Modern transnational corporations have a great influence on the world economy as a whole. In a word, this influence is "stimulation" and "facilitation":

· TNCs stimulate scientific and technological progress, because within their framework most of research work, new technological developments appear;

· TNCs stimulate the globalization trend of the world economy by involving host countries in international economic relations. Largely due to them, there is a gradual “dissolution” of national economies in a single world economy, as a result of which a global economy is spontaneously created by purely economic means, without the use of violence;

· TNCs stimulate the development of world production. As the world's largest investors, they are constantly increasing production capacity, creating new types of products and jobs in host countries, stimulating the development of production in them, and hence the world economy as a whole;

· TNCs contribute to the optimal distribution of resources and the location of production;

But, nevertheless, the development and increase in the number of transnational companies affects not only the world economy as a whole, but also the development of individual countries. International companies for each specific state are representatives of the world economy and must have autonomy limited by the relevant rules, operating within certain legal and institutional frameworks.

Transnational companies are considered the main factors in the formation of the competitiveness of countries and the realization of their competitive advantages in international markets. Thus, the country's prosperity largely depends on the success of TNCs operating on its territory (which is good for General Motors, good for America).

Host countries from investment inflows win on many aspects. First, the widespread attraction of foreign capital contributes to the reduction of unemployment in the country and the growth of state budget revenues. With the organization of production in the country of those products that were previously imported, there is no need to import them. Companies that produce products that are competitive on the world market and are mainly export-oriented contribute significantly to strengthening the country's foreign trade position. Secondly, the advantages from TNCs in the host country are also observed in qualitative components. The activities of TNCs force the administration of local companies to make adjustments to technological process, the established practice of industrial relations, to allocate more funds for the training and retraining of workers, to pay more attention to the quality of products, their design, consumer properties. Most often, foreign investments are driven by the introduction of new technologies, the release of new types of products, a new management style, and the use of the best practices of foreign business.

As transnationalization increases and average profit, and the reliability of its receipt, then the shareholders of TNCs can count on high and stable returns. Workers employed by TNCs enjoy the benefits of the formation of a global labor market, moving from country to country and not being afraid to be out of work.

Most importantly, as a result of the activities of TNCs, institutions are imported - those “rules of the game” (norms of labor and antimonopoly legislation, principles of taxation, contracting practices, etc.) that have been formed in developed countries. TNCs objectively increase the influence of capital-exporting countries on capital-importing countries. For example, German firms in the 1990s subjugated almost all Czech business, as a result, according to some experts, Germany established much more effective control over the Czech economy than in 1938-1944, when Czechoslovakia was captured by Nazi Germany. Similarly, the economies of Mexico and many other Latin American countries are controlled by American capital.

However, the centralized regulation of the world economy carried out by TNCs also gives rise to many acute Problems that primarily occur in developing and underdeveloped countries:

· fierce competition from TNCs to local companies;

· the possibility of imposing unpromising directions on the companies of the host country in the international system of division of labor, the danger of turning the host country into a dumping ground for obsolete and environmentally hazardous technologies;

· the capture by foreign firms of the most developed and promising segments of industrial production and research structures of the host country. Pushing aside national business and possible monopolization of local markets;

violation of the laws of the host country. Thus, by manipulating the policy of transfer prices, subsidiaries of TNCs circumvent national laws, hiding tax revenues by transferring them from one country to another;

· Establishment of monopoly prices, dictatorship of conditions, infringing on the interests of developing countries;

Thus, each country that hosts TNCs on its territory must take into account all the possible advantages and disadvantages of the influence of transnational capital on its economic and political system in order to maximize the degree of ensuring the national interests of the state and its citizens. Currently, as a rule, host countries, both developed and developing, approve the activities of transnational corporations on their territory. Moreover, in the world there is competition between countries to attract foreign direct investment, during which transnational corporations receive tax rebates and other benefits.

The TNCs themselves, when choosing places for themselves to create subsidiaries, proceed from an analysis of production costs, which are often lower in developing countries; products are sold where there is a higher demand for them - mainly in developed countries. That is why, for example, the inhabitants of modern Germany buy the equipment of the German company "Bosh", produced not at all in Germany, but in South Korea. Also, when choosing countries for establishing foreign affiliates, TNCs evaluate the local market in terms of its capacity, availability of resources, location, etc. Moreover, TNCs take into account the political stability in the country, the legal conditions foreign investment, the taxation system, the nature of trade policy, the degree of infrastructure development, the protection of intellectual property, state regulation of the economy, the cheapness of labor and the level of its qualifications, the stability of the national currency and other aspects.

After analyzing all of the above, TNCs choose the most

their preferred countries. They take it there

a significant part of production, create branches and subsidiaries there, which allows TNCs to make the most efficient use of their resources, thereby realizing their competitive advantages.

I believe that the activities of transnational corporations cannot be assessed only from the worst side. TNCs contribute to the international division of labor, production and development of science and technology. Despite the fact that wages in the branches of the company are lower than in the home country, they are still often quite high for developing countries, and, in addition, such large companies provide certain social guarantees to their employees. Sometimes underdeveloped countries themselves open their markets to large international companies, realizing their advantages.

Department: Economics, finance and law

Discipline: International economic relations

Coursework by discipline

“International Economic Relations”

“Transnational corporations and their role in the global economy”

INTRODUCTION 3

Chapter 1. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS (TNCs) 5

1.1. Theoretical concepts of TNCs.. 5

1.2. Advantages and disadvantages of TNCs.. 7

Chapter 2. ACTIVITIES OF TNCs IN THE WORLD ECONOMY. ten

2.1. Sectoral structure of TNCs.. 10

2.2. Location of TNCs in the world. 13

2.3. Dynamics of TNK.. 15

2.4. Movement of capital through TNCs.. 18

Chapter 3. RUSSIA AND TNK.. 25

3.1. Foreign TNCs in Russia. 25

3.2. Russian TNCs.. 27

CONCLUSION. 32

REFERENCES.. 34

APPENDIX 1. 36

APPENDIX 2. 38

APPENDIX 3. 39

APPENDIX 4. 40

INTRODUCTION

The modern world economy is characterized by a rapidly ongoing process of transnationalization. In this process, the main driving force are transnational corporations (TNCs). They are business associations consisting of a head (parent, parent) company and foreign branches. The parent company controls the activities of the enterprises included in the association by owning shares (participation) in their capital. In foreign affiliates of TNCs, the share of the parent company - a resident of another country - usually accounts for more than 10% of the shares or their equivalent.

At the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. there is an unprecedented scope of foreign economic activity (international economic transactions), in which TNCs are traders (merchants), investors, distributors modern technologies and stimulators of international labor migration. They largely determine the dynamics and structure, the level of competitiveness in the global market for goods and services, as well as the international movement of capital and the transfer of technology (knowledge). TNCs play a leading role in the internationalization of production, an increasingly widespread process of expanding and deepening production ties between enterprises in different countries.

In the scientific and journalistic literature, two traditions have developed in the assessment of transnational corporations. One of them focuses on the constructive role of TNCs in improving the efficiency of the modern economy and goes in line with positivist economic theory. The other is sharply critical, revealing, with an emphasis on negative social aspects activities of large international corporations. It reflects the influence of stereotypes of the theory of imperialism of the last century and modern anti-globalism.

The topic of TNCs and their role in the world economy is discussed in many monographs on the problem of economic globalization, since the formation and growth of TNCs is the result of the internationalization of the economy and the development of the world market.

It seems to me that real experience and trends dictate the need to overcome one-sidedness and develop a more balanced approach to assessing the role of TNCs in modern socio-economic development. Such an approach includes the recognition that the transnationalization of capital is fundamentally a natural process that accelerates socio-economic development. It contributes to the spread of new technologies, forms of organization of production, management and marketing, involvement in the circulation and efficient use of labor and natural resources, reduction of transaction costs, thereby facilitating the implementation of large international projects. Within a market economy, there is no alternative to the transnationalization of capital. All countries, including Russia, are interested in expanding and improving the activities of TNCs.

The purpose of this course work is to analyze transnational corporations and their role in the global economy.

Objectives of the course work:

· to give the concept of TNC;

· analyze the theoretical concepts of TNCs;

note the advantages and disadvantages of TNCs;

· to characterize the activities of TNCs in the world economy;

· consider the activities of TNCs in Russia.

Trends in world economic development reject the closedness and self-isolation of the national economy and lead to the development of modern, competitive companies, of which TNCs are a clear example.

Chapter 1. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS (TNCs)

1.1. Theoretical concepts of TNCs

Modern concepts of TNCs are based on the theory of the firm as an enterprise for organizing the production and marketing of goods and services. Most international companies started their activities by serving national markets. Then, using the comparative advantages of the home country and the competitive advantages of their company, they expanded the scope of their activities in international markets, exporting products abroad or making foreign investments with the aim of organizing production in host countries.

Noting the main feature of TNCs - the presence of foreign branches for the production and marketing of goods and services based on direct investment, researchers of transnational corporations have developed a number of models of foreign direct investment.

The American economist J. Galbraith substantiated the origin of TNCs with technological reasons. In his opinion, the organization of foreign branches of international companies is largely due to the need to sell and maintain complex modern products abroad that require a commodity and service distribution system (network) of enterprises in the host countries. This strategy allows TNCs to increase their share in the world market.

The model of monopolistic (unique) advantages was developed by the American S. Heimer, later developed by C. P. Kindleberger and others. market, have extensive ties with the local administration and do not incur large transaction costs, i.e. transaction costs compared to a foreign investor. Monopoly advantages for a foreign firm may arise through the use of original products that are not produced by local firms; availability of perfect technology; "scale effect", which makes it possible to receive a large mass of profit; favorable state regulation for foreign investors in the host country, etc.

The product life cycle model was developed by the American economist R. Vernon on the basis of the company's growth theory. According to this model, any product goes through four stages of the life cycle: I - introduction to the market, II - sales growth, III - market saturation, IV - sales decline. The way out of a decline in sales in the domestic market is to export or establish production abroad, which will extend the life cycle of the product. At the same time, during the growth and saturation stages of the market, production and marketing costs usually decrease, which makes it possible to reduce the price of the product and, consequently, increase the opportunities for expanding exports and increasing the volume of output abroad.

In most TNCs, they are large enterprises of an oligopolistic or monopoly type with diversified, horizontal or vertical integration of production, they control the manufacture and marketing of products and the provision of services both in the home country and outside it. Using the idea of ​​R. Coase that inside a large corporation between its divisions there is a special internal market regulated by the management of the corporation, the English economists P. Buckley, M. Casson, J. McManus and others created an internalization model, according to which a significant part of international economic transactions is actually intercompany transactions between divisions of large economic complexes. All elements of the international structure of the corporation function as a single, coordinated mechanism in accordance with the global strategy of the parent company, aimed at achieving the main goal of the TNC's activity - making a profit from the operation of the complex of enterprises as a whole, and not each of its links.

Many of the models described above are characterized by a one-sided and narrow view of the complex problem of transnational corporations. The English economist J. Dunning developed an eclectic model that absorbed from other models what has been tested by real practice. According to this model, a firm starts producing goods and services abroad under the condition that three conditions are met: 1) the existence of competitive (monopolistic) advantages over other firms in the host country (owner specific advantages); 2) conditions in the host country facilitate the organization of the production of goods and services there instead of their export (advantages of internationalization of production); 3) the ability to use productive resources in the host country more efficiently than at home (advantages of location).

1.2. Advantages and disadvantages of TNCs

An analysis of the activities of TNCs and theories of foreign direct investment allows us to identify the following main sources of effective activity of TNCs (compared to purely national companies):

Using the advantages of owning (or accessing) natural resources, capital and knowledge, especially R&D results, over firms doing business in one country and satisfying their needs for foreign resources only through export-import transactions;

Possibility optimal location their businesses in different countries taking into account the size of their domestic market, the rate of economic growth, the price and qualification of the labor force, the price and availability of other economic resources, the development of infrastructure, as well as political and legal factors, among which political stability is the most important;

The possibility of accumulating capital within the entire system of TNCs, including borrowed funds in the countries where foreign branches are located, and applying it in the most favorable circumstances and places for the company;

Using the financial resources of the whole world for their own purposes.

Constant awareness of the conjuncture of commodity, currency and financial markets in different countries, which allows you to quickly transfer capital flows to those countries where there are conditions for obtaining maximum profit, and at the same time distribute financial resources with minimal risks (including risks from fluctuations in national currencies);

Rational organizational structure, which is under the close attention of the management of TNCs, is constantly being improved;

Creating new jobs and providing a higher level wages compared to the national average;

Opportunity to make large investments in R&D. For 2003, the share of TNC investments in R&D in the USA is 12%, in France - 19%, and in the UK - 40%;

Experience in international management, including the optimal organization of production and sales, maintaining a high reputation of the company. The sources of effective activity of this type are dynamic: they usually increase as the company's assets grow and its activities diversify. At the same time, the necessary conditions for the implementation of these sources are reliable and inexpensive communication of the parent company with foreign branches, a wide network of business contacts of the foreign branch with local firms of the host country, and skillful use of the opportunities provided by the legislation of this country.

At the same time, it is impossible not to see that TNCs indeed remain a source of a number of negative social consequences associated with the selfish motives of their activities. It - a common problem market economy and the big capital that dominates it. But it acquires particular soreness in the sphere of international economic relations. In an effort to capture markets abroad, TNCs do not disdain the suppression of national production. It is not uncommon for local enterprises to be bought up not for reorganization, but for the curtailment of production, especially in under- and medium-developed countries. Deriving high incomes by exploiting cheap labor and natural resources, large TNCs often prefer to invest their profits outside these countries. Transnational companies, including banking companies, receive enormous tribute through financial transactions in the world market. .

In order to achieve their goals, TNCs also resort to interference in political life, fueling those who are convenient for them. politicians, political groupings and regimes, limiting the state independence of other countries.

All of these are real phenomena, and they are unlikely to disappear on their own. It is required to create a system for regulating the activities of TNCs, norms and rules of the game that limit negative manifestations. The antimonopoly legislation of the countries where TNC centers are located and where their foreign activities are deployed has a positive impact on TNCs.

Chapter 2. TNC ACTIVITIES IN THE WORLD ECONOMY

2.1. Industry structure of TNCs

The indicators in the table below characterize the industrial and sectoral specialization of 100 global TNCs.

Table 1. Industry specialization of 100 global TNCs: 1996 and 1997, number of industries, average transnationality index (TI)

According to UNTCAD, by the end of the 20th century. approximately 280,000 branches and 45,000 TNCs operated in the world economy. Capital invested abroad amounted to more than 3.2 trillion. dollars.

Today, about 9/10 of the cumulative amount of foreign entrepreneurial investment, 4/5 of patents and licenses for the latest technology and more than 1/3 of world production is controlled by TNCs.

The liquid assets of TNCs are more than twice the total foreign exchange reserves of developed countries and monetary organizations. The functioning of TNCs provides employment for approximately 75 million people.

At the same time, more than 9/10 of all TNCs are based in developed countries, about 8% - in developing countries and less than 1% - in countries with a transitional type of economy.

Of the 20 largest TNCs in the world's leading industries - automotive, electronics, oil refining - 6 are based in the United States, 3 each in the UK, Japan and Germany, 2 each in France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Thus, according to OECD studies, the participation of TNCs in the economic life of states has recently become more active. For example, in industrial production, the share of TNCs in 2001 was 12%, and by 2002 it was 13% compared to the total share of other industries.

largest specific gravity TNCs are engaged in the production of chemical goods and pharmaceuticals (22% in 2001 and 23% in 2002), as well as in the development of electrical engineering and electrical equipment (19% in 2001, 21% in 2002). This is due to a significant level of profitability of TNCs in this sector of the economy, the presence of a constant demand for products manufactured by these sectors of the economy.

The increase in the number of TNCs by 1% is explained by the fact that a stable business structure has already been established in these industries, leading companies have been identified, and significant barriers have been set for new companies to enter the industry. The growth in the number of companies is mainly due to the separation of the main companies, the separation of subsidiaries and the formation of a network of branches in various countries of the world.

The share of the automotive industry, oil production and metallurgy is growing. Their share increased in 2002 by 1% compared to the previous year.

However, there is a decrease in the share of TNCs in such industries as: engineering, food, production of other goods, metallurgy and construction.

The decline in the share of TNCs in the above sectors of the economy is explained by the merger of various TNCs into large associations and unions.

The share of TNCs in trade and telecommunications has remained unchanged since 2001.

According to "FinancialTimes" experts, in the ranking of the most prestigious companies in the world, "General Electric" and "Microsoft" respectively got the first and second places. Among the first 12 out of 50 companies included in the rating, 5 are engaged in information technologies("Microsoft", "IBM", "Dell", "Hewlett Packard", "Intel"), 1 electrical engineering company ("General Electric"), 2 food industry companies ("Coca-cola", "Nestle"), 2 companies from the automotive industry (Daimler-Chrysler, Toyota) .

This list also includes 1 company from the industry retail("Wal-Mart").

According to the data presented, it can be concluded that TNCs are most interested in high-tech industries, as well as in chemical and pharmaceutical production.

TNCs have not received distribution in the sectors of metallurgy, construction, trade and medicine.

American researchers P. Kouhi and J. Aronson believe that in the world economy there is a further complication of the system of relations between TNCs in the form of the formation of international corporate alliances, the purpose of which is to promote new technologies to the markets and further introduce TNCs into various sectors of the economy.

2.2. Location of TNCs in the world

General scales international production, the geographical distribution of its segments can be determined by the number of enterprises and their location in certain regions of the world and countries.

Table indicators (Table 2 Appendix 1) give an idea of ​​the country concentration of TNCs and their affiliates.

1. The largest number (out of about 60 thousand) is concentrated in developed countries - in Western Europe, USA and Japan (more than 80%). It is curious that the largest part of them is incorporated in Denmark - 9.3 thousand, while in Germany - 7.5 thousand, in France - a little more than 2 thousand. The number of their branches, however, clarifies these figures: in Germany there are more than 11.4 thousand, in France - about 9.4 thousand, etc., i.e. we are talking only about the incorporation (registration) of the head office of TNCs in one country or another, but their branches with factories and hired labor operate mainly in other countries with preferable conditions. A large concentration of TNCs is noted in Switzerland (more than 4.5 thousand and 5.7 thousand of their branches), as well as in Norway (900 and 3 thousand, respectively). Against the backdrop of the scale of the US economy, an insignificant number of TNCs officially operate here - about 3.4 with more than 18.7 thousand branches, in Japan - 4.3 thousand TNCs with 3.3 thousand branches. From the point of view of the presence of foreign TNCs, traditionally Canada's economy stands out: more than 4,500 TNCs operate here. AT South Africa 140 TNCs account for more than 2.1 thousand of their branches; in Australia for 596 TNCs - 2.5 thousand branches.

"FinancialTimes" conducted research on the level of transnationality index of the world's leading international corporations. The research data are presented in Table 2.

Thus, the highest index of transnationality in 2000 was recorded in the Swiss company "Nestle SA" and was equal to 94.2%.

The second place in terms of transnationality is occupied by the USA with the company "ExxonCorporation" (75.9%).

A high level of transnationality is also observed in the UK.

2. The concentration of the branch network of TNCs in Latin America is high: for 2.6 thousand TNCs - 26.6 thousand branches; their largest number is in Mexico (8.4 thousand), Brazil (8 thousand), Colombia (4.5 thousand), Chile (3.2 thousand), Peru (1.2 thousand).

3. There are more than 6 thousand TNCs in Asian countries; the largest number of them operate in the Republic of Korea - 4.5 thousand TNCs and 5.1 thousand of their branches; in the Philippines - almost 15 thousand branches of TNCs; in Singapore - more than 18 thousand branches of TNCs; in Hong Kong - 500 TNCs and more than 5 thousand of their branches; in China - 380 TNCs and 145 thousand of their branches; in Taiwan - more than 5.7 thousand branches of TNCs, etc.

4. In Eastern Europe, TNCs clearly give preference to the Czech Republic, there are 660 TNCs with more than 71.3 thousand branches (out of 850 TNCs operating in the region and 174 thousand of their branches). In the second place in the late 90s was Poland (58 TNCs and 35.8 thousand branches), in third place - Hungary (28.7 thousand branches of TNCs). In Russia there are about 7.8 thousand branches of TNCs, a little less in Ukraine. .

2.3. Dynamics of TNCs

As F. Gubaidullina notes, the rapid growth of the scale of the network of TNC enterprises in the world is confirmed by the following data. If after the Second World War they created about 100 foreign branches a year, now almost a thousand times more. In total, there are more than 800 thousand foreign branches in the world, which are owned by 63 thousand parent companies. At the same time, 270 thousand branches are located in developed countries, 360 thousand - in developing countries and 170 thousand - in countries with economies in transition. .

As can be seen from the data in Table 3. (Appendix 2), the number of emerging corporations is growing rapidly, and if during the 90s the number of parent companies increased by about 1.7 times, then the network of foreign branches over the same period increased by 4.7 times. But the community of TNCs, the field of their activity, is growing not so much due to the emergence of new members, but as a result of the strengthening of the power of existing corporations. Transnational corporations and banks have become the main structure-forming factor in the world economy. Due to the fact that TNCs create their branches around the world, the interdependence of countries has sharply increased and crisis situations can be "exported" from one national economy to another along the technological chains of companies.

Research centers are established by transnational corporations in many countries where there are qualified personnel and other the necessary conditions. In total, more than 100 such centers have been created, including such companies as Microsoft, Motorola, GM, GE, JVC, Samsung, IBM, Intel, DuPont, P&G, Ericson, Nokia, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, AT&T, Siemens. In other words, transnational corporations use the national personnel of other countries to strengthen their competitive advantages.

Most of the parent companies of TNCs (79%) are located in industrialized countries, and since the main movement of foreign direct investment (FDI) occurs between the parent company and its subsidiaries, respectively, these countries are exporters of direct investment. But recently, a new phenomenon has been noted in world practice - the export of capital in the form of direct investment from developing countries. The exporters are mainly new industrial countries - NIS (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia).

The list of the world's 100 largest TNCs is unstable and is subject to change every year for various reasons. In the mid-90s, the European Community accounted for 40 of the 100 largest transnational corporations in the world, including the UK 13, France - 12, Germany - 6, Switzerland - 6; Sweden - 4. Most of the largest TNCs had the United States - 27, Japan accounted for 14 companies.

The list of the largest transnational companies in the mid-1990s included the following firms: Royal Dutch/Shell (Great Britain/Netherlands), Exxon (USA), IBM (USA), General Motors (USA), Hitachi (Japan), Matsushita (Japan), Nestle (Switzerland), Ford (USA), Alcatel (France), General Electric (USA), Philips (Netherlands), Mobile Oil (USA), Asea Brown Boveri (Switzerland), Alfakiten (France), Volkswagen (Germany), Toyota (Japan), Siemens (Germany), " Daimler Benz (Germany), British Petroleum (Great Britain), Unilever (Great Britain/Netherlands). .

Of the total number of large South Korean firms, about 20 monopolies can be classified as transnational corporations, primarily Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, Lucky Goldstar, Sangkyong, Ssangyeng, Korea Explosive, Hanjin "," Kia "," Hyesong "," Dusan "," Colon "," Hanwa "," Lote "," Hanil "," Geumho "," Dalim "," Dong-A-Construction ". 11 leading South Korean " chaebol" are included in the list of 500 largest companies in the world, including 4 in the first hundred.

Economic rapprochement and interaction of countries at the regional and interstate levels contribute to the widespread development and spread of TNCs.

At the micro level, the process of formation of TNCs occurs through the interaction of individual firms in neighboring countries on the basis of the formation of various economic relations between them, including the creation of branches abroad.

At the interstate level, the spread of TNCs occurs on the basis of the formation of economic associations of states and the harmonization of national policies of various countries.

A significant increase in the share of TNCs is explained by the following reasons:

there is a distribution of risks among the participants of TNCs when investing in large projects;

the risks of doing business are reduced when several companies are merged into TNCs;

TNCs receive significant competitive advantages compared to other companies;

there is the possibility of a significant reduction in the level of costs of TNCs by reducing transaction costs;

the possibility of choosing the optimal taxation regime for TNCs. This opportunity is realized in the case when a subsidiary or branch of a TNC is located in a country other than the parent company. The parent company of a TNK has the right to choose in which country it will be more convenient for it to pay taxes for a subsidiary.

Thus, there are objective reasons that contribute to the globalization of the economy, the formation of large regional integration structures covering all sectors and branches of the world economy.

2.4. Movement of capital through TNCs

The interdependence of national economies is manifested not only in the field of exports and imports of goods and services, but also (to a growing extent) in the field of production, as evidenced by the rapid increase in capital exports. The volume of productive capital exported abroad in the form of FDI increased from $51 billion in 1945 to $1.6 trillion. USD in 1997 Export financial capital is the main source of creation of the so-called "international goods", i.e. products sold by foreign affiliates of transnational corporations.

An important form of transnationalization of national economies in the field of production is intercompany cooperation, when separate legally independent enterprises from different countries establish close cooperation in the field of industry, technology and detail specialization.

The export of capital, which already at the time of its inception sought to win a monopoly position in the extractive industries of backward countries and to use the relative surplus of capital abroad in order to achieve the greatest profit, after the Second World War received new incentives and took on new forms. This is evidenced by the diagram below of the movement of investment flows in 1960-1998. (Fig. 1. Appendix 3).

Economic factors are also strong incentives for the export of capital. Industrialized countries tend to move to developing countries (and countries with economies in transition) such production facilities that lead to a significant degree of environmental pollution.

The construction of production facilities abroad makes it possible to circumvent the system of external economic protection of the country and firmly take root in the structure of the market and production of this country. This creates a much more stable and solid base for capturing foreign markets than exports of goods, which are easier to regulate through customs and other restrictions. Last but not least, the export of capital is due to the high level of productive forces, the further development of which in modern conditions requires a higher concentration of resources and capital, a deeper linkage and use of scientific and technological achievements, both at the national and international levels. By coordinating the flow of individual capital, it is possible to overcome its shortage in different parts of the world market economy. And this, in turn, creates a wider scope for the development of productive forces, although they are not fully realized, and unevenly increase continental-regional disproportions.

One of the most significant factors, along with the profit motive, was the accelerating rate of economic growth of the world economy, which has been accelerating since the 1960s. The accelerated pace of economic growth put pressure on the dynamics of domestic savings resources, the lack of which was manifested in pressure on the import of capital from other countries. After the Second World War, in some economically developed countries there was a shortage of financial resources for a long time, mitigated by foreign sources that came to them. This shortage was the reason that the countries most affected by the war (Germany, Italy, Japan, etc.) later began to export capital. In the post-war years, until the mid-1950s, the United States was practically the only exporter of capital. Only in the second half of the 1950s did the export of capital become a noticeable growth factor in other industrialized countries, and then some of the oil-producing states of the Persian Gulf joined them. Pressure on the export of capital is also exerted by developing countries seeking to obtain external sources of accumulation and thus accelerate their economic growth rates. At the same time, the movement of part of production capacities abroad through direct investment was motivated by the desire of economically developed countries to gain control over regions with strategic raw materials, but on their own economic base, drawing these countries into the global system of the world market.

In addition to the general desire to use the benefits of the international division of labor through the expansion of capital beyond the territorial boundaries of states, the capital investor needs to evaluate certain properties (advantages) of the export of capital in order to realize this expansionist aspiration. These properties are:

The size and scope of the corporation;

The size of the mastered (and potential) market, the number of branches of the corporation;

technological leadership;

Advantages in the qualification of managerial personnel and labor force;

Advantages in the organization of management, advertising;

Provision with raw materials;

Export orientation of the industry;

Import orientation of the national economy;

The conditions of the region (country) that allow realizing all these advantages of the corporation.

The properties (reasons, circumstances, factors) that determine the external investment activity of large corporations often coincide, which contributes to their cross-investment, generating a "resonating" effect in addition to direct results. The advantages of large corporations, such as in management (management), marketing, advertising, qualifications of managerial personnel, etc., are not constant, all the more monopoly, they quickly become massive. Yes, and any corporation has its own cycle of development with phases of the highest rise and fall, when only the professional art of top managers with difficulty saves it from collapse. But the thing is that when some corporations are at the zenith of prosperity, others are in crisis, and the movement of the economy as a whole has a relatively equilibrium character, also supported by a relative equilibrium in the field of investment, including foreign ones.

The movement of direct and foreign investment since 1980 is illustrated graphically (Figure 2 Annex 4).

The figure shows changes in seven curves illustrating capital flows: a) European Union, b) USA; c) Africa; d) Western Asia, e) Central and Eastern Europe, f) Latin America and the Caribbean, g) East and Southeast Asia.

The greatest dynamism of FDI (according to the diagram) is noted (the "inflow-outflow" sum) in the three main most developed centers: a) the European Union, b) the USA, c) the Far East region (Japanese center). Note that in 1989-1991. there was a period of decline (stabilization) in the flow of investment in the United States, but since 1992 the volume of foreign investment in the United States and the outflow of American capital to different regions of the world has been continuously increasing. The intensification of crisis phenomena not only in the regions of developing countries and the CIS, including the Russian Federation, but also in Europe and Japan, as events after 1992-1993 show, leads to one denominator: an increase in investment flow from these countries (weakened by crises ) in the USA .

THK are the main exporters of US productive capital: they account for over 90% of these exports in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI). For 1998-2000 The United States made such investments abroad in the amount of 412.8 billion dollars. At the same time: 1) in 2000, the volume of their FDI reached 142.6 billion dollars, while in 1986-1991. the average annual export of capital was less than 30 billion; 2) FDI growth rates significantly outpaced those of US GDP and merchandise exports.

In 2001, the volume of US capital exported abroad decreased by more than 27% and amounted to 103.7 billion dollars, which was mainly due to the worsening economic situation in developed countries and a decrease in the volume of cross-border mergers and acquisitions carried out by US corporations. In 2002, exported direct investment increased, reaching the level of $119.7 billion. In the coming years, according to authoritative experts, the volume of capital exported from the country will grow, and American corporations will further strengthen their positions as the largest foreign investors.

On the basis of foreign direct investment, global production is being formed, connecting the American economy with the economies of other countries by much closer ties than trade. The network of international production, deployed through FDI, constituted a kind of economic space, called in scientific literature"the second economy of the USA". The latter occupies a special place in the world economy, significantly surpassing in its production, scientific, technical and financial potentials similar spheres of economic activity of other capital-exporting countries and concentrating over 20% of the production capacities of the United States. Already in 1999, more than 8.9 million workers and employees worked at 22,000 foreign enterprises controlled by American capital, which accounted for about a third of the entire workforce employed at enterprises owned by American TNCs. Assets of foreign enterprises American companies reached 4.6 trillion. dollars, the volume of goods and services created by them exceeded 650 billion, and their income amounted to 199 billion dollars. These enterprises are characterized by a high level of scientific, information, technological and organizational equipment.

In 2002, US direct investment in Ireland exceeded similar investments in Italy, and in Spain - investments in the economy of Austria and Denmark combined. A significant portion of U.S. direct investment (about 31%) has been in manufacturing.

The United States is showing considerable interest in APEC, established in 1989 and uniting 21 states, which account for 50% of world production and more than 40% of world trade. In an effort to strengthen and expand its position in this most dynamically developing region of the world (despite the financial crisis of 1997-1998), as well as to squeeze out competitors, primarily Asian ones, the United States is actively using the gradual elimination of customs barriers and obstacles to the movement of capital, expanding the volume of direct investment. In 2002, $446 billion of investment was concentrated in the region, or 29.4% of all US foreign direct investment against 24% in 1990.

The expansion of global production has also changed the approach of corporations to countries with preferential taxation, low income taxes and freedom of its transfer, that is, the approach to offshore centers and tax havens. In the 1990s, they sharply stepped up their activities there, creating dozens of branches and significantly increasing the scale of investment. Thus, in 2002 only three of them (Panama, Bermuda and the Caribbean) concentrated $118.1 billion, or 25.9% of US direct investment in developing countries. In particular, $31 billion of US direct investment was invested in Bermuda this year, or 6.5 times more than in Switzerland. About 20 billion dollars were concentrated in the financial sector of Panama, or four times more than in the same sector of the German economy.

Thus, the restructuring of the international business of corporations has already led to a change in a number of previous directions in strategy and tactics, to changes in the mechanism of their international investment activity. At the same time, new trends naturally arose in the export of productive capital from the United States.

Over the past decades, US industrial corporations have been the largest exporters of capital. 500 TNCs account for the bulk of the export of foreign direct investment.

Chapter 3. RUSSIA AND TNK

3.1. Foreign TNCs in Russia

Transnational corporations, which act as the driving force behind foreign direct investment, still play a modest role in the Russian economy. In 1997, these investments accounted for about 5% of the total investment in the Russian economy. A particularly sharp difference in the volume of attracted foreign direct investment is observed between Russia and countries that most widely use the capital investments of foreign firms to develop their economies. If in 1997 the inflow of foreign direct investment into Russia was estimated at about $6 billion, then in China the same figure was $45 billion, reaching 17% of all investment in the Chinese economy.

The activities of foreign TNCs in Russia are geographically distributed extremely unevenly. The main number of international companies is concentrated primarily in regions with highly developed infrastructure - Moscow, St. Petersburg. A relatively small number of enterprises with foreign capital are located in industrially developed regions - Moscow, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, as well as in regions with a predominance of export-oriented extractive industries - Tyumen and Magadan regions, Primorsky Krai.

In the late 90s. a number of regions actively began to pursue a policy of attracting foreign investors, providing them with additional tax benefits. For example, the administration of the Novgorod region decided, with the approval of the regional legislative assembly, to exempt foreign investors from all types of regional and local taxes until the project is fully paid off and the agreed time frame. As a result of such activities, by the end of the 90s. about 50% of all industrial products produced in the Novgorod region were produced with the participation of foreign capital.

transnational corporations in Russian market operate according to their traditional geographic strategy. In particular, Western European TNCs place their capital mainly in Moscow and the North-West region of Russia, while American and Japanese companies are expanding their activities in the central regions, the Urals, Siberia and Primorye.

American and Japanese TNCs show the greatest interest in Russian extractive enterprises of the fuel and energy complex. An example of fruitful cooperation in oil production in Russia is the Russian-American enterprise Polar Lights at the Ardalinskoye field in the Timan-Pechora oil and gas region. It was created by the American TNC Conoco and the Russian exploration company Arkhangelskgeologiya. It is estimated that about 1 billion dollars will be transferred to the budget of the Russian Federation in the form of taxes during the operation of the "Polar Lights" at the Ardalinskoye field.

The first foreign company to obtain a license to develop oil fields under the Sakhalin-2 project on the basis of a production sharing agreement was the international corporation Sakhalin Energy, the largest shareholders of which are the American TNCs Marathon, Mac Dermott and Japanese TNCs. Mitsui and Mitsubishi. Capital investments at the stage of project development are estimated at 10 billion dollars, cost recovery - in 7-8 years; the total value of the extracted products will be about 40 billion dollars.

In recent years, the food industry has competed with the fuel and energy complex in terms of attractiveness for foreign TNCs. For example, Nestle (Switzerland), the largest corporation in the food industry, uses in its strategy in the Russian market an accelerated purchase of controlling stakes in confectionery factories that are in a difficult financial situation. In 1995, it acquired a controlling stake in the Samara confectionery factory "Russia" and invested about $ 40 million in its technical re-equipment. In 1996, the Nestle corporation bought another controlling stake in the same place, in Samara, from the factory "Confectioner", and in 1998, expanding the geographical direction of its activities, - at the factories "Altai" (Barnaul) and "Kamskaya" (Perm).

Some TNCs in the food industry are taking a different path. Instead of buying up the shares of existing enterprises and their radical reconstruction, they are building new confectionery factories equipped with the latest technology. Having carefully studied the peculiarities of demand in the Russian market, these companies, along with their traditional products, begin to produce products that meet the tastes of Russians, made according to Russian recipes and with Russian names. This is what the English company Cadbury Schweppes Group did, having built in 1996-1997. in the city of Chudovo (Novgorod region) a confectionery factory for the production of bars along with its traditional products milk chocolate- bar bitter chocolate "Novgorod" and "Rostov".

3.2. Russian TNCs

In Russia, TNCs are still in the stage of formation and strengthening of their positions. True, a small number of companies similar to modern transnational corporations were formed back in the Soviet Union. These are Ingosstrakh, Aeroflot and many foreign economic associations. Thus, modern Ingosstrakh with its subsidiaries and associates in the USA, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Finland, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey and a number of former Soviet republics is a Russian TNC in the financial sector. It is actively expanding its partnerships with Russian and foreign enterprises, creating together with them a transnational insurance group. Some of the largest companies in Russia, such as Gazprom, Lukoil, Alrosa, and others, have also become transnational.

The most powerful Russian TNCs operate in the fuel and energy complex. An example is the gigantic organizational and economic structure of RAO "Gazprom" - a 100% monopoly in gas production and export, controlling 34% of the world's proven natural gas reserves and providing about 20% of Western European demand for this raw material. Gazprom is Russia's largest source of convertible currency, exporting $6 to $7 billion worth of gas annually. The company's activities extend far beyond national borders. Gazprom has companies with participation in 12 countries that buy Russian gas. Germany has become the main center of Gazprom's foreign investment activity. The value of the German market lies in the fact that all major trans-European gas transport flows pass through this country: from Norway, Russia, Holland. Gazprom, through a joint venture with a subsidiary of the BASF concern, controls 12% of sales on the German gas market. Gazprom's strategy includes active participation in privatization processes in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Lithuania and Estonia.

The successful activity of the Russian gas giant in the world markets shows that a powerful corporation can achieve significant success in a market economy. Several dozen large transnational corporations would undoubtedly strengthen Russia's position in the world economy. Thus, in the oil industry, the leader is Russia's largest oil company, LUKoil, in which 45% of the shares belong to the state. The enterprises of this company adopted vertical integration of production: part of the produced oil is processed into gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, lubricating oils, petroleum coke and aviation kerosene. Joint ventures and joint-stock companies with the participation of LUKoil have been formed in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Israel, Argentina, Cyprus, as well as in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, and Lithuania. In 1998, Lukoil and the American corporation Conoco signed a memorandum on the joint development of oil fields in the Russian Timan-Pechora oil and gas region.

The Russian TNCs in the extractive industry include the joint-stock company Alrosa. In 1992, she won a tender to develop the Katoka diamond deposit in Angola, ahead of the South African concern De Beers and a number of other Western companies. Together with the Angolan state company Endiama and the Brazilian Odebrecht Mining Service, it participated in the construction of a mining and processing plant with a capacity of 1.6 million tons of ore per year. The first stage of the plant in Katoka was put into operation in the fall of 1997. In 1998, the Alrosa company began developing diamond deposits in another African country - Namibia.

Nowadays, financial and industrial groups (FIGs) are becoming the basis for the creation of Russian TNCs. In any country, large corporations are the basis of scientific and technological progress and accelerated economic development.

Financial and industrial groups that unite legal entities under the jurisdiction of the CIS member states are registered as transnational FIGs (TFIGs).

Many TFIGs were formed by merging banks with industrial enterprises that did not have the funds to finance investment projects. The rapid growth of banking capital allows the most powerful banks to create holdings - banking empires, in terms of their characteristics corresponding to TNCs. An example is the TFIG "Interros", which has developed around ONEXIMbank. Within this holding company, there are three main areas of activity: financial, industrial and media. The structures of the Interros group employ about 400,000 people. The result of its activities is estimated at about 4% of Russian GDP and about 7% of exports.

AT last years integration activity in the metallurgical complex of Russia and the CIS member countries has noticeably increased. At the same time, transnational corporations may become one of the most important components of the integration interaction of the Commonwealth countries in the field of metallurgy. They are created to counter foreign TNCs on world markets. In this regard, the example of the world aluminum market is indicative, where seven to eight multinational companies, integrated according to the vertical technological principle, control more than 70% of the world's aluminum production. In this aspect, the transnational company Siberian Aluminum, founded in 1996, with an authorized capital of 5 billion rubles, undoubtedly deserves attention. It includes metallurgical plants and financial institutions from Russia, CIS countries and far abroad: Zalogbank (the largest share authorized capital- 22.5%), Bratsk, Sayan (Russia) and Pavlodar (Kazakhstan) aluminum plants, the British company "Trans World Aluminum", Samara Metallurgical Company "Sameko", Ural cryolite and Chelyabinsk electrode plants. .

This vertically integrated structure was created to form the domestic market for both primary aluminum and final products, optimize financial flows and reduce production costs in order to remain competitive in the global market. In 1998, TFPG "Siberian Aluminum" reached an agreement on a strategic partnership (alliance) with the American TNC "Reynolde" to strengthen its position in the world aluminum market.

Following the example of foreign auto giants, the largest Russian car-building plants - GAZ and VAZ - are beginning to create assembly plants in some importing countries, acquiring the features of transnational corporations. Thus, using lower duties on the import of components compared to duties on the import of finished cars, the Gorky Automobile Plant organized a Russian-Ukrainian joint venture KremenchugavtoGAZ, which is supposed to assemble light-duty trucks GAZ-3302 - Gazelle. AvtoVAZ organized the assembly of Euro-Lada cars (VAZ-2109) in Finland on the basis of an agreement with the Valmet company. Factories "Valmet", where machines are assembled worldwide well-known firms Opel, Saab, General Motors are considered one of the most technologically flexible industries in Europe.

One can hope that on the difficult path of the country's integration into the world economy, Russian international companies will play the role of catalysts for overcoming the internal economic crisis and implementing reforms in the foreign economic sphere.

CONCLUSION

Transnational corporations at the end of the 20th century. largely determine the structure of the world market and the level of competitiveness of goods and services on it, as well as the international movement of capital and technology transfer.

In most TNCs, they are large firms of an oligopolistic or monopoly type with a diversified integration of production and marketing of goods and services on the world market. All elements of their multinational structure function as a single coordinated mechanism in accordance with the strategy of the parent company. They view the world as a single market and decide to enter it with new products or services, regardless of state borders.

Modern theoretical concepts of TNCs are based on the theory of the firm as an enterprise for organizing the production and marketing of goods and services. Particular attention in the concepts of TNCs is paid to models of entrepreneurial investment, which primarily include models of monopolistic advantages, the product life cycle, internalization, and the eclectic model.

The main sources of effective activity of TNCs are the use of advantages in the ownership of (or access to) natural resources, capital and especially R&D results; the possibility of optimal location of their enterprises in different countries, taking into account the volume of their domestic market, economic growth rates, prices and qualifications of the labor force, the cost and availability of other economic resources, infrastructure development, as well as political and legal factors, among which political stability is the most important; the possibility of capital accumulation within the entire network of TNCs; use for their own purposes the financial resources of the whole world; constant awareness of the conjuncture of commodity, currency and financial markets in different countries; rational organizational structure of TNCs; international management experience.

The main motive for foreign direct investment by TNCs in Russia and other countries with economies in transition is the expansion of sales markets. For the time being, foreign TNCs concentrate their activities in Russia in regions with a highly developed infrastructure - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in regions with a predominance of the extractive industry - in the Tyumen and Magadan regions, Primorsky Krai. Production and provision of services in Russia have been deployed mainly by foreign TNCs specializing in the fuel and energy complex, trade, food industry, public catering, various services, and to a lesser extent - in the manufacturing industry, including the automotive industry.

The basis for the creation of Russian TNCs are financial and industrial groups formed by combining banks with industrial enterprises integrated according to the vertical technological principle.

REFERENCES

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ATTACHMENT 1

Table 2. Number of parent corporations and foreign affiliates in regions and countries (1996-1998)

APPENDIX 3

Fig.1. Movement of investment capital (1960-1998)

APPENDIX 4

Fig.2. Investment flows in the main regions of the world, 1980-1998, billion dollars

The practical consequence of the objectivity of social processes is that they cannot be created artificially or somehow imitated. The most striking example is the pseudo-market as a result of the efforts of many people to plant a market where it cannot be. Nothing but an additional wasted resource comes out of these efforts. Accordingly, we will not invent anything new - we will have to deal with what already exists and what works.

The most organically developing today are the so-called. "transnational corporations". Even the numerous antimonopoly committees created specifically against them are not a hindrance to them! What is the reason for their viability, what is their advantage over other forms of organization of production at this stage in the development of the productive forces?

1. Huge market. They sell their products to the entire planet and the only limit to their market is purchasing power.

2. Free placement around the world. A transnational corporation can decide where it is better to place its production facilities, where - those involved in direct sales, where - service. 100% geographic and taxation factors are used.

3. Transnational corporations are the only solution for long technological chains, allowing to produce the most technologically advanced products. As already mentioned, you can't build a Boeing in a barn. However, it often happens that the technological chain for the creation of a particular product is served by several legal entities, however, if you carefully study their relationship with each other, these will be typical relationships within single corporations. This means production interdependence and “fine” tuning of such legal entities to each other - see the new meaning of the word “multiplier”.

4. Opportunities for personal growth, career, high-quality provision of employees with the necessary for work. Just compare the office of Google and the office of some small company. Google can afford it, small firms can't.

5. High social importance, causing the need for state support in case of difficulties and failures.

Now let's look at the shortcomings of transnational corporations, cited as arguments against them by opponents - supporters of the "capitalist paradise":

1. Clumsiness. Indeed, a company that builds one aircraft every few decades is much more clumsy than a company that designs a single component for this aircraft. A company designing one node will be able to switch to another very quickly, and you cannot switch from plane to plane. But in the same way, we can blame the company that designs the knot for slowness, comparing it with a courier service that can deliver this knot today, and wrinkle cream tomorrow.

2. Monopoly with all the ensuing consequences: quality deterioration, price increase, no need to develop. If there were only one transnational corporation left in the world, this would be fair, but there are several of them for each area. I would not say that, because multinational corporations are engaged in smartphones, they lose a lot. Another thing is that in a high-tech area that requires the involvement of the maximum number of productive forces, there cannot be as many competitors as in the pizza delivery industry. And this is also an objective indicator.

3. Formalism and bureaucracy, which are indispensable in large companies, and which small companies are completely deprived of and medium ones are almost deprived of. Like, these formalism and bureaucracy increase costs and limit development opportunities - everything is easier and more natural in small firms. Nevertheless, with all their formalism and bureaucracy, transnational corporations are crowding out small and medium business, "strangle" it and prevent it from developing - according to the same people who give them this small and medium-sized business as an example and edification.

4. Transnational corporations "strangle" small and medium-sized businesses, hinder their development. Stop seeing small and medium-sized businesses as the only purpose of existence - and the world will sparkle with a thousand colors and their shades! It is not transnational corporations themselves that interfere, but what led to their emergence - progress. Small businesses have grown into big ones. Our childhood is very disturbed by our youth, which, unfortunately, is coming irreversibly. Ay! Where is the train that leaves for the Land of Childhood? Why do I feel sick on these swings now, when it used to be so much fun?

5. Restriction of freedom, a person becomes a cog in a huge machine, instead of opening his own business and prospering. The issue of personal freedom is a very important issue, and it echoes the issue of formalism and bureaucracy discussed above. However, this question is not as simple and obvious as it seems. What, for example, is the freedom and lack of freedom of an employee of a transnational corporation and an employee of a private firm? What are the fundamental differences between them? None, except that an employee of a small company has access to fewer benefits and opportunities than an employee of a multinational corporation. At the same time, it is possible to show individuality in any environment - up to the penitentiary, just as in any environment there are social norms and rules of behavior that can be considered as a restriction of freedom. Why can't I swear at a charity meeting?

The talk that an individual entrepreneur is more free, and that the more individual entrepreneurs, the more freedom there is - there is talk about what is considered freedom. I propose the following point of view: an entrepreneur is not free much more than his employee, since he must subordinate his whole life to the formula “Profit = Income - Costs”. They say that the best entrepreneurs come from those who approach the matter pragmatically, without unnecessary sentimentality and conventions, and are not distracted by what is not directly related to their business. Such an approach, such submission to external circumstances, is the most terrible slavery imaginable. And how advantageous against this background looks some kind of middle manager who earns no less than a small and even medium-sized entrepreneur, but who has days off and non-working hours during which he can do whatever and however he likes!

It is also believed that a private entrepreneur is engaged in creativity, creates something new, and an employee of a corporation is forced to do what is lowered to him from above within the limits of the job description. Again, the question intersects with the possibilities and the level of progress! Indeed: in corporations, the lowest positions are executive ones. There is nowhere to show creativity. But there are also higher positions, starting from which a person receives responsibility for specific areas of activity. And here he has a resource that he has, much more than the limited resource of an individual entrepreneur, since the possibilities of the corporation as a whole are higher.

Talk about freedom of enterprise is a convention and subjectivity that we have created for ourselves. From the whole complex of human interactions, we chose what we agreed to consider positive and called it “freedom”. With the collapse of capitalism and the development of state elitism, these conventions become completely ephemeral: the main sign of freedom, usually shamefully covered by chatter about higher ideals - the ability to acquire wealth - is shifting from entrepreneurship to work for hire, the “era of rentiers” (sorry! - entrepreneurs, of course) replaces the "era of managers".

If we transfer the talk of freedom to one form of socio-economic relations back to the time when the subsistence economy gave way to the future of the specialized capitalist enterprise, we get approximately the same reasoning. A peasant who leads a subsistence economy is free, he decides for himself what to do now and what to do later. Either crush flax, or sow wheat. If he specializes in one thing, for example, in flax, which is inevitable for him under capitalism, he loses all his possibilities with regard to wheat, except to buy it ready-made. It's inconvenient, it raises risks, it limits the individual, and so on - the full set of arguments in defense of sole proprietorship versus corporations fits perfectly here. Nevertheless, mankind has been able to adapt to the division of labor and feels good about it - better than in the days of subsistence farming. The corporation is just a new level of specialization. From a legal entity to an individual. The corporation becomes what is today called a society, and the individual what is called an individual. legal entity. The potential for this transformation is much higher, including in terms of the “freedom” indicator. A person does not need to think about where to conclude a contract or where to get a secured loan - he can fully concentrate on the area of ​​activity that is accountable to him.

As you can see, all that there are advantages of transnational corporations is what allows them to be at the top of progress, to produce and distribute what is produced in the most rational way, and what is their disadvantages are obsolete idealistic ideas about some kind of magical world, which in reality never existed. And you can have long conversations about what is considered freedom and what is its limitation - only objective reality easily subdues these disputes by leaving no choice. But a person is not so simple as to give in to organizational difficulties! History constantly demonstrates that a person always wins and sooner or later puts himself at the service of any, even the most embarrassing and even catastrophic events surrounding reality. So there is no point in talking about the disadvantages and advantages - it makes sense to talk about the basic conditions for development. What will grow out of them is the result of free creativity and the ability of mankind to establish high-quality relationships within itself.

However, it is quite possible that tomorrow (more precisely, the day after tomorrow) everything will be different. For example, people will learn how to print iPhones on a 3D printer and the need for corporations will disappear, their advantages will turn into disadvantages.

[1] “A thief is free even behind a thorn, but she suffered and was free as in prison” - there is such a saying in the criminal environment.

As all sorts of business coaches teach today, “a startup must burn”, it must become a “business of a lifetime”, a person involved in a startup should not think about how to earn money, but about how to realize his creative potential, etc.

Read, read the opinions of Russian populists (as well as all those who called themselves "socialists") about capitalism late XIX- XX-th century! And how infernal the “Manifesto of the Communist Party” of Marx and Engels sounds:
“... The bourgeoisie, wherever it achieved dominance, destroyed all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. She ruthlessly tore apart the motley feudal fetters that tied a person to his "natural masters", and left no other connection between people, except for bare interest, a heartless "chistogan". AT ice water egotistical calculation, she drowned the sacred awe of religious ecstasy, chivalrous enthusiasm, petty-bourgeois sentimentality. It has transformed the personal dignity of man into an exchangeable value, and has replaced innumerable freedoms granted and acquired with one unscrupulous freedom of trade. In a word, it has replaced exploitation covered by religious and political illusions with open, shameless, direct, callous exploitation.
The bourgeoisie deprived of the sacred halo all kinds of activity, which until then were considered honorable and which were looked at with reverent awe. She turned a doctor, a lawyer, a priest, a poet, a man of science into her paid employees.
The bourgeoisie tore off their touchingly sentimental veil from family relations and reduced them to purely monetary relations ... ".

However, this is also a very abstract assumption. For example, one can argue that progress does not stand still and that after the iPhone, something else will appear, as much more technically advanced than the iPhone as the iPhone is more perfect than a coffee grinder - and the 3d printer will not take it. But as long as there is no direct extrapolation between our assumptions and the technical developments currently available, all this is pure fantasy. Look how our ancestors imagined the world of the future a hundred years ago - you will understand what I mean.

This post is a slightly edited chapter from the book "Economics: where we came from and where we're going next".

From a legal point of view TNK can be considered as a group of branches located in several countries. The nature of the links through which TNCs extend their influence far beyond their own affiliates is very diverse: contracts for the processing of parts or for contract work, sales or franchise agreements, assignment of patents, etc.

The weight of a company is determined primarily by its size; a small or medium-sized enterprise with a branch office in several countries is not yet a TNC.

According to the definition of the research program of Harvard University, the category of multinational companies includes:

• having more than six foreign subsidiaries;
• whose shares are circulated in many countries and are available for purchase in all countries of their operation;
• the composition of the top management of which is formed from citizens of different states, which excludes the unilateral orientation of the company's activities to the interests of any one country;
• having an international character of the mentality of a manager adhering to a geocentric position;
• the organizational structure of which is focused on large-scale economic activity and the effective implementation of the company's strategy.

TNK today is about 60 thousand. main (parent) companies and more than 500 thousand. their foreign branches and affiliated (dependent) companies around the world. The role of TNCs in shaping the key, defining trends in the development of the modern world economy can hardly be overestimated. As truly transnational centers of decision and action, they have a significant impact on the global economy.

Through their investment decisions and choice of production locations, TNCs play an important role in distributing the world's productive potential. Their influence on international trade is proportional to their participation in this trade. According to some estimates, TNCs carry out more than half of the world's foreign trade turnover. TNCs account for more than 80% of high technology trade. Forming a single network, transnational capital owns one third of all production assets and produces almost half of the global product.

The scale of their international financial operations provides them with a privileged position as borrowers or savers in the Eurocurrency market, with about 8 trillion dollars at their disposal. euromoney. TNCs control up to 90% of the export of capital. The total foreign exchange reserves of transnational companies are 5-6 times greater than the reserves of central banks of all countries of the world.

By expanding their transnational activities, they create economic prerequisites for organizing international production with a single market and information space and an international market for capital, labor, scientific, technical, consulting and other services. Fighting for sales markets on a global scale, TNCs increase the level of competition, which causes the need for constant innovation, technology change and the acceleration of scientific and technological progress. By facilitating the circulation of capital, people and technology, they greatly contribute to economic growth and development.

However, their economic power becomes a source of hidden conflicts with those states on whose territory their activities are carried out. In essence, TNCs increasingly determine international politics.

The incentives for the globalization of business in the financial and credit sector are the reduction of tax rates and customs duties, the possibility of prolonging the deadline for paying taxes, obtaining permission for accelerated depreciation, free transfer or return of capital gains and the basic amount of an external loan. Tax savings give the company the financial mobility needed, in particular, for highly profitable foreign projects.

A multinational company has more flexibility in using the incentives provided by the host country for foreign investment in the form of government guarantees, exemptions or reductions in taxes and duties, and other support measures. Such a company is able to move funds and profits through internal mechanisms of financial transfers that form part of its finances, due to differences in national tax systems and significant costs and restrictions on external, international and financial transfers. Using intra-company flows of funds and funds, TNCs are able to arbitrate tax systems, financial markets and government regulation methods.

TNC classification

The diversity of TNCs operating in the world can be classified according to a number of criteria. The main ones are: country of origin, industry focus, size, level of transnationalization.

The practical significance of the classification of TNCs lies in the fact that it allows one or another feature to more objectively assess the advantages and disadvantages of placing specific corporations in the host country.

Country of origin

The country of origin of a TNC is determined by nationality capital in her controlling interest, assets. As a rule, it coincides with the nationality of the home country of the parent company of the corporation. For TNCs in developed countries, this is private capital. For TNCs in developing countries, in the capital structure, a certain (sometimes significant) part may belong to the state. This is due to the fact that initially they were created on the basis of nationalized foreign property or state-owned enterprises. Their goal was not so much to penetrate into the economy of other countries, but to create the basis for the development of national industry, the rise of the country's economy.

Industry focus

The sectoral orientation of TNCs is determined by the main area of ​​its activity. On this basis, raw materials TNCs, corporations operating in the basic and secondary industries of the manufacturing industry, and industrial conglomerates are distinguished. Currently, transnational corporations retain their position in the basic sectors of the mining and manufacturing industries. These are areas of activity that require significant investment. In 2003, 256 of the world's top 500 multinational corporations were active in electronics, computers, communications, food, beverages and tobacco, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and commercial services, including in the Internet system.

Transnational corporations perform various types of activities abroad Research and development works: adaptive, starting from basic auxiliary processes and ending with the modification and improvement of imported technologies; innovative, related to the development of new products or processes for local, regional and global markets; technological monitoring carried out by a specially created subdivision (department) in the branch, which monitors the development of technologies in foreign markets and learns from leading innovative enterprises and customers.

The choice of one or another type of R&D and their industry specialization depend on the region, at what level of development the host country is located. For example, Southeast Asia is dominated by innovative R&D related to computers and electronics, India is dominated by services (especially software), Brazil and Mexico are dominated by chemicals and transport equipment.

For transnational corporations conglomerate type in order to determine their specialization, they single out the so-called industry A, which the United Nations characterizes as having a significant amount of foreign assets, the largest number overseas sales and the largest number of employees abroad. It is in this industry that the largest amount of investments of the corporation is directed, and it is this industry that gives the greatest profit to the corporation. The basis for classifying a particular industry of TNCs as industry A is the calculation of the index B - transnationalization index by individual branches of the corporation. This index is recommended by UNCTAD (an organ of the UN General Assembly). It is calculated as the arithmetic mean of three indicators: the share (ratio) of the volume of foreign assets, sales, the number of employees to the total assets, sales and the number of employees in this industry of a particular TNC.

With regard to TNCs as a whole, the economic meaning of this indicator is that it can be used to determine what role this or that TNC plays in the world economy. This is an integral indicator calculated as a percentage. By its value, one can determine and compare the activity of TNCs abroad and in the domestic market of the home country. As a rule, the higher the index B, the more diversified the activities of TNCs abroad. It is interesting to note that there is no direct relationship between the size of TNCs and the level of transnationalization. Moreover, small TNCs are often more transnational. According to UNCTAD, in a sample of 50 small and medium-sized TNCs, the transnationalization index was 50%.

To characterize the trend in the change in the international activity of TNCs, the UN recommends the indicator " internationalization index"(AI). It is calculated as the quotient of dividing the number of foreign affiliates of TNCs by their total number.

The share of the foreign component in the activities of TNCs, characterized by indices B and II, as well as trends in their change, allow us to assess the growing role of TNCs in the global and national economies.

Multinational corporation size

Classification sign, which is determined according to the UNCTAD methodology by the size of their foreign assets. It is this parameter that underlies the diversification of TNCs into the largest, large, medium and small. The large ones include TNCs with assets over $10 billion.

The vast majority in total number TNCs (over 90%) are owned by medium and small corporations. According to the UN classification, these include companies with less than 500 employees in the country of residence. In practice, there are TNCs with a total number of employees of less than 50 people. The advantage of small TNCs is their ability to quickly adapt to changing market conditions. They can act in alliances with large multinational corporations, forming various kinds of concerns.

Functions of TNCs in the world and national economies

Modern transnational corporations perform in the global economy important features, the set of which is constantly expanding. All their diversity fits into the definition of "stimulating".

1. TNCs stimulate scientific and technical progress, since most of the research work is carried out within their framework, new technological developments appear.
2. TNCs stimulate the trend of globalization of the world economy, contributing to the deepening of MRT and involving host countries in international economic relations.
3. TNCs stimulate the development of world production. As the world's largest investors, they are constantly increasing production capacity, creating new types of products and jobs in host countries, stimulating the development of production in them, and hence the global economy as a whole.
4. TNCs stimulate competition in the world market. This is not contradicted by the fact that they have the highest competitiveness.

Competitive advantages of TNCs:

• Ownership and access to natural resources, capital and R&D results worldwide.
• Horizontal diversification into different industries or vertical integration according to the technological principle within the same industry, which in both cases ensures the economic stability and financial stability of TNCs.
• The ability to choose the location of branches in different countries, taking into account the size of their national markets, economic growth rates, prices, availability of economic resources, as well as political stability.
• Low cost of financial resources due to wider opportunities to attract them.
• Economies of enterprise scale
• Access to qualified personnel and rich opportunities for their selection

Negative manifestations of TNC activity

• Significant or possible monopolization of local markets.
• The opportunity for TNCs to dictate their terms not only to their competitors, but also to entire national economies, which poses a threat to their national security.
• Transfer of economically dirty industries to the least developed host countries
• Increasing trend towards a reduction in employment at TNC enterprises. This trend is especially pronounced in the branches of developed countries, and this happens under the influence of the globalization of the labor market.

Liu Tzuyu

Abstract: The relevance of the research topic is due to the instability of the development of the world economy, largely caused by the global financial and economic crisis, which exacerbated the accumulated problems of many countries. It is the formation of sustainable competitive advantages (hereinafter - SCE) of the country that gives it the opportunity to develop sustainably in the face of uncertainty and a slowdown in economic growth. Strengthening global hypercompetition against the backdrop of the instability of the world economy in the face of uncertainty makes it necessary to find new ways scientific analysis and identifying new processes for the formation of sustainable competitive advantages of the national economy.

Keywords: TNCs, economy, international business, China

TNCs are the driving force behind the most important key processes in the modern world economy. They determine the dynamics, structure, level of competitiveness of goods and services in the world market, control the international movement of capital and foreign direct investment. Thanks to their production and financial capabilities, they concentrate the most science-intensive industries in their hands, contributing to the technological development of production.

By integrating the workforce of different countries and presenting it with the same requirements everywhere, TNCs play an important role in the dissemination of international standards. For example, consumers in less developed economies that have subsidiaries produce and consume goods with the same level of quality as in parent countries, but at a lower price.

Transnational corporations have demonstrated the ability to break the isolation of national economies by involving them in a single process with the world economic community. They serve as the most important means of transferring new technologies, disseminating information about new products, as a result of which public preferences change. TNCs have great potential to influence the economy of host countries. Transactions between subdivisions of TNCs located in different countries represent a significant part of foreign trade turnover and settlements of even large Western countries. The globalization of corporate activity allows them to transfer huge resources from country to country in their interests. The specific manifestation of the impact of TNCs on the economy of a particular country depends on the economic power of the subjects of relations, branches and subsidiaries of TNCs in the host country.

The emergence of China as a powerful subject of the world economy, actively influencing the processes of economic globalization, sets before China China the tasks related to the needs of developing export potential, protecting the domestic market, strengthening its own investment positions, and qualitatively new content of economic cooperation with other countries.

Summing up, it should be noted that the study of the competitiveness of China's national economy is of particular interest, primarily based on the role that modern China plays in the global economic arena.

An important factor that also influences the increase in the competitiveness of China's national economy at the macroeconomic level is Chinese TNCs, which are actively expanding in the world market with the support of the PRC government.

Under the conditions of the global financial crisis, Chinese state corporations, which have retained their integrity and strengthened their positions in the world market, have opened up new opportunities for acquiring assets abroad, which will bring competitiveness, and, consequently, the competitiveness of the Chinese national economy to a completely different level.

The results of predictive assessments of research centers show a positive trend in the development of the competitive advantages of the Chinese economy. The analysis of strategic planning for increasing the competitive advantages of the national economy of the PRC made it possible to identify the formation of new UKPs, institutions and factors influencing economic growth. The main directions for the formation of sustainable competitive advantages of China in the conditions of instability of the world economy are strategic planning to increase the competitive advantages of China; increasing labor productivity during the country's transition to the "innovative" stage of development; reducing the dependence of the national economy on foreign economic activity based on an increase in domestic demand and the scale of domestic consumption. Priority is given to the formation of an effective and sustainable financial system, a feature of which is the stability of the national currency, its transformation into a world reserve currency, state support for banks, strict regulation of the circulation of securities, high liquidity, the availability of venture capital, ease of access to bank loans. Strengthening the country's innovative potential is the basis for economic restructuring, changing the growth model and, as a result, the formation of the UKP and China's competitive advantages.

Thus, Chinese corporations are actively exploring the world market, primarily the high-tech market, which is intended to serve as a new driver of economic growth in China. We are witnessing a major change in the global investment landscape. Not particularly advertising its plans, the Chinese state has entered a new stage in the development of global expanses.

The paper presents some predictive estimates of research centers and scientists, government strategies to increase the competitive advantages of China and Russia in the coming periods. The close interrelation of finance, accumulation of money supply and China's active expansion to international markets has been revealed. It turned out that the state policy will be aimed at increasing domestic consumption and developing the innovation sector. From 2010 to 2020, growth is projected to slow down somewhat, averaging around 7.6% over the corresponding period. By 2020, GDP will be about $7.5 billion. GDP per capita will be about $5,300, which is comparable to the income of some second-tier European countries. The most significant growth driver in the baseline scenario for the next 5 years remains the high rate of capital accumulation. Industrial structures will continue to be adjusted over the next 5 years. From 2015 to 2020, the main changes will also be related to the growing role of the service sector. Expert assessments allow us to conclude that it is domestic demand that will become the main source of new job creation, and not an increase in production volumes, as previously assumed.

China's firm, independent, independent, peaceful foreign policy and friendly relations with all countries ensure mutual trust, security and mutually beneficial cooperation. Thanks to the sustainable competitive advantages of the national economy, there is reason to believe that China will become the "first economy in the world" by 2020.

Obviously, thanks to international investment activities, both Chinese and Russian companies acquire knowledge and new skills, expand their management capabilities, create global brands and increase their competitive advantages in the global market. The vast majority of both Chinese and Russian companies that spearheaded overseas expansion in the previous decade were able to maintain their organizational integrity and positions in key markets during the global crisis. In addition, there is now an opportunity to acquire potentially interesting foreign assets at a much lower price than before. But Russian and Chinese companies to continue active investment activities and take advantage of the opportunities that have arisen depends on whether they manage to solve the main domestic problems exacerbated by the current economic situation.

In the international context, Russia pursues an independent and independent foreign policy course, reflected in the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation in 2017, aimed at creating a stable and sustainable system of international relations. This concept takes into account the multidimensionality and complexity of international problems, profound shifts in the geopolitical landscape and the unpredictability of events. To protect yourself from external negative factors, it is required to protect the national currency and move together with the allied countries along the path of independence from the dollar by creating new international institutions and reserve funds. According to the author, the goal of the scientific work has been achieved, the object and subject of the study are disclosed in full.