International trade is a form of communication between commodity producers different countries, arising on the basis of the international division of labor, and expresses their mutual economic dependence.

International trade is a process of buying and selling between buyers, sellers and intermediaries in different countries.

The term "foreign trade" refers to the trade of a country with other countries, consisting of paid import (import) and paid export (export) of goods.

At different times, various theories of world trade appeared and were refuted, which in one way or another tried to explain the origin of this phenomenon, to determine its goals, laws, advantages and disadvantages. The following are the most common theories of international trade.

Mercantelist theory of international trade.

Of the theories of international trade, the mercantilist theory was the first to appear, developed and put into practice in the 16th-18th centuries. Thomas Maine and Antoine Montchretien were prominent representatives of this school. Supporters of this theory did not take into account the benefits that countries receive from the import of foreign goods and services in the course of the international division of labor, and only export was considered economically justified. Therefore, the mercantilists believed that the country should limit imports (except for the import of raw materials) and try to produce everything itself, as well as encourage the export of finished products in every possible way, seeking an influx of currency (gold). The influx of gold into the country as a result of a positive trade balance increased the opportunities for capital accumulation and thus contributed to the economic growth, employment and prosperity of the country.

The main drawback of this theory should be considered the idea of ​​mercantilists, dating back to the Middle Ages, that the economic benefit of some participants in a barter transaction (in this case, exporting countries) turns into economic damage to others (importing countries). The main advantage of mercantilism is the export support policy he developed, which, however, was combined with active protectionism and support for domestic monopolists. In Russia, the most prominent mercantilist was probably Peter I, who in every possible way encouraged Russian industry and the export of goods, including through high import duties, the distribution of privileges to domestic monopolists.

Theory absolute advantages A. Smith.

From a completely different premise (compared to the mercantilist theory) came the theory of absolute advantages. Its creator, Adam Smith, begins the first chapter of his famous book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) by saying that "the greatest progress in development productive force labor, and a great deal of the art, skill, and ingenuity with which it is directed and applied, appear to have been the consequence of the division of labour," and further concludes that "if any foreign country can supply us with some commodity at at a cheaper price than we ourselves are able to make it, it is much better to buy it from her with some part of the product of our own industrial labor applied in that area in which we have some advantage.

The theory of absolute advantage states that it is expedient for a country to import those goods for which its production costs are higher than those of foreign countries, and to export those goods for which its production costs are lower than those of foreign countries, i.e. there are absolute benefits. In contrast to the mercantilists, A. Smith advocated freedom of competition within the country and on the world market, sharing the principle of "laissez-faire" put forward by the French economic school of physiocrats - non-intervention of the state in the economy.

The strongest side of the theory of absolute advantages should be attributed to the fact that it demonstrates the advantages of international trade for all its participants, to weak side- that it leaves no room in international trade for those countries in which all goods are produced without absolute advantages over other countries.

The theory of comparative advantages D. Ricardo.

Former London dealer David Ricardo, in his book "Principles of Political Economy and Taxation" (1817), devoted a chapter to this theory, in which he proved that it is beneficial for all countries to participate in international trade.

D. Riccardo proved that international exchange is possible and desirable in the interests of all countries.

The essence of the theory of comparative advantage is this: if each country specializes in those products in the production of which it has the greatest relative efficiency, or relatively lower costs, then trade will be mutually beneficial for both countries. The principle of comparative advantage, when extended to any number of countries and any number of products, can be of universal significance.

Thus, the theory of relative advantage recommends that a country import that good whose production costs in the country are higher than those of the exported good. Subsequently, economists proved that this applies not only to two countries and two goods, but also to any number of countries and goods.

The main advantage of the theory of comparative advantage is convincing evidence that international trade is beneficial to all its participants, although it may give less benefit to some, and more to others.

The main drawback of Ricardo's theory can be considered that it does not explain why comparative advantages have developed. A serious drawback of the theory of comparative advantages is its static nature. This theory ignores any price fluctuations and wages, it abstracts from any inflationary and deflationary gaps in the intermediate stages, from all sorts of balance of payments problems. The theory proceeds from the fact that if workers leave one industry, they do not become chronically unemployed, but move to another industry that is more productive.

Theory of ratios of factors of production.

The above question is largely answered by the theory of the ratio of factors of production, developed by the Swedish economists Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin and detailed in the latter's book entitled Interregional and International Trade (1933). Using the concept of factors of production (economic resources), created by the French entrepreneur and economist J.-B. Say and later supplemented by other economists, the Heckscher-Ohlin theory draws attention to the different endowment of countries with these factors (more precisely, labor and capital, since Heckscher and Ohlin focused on only two factors). The abundance, excess of some factors in the country makes them cheap compared to other, less represented factors. The production of any product requires a combination of factors, and a commodity whose production is dominated by comparatively cheap, surplus factors will be relatively cheap both domestically and internationally. foreign market and thus will have a comparative advantage. According to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, a country exports those goods, the output of which is based on factors of production that are surplus to it, and imports goods, for the production of which it is less endowed with factors of production.

Leontief's paradox.

The Heckscher-Ohlin theory is shared by most modern economists. However, it does not always give a direct answer to the question why this or that set of goods prevails in the country's exports and imports. An American economist of Russian origin V. Leontiev, studying US foreign trade in 1947, 1951 and 1967, pointed out that this country with relatively cheap capital and expensive labor force participates in international trade not in accordance with the Heckscher-Ohlin theory: it was not exports that turned out to be more capital-intensive, but imports.

The so-called Leontief paradox has the following explanations:

a highly skilled American workforce requires a large investment of capital for its preparation (i.e., American capital is more invested in human resources than in production facilities);

the production of American export goods is spent in large volumes of imported mineral raw materials, in the extraction of which American capital was invested.

But in general, the Leontief paradox is a warning against the straightforward use of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, which, as its subsequent testing has shown, works in most, but not in all cases.

Russia can rather be attributed to a case typical of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory: an abundance of natural resources, the presence of large production capacity(i.e. real capital) for the processing of raw materials (metallurgy, chemistry) and a number of advanced technologies (mainly in the production of weapons and dual-use goods) will explain the greater export of raw materials, simple metallurgical and chemical products, military equipment and dairy products.

At the same time, the Heckscher-Ohlin theory does not answer the question why modern Russia with its huge agricultural resources, little agricultural products are exported, but on the contrary, they are imported into huge quantities; why, in the presence of a relatively cheap and qualified work force the country exports little, but imports a lot of civil engineering products. Probably, to explain the causes of international trade in certain goods, it is not enough just to have different endowments of countries with factors of production. It is also important how effectively these factors are used in a particular country.

Theory competitive advantage.

This theory was developed by the American economist M. Porter. One of the common problems of foreign trade theories is the combination of the interests of the national economy and the interests of firms participating in international trade. This is connected with the answer to the question: how do individual firms in specific countries obtain competitive advantages in world trade in certain goods, in specific industries?

In his book "International Competition" (1990), he concludes that the international competitive advantages of national firms depend on the macro environment in which they operate in their own country.

Based on the study of the practices of companies in 10 leading countries, which account for almost half of world exports, he put forward the concept of "international competitiveness of nations". The competitiveness of a country in international exchange is determined by the impact and interconnection of four main components:

factor conditions;

demand conditions;

the state of service and related industries;

strategy of the company in a certain competitive situation.

Factor conditions are determined by the presence of economic factors, including those arising in the production process (increase in labor productivity with a shortage of labor resources, the introduction of compact, resource-saving technologies with limited land, the development of information technologies). The second component - demand - is decisive for the development of the company. At the same time, the state of domestic demand, in conjunction with the potential opportunities of the external market, decisively influences the firm's situation. Here it is important to identify national characteristics (economic, cultural, educational, ethnic, traditions and habits) that affect the exit of the company outside the country. M. Porter's approach assumes the prevailing importance of the requirements of the domestic market for the activities of individual companies.

Third - the state and level of development of service and related industries and industries. Availability of appropriate equipment, close contacts with suppliers, commercial and financial institutions. Fourth, the firm's strategy and competitive situation. The market strategy chosen by the firm organizational structure providing the necessary flexibility are important prerequisites for successful entry into international trade. Sufficient competition in the domestic market is a serious incentive. Artificial dominance through state support- a negative decision leading to waste and inefficient use of resources. The theoretical premises of M. Porter served as the basis for developing recommendations at the state level to increase the competitiveness of foreign trade goods in Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the 90s.

Alternative theories of international trade.

In recent decades, significant shifts have taken place in the directions and structure of world trade, which are not always amenable to exhaustive explanation within the framework of classical trade theories. This encourages both the further development of existing theories and the development of alternative theoretical concepts. The reasons for this are as follows: 1) the transformation technical progress into the dominant factor in world trade; 2) increasing specific gravity in trade in counter deliveries of similar manufactured goods produced in countries with approximately the same supply of factors of production; and 3) a sharp increase in the share of world trade attributable to intra-company trade. Let's look at some alternative theories.

Theory of the product life cycle.

The essence of the product life cycle theory is as follows: the development of world trade in finished products depends on the stages of their life, i.e. the period of time during which the product has viability in the market and ensures the achievement of the goals of the seller.

The product life cycle covers four stages - introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The first stage is the development new products in response to emerging needs within the country. Therefore, the production of a new product is small-scale, requires highly skilled workers and is concentrated in the country of innovation (usually an industrialized country), while the manufacturer occupies an almost monopoly position and only a small part of the product enters the foreign market.

In the growth stage, the demand for a product grows and its production expands and gradually spreads to other countries, the product becomes more standardized, competition between manufacturers increases and exports expand.

The stage of maturity is characterized by large-scale production, in competition the price factor becomes predominant, and as markets expand and technologies spread, the country of innovation no longer has a competitive advantage. The shift of production to developing countries begins, where cheap labor can be effectively used in standardized production processes.

As life cycle the product enters the stage of decline, demand, especially in developed countries, is reduced, production and sales markets are concentrated mainly in developing countries, and the country of innovation becomes a frequent importer.

The product life cycle theory quite realistically reflects the evolution of many industries, but is not a universal explanation for the development of international trade. If Scientific research and development, advanced technology ceases to be the main factor determining competitive advantage, then the production of the product will indeed move to countries that have a comparative advantage in other factors of production, such as cheap labor. However, there are many products (with a short life cycle, high transportation costs, significant opportunities for differentiation in quality, a narrow circle of potential consumers, etc.) that do not fit into the life cycle theory.

The theory of scale effect.

In the early 80s. P. Krugman, K. Lancaster and some other economists proposed an alternative to the classical explanation of international trade, based on the so-called scale effect.

The essence of the effect theory is that with a certain technology and organization of production, the long-term average production costs per unit of output decrease as the volume of output increases, i.e., there is an economy due to mass production.

According to this theory, many countries (in particular, industrialized ones) are provided with the main factors of production in similar proportions, and in these conditions it will be profitable for them to trade among themselves if they specialize in those industries that are characterized by the presence of the effect of mass production. In this case, specialization allows you to expand production volumes and produce a product at a lower cost and, therefore, at a lower price. In order for this effect of mass production to be realized, a sufficiently capacious market is needed. International trade plays a decisive role in this, as it allows expanding markets. In other words, it allows the formation of a single integrated market, more capacious than the market of any single country. As a result, consumers are offered more products and at lower prices.

At the same time, the realization of economies of scale, as a rule, leads to a violation of perfect competition, since it is associated with the concentration of production and the consolidation of firms that turn into monopolists. Accordingly, the structure of markets is changing. They become either oligopolistic with a predominance of inter-industry trade in homogeneous products, or markets of monopolistic competition with developed intra-industry trade in differentiated products. In this case, international trade is increasingly concentrated in the hands of giant international firms, transnational corporations, which inevitably leads to an increase in the volume of intra-company trade, the directions of which are often determined not by the principle of comparative advantage or differences in the availability of factors of production, but strategic goals the firm itself.

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5.4 Brief introduction to international trade theory

Modern world economy is a system of economic relations between different countries and regions of the world, based on international trade and the international division of labor. International trade develops because it brings benefits to the countries participating in it. In this regard, one of the main questions that the theory of international trade must answer is what underlies this gain from foreign trade, or, in other words, what determines the direction of foreign trade flows.

The basic principles of the international division of labor and international trade were formulated two centuries ago by the English economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo. A. Smith in his book "A Study on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" (1776) formulated the theory absolute advantage and showed that countries are interested in the free development of international trade, since they can benefit from it regardless of whether they are exporters or importers.

Recall that absolute advantage is the ability to produce more units of a given product with the same input of resources, or (which is the same thing), to produce a unit of a good with fewer resources.

D. Ricardo in his "Principles of Political Economy and Taxation" (1817) proved that the principle of absolute advantage is only a special case general rule, and substantiated the theory comparative advantage. Recall that comparative advantage is the ability to produce a good or service at a relatively lower opportunity cost. Recall that the opportunity cost is lost production opportunities, expressed in the refusal to produce another good in the production of this one.

In the two centuries since Smith and Ricardo, the theory of international trade has undergone significant development, but the basic principles largely remained unshakable (at least until the 2008 Nobel laureate Paul Krugman proposed his theory of international trade). These principles can be summarized in one sentence: the international division of labor and trade are based on comparative advantage.

A country produces the product in which it has a comparative advantage. A country that specializes in the production of a product becomes its exporter (that is, a seller in international trade). At the same time, the country buys goods from other countries, being their importer.

The ratio of exports and imports is reflected in the trade balance. The balance of trade is the difference between exports and imports.

trade balance = Ex - Im

If import costs exceed export earnings (Im > Ex), then this corresponds to a state of trade deficit. A country buys more foreign goods than it sells domestic goods to foreigners.
In this case, the country needs more funds to settle with foreign counterparties for imports than it receives from foreign counterparties for its exports. In other words, as economists say, the trade deficit must be financed.

Financing the trade deficit, i.e. difference between import costs and export earnings can be:

• or at the expense of foreign (external) loans from other countries or from international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, etc.;
• or through the sale to foreigners of financial assets (private and public valuable papers) and receipts into the country Money towards their payment.

In both cases, there is an inflow of funds from the foreign sector into the country (to the financial market), which is called capital inflow, and this makes it possible to finance the trade balance deficit.
That is, the trade deficit corresponds to the inflow of capital into the country.

If the income from exports exceeds the costs of imports (Ex > Im), which means a surplus (surplus) of the trade balance, then capital outflow occurs from the country, since in this case foreigners sell their financial assets to this country and receive the necessary for payment for export cash.
The trade surplus corresponds to the outflow of capital from the country.

Economic theory shows that international trade is a means by which countries, by developing specialization, can increase the productivity of available resources and thus increase the volume of goods and services produced and increase the level of well-being. We have already considered a simple model of trade, where in the course of trade two countries received an increase in their consumption opportunities, which can be shown as the movement of the CPV of each of the economies to the right-up.

Trade allows its participants to realize their comparative advantage. Steven Landsburg's The Couch Economist gives an example that the US has two ways of producing cars: in Detroit and Iowa. One of them involves the production of cars in factories in Detroit, the other involves the cultivation of wheat in the fields in Iowa. The second way implies that the grown wheat will be exchanged for cars in the course of international trade (for example, for Japanese Toyotas). Which of these methods is preferable? It all depends on the opportunity costs of each method. It may well be that, having a comparative advantage in growing wheat (i.e., lower opportunity costs), American economy will find that it is profitable for her to completely abandon the production of cars in Detroit in favor of the production of cars in Iowa (that is, in favor of growing wheat, its further export to Japan, and the import of Japanese cars).

5.4.1. Foreign trade policy

The modern world economy operates in the context of globalization, which is a new level and type of internationalization of production. Countries and regions of the world are closely interconnected not only by large-scale commodity and financial flows, but also by international production and business, information technology, scientific knowledge flows, close cultural and other contacts. The interdependence of individual countries and regions in the world economy has sharply increased. For example, American corporations are as dependent on cheap Chinese labor as Chinese consumers are on high-quality American technology products.

Although free trade leads to an increase in the economic well-being of all countries - both exporters and importers, in practice, international trade almost nowhere and never really developed freely without state intervention. The history of international trade is at the same time the history of development and improvement state regulation international trade. In the course of the development of foreign trade relations, the economic interests of various social groups and segments of the population, and the state inevitably becomes involved in this conflict of interests. The state is an active participant in international trade relations, conducting foreign trade policy(regulation of international trade). Foreign trade policy is one of the areas of state regulation of the economy.

The main instruments of foreign trade policy:

1. Import duty - the state monetary collection from the imported (imported) goods.
2. Export duty is a state monetary fee from exported (exported) goods.
3. Quoting (establishing a quota) is a limitation in quantitative or value terms of the volume of products allowed to be imported into the country (import quota) or exported from the country (export quota) for a certain period.
4. Licensing - regulation of foreign trade through permits issued government bodies to export or import goods in prescribed quantities for a certain period of time.
5. Voluntary export restriction - a quantitative restriction of exports based on the obligation of one of the trading partners to limit the volume of exports.
6. An export subsidy is a financial benefit provided by the state to an exporter to expand the export of goods abroad.
7. Dumping is the sale of goods on the foreign market at a price below the normal level, that is, below the price of a similar product on the domestic market of the exporting country.
8. An international cartel is an agreement between exporters of any product from different countries, aimed at ensuring control over production volumes and setting favorable prices.
9. An embargo is a prohibition by a state of the import into or export from any country of goods or financial assets.

Foreign trade policy measures aimed at protecting the domestic market from foreign competition through various instruments of trade policy are called policies. protectionism.

Despite the fact that modern economic theory associates protectionism (as well as any regulation of the economy) with welfare losses for society, protectionism is used everywhere. The logic of protectionism is to create favorable conditions for the development of domestic sectors of the economy, protecting them from competition with foreign goods.

Why is protectionism so bad? The obvious answer is that protectionism prevents the economy from realizing its comparative advantage. For example, if Russia has a comparative advantage in energy production and France in food production, then in international trade, according to the theory of comparative advantage, Russia should specialize in energy production and France in food production. With full specialization, Russia will focus only on oil production, and will import food from France for its own consumption. This state of affairs will not suit in the first place Russian manufacturers foodstuffs, which over time will find ever-increasing competition from imported French products. Under these conditions, domestic producers of Russian products will take actions aimed at lobbying their interests. In other words, using political support, domestic producers will try to create conditions for themselves that will limit competition from imports. This is precisely what the policy of protectionism is all about.

Protectionism harms competition because it distorts the incentives of companies. In order to win the consumer in a competitive economy, the company must win the competition, that is, to offer a product best quality or at a lower price. In the case of protectionism, when domestic products protected from foreign competition by import duties or other barriers, domestic producers have no incentive to improve product quality because they are protected from competition from foreign producers. Instead of developing new products and constantly improving quality, these companies are trying to lobby for more favorable protectionist conditions for themselves. Over time, the quality of the products of these companies begins to lag significantly behind the quality of similar foreign products. As a result, consumers receive a product of inferior quality than they would have received in the absence of protectionism.

A good example is Russia, with its strong oil industry and a weak auto industry. Having undoubted comparative advantages in oil production over many countries (the cost of oil production in Russia is lower than in the USA and European countries), Russia is realizing its comparative advantages. At the same time, it is also clear that Russia does not have a comparative advantage in the production of automobiles. If not for numerous trade barriers to foreign cars and numerous subsidies to the domestic auto industry, then Russian consumers could long ago buy better foreign cars cheaper than the Russian Lada. Maybe it would be more profitable for Russia not to produce cars at all and focus only on oil production? The theory of comparative advantage claims that this is the case. Why, then, does Russia produce cars and continue to subsidize and protect domestic producers with import duties? Most likely, the answer does not lie in the economic plane. Perhaps Russia does not want to depend on foreign car imports. Perhaps Russia does not want to lay off hundreds of thousands of workers employed in the domestic auto industry. Perhaps there are other motives. In any case, the current state of the domestic automotive industry is a clear example of the fact that protectionism, distorting the incentives of firms in protected industries, does not lead to the best consequences for consumers and society in the long run.

Arguments for protectionism

• Protection of young industries.
• Protection of politically sensitive industries
• Maintain employment.

Arguments against protectionism

• Loss of economic efficiency (or, as economists say, net social loss)
• Distortion of incentives for companies in protected industries.
• Retaliatory protectionist measures of other economies.

Modern trade relations are the intersection of many opposing trade interests. Each country is involved in a variety of trade and financial relationships with other economies. When pursuing a protectionist policy, each country should remember that the introduction of protective measures is accompanied by retaliatory restrictive measures on the part of trading partners. For example, under pressure from the American steel lobby, the US government in March 2002 introduced restrictive tariffs ranging from 8 to 30% on imports. various kinds steel and steel products produced in a number of countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Following this decision, a number of countries decided to impose retaliatory restrictive tariffs on a number of US goods. The matter went to trade war. As a result, the Bush administration decided to eliminate import duties, fearing the loss of international markets for a number of American goods.

In a more negative scenario, events developed in the post-Great Depression of the 1930s. After an unprecedented drop in demand in almost all developed economies of the world, countries Western Europe decided to resort to a tough protectionist policy to protect their domestic industries from foreign (primarily American) imports. As a result of the widespread use of trade restrictions, the volume of world trade decreased by 3 times from 1929 to 1933, and the recovery from depression by a number of countries stretched for ten or more years. Countries have responded to trading partner restrictions by imposing new trade restrictions. Countries, even realizing that total trade barriers lead to a deterioration in their well-being, could not refuse to use them. In conditions where trade barriers are used everywhere, if one of the participants in the trade wants to abandon them, while all the others continue to apply, this will lead to the total impoverishment of this participant. In other words, if there is a risk that other participants will continue to apply trade barriers, no one will want to be the first to abandon them. At that time, trading partners lacked coordination. Under these conditions, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was formed in 1947, which in 1995 was transformed into the World trade organization(WTO). The WTO is responsible for the development and implementation of new trade agreements, and also monitors compliance by members of the organization with all agreements signed by most countries in the world. That is, the WTO acts as the organizer of world trade relations, which the world lacked until 1947. The main function of the WTO is to monitor how the participants in trade relations comply with the agreements reached on trade liberalization.

The most popular model of trade relations is the model of trade in two goods between two countries. This model will be discussed in the Market Equilibrium chapter, after we are familiar with economic concepts supply and demand.

Theories of international trade have undergone a certain process of development. The main questions they tried to answer were "what is the reason for the division of labor between states" and "on what basis is the most effective international specialization chosen?"

Classical theories of international trade

Theory of Comparative Advantage

The first theories were laid down by the founders of classical economic theory, Smith and Ricardo, in the 18th - early XIX century.

Thus, Smith laid the foundation for the theory that the reason for the development of international trade is the benefit that importers and exporters can receive from the exchange of their goods. He also developed the theory of “absolute advantage”: a country has this advantage if it has a product that, relying on its own resources, can produce one more unit than another. Such advantages can be natural (climate, soil fertility, natural resources) or acquired (technology, equipment, etc.).

The benefit that a country will receive from international trade will consist in an increase in consumption, which will occur due to a change in its structure and specialization.

Riccardo's comparative cost theory, developed and supplemented by Haberler

It considers 2 countries that produce 2 types of goods. For each country, a curve is constructed that clearly shows which production is more profitable for each country. This theory is simplified, it shows only 2 countries and 2 goods, proceeds from the condition of unlimited trade and labor mobility within the country, as well as from the presence of permanent production costs, absence transport costs And technical change. That is why the theory is considered quite illustrative, but not very suitable for reflecting the real conditions of the economy.

Heckscher-Ohlin theory

This theory, created in the twentieth century, was intended to reflect the characteristics of trade based in more on the exchange of industrial goods (because of this, the dependence of countries' trade on their natural resources has significantly decreased). According to their theory of international trade, the differences in costs incurred by countries in the manufacture of products are explained by the fact that:

• in the production of different products, factors are used in different ratios;
• countries are very differently provided with the necessary factors of production;

From this follows the law of proportionality of factors, which reads as follows: for each state wants to specialize in the production of the goods that require the presence of those with which it is well endowed. in fact, it is an exchange of those factors that are in excess for those that are rarer for this country.

Leontief's paradox

In the late 40s of the 20th century, the economist Leontiev, while empirically testing the conclusions of the previous theory on the basis of data from the American economy, came to an unexpected paradoxical result: mainly labor-intensive products were exported to the United States, while capital-intensive products were imported. This was contrary to Heckscher-Ohlin's theory of international trade, since in the United States capital, on the contrary, was considered a much more abundant factor than labor costs. Leontiev suggested that in any combination with a given amount of capital resources, 1 man-year of American labor is equal to 3 man-years of foreign labor, which was associated with a higher qualification level of American workers. According to the statistics he collected, the United States exported goods whose production required a more skilled labor force than imported ones. Based on this study, in 1956 a model was created that took into account 3 factors: skilled labor, low-skilled labor and capital.

Modern theories of international trade

These theories try to explain the features of international trade in modern world that no longer obey logic classical theory international trade. This is due to the fact that it occupies an increasing place in the economy, the volume of counter deliveries of goods similar in quality is increasing.

Product life cycle theory

The life stage of a product is the period during which it has value in the market and is in demand. The stages of a product's life are product introduction, growth, maturity (sales peak) and decline. When a product ceases to satisfy the needs of its market, it begins to be exported to less

Theory of economies of scale

The main essence of this effect is that with a special technology and the level of organization of production, the average long-term costs will decrease as the volume of output of the goods increases, making savings. It is profitable to sell the surplus produced goods to other countries.

Mercantilist theory developed and put into practice in XVI-XVIII centuries, is first of theories of international trade.

Supporters of this theory believed that the country should limit imports and try to produce everything itself, as well as encourage the export of finished products in every possible way, seeking an influx of currency (gold), i.e., only exports were considered economically justified. As a result of a positive trade balance, the influx of gold into the country increased the opportunities for capital accumulation and thus contributed to the economic growth, employment and prosperity of the country.

Mercantilists did not take into account the benefits that countries receive in the course of the international division of labor from the import of foreign goods and services.

According to the classical theory of international trade emphasizes that "the exchange is favorable for each country; every country finds in it an absolute advantage, the necessity and importance of foreign trade is proved.

For the first time, the free trade policy was defined A. Smith.

D. Ricardo developed the ideas of A. Smith and argued that it is in the interests of each country to specialize in production, in which the relative benefit is the greatest, where it has the greatest advantage or the least weakness.

Ricardo's reasoning found expression in comparative advantage theory(comparative production costs). D. Ricardo proved that international exchange is possible and desirable in the interests of all countries.

J. S. Mill showed that, according to the law of supply and demand, the price of exchange is set at such a level that the total exports of each country can cover its total imports.

According to Heckscher-Ohlin theories countries will always seek to covertly export surplus factors of production and import scarce factors of production. That is, all countries tend to export goods that require significant costs factors of production, which they have in relative abundance. As a result Leontief's paradox.

The paradox is that, using the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem, Leontief showed that the American economy in the postwar period specialized in those types of production that required relatively more labor than capital.

Theory of comparative advantage was developed by taking into account the following circumstances affecting international specialization:

1. the heterogeneity of production factors, primarily the labor force, which differs in skill level;
2. the role of natural resources, which can only be used in production in conjunction with large amounts of capital (for example, in extractive industries);
3. influence on the international specialization of foreign trade policy of states.

The state can restrict imports and stimulate domestic production and exports of products of those industries that are intensively used relatively scarce factors of production.

International economic relations

The most important feature of the functioning of the world economy during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and especially in the second half of the last century, is the progressive development of world economic relations. Its essence is that the movement towards economic independence and the strengthening of individual national economies inevitably leads to a growing internationalization of economic life, an increase in the degree of openness of national economies and an increase in their interdependence based on a further deepening of the international division of labor.

International economic relations are a complex and contradictory system of economic relations both between individual states, their regional and other associations, and between companies within the world economy. The most important links of international economic relations are international trade in goods and services, international movement of capital, international monetary relations and international labor migration.

Theories of international trade

The development of world trade is based on the benefits it brings to the countries participating in it. The theory of international trade gives an idea of ​​what is the basis of this gain from foreign trade, or what determines the direction of foreign trade flows.

International trade serves as a tool through which countries, by developing their specialization, can increase the productivity of available resources and thus increase the volume of goods and services they produce, and improve the well-being of the population.

Mercantilist theory of international trade. It arose during the period of primitive accumulation of capital and the great geographical discoveries, based on the idea that the presence of gold reserves is the basis of the prosperity of the nation. Foreign trade, the mercantilists believed, should be focused on obtaining gold, since in the case of a simple commodity exchange, ordinary goods, being used, cease to exist, and gold accumulates in the country and can be reused for international exchange.

Trading was considered as a zero-sum game, when the gain of one participant automatically means the loss of the other, and vice versa. To obtain the maximum benefit, it was proposed to increase state intervention and control over the state of foreign trade. The trade policy of the mercantilists, called protectionism, was to create barriers to international trade that protect domestic producers from foreign competition, stimulate exports and restrict imports by introducing customs duties on foreign goods and receiving gold and silver in return for their goods.

A. Smith's theory of absolute advantages. In his work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, in a polemic with the mercantilists, Smith formulated the idea that countries are interested in the free development of international trade, since they can benefit from it regardless of whether they are exporters or importers. Each country should specialize in the production of the product where it has an absolute advantage - a benefit based on the different magnitude of production costs in individual countries participating in foreign trade. The refusal to produce goods in which countries do not have absolute advantages, and the concentration of resources on the production of other goods lead to an increase in total production volumes, an increase in the exchange of products of their labor between countries.

The theory of comparative advantage D. Ricardo and D.S. Mill. In his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, Ricardo showed that the principle of absolute advantage is only a special case of the general rule, and substantiated the theory of comparative (relative) advantage. When analyzing the directions of development of foreign trade, two circumstances should be taken into account: firstly, economic resources - natural, labor, etc. - are unevenly distributed among countries, and secondly, the efficient production of various goods requires various technologies or combinations of resources.

The advantages that countries have are not given once and for all, D. Ricardo believed, therefore, even countries with absolutely higher levels of production costs can benefit from trade exchange. It is in the interests of each country to specialize in production in which it has the greatest advantage and the least weakness, and for which not absolute, but relative benefit is the greatest - such is the law of comparative advantage of D. Ricardo. According to Ricardo, total output will be greatest when each good is produced by the country that has the lowest opportunity (opportunity) costs. Thus, relative advantage is a benefit based on lower opportunity (opportunity) costs in the exporting country. Hence, as a result of specialization and trade, both countries participating in the exchange will benefit.

Subsequently, D. S. Mill, in his work "The Foundations of Political Economy", gave explanations at what price the exchange is carried out. According to Mill, the price of exchange is set by the laws of supply and demand at such a level that the aggregate of each country's exports pays for the aggregate of its imports - such is the law of international value.

Heckscher-Ohlin theory. This theory of scientists from Sweden, which appeared in the 30s of the twentieth century, refers to the neoclassical concepts of international trade, since these economists did not adhere to the labor theory of value, considering capital and land to be productive along with labor. Therefore, the reason for their trade is the different availability of factors of production in the countries participating in international trade.

The main provisions of their theory boiled down to the following: firstly, countries tend to export those goods for the manufacture of which the factors of production available in the country are used in excess, and, conversely, to import goods, the production of which requires relatively rare factors; secondly, in international trade there is a tendency to equalize "factorial prices"; thirdly, the export of goods can be replaced by the movement of factors of production across national borders.

The neoclassical concept of Heckscher - Ohlin turned out to be convenient for explaining the reasons for the development of trade between developed and developing countries, when in exchange for raw materials coming into the developed countries, machinery and equipment were imported into developing countries.

However, not all phenomena of international trade fit into the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, since today the center of gravity of international trade is gradually shifting to the mutual trade of "similar" goods between "similar" countries.

Leontief's paradox. These are the studies of an American economist who questioned the provisions of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory and showed that in the post-war period the US economy specialized in those types of production that required relatively more labor rather than capital. These labor-intensive goods were also exported, although the United States experienced an excess of capital, not labor.

Theory of the product life cycle. It was put forward and substantiated by R. Vernoy, C. Kindelberger and L. Wels. In their opinion, a product, from the moment it enters the market until it leaves it, goes through a series of stages that make up its life cycle, and international movement goods occurs depending on a certain stage of the life cycle.

So, at the implementation stage, innovation is developed, production, marketing and export are established. This stage is characterized by increased labor intensity of the product. Further, at the stage of growth, there is a transition to large-scale production and a tendency to increase the capital intensity of production is manifested, prerequisites are created for organizing production abroad - first in developed countries, and then in other countries. At the stage of maturity, production is already carried out in many countries, and in the country of innovation, market saturation begins to be felt. There are conditions for large-scale production in developing countries with the export of innovations. Finally, the decline stage (from an international point of view) is characterized by a narrowing of the market this product in developed countries where largest companies developed countries begin production and marketing of new, more advanced products.

Theory of M. Porter. Among the main problems of foreign trade is the combination of the interests of national economies and the interests of firms participating in international trade. According to Porter's theory, this is due to how individual firms in specific countries gain competitive advantages in world trade in certain goods in specific industries. M. Porter, based on the study of the practice of companies in 10 leading industrial countries, which account for half of world exports, put forward the concept of "international competitiveness of nations". He identifies four attributes of the country that form the competitive environment, the so-called "national rhombus". The competitiveness of a country in international exchange is determined by the impact and relationship of the following main components: 1) factor conditions; 2) demand conditions; 3) the state of service and related industries; 4) the company's strategy in a certain competitive situation.

A serious incentive to success in the global market is sufficient competition in the domestic market. The artificial dominance of enterprises through government support, from Porter's point of view, is a negative solution, leading to waste and inefficient use of resources. The theoretical premises of M. Porter served as the basis for developing recommendations at the state level to improve the competitiveness of foreign trade goods in Australia, New Zealand and the United States in the 90s of the twentieth century.

Dynamics and structure of international trade

international trade theory

International trade is a form of exchange of products of labor in the form of goods and services between sellers and buyers of different countries. The characteristics of international trade are the volume of world trade, the commodity structure of exports and imports and its dynamics, as well as the geographical structure of international trade.

Export is the sale of goods to a foreign buyer with its export abroad.

Import - purchase from foreign sellers of goods with its import from abroad.

Modern international trade is developing enough rapidly. Among the main trends in the development of international trade are the following:

• 1. There is a predominant development of trade in comparison with the branches of material production and the entire world economy as a whole.
• 2. In the structure of international trade, the share of manufacturing products is growing (up to 75%), of which more than 40% are engineering products. Only 14% is fuel and other raw materials, the share of agricultural products is about 9%, clothing and textiles - 3%.
• 3. Among the changes in the geographical direction of international trade flows, there is an increase in the role of developed countries and China. However, developing countries (mainly due to the promotion of new industrial countries with a pronounced export orientation from among them) managed to significantly increase their influence in this area.
• 4. The most important direction in the development of foreign trade is intracompany trade within TNCs. According to some data, intra-company international deliveries account for up to 70% of all world trade, 80-90% of sales of licenses and patents. Since TNCs are the most important link in the world economy, world trade is at the same time trade within TNCs.
• 5. Trade in services is expanding, and in several ways. Firstly, this is a cross-border supply, for example, distance learning. Another way of supplying services - consumption abroad - involves the movement of the consumer or the transfer of his property to the country where the service is provided, for example, the service of a guide on a tourist trip. The third way is a commercial presence, such as the operation of a foreign bank or restaurant in the country. And the fourth way is moving individuals who are service providers abroad, such as doctors or teachers. The most developed countries of the world are the leaders in trade in services.