labor, as well as the implementation of a single, agreed or coordinated policy in various sectors of the economy.

So, the intercountry integration associations formed in different years of the last century in the regional economic spaces of the five continents of the world in the XXI century. continue to develop and strengthen their political and economic positions. As they grow in quantity and quality, their role in the new global economy of the current century will also grow. Countries that are members of one of the integration unions will find it easier to jointly overcome the global financial and economic crises.

The increasing complexity of the issues to be resolved in everyday international life necessitates a prompt solution with the help of an institutional mechanism. International economic organizations (IEEs) are such a mechanism.

International government organizations - these are international organizations, members of which are states and which are established on the basis of relevant treaties to fulfill certain goals.

These organizations have a system of permanent bodies and have international legal personality (the ability to have rights, responsibilities).

The following types of MEO are distinguished:

1. Interstate universal organizations, the purpose and subject of which are of interest to all states of the world.

This is primarily the UN system, which includes the UN and the UN specialized agencies, which are independent IEEs. Among them are the IMF, IBRD, WTO, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development).

2. Interstate organizations of a regional and interregional nature, which are created by states to address various issues, incl. economic and financial. For example, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

3. MEO operating in certain segments of the world market.

In this case, they most often act in the form of commodity organizations uniting a circle of countries. For example, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, 1960), International Tin Agreement (1956), International Agreements on Cocoa, Coffee, International Agreement on Textiles (MSTT, 1974).

4. MEO, represented by semi-formal associations of the "seven" type (USA, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy).

5. Various trade and economic, monetary and financial and credit, industry and specialized economic and scientific and technical organizations.

UN - United Nations , created in 1945. The UN system consists of the United Nations with its principal and subsidiary organs, 18 specialized agencies, The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a number of programs, boards and commissions.

UN goals:

Maintaining international peace and security through effective collective action and the peaceful settlement of disputes;

Development of friendly relations between nations based on respect for the principles of equality and self-determination of peoples;

Ensuring international cooperation in resolving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and promoting human rights.

WTO - World Trade Organization. It began to operate on 01.01.1995, is the successor to the one that operated since 1947. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is the only legal and institutional framework for the World Trade Organization. The fundamental principles of the WTO are:

Providing most favored nation treatment in trade on a non-discriminatory basis;

Mutual provision of national treatment for goods and services of foreign origin;

Regulation of trade mainly by tariff methods;

Refusal to use quantitative restrictions;

Promoting fair competition;

Settlement of trade disputes through consultation.

World Bank Group. The World Bank is a multilateral lending institution, consisting of 5 closely related institutions, the common goal of which is to improve living standards in developing countries through financial assistance from developed countries.

1. IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) was founded in 1945, the goal is to provide loans to relatively wealthy developing countries.

2. MAP ( International Association Development) was founded in 1960, with the goal of providing soft loans to the poorest developing countries.

3. IFC (International Finance Corporation) was established in 1956, the goal is to promote economic growth in developing countries by supporting the private sector.

4. MIGA (International Investment Guarantee Agency) was founded in 1988 with the aim of encouraging foreign investment in developing countries by providing guarantees to foreign investors against losses caused by non-commercial risks.

5. ICSID ( International Center for the settlement of investment disputes) was established in 1966. Objective: to facilitate an increase in international investment flows by providing arbitration and dispute settlement services to governments and foreign investors; consulting, research, information on investment legislation.

IMF - International Monetary Fund. Created in 1945.

Maintaining common system calculations;

Monitoring the state of the international monetary system;

Promoting the stability of exchange rates;

Providing short-term and medium-term loans;

Providing advice and participation in cooperation.

Each state, joining the IMF, contributes a certain amount - a subscription quota (a richer country contributes a larger quota and has a large number of votes). To provide financial support to its members, the IMF uses the following mechanisms:

1. Conventional mechanisms:

Tranche policy (loans in the form of shares constituting 25% of the quota of a given country);

Extended financing facility (lending over 3 years to overcome balance of payments difficulties).

2. Special mechanisms:

Lending in case of unforeseen circumstances (for example, an increase in prices for imported grain);

Financing of buffer stocks (credit to replenish stocks of raw materials).

3. Emergency assistance (in the form of purchasing goods in order to resolve balance of payments problems).

Question 61 International economic organizations

Answer

The largest international economic organizations include: the economic divisions of the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Customs Organization (ITO), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Labor Organization (ILO), etc. Brief data on organizations of this type, see table. 22.

Table 22.International economic organizations

The main economic body of the UN is ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council), which coordinates economic activity states belonging to the United Nations. In addition, the UN system operates:

United Nations Conference on Trade and Tariffs (UNCTAD);

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO);

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO);

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO);

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The main task of UNCTAD ( United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)(Fig. 37) is the promotion of international trade for accelerated economic development.

Figure: 37. UNCTAD logo

UNIDO ( United Nations Industrial Development Organization)(Fig. 38) promotes industrial development and accelerates the industrialization of developing countries, as well as coordinates UN activities in the field of industrial development.

WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)promotes the protection of intellectual property; drafting and concluding agreements on legal and administrative aspects of intellectual property; coordinates national legislation in the field of intellectual property protection, etc.

WTO ( World Trade Organization)(Fig. 39) was founded in 1947 (the original name is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the current name is from 1995) by 23 states.

Figure: 38. UNIDO logo

Among the main goals of the WTO are:

1) the gradual elimination of customs restrictions on trade;

2) elimination of discrimination in international trade;

3) elimination of unemployment, increase in real incomes, etc.

Figure: 39. WTO emblem

The ILO's main goal is (International Labor Organization)sees in the unification of the rules of the game in the field of customs barriers, as well as in promoting the progress of international trade relations.

ICC (International Chamber of Commerce)(Fig. 40) unites not states, but unions of entrepreneurs and individual firms (a member of the organization is the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation). The Chamber protects the private business system, promotes capital migration and the development of international trade.

Figure: 40. ICC emblem

Like the ICC, The ILOwas created in 1919. Of course, the ILO is committed to eliminating unemployment and ensuring full employment; tries to achieve respect for human rights; monitors compliance with international labor safety standards. In recent years, Russia has become a member of many of the largest organizations, in addition, it claims to join some that have not yet been covered by its participation. For example, Russian Federation is negotiating to join the World Trade Organization.