Production and its main factors, their interaction and development. Production result. Factors of production and their classification See what "Factors of production" are in other dictionaries

Land as a factor of production in modern economic theory is one of the four main factors of production, which, in order to become productive, usually must be combined with labor and capital.

Land as a factor of production means all natural (reproducible and non-reproducible) resources. They can be used for the production of goods and services for consumer and industrial purposes: the production of agricultural and industrial products, social and industrial infrastructure, the construction of dwellings, settlements, roads, etc.

This factor includes the following elements of nature:

1) agricultural land;

3) waters of oceans and seas, lakes, rivers, as well as groundwater;

4) chemical elements of the earth's crust, called minerals;

5) atmosphere, atmospheric and natural-climatic phenomena and processes;

6) space phenomena and processes;

7) the space of the Earth as a location for the material elements of the economy, as well as near-Earth space.

The concept of "resource" should be distinguished from the concept of "factor". A resource is a potential factor of production. Consequently, a factor of production is a resource involved in the production process, i.e. before natural objects were involved in production, they acted as natural resources: land, forest, mineral, energy, etc.

Land as a factor of production has its own characteristics. First, the land, unlike other factors of production, has unlimited service life and is not reproduced at will. Secondly, by its origin it natural factor, not a product of human labor. Thirdly, the land does not lend itself to movement, free transfer from one branch of production to another, from one enterprise to another, i.e. she is motionless... Fourth, the land used in agriculture, with rational exploitation, not only does not wear out but also improves your productivity.

One of the most important characteristics of the land is its limitedness.

In this regard, the law of diminishing returns is characteristic of land as a factor of production, i.e. sooner or later the additional application of labor to the land will bring less and less returns. This law is the case for land used in agriculture. However, we will only partially extend the law of diminishing returns to the extraction of natural resources. For example, in oil production, the use of additional units of labor will lead to the fact that the well will be quickly depleted, and there will simply be nothing to take from it.

Land tenure means the recognition of the right of a given (natural or legal) person to a certain piece of land on a historically established basis and implies ownership of land. Land use, however, means the use of land in the manner prescribed by custom or law (without ownership of land).

From this we can conclude that the one who owns or uses the land receives certain benefits. In this regard, with regard to land tenure and land use, special economic relations arise that generate a special income and its special economic form - land rent.

In neoclassical theory, rent is the income received by any owner of goods, naturally or artificially limited in comparison with demand. To express this phenomenon, a more general category is also used - economic rent. At the same time, neoclassical theory also considers rental income, primarily as income related to land tenure and land use. Rent, therefore, is the form in which land ownership realizes itself economically, i.e. generates income.

Various theoretical schools investigate the problem of differential land rent. Despite the differences in conceptual approach, economists emphasize the heterogeneity of the quality of land plots. This means that the productivity of the land as a factor of production will differ depending on its fertility, as well as location (proximity to the market for agricultural products). This means that those who exploit the best land bear lower costs and, as a result, have a certain surplus after the sale of products, called differential (differential) income. This income, when transferred to the owner of the land, takes the form of differential rent.

The poorest lands also generate income for those who exploit them. Absolute rent is that part of the income of an entrepreneur - a land user, which he gives in the form of rent to the owner of the land. According to the concept of Karl Marx, only the labor of hired workers participates in the creation of profit, since the profit created in agriculture is higher than the average profit. This surplus is the source of absolute rent.

Actually, rent as an economic category does not simply mean income from a factor of production. This is income from some factor of production, the supply of which is inelastic. This is the definition of rent by the neoclassical school. Based on it, rent is called income not only from agricultural land, but income from any resource, the supply of which is inelastic.

The principle of establishing rent, or rent (neoclassicists often use the two as synonyms) as a balancing price, is the same as in the case of other factors of production. For example, wages act as a price equalizing the demand and supply of labor; interest - balancing the demand and supply of capital.

Capital as a factor of production. Defining capital in this way, many economists identify it with the means of production. Capital in a broad sense, according to other economists, is the accumulated (aggregate) amount of goods, property, assets used to generate profit, wealth. It is believed that capital consists of durable goods created by the economic system for the production of other goods.

Another view of capital is related to its monetary form. "Capital, when embodied in finance not yet invested, is a sum of money." The shortest definition of capital was given by Karl Marx (1818-1883): "it is self-increasing value." Outwardly, capital appears in specific forms: in the means of production (constant capital), in money (money capital), in people (variable capital), in goods (commodity capital). In all these definitions there is a common idea, namely: capital is characterized by the ability to generate income. So, we can state the following definition: capital in the interpretation of modern economic theory is one of the four main factors of production created by the economic system itself, represented by all the means and resource possibilities of production that are created by people in order to produce other goods and services with their help ...

In economic disciplines, along with the term "capital" and the concepts of "investment", "investment resources" are often used. The term "capital" is used to denote capital in materialized form, i.e. embodied in the means of production. Investment is capital not yet materialized, but invested in the means of production.

In modern Western economic science, capital is interpreted as durable goods created by people for the production of other goods and services. This definition of capital serves as the basis for various concepts of capital used in everyday language and economic literature.

Economic theory distinguishes between:

Physical (technical) capital - a set of material assets that are used in various phases of production and increase the productivity of human labor (machines, buildings, computers, etc.);

Financial (monetary) capital - a set of monetary funds and monetary expression of the value of securities;

Legal capital - a set of rights to dispose of certain values, and these rights give their owners income without the investment of appropriate labor;

Human capital is those investments that increase the physical or mental capacity of a person.

In the production process, different elements of physical capital behave differently. One part functions for a long time (buildings, machines), the other is used once (raw materials, materials). The first part of capital is fixed capital - capital that participates in the production process over several production cycles and transfers its value to the created goods in parts. The second part of the capital is working capital - raw materials, materials, electricity, water, etc. - participates in the production cycle only once and completely transfers its value to the created products.

Fixed capital, embodied in the means of labor, is subject to wear and tear as it is used. Economists distinguish between physical and obsolescence.

Physical wear takes place, firstly, under the influence of the production process itself and, secondly, under the influence of the forces of nature (metal corrosion, concrete destruction, loss of elasticity or flexibility of plastic, etc.). The longer the exploitation time of the fixed capital, the greater the physical wear and tear.

The concept of depreciation is associated with physical wear and tear. Depreciation is an economic category and expresses economic relations about that part of the value of fixed capital that was transferred to goods and returned after the sale of goods in cash to an entrepreneur. It accumulates in a special account called a depreciation fund.

Obsolescence (obsolescence) is a decrease in the useful properties of fixed capital in the eyes of users in comparison with what is offered in return. Obsolescence is of two types. The first type is associated with the production of cheaper machinery, equipment, vehicles, etc. The second type is associated with the production of more advanced machines. In this case, entrepreneurs also incur losses by continuing to use obsolete machinery or equipment.

For capital, as a factor of production, income is interest.

Interest income is the return on capital invested in a business. This income is based on the costs of the alternative use of capital (depositing money in a bank, in shares, etc.). The amount of interest income is determined by the interest rate, i.e. the price that the bank or other borrower must pay the lender for using the money over time. Those. the interest rate is the ratio of the return on capital provided on a loan to the very size of the loaned capital, expressed as a percentage.

According to neoclassical theory, the equilibrium interest rate (rate of interest) is determined in the capital market by comparing the utility (marginal return MRP) of capital and the cost (abstinence, MRC expectations) of not using capital at the present time.

Presented in Fig. 11. the graph allows us to understand the category of interest as a kind of equilibrium price: at the point of intersection of the MRC and MRP curves, equilibrium is established in the capital market. At point E, there is a coincidence of the marginal return on capital and the marginal cost of missed opportunities; the demand for ship capital coincides with its supply. The lower the interest rate, the higher the demand for capital. The interest rate determined by the intersection of the MRP demand curve and the MRC capital supply curve is the equilibrium interest rate.

In addition to the considered neoclassical interpretation of interest, which has received the name "real theory of interest" in economics, there is another - Keynesian. In contrast to this view, he gave a different definition of interest, the essence of which is that the rate of interest is a reward for parting with money as liquidity for a certain period. From his point of view, the rate of interest is nothing more than the reciprocal of the ratio of the amount of money to what can be obtained by parting with the opportunity to dispose of this money for a specified period of time.

Modern authors believe that Keynes's "money" theory turns out to be just as limited as the "real" theory. Therefore, a general theory of the interest rate was put forward, which takes into account all the factors that influence its formation. There are four such factors:

preference in time, which expresses the reluctance of economic entities to postpone for the future needs that can be satisfied in the present;

marginal productivity of capital, i.e. the return that an economic entity hopes to receive from the use of additional capital;

money supply related to central bank monetary policy;

preference for liquidity, i.e. the desire of business entities to keep in their hands liquid assets that can be converted at any time into other types of property.

In addition to the four factors that have been considered that influence the formation of the interest rate, some economists propose to take into account the risk factor. The lender, providing capital, always takes a risk, and for this risk he demands a reward.

The implementation of any investment projects involves a time gap between costs and revenues. The time value of money arises because there are alternative income opportunities; it depends on the moment when they are expected to be received. Financial theory states that future money is always cheaper than today's money, and not only because of inflation. The money we have today can be “invested in business” and generate income, and thus, if we receive it in a year, we lose this opportunity.

Consequently, the complexity of investment analysis lies in the need to compare two flows - costs and future income. Since the utility of income received in the future is considered to be less than today: it is mono to receive interest on current income to the future. Therefore, it is necessary to recalculate future receipts in a special way by discounting.

Labor as a factor of production. Labor as an economic activity is a balance between utility (productivity) and disadvantage (costs). Labor is a conscious activity of a person, through which he fights against shortages, scarcity of goods and seeks to increase their number. The usefulness of labor is its productivity, i.e. the ability to transform things so that you can increase the degree of satisfaction of needs.

Labor is not only a creative process, but also a hard activity, which is expressed in the ineffectiveness of labor (negative utility). Therefore, the one who works bears the cost, i.e. labor is tantamount to giving up alternative use of time (giving up leisure). In addition, work is a stress that requires effort: physical, mental, psychological, volitional

On a society-wide scale, labor resources are represented by that part of the country's population that is capable of work, that is, has a labor force.

Labor has the following characteristics:

Quantitative characteristics reflect labor costs determined by the number of employees, their working time and labor intensity, i.e. intensity of labor per unit of time.

Qualitative characteristics of labor reflect the level of qualifications of workers. At this level, there is a general division of workers into skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers.

The qualifications of workers are reflected in the degree of complexity of their work. Unskilled labor is considered simple, and skilled labor is considered complex, as it were, raised to a degree of simple labor, or simple labor multiplied by the corresponding coefficient of complexity.

The labor process includes three main components: expedient human activity; the subject to which the work is directed; means of labor, with the help of which a person influences the subject of labor. Speaking about labor, it is necessary to dwell on such concepts as labor productivity and labor intensity.

The intensity of labor characterizes the intensity of labor, determined by the degree of expenditure of physical and mental energy per unit of time. The intensity of labor increases with the acceleration of the conveyor, an increase in the number of simultaneously serviced equipment, and a decrease in the loss of working time.

Labor productivity shows how much output is produced per unit of time. The progress of science and technology plays a decisive role in increasing labor productivity. So, for example, the introduction at the beginning of the XX century. conveyors led to a sharp jump in labor productivity.

The scientific and technological revolution has led to changes in the nature of work. Labor has become more skilled, and physical labor in the production process has become less valuable.

Wages are another concept that can be used to characterize labor as a factor of production. Distinguish between nominal and real wages. The nominal wage is understood as the amount of money that the employee of hired labor receives for his daily, weekly, monthly work. The size of nominal wages can be used to judge the level of income, but not the level of consumption and human well-being. To do this, you need to know what the real wages are. Real wages are the mass of goods and services in life that can be purchased for the money received. It is directly dependent on nominal wages and inversely on the level of prices for consumer goods and paid services. Remember (regardless of whether someone will work for you or you for someone else): wages should first of all stimulate the employee to high-performance work! Therefore, its size should correspond to the qualifications and level of hard work of a particular person.

Entrepreneurship is an integral attribute of the market economy, the main distinguishing feature of which is free competition. This is a specific factor of production, firstly, because, unlike capital and land, it is intangible. Secondly, we cannot interpret profit as a kind of equilibrium price, by analogy with the market for labor, capital and land.

The main functions of entrepreneurship:

creation of a new material benefit that is not yet familiar to the consumer or a previous benefit, but with new qualities;

the introduction of a new method of production that has not yet been used in this branch of industry;

the conquest of a new sales market or wider use of the old one;

the use of a new type of raw material or semi-finished products;

the introduction of a new organization of business, for example, a monopoly position or, conversely, overcoming a monopoly.

Business entities can be, first of all, private individuals (organizers of individual, family, and also larger industries). The activities of such entrepreneurs are carried out on the basis of both their own labor and hired labor. An entrepreneurial activity can also be carried out by a group of persons connected by contractual relations and economic interests. The subjects of collective entrepreneurship are JSCs, rental collectives, cooperatives, etc. In some cases, the state, represented by its respective bodies, is also referred to as business entities. Thus, in a market economy, there are three forms of entrepreneurial activity: state, collective, private, each of which finds its own niches in the economic system.

The object of business is the most effective combination of factors of production to maximize income. "Entrepreneurs combine resources for the manufacture of new, unknown to consumers benefits; discovery of new methods of production (technologies) and commercial use of existing goods; development of a new sales market and a new source of raw materials; reorganization in the industry in order to create their own monopoly or undermine someone else's" - J. Schumpeter.

For entrepreneurship as a method of running an economy, the first and main condition is the independence and independence of business entities, the presence of a certain set of freedoms and rights to choose the type of entrepreneurial activity, sources of financing, the formation of a production program, access to resources, sales of products, setting prices for it, disposition of profits, etc.

The second condition of entrepreneurship is responsibility for the decisions made, their consequences and the associated risk. Risk is always associated with uncertainty, unpredictability. Even the most careful calculation and forecast cannot eliminate the factor of unpredictability; it is a constant companion of entrepreneurial activity.

The third condition of an entrepreneur is an orientation towards achieving commercial success, striving to increase profits.

The profit of an entrepreneur is understood as the difference between the income received by the enterprise from the sale of goods and the expenses that were incurred by him in the process of production and sales activities.

Refers to production (capital) resources. It includes the totality of goods created by the past human labor: buildings, structures, machines, machines, tools, etc. Stocks, bonds, money, bank deposits do not belong to this factor of production.

Possession of reliable information is a prerequisite for solving the problems facing an economic entity. However, even complete information is not a guarantee of success. The ability to use the information obtained to make the best decision under the current circumstances characterizes such a resource as knowledge... The carriers of this resource are qualified personnel in the field of management, sales and customer service, technical maintenance of goods. It is this resource that gives the greatest return in business. "What distinguishes a strong company from a weak one is, first of all, the level of qualifications of its specialists and management personnel, their knowledge, motivations and aspirations."

In a market economy, all of the above economic resources are freely bought, sold and brought to their owners special (factor) income:

  • rent (land.);
  • interest (capital);
  • wages (labor);
  • profit (entrepreneurial ability).

German economist and philosopher of the 19th century. Karl Marx singled out the personal and material factors of production, while the person himself acts as a personal factor, as the bearer of labor power, and the material factor of production means the means of production, which in turn consist of means of labor and objects of labor.

A means of labor is "... a thing or a complex of things that a person places between himself and the object of labor and which serve for him as a conductor of his influences on this object." Means of labor, and, above all, instruments of labor, include machines, machine tools, tools with the help of which a person influences nature, as well as industrial buildings, land, canals, roads, etc. The use and creation of instruments of labor is a characteristic feature of labor. human activities. The means of labor in a broader sense include all the material conditions of labor, without which it cannot be performed. The general condition of labor is land, the conditions of labor are also production buildings, roads, etc. The results of social cognition of nature are embodied in the means of labor and the processes of their production use, in technology and technology. The level of development of technology (and technology) serves as the main indicator of the degree of mastery of the forces of nature by society. "Technology reveals the active relationship of man to nature, the direct process of the production of his life"

Subjects of labor - the substance of nature, which a person influences in the process of labor in order to adapt it for personal or industrial consumption. The subject of labor, which has already undergone the influence of human labor, but is intended for further processing, is called Raw Material. Some finished products can also enter the production process as a subject of labor (for example, grapes in the wine industry, animal oil in the confectionery industry). "If we consider the whole process from the point of view of its result - the product, then both the means of labor and the object of labor both act as means of production, and labor itself - as productive labor"

According to Karl Marx, the totality of production factors act as productive forces that are inextricably linked with production relations. Some characterize the material content of the process of social production, while others characterize its historically determined form. Evolving, each stage of development of the productive forces characterized by the type of production relations constitutes a unique mode of production.

Non-Marxist economic theorists do not agree with the position of Karl Marx that new value is created only by hired workers, but believe that all factors of production take an equal part in its creation. Thus, Alfred Marshall wrote: “capital in general and labor in general interact in the production of a national dividend and receive their incomes from it, respectively, to the extent of their (marginal) productivity. Their mutual dependence is the closest; capital is dead without labor; the worker, without the help of his own or someone else's capital, will not live long. When labor is vigorous, capital reaps rich fruits and grows rapidly; thanks to capital and knowledge, the average worker in the Western world eats, dresses, and even provides shelter in many ways better than the princes of old. Cooperation between capital and labor is as necessary as cooperation between spinner and weaver; little priority on the spinner's side, but it doesn't give him any advantage. The prosperity of each of them is closely related to the strength and energy of the other, although each of them can benefit temporarily, or even permanently, at the expense of the other, a slightly larger share of the national dividend. "


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See what "Production Factors" are in other dictionaries:

    The resources used in production, on which the quantity and volume of output depend to a decisive extent. The demand for factors of production is derivative: it exists only insofar as they participate in the process ... ... Financial vocabulary

    Production factors- 1. Conditions of production activity (broad interpretation). In this sense, factors are classified as organizational; material technical; economic; social. ... 2. Manufacturing resources ... Economics and Mathematics Dictionary

    factors of production- 1. Conditions of production activity (broad interpretation). In this sense, factors are classified as organizational; material technical; economic; social. ... 2. Production resources that become an element of the process ... ... Technical translator's guide

    FACTORS OF PRODUCTION, resources used to create life benefits. In accordance with classical economic theory, the main types of factors of production are: labor, land, capital, entrepreneurial ability, information. ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

    - (factors of production) Resources required for the production of national economic goods (goods). This is land (including all natural resources), labor (including all the work and abilities of people), capital (including all money, assets, equipment, raw materials ... Business glossary

    The resources used in production, on which the quantity and volume of output depend to a decisive extent. These factors include: land, labor, capital, entrepreneurial activity (entrepreneurial ability). Raisberg B ... Economic Dictionary

    PRODUCTION FACTORS- modern economic theory divides the resources necessary for the production of goods (goods, services) into groups - factors of production. The first of these is labor. The factor land (natural resources) is understood to expand. meaning (as a place of residence ... ... Financial and credit encyclopedic dictionary

    factors of production- 2.1.3 factors of production: Factors necessary for the transformation, transportation, storage and inspection of raw materials, parts, parts and final products. Source: GOST R ISO 14258 2008: Industrial Automated Systems. Concepts and rules ... Dictionary-reference book of terms of normative and technical documentation

    PRODUCTION FACTORS- - everything that, participating in the production process, produces goods and services. There are different approaches to the definition of phytosanitary p. And their classification. The classical school distinguishes three main groups: labor, land, capital. In the Marxist theory of physical education ... ... Economics from A to Z: Thematic guide

    Production factors- FACTORS OF PRODUCTION The resources used by the company for the production of a particular product or service: natural resources, labor resources and capital. For the production of a given quantity of products, the company selects such a combination of resources, with ... ... Dictionary of Economics

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Resources (factors) of production, their classification and characteristics

The source of any production is resources , those. a set of natural, social and spiritual elements in the production of goods, services and other values. Resources are diverse in their composition, they are usually divided into four groups: natural, labor, material, financial.

Natural resources constitute the natural basis for the production of material goods. Natural resources include: land, its subsoil, forests, water, air. Humanity uses solar energy, the energy of the ebb and flow, the resources of the animal world, minerals, etc. Some of these resources are not renewable (oil, gas, coal, ore), while others are renewable. So, for example, due to effective agronomic measures, it is possible not only to restore, but also to improve soil fertility.

Labor resources- This is an economically active part of the country's population, which has the physical and spiritual abilities to participate in labor activities. In a market economy, the requirements for the quality of labor resources are increasing: for their knowledge, educational level, professional training, and health.

Material resources societies are a collection of objects with the help of which production is carried out. They represent the bulk of the productive potential of a society. Material resources include buildings, structures, machines, machine tools, mechanisms, stocks of raw materials and materials, roads, bridges, communications, etc. Material resources are sometimes characterized as investment resources or means of production ... They consist of tools of labor and objects of labor or what is described by the concept « capital».

Natural, labor and material resources are basic resources. They form a prerequisite for any, even the simplest production.

Financial resources are, in a sense, derivatives with respect to the underlying resources. These are foreign exchange reserves and reserves of precious metals, money savings of households and enterprises.

A special role in a transitional economy is played by such resources as information , which is presented in the form of scientific, technological, design, statistical, management information.

An important economic resource in a market economy is time ... Economic entities in their economic activities have a limited amount of this non-reproducible resource. The problem of time is manifested in the existence of time constraints for every economic action.

Among economic resources, one should single out exhaustible and inexhaustible, reproducible and non-reproducible, as well as alternative and non-alternative resources.

Any production, regardless of the economic system in which it is carried out, consists in the consumption of economic resources. That part of economic resources that is directly involved in the production process and is used as its conditions is usually called factors of production ... In terms of volume, economic resources are always larger than the actually used factors of production, and economic actors never set the task of drawing all available economic resources into the sphere of production. Thus, the concept of "economic resources" is broader than "factors of production".

In economic theory, you can find different approaches to the classification of factors of production. In Marxist theory, three factors are distinguished: labor, object and means of labor. Sometimes they are formed into groups and personal and material factors are distinguished. The personal factor includes labor, which is a combination of physical and spiritual abilities of a person, which are used in the production process; to the material - objects and means of labor, constituting in the aggregate the means of production.

It is generally accepted in economic theory to distinguish three classical types of factors of production: land, labor, capital.

Earth in the meaning of a factor of production, it is interpreted: 1) as natural resources of all types involved in production, 2) as the land itself - a natural most important resource.

Work as a factor of production is an activity associated with the expenditure of human capital (a set of intellectual, professional, physical, mental and other human abilities) and aimed at the production of material goods and the provision of services.

Capital acts as a set of heterogeneous and reproducible resources, the use of which in the production process makes it possible to increase labor productivity. The capital structure is made up of equipment, intermediate product, money, securities.

The classification of factors of production, which is the basis of the modern theory of production, belongs to J.-B. Sayu, which proceeded from a known position A. Smith about three types of income: rent from land, wages for labor, profit on capital. Smith explained the origin of these types of income by labor savings or by an increase in labor productivity. According to J.-B. Sayu, each of the factors of production generates a corresponding income.

In modern conditions of production, entrepreneurship ... This is a type of work, which is characterized by high organizational skills, a high level of qualifications, innovation, and entrepreneurial risk. This type of activity presupposes entrepreneurial ability as a special type of human capital. It consists in the effective combination of factors of production to create goods and services that generate income for all participants in the enterprise and satisfy social needs.

In economic theory postindustrial society additionally allocate information and environmental resources (factors) (Figure 2.3.1.).

Technology- man-made methods of influencing resources in the production process, expanding the possibilities of using their properties.

Energy- a driving force that transforms natural resources to create goods and services.

Information resource- search, collection, processing, storage and dissemination of useful information necessary for human production activities.

Ecology- human interaction with the environment. None of the named resources individually can produce a product and generate income, therefore their interaction is the production process. In the creative production process, raw materials, fuel, materials are consumed (consumed), i.e. production consumption takes place.

FORMS OF PROPERTY

The type of property, which differs in the nature of the subject of ownership, forms form of ownership.
Based on this, the following are distinguished forms of ownership.
1. Individual form of ownership. With this form, it is characteristic for an individual individual to have the right to dispose of the object in his ownership by law, that is, the owner precisely determines what belongs to him. Depending on how the object is used individual property is subdivided into:
1) personal;
2) private.
There are two approaches to distinguishing personal from private property. The first is that objects of individual property are subject to complete coverage of personal property. They are used and consumed by the owner himself or given free of charge for the use of various others. Objects of individual property, which are provided to other persons for use for a contractual fee, are recognized as private property. The above characteristic is inherent in property objects in the form of consumer goods and property. The second assumes that the coverage of objects of individual property is carried out by means of hired labor. In this case, personal property is carried out with the help of one's own labor. ^ This definition is characteristic of individual ownership of the means of production. Based on these definitions, it is impossible to give an unambiguous concept of the delimitation of personal from private property. This is due to the fact that the above forms of ownership depend on the way the object is used, its application and consumption.
As a result of the transition of the Russian economy to a market economy, society began to treat private property with special fear, which is characterized by a lack of understanding of its essence and necessity, as well as the psychology of attitudes towards it.
2. Collective ownership.
Within the boundaries of this form, the subject of ownership is a general set of owners. In this case, the subject of ownership has the right to act as one authorized person or several persons who represent the interests of the entire team, most often in practice as one legal entity, enterprise, company or public organization.
The above forms characterize larger structures of various forms, which encompass a larger set of them. In our country, the following main forms of ownership are distinguished:
1) private;
2) state;
3) municipal.
At the same time, the property of individuals (individual property) and legal entities is also separated.
- this is the property of state authorities involved in social production, as a result of which it cannot belong to others on equal terms. In other words, these are natural resources, fixed and circulating assets, information that are part of the property of the entire people, which, at their request and the decision of the highest authorities of society, has been transferred to the disposal and storage of state authorities.
Municipal property Is property owned by local authorities.
In addition to all the listed forms of ownership, the following types are distinguished on a larger scale property:
1) the nationwide, represented in the form of the wealth of nature, intended for nationwide use with equal access for the entire population;
2) regional state, that is, property at the disposal and storage of state regional bodies;
3) property of public organizations;
4) group and family property.

In the course of property reform in the Republic of Belarus, the following basic and derivative forms and types of property have developed, enshrined in the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus:

1) state property

· Republican;

· Communal;

2) private property

· Individuals;

· Non-state legal entities;

3) common property

· Joint;

· Share.

State property functions as republican (owner - Republic of Belarus) or communal (owners are administrative-territorial units). It includes state-owned enterprises and institutions based on the property of the Republic of Belarus and the property of administrative-territorial units that operate in the Organizational form of unitary enterprises.

Private property in Belarus can function as an individual property, i.e. individual property (natural person). The latter has the right to own objects of property, to carry out activities as an individual entrepreneur or as part of a peasant farm. Collective private property in our country functions in the organizational and legal forms of activity of limited liability companies, additional liability companies, business partnerships and production cooperatives, closed and open joint stock companies.

Common property(family, collective) in the republic there may be share and joint . In addition, the functioning of mixed forms and types of property (state and private) is allowed.

Unlike the American one, the European economic model can be defined as a social market economy. A significant contribution to the theoretical development of such a model was made by representatives of the Freiburg economic school V. Euken, A. Müller-Armak, F. Boehm, V. Repke, L. Miksch. They formulated the main characteristics of the social market economy model.

First, the indisputable need for the existence of a market and free pricing as a mechanism for the economic coordination of consumers and producers was assumed. The fundamental question was not "Market or planned economy, capitalism or socialism?", But the question "What capitalism?"

Second, economic freedom was viewed in this model as a value in itself, and not as a tool to increase market efficiency. Repke argued that even if socialism turned out to be more efficient in producing goods than the market economy, the latter would still be preferable, because it provides citizens with personal freedom. In this regard, effective competition policy is one of the pillars of the social market economy.

Third, the theory of the social market economy differs from the older concepts of a free society in that it recognizes social issues as a matter of government regulation.

Fourth, the supporters of this theory believed that only state regulation of the economy can resist the negative external effects of the market process (market fiasco). But the concept of a social market economy also recognizes the fact that government failures (government fiasco) in regulating market failures can occur as often as market failures.

The following main institutions of the social market economy are distinguished:

* support of a competitive environment (which is primarily a function of state bodies), which prevents the emergence of monopolies, which are the result of restrictions on trade, price fixing, the issuance of government acts and the manifestation of other barriers that restrict the freedom to enter and exit the market;

* liberalization of prices and legislative registration of state non-interference in pricing mechanisms (if such interference is not related to the maintenance and development of a competitive environment);

* pursuing an "open economy" policy. Refusal from such a policy leads to the development of monopoly tendencies, does not allow taking advantage of the international division of labor;

* legislative registration of effective forms of ownership, the transition to a variety of forms of ownership and management;

* freedom to conclude contracts as a prerequisite for the implementation of competition.

Japan, stormy developing after the Second World War, has accumulated sharply specific features of market development, which makes it possible to single out the so-called Japanese economic model. Like the American one, it reflects the peculiarities of historical development and national mentality. Reforming the post-war economy of Japan was carried out according to American liberal patterns, but national features of development very quickly emerged. There is no doubt about the market nature of the Japanese economy. Private property is of fundamental importance here, and the role of the state, if measured by its share of state ownership or the size of the state budget in relation to gross domestic product, is extremely insignificant. However, it would be a mistake to classify the Japanese model as liberal. Japan is a rather closed country with centuries-old traditions, including significant interdependence of citizens related by kinship, property, corporate and other ties. While formally remaining independent, economic entities attach great importance to interaction with their partners, competitors, and other entities. State regulation in such conditions takes the form of mostly not direct instructions, but advice, recommendations, consultations, to which the subjects carefully listen.

The Chinese model, in principle, cannot be classified as a model based entirely on market principles. It is a mixed economy dominated by socialist principles of state regulation. A rapid inflow of foreign investment, the development of private property and market relations - all this is characteristic of China. However, a huge role here is played by a developed state apparatus that regulates most of the processes of economic activity. This country is characterized by significant regional differentiation: in some regions new market enterprises are developing, while others still live in a socialist regime. Enclaves like Hong Kong function quite separately, and even the entry of citizens into their territory is limited. At the same time, China is developing towards a market economy, albeit in a specific version.

Belarusian economic model officially characterized as a model with a socially oriented market economy. This indicates its similarity with the model of the economies of developed European countries. However, it should be taken into account that the economic system of Belarus is still in the process of transformation.

The course towards building a social market economy in Belarus in its content should not be interpreted as a return to a command-administrative economy. It presupposes the creation of effective institutions and mechanisms of a market economy that would allow successfully solving social problems. Economic policy in a social market economy is a policy of strengthening competitive market mechanisms and regulating market fiasco.

Non-price factors.

For measuring supply elasticity also count price elasticity coefficient ... The price elasticity coefficient is the ratio of the change in the price of a given product as a percentage to the change in the value of the offer as a percentage.

If the coefficient<1, то предложение эластичное, если >1, then inelastic, and if = 1, then the change in supply and price occurs at the same level.

In addition to price elasticity, one can similarly calculate the change in the elasticity of supply under the influence of changes in: prices for other goods, technologies, interest rates, taxes, etc.

The main factors that determine the amount of supply, are:

· Sales volume in actual selling prices (total revenue);

· Economic situation;

· Competition;

· tax policy;

· Trade.

Rice. 10.1.1. The phases of the economic cycle.

The crisis is getting worse disorder of the financial sector of the economy : enterprises are experiencing an acute shortage of money for payments and repayment of loan obligations to banks, their accounts payable are increasing. As a result, the bank loan interest increases. The crisis phase occupies a special place in the economic cycle. A crisis situation always indicates the end of a period of successful economic development and the onset of a new period, characterized by the aggravation of all economic contradictions and the destabilization of the entire national economy or its individual spheres and industries. It is believed that crises separate one cycle of economic development from another.

There are the following types of crises . Structural crisis covers, as a rule, several economic cycles and is caused by the need to restructure the structure of production on a new technical and technological basis. Cyclical crisis represents periodically recurring recessions in national production, affecting all sectors and spheres of the national economy. Partial crisis affects a separate sphere or branch of the economy and can occur against the background of one of the structural components of the economic cycle (in the recession phase or in the recovery phase). Industry crisis concerns a specific branch of the national economy. Intermediate crisis has a local character and arises when the steady growth of national production due to economic miscalculations or the influence of external circumstances is suddenly temporarily slowed down, and the pace of development is noticeably reduced. World crisis manifests itself as an economic crisis affecting the development of most of the largest countries in the world, acting as a crisis in the world economy.

The crisis is followed by depression , which is characterized by the fact that after a certain time commodity stocks dissolve at reduced prices, their further decline is suspended. This circumstance leads to the termination of numerous bankruptcies, the level of production no longer decreases. Some time the economy is in a state of stagnation. To get out of it, enterprises are trying to reduce prices, for which they seek opportunities to reduce production costs. In this case, the renewal of fixed capital is of particular importance. As a result, the demand for highly productive and economical to operate production equipment is growing, which is an incentive for industries producing such means of production, and then for the revitalization of the entire national economy.

Revitalization- the third phase of the business cycle. At that time the level of production and employment begin to rise, and the incomes and demand of the population are growing. As a result of this, as well as because of the reduction of production costs by enterprises and an increase in profits, their demand for money for further renewal and expansion of production increases. In response, banks are willingly expanding lending to new investment projects, which leads to an increase in lending rates and a revival of the monetary sphere. The indicators of economic development reach the pre-crisis level, after which the fourth phase of the cycle begins - the rise.

Rise characterized by further an increase in the volume of production and employment, an increase in the investment activity of enterprises. The incomes of the population are increasing, as a result of which consumer spending is growing. At the same time, prices and profitability of production rise, and unemployment is reduced to a minimum. This state of the economy continues until it reaches the highest development indicators, that is, up to peak , where the volume of production is usually well above the level at the beginning of the cycle ... Then the phases of the cycle are repeated over and over again.

Currently, there are three types of economic cycles depending on the reasons for the occurrence and the timing of the duration:

1. Short-term cycles lasting 3-4 years, called Kitchin cycles ... Their reasons are associated with fluctuations in world gold reserves, as well as patterns of monetary circulation.

2. Medium term cycles lasting 10–20 years. The reasons for these cycles are depreciation and frequency of renewal of fixed capital, violation of the mechanism of functioning of the credit sphere. (Zhuglar cycles), as well as periodic renewal of production facilities and housing (the so-called Kuznets construction cycles).

3. Long term cycles (large economic Kondratieff cycles ) lasting 48–55 years. Their reasons are the cyclical development of scientific and technological progress and the dynamics of the use of innovations.

Despite the fact that different types of economic cycles are characterized by certain specificities, they also have common features, which are manifested in the following:

· Short-term, medium-term and long-term cycles of economic development do not oppose one another, but interact and complement each other;

· The main mechanism of short-term, medium-term and long-term fluctuations is scientific and technological progress;

· Short-term, medium-term and long-term cycles have a relatively synchronous form of movement and form a world cycle;

· Short cycles are part of medium cycles, and the latter are part of long cycles of economic development.

Business cycles serve two main functions. First, destructive associated with the breakdown, destructive elimination of the existing abnormal proportions of production, and the second, wellness, - with the renewal of fixed capital and, as a result, access to new, higher levels of production.

As for modern economic cycles , then they are characterized by peculiarities, which boil down to the following:

· Thanks to the regulatory activity of the state, economic cycles have become less deep and less long: their duration has decreased from 10-12 years at the end of the 19th century. - the first half of the XX century. up to 5-7 years old at the present time;

· Earlier, the phases of the cycle in different countries occurred at different times. The cycle is now synchronized, and its phases begin in most countries almost simultaneously;

· Due to countercyclical government regulation, the boundaries between the individual phases of the cycle have become more blurred, less clear, and the phases of the cycle smoothly transition into one another;

· From the beginning of the 70s of the XX century. the economic cycle is inherent stagflation (simultaneous growth of inflation and unemployment) against the background stagnation (production stagnation).

Fig 11.1.1. Aggregate demand curve.

Non-price factors shift the aggregate demand curve itself either to the right when it increases, or to the left when it decreases under their influence.

Consumption and savings

Aggregate demand largely depends on the total expenditures of the population on the purchase of consumer goods and services, or aggregate consumption ... These costs represent the main (about 2/3) part of the aggregate demand. The rest comes from investment, government spending and net exports. From the point of view of Keynesian theory, the higher the consumption, the greater the volume of national production and national income.

Consumption depends on objective and subjective factors. The main objective factor that determines the level of consumption , is an disposable income ... It represents the funds remaining with the population after paying taxes to the state and used by them at their own discretion. A significant part of it is spent on the purchase of goods and services necessary to meet the needs, forming consumer spending.

Rice. 12.2.1. Consumption function.

The volume of consumption is directly dependent on the amount of disposable income: the higher the income, the more funds can be spent on consumption. The relationship between consumption and disposable income is called consumption function ... It can be depicted graphically (Fig. 12.2.1.).

In this figure, the situation where all disposable income is spent on consumption is shown as the bisector of the angle of origin. Any point located on it reflects the fact that disposable income and consumption expenditures are equal. Thus, the bisector represents the equilibrium segment of consumption. However, in practice, the relationship between incomes of the population and consumption expenditures may differ significantly from the equilibrium line, which in this case changes its configuration and turns into a real segment of consumption that originates from some minimum level of autonomous consumption.

Autonomous consumption() arises when current income is zero or insufficient, but consumption is carried out at the expense of previously accumulated funds, sale of property or "getting into debt." Consequently, part of consumption does not depend on the amount of disposable income. In this case, the distance between the income axis and the real consumption curve expresses the actual consumption.

The main subjective factor of consumption is the psychological propensity to consume., which can be average and marginal. Average propensity to consume ( ) is determined by the percentage of consumption () to disposable income ():

The average propensity to consume gives an idea of ​​how much of the disposable income has been used for consumption.

Marginal propensity to consume () is expressed by the ratio of the change in consumption () to the change in income due to which it occurred ():

Marginal propensity to consume shows how much of the additional income is spent on increasing consumption.

Graphically, the marginal propensity to consume determines the slope of the consumption function: the larger it is, the greater the slope of the consumption segment and the steeper it is. Thus, in a formalized form, the consumption function can be represented as follows:

where is autonomous consumption;

Marginal propensity to consume;

Disposable income.

The quantity always fluctuates between 0 and 1. If = 0, then the entire increase in income goes to consumption. In the case when = 1, all income gains are channeled into savings.

Saving Is that part of disposable income which is not currently consumed but intended to meet future needs. Therefore, savings () represent the difference between disposable income () and consumer spending ():

Savings motives population can be:

· Purchase of real estate;

· Purchase of high-value goods and tourism;

· Provision in old age;

· Insurance against unforeseen circumstances (illness, accident, etc.);

· Providing for children in the future.

Like aggregate consumption, cumulative savings depend on objective and subjective factors. The main objective factor is disposable income , representing the sum of consumption and savings. Consequently, the larger it is, the more opportunities for savings. This dependence is expressed savings function , which is graphically depicted as follows (Fig. 12.2.2.).

Rice. 12.2.2. Savings function.

The figure shows that the curve representing the saving function is located above the axis of disposable income when there is savings, or below it if they are absent.

The main subjective factor of savings is the propensity to save., that is, the desire to save.

It can be average and extreme. Average propensity to save () expressed as a percentage of the saved part of disposable income () to all disposable income ():

The average propensity to save gives an idea of ​​how much of the disposable income has been used to save.

In turn, marginal propensity to save () is determined by the ratio of any change in savings () to the change in disposable income () that caused it:

The marginal propensity to save measures how much of the extra income goes towards saving.

Graphically, marginal propensity to save is the slope of the savings function curve. The larger it is, the greater this angle of inclination (the curve is steeper). In this regard, the formalized form of the savings function can be presented as follows:

where - - autonomous consumption;

Marginal propensity to save;

Disposable income.

A negative value of autonomous consumption () means that consumption expenditures exceed disposable income, lack of personal savings and living in debt.

If the total disposable income is split into total consumption and total savings, then the sum of the increase in total consumption and total savings is always equal to its increase. Hence, + = 1. Hence = 1- , a = 1- .

The significance of savings is that if they are there, they can be consumed without getting into debt. This situation is called Savings effect ... As disposable income increases, the marginal propensity to consume tends to decrease, and the marginal propensity to save tends to grow.

Production factors Are the resources actually involved in the production process.

Consequently, the concept of "production resources" is broader than the concept of "production factors".

Earth- the most important factor of production, is considered as a natural factor, as natural wealth and the fundamental principle of economic activity. Here, from the material factor, natural conditions are allocated to a special fund. In this case, the term "land" is used in the broad sense of the word. It covers all the utilities that are given by nature in a certain amount and over the offer of which a person has no control, whether it be the earth itself, water resources or minerals. Unlike other factors of production, the EARTH has one important property - its limitation. A person is not able to change its size at will. In relation to this factor, we can talk about the law of diminishing returns. This refers to the return in quantitative terms or diminishing returns. Man can influence the fertility of the earth, but this influence is not unlimited. All other things being equal, the continuous application of labor and capital to the land, to the extraction of minerals will not be accompanied by a proportional increase in returns.

Work- in economic theory, labor as a factor of production means mental and physical abilities that people direct in the process of economic activity to create benefits.

"Any work - notes A. Marshall - has as its purpose to produce any result."

The most important characteristics of labor are productivity and labor intensity.

Labor productivity - labor productivity. Labor productivity shows how much output is produced per unit of time.

The intensity of labor is the intensity of labor, characterized by the amount of physical, mental and nervous energy of a person spent per unit of time.

The labor process is carried out through the influence of a person on the substance of nature with the help of various devices, which are generally called the means of labor.

In economic theory and practice of management, means of labor are called fixed capital.

Capital is the next factor of production and is considered as a set of means of labor that are used in the production of goods and services. The term "capital" has many meanings. In some cases, capital is identified with the means of production (D. Ricardo), in others - with the accumulated material wealth, with money, with the accumulated social intelligence. A. Smith considered capital as accumulated labor, K. Marx - as self-increasing value, as a social relation. Capital can also be defined as investment resources used in the production of goods and services and their delivery to the consumer. There are various views on capital, but they all agree on one thing: capital is associated with the ability of certain values ​​to generate income. Outside of movement, both the means of production and money are dead bodies.



Entrepreneurial activity is considered as a specific factor of production that brings together all other factors and ensures their interaction through the knowledge, initiative, ingenuity and risk of an entrepreneur in organizing production. This is a special kind of human capital. Entrepreneurial activity in terms of its scale and results is equated to the cost of highly skilled labor.
The entrepreneur is an integral attribute of the market economy. The concept of "entrepreneur" is often associated with the concept of "owner". According to Cantillom (18th century), an entrepreneur is a person with uncertain, unfixed income (peasant, artisan, merchant, etc.). He receives other people's goods at a known price, and he will sell at a price that is still unknown to him. A. Smith characterized an entrepreneur as an owner who takes economic risk for the sake of implementing any commercial idea and making a profit. The entrepreneur acts as an intermediary, combining the factors of production at his discretion.

The unification of the owner and the entrepreneur in one person began to collapse with the advent of credit and was most prominently revealed with the development of joint-stock companies. In a corporate economy, property as a legal factor loses its administrative functions. The role of property is becoming more and more passive. The owner only owns a piece of paper. The manager is responsible for the performance results. He is driven by the will to win, the desire to fight, the special creative nature of his work.

Resources come at a price. It is defined on resource markets, where owners resources sell them and get from this income in the form of payment for the use of resources:

Labor - wages;

Entrepreneurial ability - entrepreneurial income;

Scientific and technological progress - income from intellectual property;

Natural - rent (land, mining, water charges, etc.);

Capital - interest (as income of the owners of money capital).

  1. Classification of economic resources.

Economic resources are natural, human and man-made resources that are used to produce goods and services. All economic resources can be divided into material resources(land, capital) and human resources(labor and entrepreneurial ability).

Resources- these are sources, means of production support; opportunities to create goods and satisfy needs. The resources that have come out into the production process are called factors production.

The whole variety of resources can be classified according to different approaches.

According to modern economic theory, there are four main groups of resources: Earth, work, capital, entrepreneurial ability... This classification of factors is based on the theory of three production resources by Zh.B. Say, according to which labor, land and capital, participating in production, bring corresponding incomes to their owners - rent, wages, profit or interest. Subsequently, the neoclassical school included the fourth factor in the number of factors of production - entrepreneurial ability.

Earth, being a natural factor, acts as a universal means of production, provides a sphere of action for it, includes agricultural land, minerals, forests, water resources, and other natural resources.

Work- expedient human activity to create goods and services, this is the physical and mental efforts of people in the process of creating goods and services.

Investments in human capital, contributing to the improvement of the general and professional level of the individual, are very effective and quickly pay off, although they increase wages.

Labor is characterized by intensity and productivity.

Intensity- This is the intensity of labor, which is determined by the degree of expenditure of physical, mental, nervous energy of a person per unit of time.

Performance- this is the productivity of labor, it is measured by the amount of products produced per unit of time.

Capital, or investment resources include the entire set of benefits created by the past human labor. To capital (or rather, to real capital) include buildings, structures, machine tools, machinery, equipment, tools used for the production of goods and services.

Financial capital (stocks, bonds, bank deposits, money) does not belong to the factors of production, since it is not associated with real production, but acts only as a tool for obtaining real capital.

The term "capital" itself has many meanings: material goods, human abilities, education, etc.

The classics of economic science (A. Smith) consider capital as accumulated and materialized labor. D. Riccardo believed that capital is the means of production.

According to Marx, capital is a complex concept. Outwardly, it appears in the means of production (constant capital), in money (money capital), in labor (variable capital), in goods (commodity capital). But the material form of capital hides a special production relation. Therefore, capital is a self-increasing value.


Another aspect of capital is associated with its monetary form (J. Robinson).

Despite the fact that views on capital are diverse, they are all united in one thing: capital is associated with ability to generate income.

By the nature of the transfer of the value of material factors of production to the finished product, capital is distinguished basic and negotiable.

Capital materialized in buildings, structures, machine tools, equipment, functioning in the production process for several production cycles and transferring its value to the finished product in parts over several production cycles is called fixed capital .

The capital embodied in raw materials, materials, energy resources, consumed in one production cycle and transferring its value to the finished product is called entirely working capital .

The money spent on working capital is fully returned to the entrepreneur after the product is sold. Fixed capital costs cannot be recouped so quickly and transfer their value to the finished product piece by piece.

In the process of functioning, fixed capital is subject to physical and moral deterioration.

Physical deterioration- this is a process as a result of which elements of fixed capital become physically unsuitable for further use in production. Physical wear is determined by:

· Duration and intensity of use of fixed capital;

· Features of the applied technologies;

· Exposure to the environment.

Obsolescence- this is the loss of part of the value of fixed capital due to the following reasons:

a) the creation of similar, but cheaper means of labor (this is obsolescence of the first kind);

b) the release of more productive means of labor as a result of scientific and technological progress (obsolescence of the second kind).

In the industries that determine the scientific and technical process, obsolescence is about three years. In the manufacturing industry of developed countries, 60-80% of capital investments are spent on technical modernization.

Obsolete equipment is economically ineffective, and therefore the products manufactured on it are uncompetitive.

Reimbursement of physically and morally obsolete equipment occurs at the expense of depreciation charges (part of the cost of fixed capital, which is annually included in the cost of manufactured products).

Depreciation rate= Amount of depreciation charges× 100%

Fixed capital cost

Depreciation Is the process of transferring the value of fixed capital to the value of the goods produced.

Entrepreneurial ability presupposes proactive independent activities of people aimed at making a profit (or personal income), carried out at their own risk and under their property responsibility. This is a special type of "human capital" that organizes production, combining all the necessary factors for this; makes the main decisions on production management and business conduct; risks his money, time, business reputation, because in market conditions there is great uncertainty of the result, and profit is not guaranteed. In addition, an entrepreneur must be an innovator, actively introduce new technologies, products, new methods of organizing and managing production - only in this case he can count on making a profit.

In the process of using the results of scientific and technological progress and the transformation of economic relations, such as science, information, time, ecology act as new factors of modern production.

Resources combine and interact. So, the capital is spent by the entrepreneur for the purchase of natural and labor resources, the results of scientific and technological progress. In turn, scientific and technological progress increases the efficiency of capital use, increases the return on natural and labor resources, and improves the organization of production.

In a market economy, economic resources are bought and sold in factor markets. The consumers of economic resources are enterprises (firms), since they carry out the production of various goods. Households are the owners (owners) of economic resources. The resource price is determined in the resource markets. Resource owners receive special income in the form of rent (land), interest (capital), wages (labor), profit (entrepreneurial ability). We only note here that profit cannot be interpreted as a kind of equilibrium price, by analogy with the market for labor, capital, land, since the market for entrepreneurial abilities does not exist.

People live in a world of disabilities. Each of us is limited in our physical, intellectual and temporal capabilities.

The natural, material, labor and financial resources of society also have their quantitative and qualitative limits. This is objective. The scarcity of resources is determined by natural reasons, associated, for example, with geographic conditions. Human resources are also limited.

Depending on the possibility of replenishing reserves, resources are divided into renewable and non-renewable.

TO renewable refers to resources that can be replenished in part or in full as a result of the action of natural forces of nature. Examples of such resources are fish stocks, timber, animal populations. However, replenishment of these resources can be difficult if the resource has a long “maturation” period (for example, 30-50 years for trees) or if it is overexploited for a long time. Renewability does not mean that a resource cannot be completely destroyed. The possibilities for replenishing resources depend on the scientific potential of the society, the level of its knowledge and technologies.

Non-renewable resources are any resources, the number of which is finite, i.e. is limited and cannot be replenished. The most obvious non-renewable resources are oil, coal, gas, etc.

Distinguish absolute and relative limited resources.

The absolute limited resources mean the lack of production resources for the simultaneous satisfaction of all the needs of all members of society. But to satisfy any selected, specific needs, resources are sufficient - this is the "relative" limited resources.

Thus, limited resources allocated to meet unlimited needs mean their absolute, insurmountable limitation, on the contrary, the same limited resources allocated to meet limited needs have relative limitation. Consequently, the absolute scarcity of resources turns into relative due to choice of needs to be satisfied.

Choice in the context of relatively limited resources is necessary.

Economic science is the theory of choosing the optimal economic solution.

Economic benefits

Good Is a means of satisfying needs. The property of an object to satisfy a person's need does not yet make it a good. The ability of an object to satisfy any need must be realized by a person. For example, medicinal plants growing in the wild will only become a blessing when a person realizes their healing power and feels the need to heal the body.

The classification of goods is carried out according to various criteria and is very diverse (as well as needs).

The neoclassical school pays special attention to the distinction between economic and non-economic benefits. This distinction is related to the concept of rarity. Non-economic blessing available in unlimited quantities. Economic benefit is a rare boon. According to K. Menger, a representative of the Austrian school, the ratio between the need and the amount of goods available to satisfy this need makes them economic or non-economic. The neoclassical school emphasizes that a commodity is an economic good intended for exchange, but this definition does not indicate that a commodity must necessarily be a product of labor. K. Menger draws attention to this fact, giving a scientific explanation of the category of goods. Goods Are economic goods intended for exchange.

The economic nature of goods is determined by their value (value). In accordance with the theory of Karl Marx, the value (value) of an economic benefit is determined by the costs of socially necessary labor, that is, labor carried out under average socially normal conditions of production, average intensity and labor productivity. According to neoclassical ideas about the nature of goods, their value depends on rarity, on the intensity of consumption and the amount of goods that can satisfy a given need. It is assumed that any need can be met by several goods, and any economic good can be used to meet different needs. If q 1, q 2, ..., qn is the aggregate of quantities of each of n goods, and p 1, p 2, ..., pn are the prices of goods, then the value of the aggregate set of goods satisfying needs can be written as Σp iqi, where i = 1,…, n.

The classification of goods can be represented as follows:

· Benefits consumer(direct), designed to directly meet human needs;

· Benefits production(indirect) are resources used in production;

· Private goods- goods, the consumption of which is competitive and for which an exception is possible, i.e. consumption of goods by one individual reduces the amount available to others. In the absence of the possibility of exclusion, the market cannot work, and the lack of competitiveness of consumption means that the goods must be provided at a zero price;

· Public good- a product or service, when provided to one individual, they are available to others without additional costs;

· Normal good- a good, the demand for which falls with a decrease in income;

· Worst good- a good for which, other things being equal, an increase in income causes a drop in demand;

· Free boon- the good can be truly free only if it is unlimited. Examples of these benefits are very rare and will become even more rare over time. It is generally accepted that air is an example of such a good, but today, pollution of clean air entails significant costs for society. So the sunshine in the Sahara desert is an example of a free good;

· Long-term that involve multiple use of the good (durable goods);

· Short-lived, the benefits of one-time consumption (food);

· Interchangeable goods (substitutes) - goods replacing one another with similar properties;

· Complementary benefits (complements);

· Material goods- gifts of nature, agricultural products, buildings, cars, etc .;

· Intangible goods- business ability, professional skills, reputation, etc .;

· Real benefits;

· Future benefits etc.

Rarity and abundance

 

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