It does not belong to the forms of economic integration. The essence and main forms of economic integration. Types and types of integration

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

Reasons and forms of development of international economic integration.

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

The rapid growth of economic integration blocks reflects the development of the international division of labor and international industrial cooperation.

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

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

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

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

The internationalization of production is taking place simultaneously both at the global level and at the level of individual regions. To stimulate this objective process, special supranational economic organizations are being created to regulate the world economy and take over part of the economic sovereignty from national states.

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

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

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

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

Development stages of integration groups.

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

free trade Area,
Customs Union,
Common Market,
economic union and
political union.

At each of these stages, certain economic barriers (differences) between the countries that have entered the integration union are eliminated. As a result, a single market space is being formed within the boundaries of the integration block, all participating countries benefit from increasing the efficiency of firms and reducing government spending on customs control.

Table 1. Stages of development of regional economic integration

Table 1. STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
Steps	The essence	Examples of
1. Free trade zone	Abolition of customs duties in trade between countries - members of the integration group	EEC in 1958-1968 EFTA since 1960 NAFTA since 1988 MERCOSUR since 1991
2. Customs Union	Unification of customs duties in relation to third countries	EEC in 1968-1986 MERCOSUR since 1996
3. Common market	Liberalization of the movement of resources (capital, labor, etc.) between the countries - members of the integration group	EEC in 1987-1992
4. Economic Union	Coordination and unification of the internal economic policies of the participating countries, including the transition to a single currency	EU since 1993
5. Political union	Conducting a common foreign policy	There are no examples yet

First created free trade Area- reduced internal customs duties in trade between the participating countries. Countries voluntarily refuse to protect their national markets in relations with their partners within the framework of this association, but in relations with third countries they act not collectively, but individually. While maintaining its economic sovereignty, each member of the free trade zone sets its own external tariffs in trade with countries that do not participate in this integration association. Usually, the creation of a free trade zone begins with bilateral agreements between two closely cooperating countries, which are then joined by new partner countries (as it was in NAFTA: first, the US-Canada agreement, to which Mexico then joined). Most of the existing economic integration unions are at this very initial stage.

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

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

The third stage in the development of integration associations is Common Market. Now, the elimination of restrictions on the movement of various factors of production from country to country - investments (capital), workers, information (patents and know-how) - is added to the minimization of internal duties. This enhances the economic interdependence of the countries - members of the integration association. The freedom of movement of resources requires a high organizational level of intergovernmental coordination. The Common Market is established in the EU; NAFTA approaches him.

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

As the economic union develops in the countries, preconditions for the highest stage of regional integration may arise - political union... We are talking about the transformation of a single market space into an integral economic and political organism. With the transition from an economic union to a political one, a new multinational subject of world economic and international political relations appears, which acts from a position that expresses the interests and political will of all participants in these unions. In fact, a new large federal state is being created. So far, there is not a single regional economic bloc of such a high level of development, but the EU, which is sometimes called the "United States of Europe", has come closest to it.

Prerequisites and results of integration processes.

Why in some cases (like in the EU) the integration bloc turned out to be strong and stable, while in others (like in CMEA) it didn’t? The success of regional economic integration is determined by a number of factors, both objective and subjective.

First, it is necessary to have the same (or similar) levels of economic development of the integrating countries. Typically, international economic integration occurs either between industrialized countries or between developing countries. The unification of countries of very different types in one integration block is quite rare, such situations usually have a purely political background (for example, the unification of the industrially developed countries of Eastern Europe - like the GDR and Czechoslovakia - with the agrarian countries of Asia - like Mongolia and Vietnam) and end “ divorce ”of dissimilar partners. More stable is the integration of highly developed countries with newly industrialized countries (USA and Mexico in NAFTA, Japan and Malaysia in APEC).

Secondly, all participating countries should not only be close in economic and socio-political order, but also have a sufficiently high level of economic development. After all, the effect of economies of scale is noticeable mainly in high-tech industries. That is why, in the first place, the integration associations of the highly developed countries of the "core" are successful, while the "peripheral" alliances are unstable. Underdeveloped countries are more interested in economic contacts with more developed partners than with the same as themselves.

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

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

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

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

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

It is interesting to note examples of "overlapping integration": one country can be a member of several integration blocs at once. For example, the United States is a member of NAFTA and APEC, and Russia is a member of APEC and EurAsEC. Inside large blocks, small ones are kept (like the Benelux in the EU). All this is a prerequisite for the convergence of the conditions of regional associations. The negotiations between the regional blocs are aimed at the same prospect of the gradual development of regional integration into international internationalization. Thus, in the 1990s, a draft agreement on a transatlantic free trade area, TAFTA, was put forward, which would connect NAFTA and the EU.

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

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

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

The main modern integration groupings of developed countries.

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

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

Western European integration was initiated by the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1951 and entered into force in 1953 European Coal and Steel Community(ECSC). In 1957, the Treaty of Rome was signed establishing European Economic Community(EEC), which entered into force in 1958. In the same year, European Atomic Energy Community(Euratom). Thus, the Treaty of Rome united three large Western European organizations - ECSC, EEC and Euratom. Since 1993 the European Economic Community has been renamed the European Union (EU), reflecting the increased integration of the member states in the name change.

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

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

Table 3. RATIO OF FORCES IN THE EEC AND EFTA, 1960
EEC			EFTA
Country			Country	National income (billions of dollars)	National income per capita (USD)
FRG	51,6	967	United Kingdom	56,7	1082
France	39,5*	871*	Sweden	10,9	1453
Italy	25,2	510	Switzerland	7,3	1377
Holland	10,2	870	Denmark	4,8	1043
Belgium	9,4	1000	Austria	4,5	669
Luxembourg	9,4	1000	Norway	3,2*	889
			Portugal	2,0	225
TOTAL	135,9	803		89,4	1011
* Data is given as of 1959. Compiled from: Yudanov Yu.I. Competition for markets in Western Europe... M., 1962

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

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

The success of the EEC made it a center of gravity for other Western European countries (Table 4). It is important to note that most of the EFTA countries (first Great Britain and Denmark, then Portugal, in 1995, 3 countries at once) “crossed over” to the EEC from the EFTA, thereby proving the advantages of the first grouping over the second. In fact, the EFTA turned out to be a kind of launching pad for the majority of its members for accession to the EEC / EU.

Stage three Western European integration, 1987–1992, was marked by the creation of a common market. According to the 1986 Single European Act, the formation of a single market in the EEC was planned as "a space without internal borders, in which the free movement of goods, services, capital and civilians is ensured." For this, it was supposed to eliminate border customs posts and passport control, unify technical standards and taxation systems, and conduct mutual recognition of educational certificates. As the world economy was booming, all these measures were implemented rather quickly.

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

Fourth stage Western European integration, the development of an economic union, began in 1993 and continues to this day. Its main achievements were the transition to a single Western European currency, the euro, which was completed in 2002, and the introduction since 1999, according to the Schengen Convention, of a single visa regime. In the 1990s, negotiations began on "eastward enlargement" - the admission of ex-socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the Baltic states to the EU. As a result, 10 countries joined the EU in 2004, increasing the number of members of this integration group to 25. Membership in APEC in these years also expanded: by 1997 there were already 21 countries, including Russia.

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

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

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

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

Table 5. COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS EU, NAFTA and APEC
Specifications	EU (since 1958)	NAFTA (since 1988)	APEC (since 1989)
Number of countries at the beginning of the 2000s	16	3	21
Integration level	Economic union	Free trade Area	Formation of a free trade zone
Distribution of forces within the block	Polycentricity with overall German leadership	Monocentricity (USA is the absolute leader)	Polycentricity with Japan's General Leadership
The degree of heterogeneity of the participating countries	Lowest	Average	Highest
Development of supranational government bodies	The system of supranational government bodies (EU Council, European Commission, European Parliament, etc.)	There are no special supranational governing bodies	Supranational governing bodies already exist, but do not play a big role
Share in world exports in 1997	40%	17%	42% (excluding NAFTA countries - 26%)

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

Integration groupings of developing countries.

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

Table 6. The largest modern regional integration organizations of developing countries

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

The first wave of bloc formation took place in the 1960s – 1970s, when “self-reliance” seemed to the underdeveloped countries the most effective tool for countering “imperialist enslavement” by the developed countries. Since the main prerequisites for unification were of a subjective-political and not an objective-economic nature, most of these integration blocs turned out to be stillborn. In the future, trade relations between them either weakened or froze at a rather low level.

In this sense, the fate of the East African Community: over the next 10 years, domestic exports fell in Kenya from 31 to 12%, in Tanzania from 5 to 1%, so that by 1977 the community collapsed (in 1993 it was restored, but without much effect). The fate of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), created in 1967, turned out to be the best: although it did not manage to increase the share of mutual trade, this share is stably kept at a fairly high level. It is especially noteworthy that by the 1990s, finished products began to dominate in the mutual trade of the countries of Southeast Asia, rather than raw materials, which is typical for groupings of developed countries, but in the "third world" it is still the only example.

A new wave of creation of integration blocs began in the Third World in the 1990s. The era of "romantic expectations" is over, now economic alliances have begun to be created on a more pragmatic basis. An indicator of an increase in "realism" is the tendency towards a decrease in the number of countries participating in integration blocs - it is more convenient to manage economic rapprochement, of course, in small groups, where there are fewer differences between partners and it is easier to achieve agreement between them. The most successful block of the "second generation" was the Common Market of the Southern Cone Countries (MERCOSUR), founded in 1991.

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

Integration groupings of socialist and transitional countries.

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

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

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

In theory, national economies were supposed to appear in the CMEA as constituent parts of a single world socialist economy. But the market integration mechanism turned out to be blocked - this was hindered by the foundations of the state-monopoly system of the economy of the socialist countries, which did not allow the development of independent ties of enterprises horizontally even within one country, which hindered the free movement of financial resources, labor, goods and services. A purely administrative mechanism of integration, relying not on profit, but on obedience to the order, was possible, but its development was opposed by the "fraternal" socialist republics, which did not at all want to be completely subordinated to the interests of the USSR. Therefore, already in the 1960s – 1970s, the positive development potential of the CMEA was exhausted, later on, the trade turnover of the countries of Eastern Europe with the USSR and with each other began to gradually decline, and with the West, on the contrary, to grow (Table 8).

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

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

The collapse of CMEA in 1991 showed that the thesis of Soviet propaganda about the integration of national socialist economies into a single whole did not stand the test of time. In addition to purely political factors, the main reason for the collapse of the CMEA was the same reasons due to which most of the integration groupings of the Third World countries do not function: by the time of their entry onto the socialist path, most countries had not reached the high stage of industrial maturity that presupposes formation of internal incentives for integration. The socialist countries of Eastern Europe used their participation in the CMEA to stimulate their economic development mainly through material assistance from the USSR - in particular, through the supply of cheap (in comparison with world prices) raw materials. When the government of the USSR tried to introduce payment for goods into the CMEA not at conditional, but at real world prices, in the conditions of a weakened political diktat, the former Soviet satellites preferred to refuse to participate in the CMEA. They created their own economic union in 1992, Central European Free Trade Agreement(CEFTA), and started EU accession negotiations.

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

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

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

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

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

Thus, in the post-Soviet economic space, there are both factors of attraction (first of all, interest in sales markets for goods that are not highly competitive in the West) and factors of repulsion (economic inequality of participants, differences in their political systems, the desire to get rid of the "hegemonism" of large and strong countries, reorient to a more promising world market). Only the future will show whether the integration ties inherited from the Soviet era will continue to wither away or whether new foundations for economic cooperation will be found.

Latov Yuri

Literature:

Daniels John D., Radeba Lee H. International business: external environment and business operations, ch. 10.M., 1994
Semenov K.A. ... M., Yurist-Gardarika, 2001
Shishkov Yu.V. Integration processes on the threshold of the XXI century. Why the CIS countries are not integrating... M., 2001
Kharlamova V.N. International economic integration... Tutorial. M., Ankil, 2002
E. Krylatykh, O. Strokova Regional trade agreements within the WTO and the agricultural market of the CIS... - World economy and international relations. 2003, no. 3

In news feeds or news broadcasts, the word “integration” can often be heard, usually in the context of an economic or political event or situation. It is quite densely included in our lexicon, but at the same time its meaning is not clear to everyone. This article will help answer the question of what integration is. In addition, you will be able to fill knowledge gaps and better understand what is happening in the political and economic Olympus.

What is Integration?

The Latin word "integration" means the process of combining different parts into a single whole. At the same time, depending on the context of the use of this term, the definition is specified and supplemented. In the economic context, integration is the process of active convergence, merging and mutual adaptation of national economic systems. They tend to self-regulation and self-development on the basis of political and economic agreements agreed between states.

International level

International economic integration consists of a number of criteria that ultimately determine its essence:

It is probable only between countries that are close to each other in social and ideological structure, have political compatibility of systems and comparability in terms of economic level of development.
International economic integration is effective and even more successful only at an equally high level of development of productive forces, that is, it is possible between developed countries.
It has its own internal logical sequence of activities, since the various components of integration are closely interconnected and interdependent.
It is managed and directed at the highest level - interstate and intergovernmental.

European version

European integration has a fairly long history, where the search for an optimal path for the development and formation of a united Europe has been carried out for several decades. So far, it has not yet been found, since the countries trying to unite have very heterogeneous processes, which makes integration difficult. Let's consider what integration is in a European way.

The longest, on a large scale and with global processes, integration began in Western Europe back in 1958. The formation of the European Economic Community (EEC) marked the beginning of the creation of the European Union (EU), the purpose of which was to form a single economic and financial market. And in 2002, European integration continued with the creation of a single union currency, which led to a more complex stage of integration - political.

Integration signs

There are a number of signs by which it is possible to classify the changes taking place in the country as prerequisites for integration or the immediate beginning of this process:

Interweaving and penetration into other areas of production processes.
Profound changes in the economic structure in the countries participating in the integration.
Necessary and targeted management of merger processes.
The emergence in connection with this factor of various structures at the interstate level.

Forms of integration

The forms (or stages) of integration have several levels. First of all, as a rule, a free trade market is formed, aimed at a gradual reduction and further abandonment of customs duties and payments between the participating countries in terms of mutual trade in various goods. The second stage is the creation of a customs union, which implies mutual duty-free trade relations and a single foreign trade tariff in relations with countries that are not united by integration.

The third stage is the creation of a single market. This means free trade and production processes within the integration countries, as well as the creation of a centralized governing body. The goal is a single market as one state, where there is free and unimpeded movement of goods, services, labor and capital. At the fourth stage, an economic union is created, then a currency union. A unified policy is being pursued in relation to the economy, finance, the currency of the integration participants, as well as citizenship.

Integration conditions

There are a number of conditions under which integration can be not only possible, but also successful:

The economies of the uniting countries should be at approximately the same level.
All countries of the union should be at the stage of growth: economic, political, cultural, and so on.
There is a need for political decision-making at the level of the governments of the participating countries.
It is desirable to have a close territorial disposition of powers, common borders.
It is necessary to decide on the state-leader in the association.

Development

There are a number of factors influencing the development and acceleration of the integration processes. These include:

openness and transparency of the national economies of countries striving for integration;
division of labor at the international level;
dynamic development of the global infrastructure and market;
production going beyond the borders of your country and its optimization at the world level;
strengthening and redistribution of financial flows;
migration flows of labor;
international development of the scientific and technical sector;
creation and development of international systems for the management of transport, communications and information.

All of the above factors stimulate the stages of the merger and contribute to the transition of the merger to a fundamentally new level of quality. Integration and development together increase competition, lead to an increase in scale, progression of specialization and cooperation of production, which, in turn, contribute to economic recovery.

Advantages and disadvantages

Despite the fact that the implementation of integration processes carries a lot of positive factors for the national economies of the uniting member countries, there are also negative aspects. The most common integration problems are as follows:

The processes of convergence and merger are held back due to the incomplete and weak complementation of the economies of the participating countries.
Infrastructure is developing unevenly.
There is a difference in economic levels and, accordingly, in the potential for further development.
Instability of the political system is possible in at least one participating country.

Facing such obstacles on the path of integration, the countries delay the processes of unification for many years, which cannot have a positive effect on their economies and leads to negative consequences. What is integration for countries with less developed economic sectors? It leads to an outflow of various resources and their redistribution towards more stable members of the coalition. In addition, the increase in production within the framework of the integration association carries a delayed effect of losses from the increase in scale. There is a risk of collusion between the participating countries for a certain segment of the market for goods, which will undoubtedly lead to an increase in prices for them.

The advantages of integration processes include an increase in the size of the market for free trade, which, in turn, leads to competition between countries. This gives impetus to provide better conditions for trade, as a result of which infrastructure is improved and the latest world technologies are also actively disseminated.

Integration examples

There are a lot of them in the world. Let's give an example of the largest, well-known and most successful associations:

The content of the concept of "integration"

Recently, very often we come across such a term as "integration". Translated from Latin, this word means "union". It is often used in a variety of contexts. You can find messages about the integration of sciences, integrated lessons, about the integration of political forces and organizations. Literally, it means pooling resources and capabilities to achieve specific goals.

Integration means not just unification, but the creation of a single whole from disparate components. The integration of sciences leads to the emergence of new scientific branches: biophysics; biogeography; zoopsychology, sociometry, etc.

Political integration leads to the creation of political alliances. These can be both intrastate political associations (for example, the merger of parties) and international alliances up to the unification of states (United Arab Emirates, United Arab Republic, etc.).

Features of economic integration

Economic integration developed on the basis of the territorial division of labor, specialization and production cooperation. It involves the unification of disparate enterprises and economic organizations into a single economic complex. Integration processes can take place at the national level. Then a single national economic complex is formed.

The international level of integration presupposes the rapprochement of the national economies of different countries. It is accompanied by the convergence of the regulatory framework of the participating countries, their educational and cultural sphere. In the future, it is possible to unite financial systems as well. International economic integration is the highest level of development of the world economy.

Definition 1

World economic integration is a set of processes of economic and political unification of states of approximately the same level of development based on the formation of stable relationships and international territorial (geographical) division of labor, deepening interaction between enterprises and organizations of these states.

Forms of international integration

The interaction of subjects of international economic activity takes place in various forms. The subjects of economic integration are enterprises, individuals, private and state organizations that can carry out international economic activity, scientific and technical cooperation and exchange. The objects of international integration are goods and services, labor and financial resources.

The forms of international integrative processes can be considered:

elimination of obstacles (barriers) in the movement of goods and resources between the participating countries;
convergence of the markets of the participating countries and the formation of a single market;
convergence of the economies of countries up to their complete merger;
elimination of any discrimination of partners in national economies.

According to other sources, the following forms of international economic integration are distinguished:

creation of a free trade zone;
formation of a customs union with the establishment of a single foreign trade tariff, pursuing a single foreign trade policy;
formation of a common market for all types of resources and goods, coordination of the economic policies of the participating countries;
the creation of a monetary and economic union with a unified economic and monetary and financial policy, the formation of a unified regulatory framework.

Remark 1

The latter form is the most complex type of integration. The next step may already be the merger (unification) of the participating states into a single state.

In addition, several models of integration are distinguished: Western European, North American, Latin American, Asia-Pacific, the integration of the CIS countries, the integration of developing countries.

General concepts of economic integration

Definition 1

Economic integration is cooperation between countries that leads to general economic interaction at all levels.

At the interstate level, integration processes take place through the merger of regional associations, subject to the coordination of domestic and foreign economic policies.

The general interaction of national economic entities is manifested in the stage-by-stage creation of a "common market". The common market helps to increase the processes of commodity exchange and movement of resources between all countries.

The result of the international division of labor and international production is the development of the international community.

The main forms of development of economic integration

The great growth of economic integration is reflected in the stages of division of labor and production cooperation.

Definition 2

The division of labor is a system that is based on the fact that some countries are independently engaged in the production of certain products, in the quantity and the products that are necessary for their internal use. All other products, they purchase in other countries.

International cooperation is based on interaction between countries. This process is based on the joint production of one type of product between countries that participate in economic integration.

The internationalization of production processes occurs simultaneously, both at the state level and at the level of individual regions.

For this, separate committees are being created to deal with issues of economic development of the state.

Remark 1

The main organizations involved in economic development are the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund.

Main types of economic integration

The main types of integration processes include:

free trade zone;
Customs Union;
Common Market;
economic union;
political union.

A free trade zone is one of the types of integration processes in which the process of canceling customs duties and other taxes, as well as quantitative restrictions on the import or export of products, takes place.

The customs union is based on the abolition of the national customs tariff between the member countries, and the use of one common tariff.

The common market is one of the types of integration, thanks to which the countries of the community agree on the possibility of moving across their border not only a certain type of product, but also factors of production.

An economic union is a type of economic integration, which is based on the unification of legislation in the main areas of the economy. There is a free movement of goods and objects across the border.

The political union is based on the principles of full interaction between all countries. There is a joint trade in all groups of goods and services.

International economic integration is a certain type of the current stage in the development of the world economy.

The international economy is the reunification of the economies of different countries into a single whole, which is based on solid economic ties between all participants in the process.

Remark 2

Further development of international integration will lead to the unification of all branches of government.

All integration processes lead to economic development. As a result, individual countries create favorable conditions for trade, movement of labor and capital.

At each stage, economic barriers are established between the participating countries. The result is a single market space.

At the macro level, i.e. at the level of interstate (intergovernmental) agreements, a common strategy for the economic and political development of countries arises, based on the development of common rules for movement. Real integration is a combination of market (spontaneous) mechanisms for the formation of a single economic space with targeted actions of the state.

Reasons and prerequisites for integration processes

Integration processes primarily cover countries that are territorially included in one region. The economic unification of countries means the formation of regional economic blocs - the regionalization of the world economy. As a rule, not only geographic proximity is necessary, but also economic, cultural, religious, and ethnic similarities.

The same level of socio-economic development... The main prerequisite for the real integration of countries is approximately the same, the compatibility of economic mechanisms, socio-economic and legal homogeneity (homogeneity). The main macroeconomic indicators - growth rates, its sectoral structure, level and - should not differ significantly. This is why integration is most effective. The association of poor or rich and poor countries does not allow the implementation of joint projects on a parity (equal) basis.

Complementarity of the economies of neighboring countries... The second most important prerequisite is the complementarity of the economies of neighboring countries. It manifests itself primarily in the diversity of the export structures of integrating countries. Countries trading the same goods cannot really integrate.

Political will... The third prerequisite is the presence of political will, leaders who develop and implement the integration process at the state level.

The prerequisites include the so-called demonstration effect, when the success of integration stimulates other countries to enter the economic bloc. The same applies to the “domino effect” - the more countries are included in the integration group and increase intraregional trade, the more difficulties third countries outside the group experience. This pushes them towards integration.

It is customary to measure the intensity of integration ties by indicators such as:

the share of intraregional exports or imports (goods turnover) to the total GNP of the region (in%);
the share of intraregional trade in the total foreign trade turnover of integrated countries (in%);
the volume of mutual foreign direct investment () within the integration group compared to FDI of member countries in third countries (in%);
the number and scale of mergers and acquisitions (M & As) within and outside the group.

Stages of international economic integration of countries

Economic integration can be carried out in breadth and depth... Expansion characterizes the quantitative aspect of the process - the number of countries in the group. Deepening integration is a qualitative characteristic. It shows the closeness of the relationship, the level of unification of countries. Economic integration is carried out gradually from simple to more complex forms. The pre-integration phase is the preferential trade phase, when neighboring countries provide each other with preferences (privileges) that simplify trade between them in comparison with other countries. Such a privilege may consist in lowering the customs tariff, reducing or abolishing quotas for goods, and simplifying customs formalities.

Bela Balassa distinguishes five forms (stages) of integration:

Free trade Area(FTZ) - the abolition of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on the movement of goods within the zone, while each participating country maintains its own foreign trade policy in relation to third countries. EFTA is at this stage of integration.
Customs Union(CU) - along with the functions of an FTZ, a unified foreign trade policy is carried out in relation to third countries, a single external border is being formed (for example,).
Common Market(OR) - along with the functions of the CU, the cross-border movement of all factors of production (capital and labor) is unimpeded. Supranational legislative, executive and judicial structures are being formed. The unification of national legislation is being carried out.
Economic and Monetary Union(EMU) - along with the functions of the PR, there is a coordination of socio-economic and monetary policies. Economic convergence (rapprochement) of the countries of the union is being carried out, a single currency is being introduced.
Political union- along with the functions of the EMU, a transition to a common security policy, a single structure of justice and internal affairs is being carried out, and a single citizenship is being introduced.

The proposed scheme illustrates the stages of deepening (maturity) of economic integration between countries:

The above theoretical models of integration in practice turn out to be more vague and diverse. For example, in APEC, which positions itself primarily as a free trade zone, free movement of investments is assumed. The same applies to member countries, where liberalization in the sphere of services and capital investments, harmonization in the field of environmental protection and other elements characteristic of a higher level of association are expected at the stage of the free trade zone.

The Role of International Economic Integration for Countries

Canadian scientists J. Weiner and J. Mead identified static and dynamic effects arising from economic integration.

The static effects that occur soon after the country's accession to the union include:

trade creation effect or expansion of intraregional trade;
the effect of a trade diversion or a reduction in trade with third countries, even if the costs of production and circulation in these third countries are lower than within the union.

The dynamic effects that arise gradually in the course of the development of integration processes include:

the expansion of the market of the country that is part of the group, and the resulting increase in the scale of production, and hence the reduction in costs per unit of production;
development of the infrastructure of the participating countries;
stimulation;
a gradual rise in the standard of living of the population, especially in economically weaker countries, and other effects.