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ALL-RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF FOREIGN TRADE

Faculty of International Economists

day department

Department of World National Economy

COURSE WORK

In the discipline "World Economy"

On the topic: "Peculiarities of development and the place of the BRICS countries in the world economy"

I've done the work:

Student of the 2nd year of the 1st group

Galyapin Pavel Valerievich

Moscow 2014

• introduction
• 1. BRICS
• 1.1 History of creation
• 1.2 Goals and objectives
• 2. BRICS countries: features of development and their place in the world economy
• 2.1 Federative Republic of Brazil
• 2.2 Russian Federation
• 2.3 Republic of India
• 2.4 Chinese People's Republic
• 2.5 South Africa
• conclusion
• bibliography
• Introduction
• The globalization of the world economy determines new trends in the cross-border movement of capital. One of the main players in the international arena is the BRICS union. Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa are the member countries of the bloc and, perhaps, one of the most active and energetic members of the globalization process. Despite the dynamically developing alliance, the activities carried out by the participants require special attention and theoretical understanding.
• What is BRICS anyway? We always hear that the BRICS (BRICS) is a group of five dynamic developing economies of the modern world. From the media, we receive information about the strength and authority of this union, as well as about the growing influence of the countries of the alliance, not only in politics, but also in the economy. But is it? What goals and objectives does this union actually pursue? What is the place of each country in it? And why exactly these countries were destined to create an alliance that progresses from year to year, forcing the leading economic and political powers to take into account their position in world issues. In my work, I examined the economic and political aspects of this block, the features of the development of each of the countries that make it up, as well as their place in the world.
• The relevance of the topic of this course work lies in the fact that at the beginning of the XXI century. the sharp strengthening of the role of a group of states with dynamically developing economies (primarily the BRICS countries) has become one of the phenomena of the world economy. However, there are still many theoretical questions and practical problems related to the genesis and evolution of these processes, to which there are no unambiguous answers yet.
• The purpose of this work is to study the main factors in the development of the BRICS countries and their influence on world politics and the economy at the present stage.
• To achieve this goal, the following tasks are solved in the work:
• - study of the history of the creation of the BRICS organization;
• - studying the goals of BRICS;
• - study of the formation of the BRICS alliance and the place of each of the countries in it;
• - study of the history of development of the countries of the BRICS group;
• - analysis of the implementation of an economically oriented policy in the BRICS countries;
• - identification of the main problems in the economies of the BRICS countries;
• - study of development prospects economic policy in the future in the grouping of BRICS countries.
• The object of the study is the features of the development of the BRICS countries and their place in the world economy.
• The subject of the study of the course work is the external and internal economically oriented policy implemented throughout the current history in the BRICS countries, the structure and dynamics of economic development.
• When writing a term paper, the following methods of scientific research were used:
• - comparative method;
• - study of the legal framework;
• - study of monographic publications and articles;
• - analytical method.
• Course work consists of an introduction, conclusion, two chapters and a list of references.

1. BRICS

BRICS is a group of five most promising countries in the world: the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa. Its members are characterized as the most rapidly developing large countries, possessing large reserves of resources important for the world economy, on which the economies of the BRICS countries are guided.

Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of agricultural products, and this country is also rich in rich deposits of minerals, such as iron ore, manganese ores, nickel, bauxite, tungsten, uranium ore, thorium, zirconium and gold.

Russia is the world's largest exporter of mineral resources, the main of which are oil and gas, as well as coal, iron, cobalt, silver and gold.

India is the owner of cheap intellectual resources.

China is the largest state in terms of population, and therefore the owner of cheap labor resources.

South Africa is rich in a variety of natural resources such as manganese, platinum group metals, coal, diamonds, asbestos, nickel, lead, uranium, gold, chromites, vanadium, aluminoglucates and zirconium.

The BRICS group is not a registered international organization, does not have an official status, but periodically holds various meetings, and annually since 2009 the heads and ministers of these countries gather for summits (until 2011 - BRIC, after - BRICS).

1.1 History of creation

The abbreviation "BRIC" ("BRIC") was first proposed in 2001 in a bank research note by business analyst and global economist at Goldman Sachs Jim O "Neill, who discovered, after a long observation, the rapidly growing influence of participating countries on the global economy. The term itself - the acronym "BRICS" ("BRICS") was created with the statement of the Indian Minister of Finance after South Africa joined the BRIC in 2011. The sequence of letters in the word is determined not so much by euphony, but by the fact that the word itself in English transcription is similar to the English word " bricks", which translated into Russian means "bricks", that is this abbreviation is used to denote the union of such countries, due to the growth of the economies of which the future development of the world economy, as well as stock markets, will be largely ensured.

In total, four meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BRIC countries took place.

Traditionally, at the sessions of the UN General Assembly, a large number of meetings are held outside the framework of official meetings. Thus, on September 20, 2006, on the sidelines of the 61st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, at the initiative of the President Russian Federation Vladimir Putin held a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Russia and China and the Minister of Defense of India, which gave rise to the practical interaction of these four countries within the BRIC group. The outcome of this meeting was the confirmation by the participants of Brazil, Russia, India and China of interest in the development of multifaceted quadripartite cooperation.

On September 24, 2007, the second meeting was held at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs of the BRIC countries, also during the session, but already the 62nd, of the UN General Assembly in New York. As a result, the following important decisions for the future of this union were made:

on holding annual full-format meetings of the heads of foreign affairs agencies in turn in each of the countries;

on the launch of a consultation mechanism at the level of deputy foreign ministers;

on the establishment through the embassies and permanent missions Brazil, Russia, India and China regular contacts in the main for multilateral diplomacy capitals such as New York, Vienna, Geneva, Nairobi.

The first consultations of the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs took place on March 10-11, 2008 in Rio de Janeiro. Thus, the foundation was laid for bringing to a permanent basis the interaction between the four countries through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On the initiative of the Russian side, on May 16, 2008, a full-scale ministerial meeting was held in Yekaterinburg within the framework of the BRIC group. In a joint report based on its results, the parties' common positions on issues of modern world development were formulated.

At the G8 summit in Japan on the island of Hokkaido in Toyako on July 9, 2008, at the initiative of Russia, a brief meeting of the leaders of four countries took place: Brazilian President L. Lula, Russian President D.A. Medvedev, Indian Prime Minister M. Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao. The outcome of the meeting was an agreement on the preparation of a full-scale BRIC summit.

The fourth meeting of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the BRIC countries was held on September 25, 2008 by the UN in New York on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the General Assembly. The main topics were the problem of the global financial crisis and issues of interaction within the UN.

Contact was also established through the ministries of finance. So, on November 7, 2008 in Sao Paulo (Brazil) on the eve of the G20 events to overcome the global financial crisis (where, by the way, the finance ministers and heads of G-20 central banks decided that developing economies should take on a greater role in the new world financial architecture) at the initiative of the President of Brazil, the first meeting of the BRIC finance ministers was held. And on March 13, 2009 in Horsham (Great Britain) the second meeting of finance ministers was held with the participation of the heads of the Central Banks of the BRIC countries. As a result of these events, a joint coordinated report was made, which outlined common approaches to global economic issues, including ways to overcome the financial crisis, as well as an agreement to hold regular meetings between the finance ministers of the BRIC countries and their deputies.

In the quadripartite format, official contacts were also supported by interactions between regional authorities and public organizations.

The pinnacle of the dialogue between the four countries was the first full-scale summit of the BRIC countries, held in Yekaterinburg (Russia) on June 16, 2009, which was attended by the leaders of four countries: President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Prime Minister Republic of India Manmohan Singh and President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao. During the summit, two meetings were organized: in a narrow and broad format. Later, Dmitry Medvedev made a statement to the press on behalf of the heads of the BRIC countries. In a statement, the President of the Russian Federation wrote: “... our first, our kick-off summit met expectations. The conversation turned out to be not just serious and detailed - it was absolutely substantive, focused on practical ways, on finding ways to solve the most pressing problems of our time. …First of all, we talked about the financial and economic situation in the world. “...” We discussed this from a practical angle of the prospects for our work and the effectiveness of the cooperation of the BRIC Quartet in the fight against global crisis, including, of course, our work on other sites.” Among other things, the following were adopted: the Joint Statement of the BRIC Leaders and the Joint Statement of the BRIC Countries on Global Food Security. In the final documents of the kick-off summit, the parties expressed their interest in further coordination of interaction in the process of building a multipolar world, in strengthening and greater coordination of cooperation in the energy sector with the participation of energy transit countries, producers and consumers, and in supporting ideas for a new system of sustainable growth.

The second summit of the heads of countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China was held on April 15-16, 2010 in Brasilia (Brazil), which discussed key international policy issues and concrete actions to promote coordination and cooperation of activities within the BRIC. An interesting fact is that later the First Business Forum of the BRIC and IBAS countries (India, Brazil, South Africa), which took place on the eve (April 13-14) of the summit in Rio de Janeiro, was timed to coincide with this meeting. The forum included meetings of representatives of development banks of countries, a seminar "BRIC and IBAS: opportunities for joint business development", negotiations of entrepreneurs from different countries, plenary sessions:

1 - “The role of Development Banks in stimulating external economic ties and investments of the largest developing countries”, which was moderated by the Minister foreign trade South Africa or a representative of the Development Bank of South Africa;

2 - "Opportunities for doing business in the field of energy" from the Minister of Economic Development of Russia;

3 - "Business Opportunities in Information Technology" was prepared by the Minister of Foreign Trade of India;

4 - Minister of Foreign Trade of the People's Republic of China presented "Business Opportunities in Infrastructure Projects";

5 - “Business opportunities in agriculture and food production” from the moderator - the executive secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil.

After the Second Summit, the heads of state and government of the participating countries stated that they "welcome the fact that the G20 has been recognized as the main forum for international economic coordination and cooperation of all its member states ...". Issues were discussed international economy and finance international trade, millennium development, agriculture, poverty alleviation, energy, climate change, terrorism, the Alliance of Civilizations. Also on the agenda were tasks, goals and ways of cooperation between Brazil, Russia, India and China, not only at the level of the external economy, but also technological progress, science, culture and sports.

Until December 2010, the term "BRIC" was used in relation to the organization. The BRICS itself was formed in 2010-2011. In November 2010, at the G8 summit in Seoul, South Africa expressed its desire to join BRIC. After a short dialogue between the countries of the group, the PRC President sent an invitation to the President of the Republic of South Africa to take part in the III BRICS Summit, held in April 2011 in the Chinese city of Sanya on the island of Hainan. The unification of the states of Brazil, Russia, India, China and, subsequently, the Republic of South Africa, which joined in 2011, became one of the most significant geopolitical events of the 11th century.

On April 13, on the eve of the BRICS summit, a meeting was held between representatives of the Ministries of Economy and Foreign Trade of the five countries. On the Russian side, Deputy Minister of Economic Development O.V. Fomichev. On the agenda were such issues as the regulation of macroeconomic policy in the BRICS countries after the global financial and economic crisis, the deepening of trade and economic cooperation within the five countries, the coordination of the actions of the BRICS countries in international formats, and the reform of international financial institutions.

At the very same Third Summit of the countries of the BRICS Union, held from April 13 to 14, 2011, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa adopted a declaration, which is based on an assessment of the main aspects of cooperation between the countries of the association. In addition, an agreement on financial cooperation within the framework of the interbank mechanism was signed at the summit. Following the meeting, the leaders of the countries decided to form a contact group, which in the future will be responsible for preparing proposals for the development of the institutional framework and for expanding economic cooperation between the five countries. Also, representatives of the participating countries unanimously expressed their support to the President of the Russian Federation on the issue of Russia's accession to the World trade organization. After the summit, the leaders of the participating countries made a statement to the media: “... An important event of the meeting was the adoption of a long-term plan of action.

The emphasis in it is on the development of economic ties, on interaction within the G20, as well as on the more active inclusion of structures in our cooperation. civil society... ". The events in Libya were discussed, the death of the civilian population there, it was noted that "the solution of the problem should be provided exclusively by political and diplomatic means, and not by force." The mediation efforts of the African Union, led by South African President Jacob Gedleyichlekis Zuma, were highly appreciated. The topic of the tragic events in Japan and Minsk was also raised at the summit.

On March 28-29, 2012, the Fourth BRICS Summit was held in the capital of India - New Delhi. The issues of the global economy, anti-crisis measures, as well as the problem of resolving the situation around Syria and Iran, which are disintegrating and being devoured by an internal war, were put on the agenda. In addition, the leaders of the countries discussed the possibility of creating their own Development Bank, the funds of which will be used in the development of infrastructure projects in the five countries. The main objective of the Bank is to support the expansion of trade between the BRICS countries and other emerging economies. The idea of ​​creating a new world development bank primarily means reducing the role of the dollar and the euro in settlements between countries, which in theory can help end crises, as well as strengthening national currencies. The heads of the BRICS countries instructed their representatives of the ministries of finance to analyze the possibilities of implementing this idea. As a result of the summit, the so-called Delhi Declaration was adopted, which outlines the importance of development and cooperation in the areas of healthcare, scientific and technological development, agricultural development as well as culture. In addition, it was decided to organize forums of countries on security issues, legal support, urbanization, competition and science and technology.

The Fifth BRICS Summit, the theme of which was "URICS and Africa: partnership for development, integration and industrialization" was held from 26 to 27 March 2013 in Durban (South Africa). As a result, two documents adopted at the summit were made public: the Ethekwin Declaration and the Ethekwin Plan of Action. With the end of the Fifth Summit, the first cycle of BRICS summits ended. In accordance with the declaration, the leaders of the participating countries discussed ways to strengthen between the BRICS states and the African continent, decided within the framework of NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) to support through not only direct investment, but also knowledge sharing, assistance in infrastructure development African countries in the process of industrialization. Leaders noted that reform of the IMF's governance is needed to increase the weight of developing countries, including the poorest countries in Africa.

The declaration also says that, as necessary, a consultative meeting of senior officials of the five countries should be held at forums on sustainable development, climate and environment. Cooperation in the field of combating corruption, drug trafficking, youth policy, tourism, sports and energy was named as new areas of cooperation.

The sixth BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza in July.

1.2 Goals and objectives

The reason for the creation of the BRIC alliance was the financial crisis that overwhelmed the economies of countries around the world, especially the performance of developed countries worsened. The economies of the leading powers: the United States, the European Union and Japan were falling, but in developing countries, on the contrary, an upsurge was visible. So, in aggregate, over the past decade, four countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - have registered one third of world economic growth. As a result, the crisis showed that the modern monetary system is rather shaky, and the biocentric model in world politics is already outdated, and that world economy needs "innovation". One of the significant factors of change was the formation of an alliance of five countries - BRICS.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have one thing in common - they are countries with rapidly developing economies. Each of the countries is not only endowed, but it is rich in certain resources that are important for the world economy, which distinguishes them from other countries, giving them not just a voice in the decision international affairs, but also a sufficiently large influence on the solution of those.

The countries that make up the BRICS represent 4 parts of the world: Europe (the Russian Federation...as Wikipedia says, from 22 to 23%...), Asia (the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China), America (the Federative Republic of Brazil) and Africa (South Africa) with 43% of the world's population, and therefore the largest global market. This made it possible to attract more than one-fifth of the global flow of foreign direct investment to the countries of the union, of which about $270 billion are investments from the West. In addition, the share of the BRICS countries, according to the figures of 2013, accounts for more than 21% of global GDP, and the total volume of foreign exchange reserves reached 4.4 trillion. dollars, which is four times higher than the United States and eurozone countries combined, which allowed them not only to stand on the same level with developed countries in terms of representation in economic matters, but also contributed to their significant influence in politics, and also to start developing their own Development Bank BRICS.

The main tasks of the organization are the desire to build a multi-centric world, creating a counterbalance not so much to the economy as to the policy of the United States of America, as well as strengthening the group's influence on global economic processes.

The goals of BRICS are:

· First of all, reforming the financial and economic system of the world, which does not take into account the increased weight of developing and newly industrialized countries, through reforms and amendments in the World Monetary Fund. As a consequence, the structure should be based on the principles of democratic and transparent decision-making and implementation in international financial institutions, as well as a sound legal basis;

· Giving the world economy sustainable and balanced growth;

· Increase in employment of the population;

· Creation of a stable and predictable system of international reserve currencies;

· Strengthening strategic cooperation at the level of heads of state, ministries of foreign affairs, economic development, finance and others through three main factors: macroeconomic stability; economic liberalization; increase in the level of education.

· Defending the political interests of the "five" in the international arena, as well as strengthening the positions and interaction between countries in the " big twenty”, which includes all BRICS countries;

· Strengthening coordination in the cooperation of countries in the energy field, as well as the creation of a new energy infrastructure;

· Improvement of international trade and investment climate; curbing trade protectionism maintaining a stable multilateral trading system;

· Strengthening efforts to provide international humanitarian assistance and reduce the risk of natural disasters and develop cooperation between the BRIC countries in socially significant areas;

· Promotion of cooperation between the BRICS countries in the field of science and education, including for the purpose of conducting fundamental research and developing advanced technologies;

· Countering the international terrorist, criminal and military threat;

· Development of a consistent, active, pragmatic, open and transparent dialogue and cooperation among the BRICS countries

· Formal creation of the BRICS Business Council, designed to support new multilateral business projects.

Today, the BRICS union is a significant player in the international arena due to the special economic and political positions of the member countries in the current events taking place in the world.

It can be stated that since the beginning of the common five-sided cooperation, the alliance has achieved good results in the field of analysis of the processes taking place in the world. However, the question arises regarding the implementation of the main task of the BRICS - the achievement of economic growth, as well as the growth of the relationship between the economies of Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. Let's consider the issue using the analysis of Rosstat statistics on Russia's foreign trade.

I think that it is worth noting a significant increase in both exports and imports in the period 1995-2011. If the volume of China's exports in value terms in 1995 amounted to 3371 million US dollars, then in 2011 it already reached 20325 million dollars. In second place is India, whose exports increased from 1000 to 6393 million dollars. The situation with imports is similar.

When calculating the indicator of the openness of the economies of the BRICS member countries in relation to the Russian Federation, one can pay attention to the following feature. If we analyze the level of significance of trade with Brazil for the Russian economy, then the conclusion is obvious about the overall decrease in its influence over the last five years (the indicator of economic openness fell from 0.14 to 0.13) against the background of an increase in this indicator for India and China.

Of course, the growth in the influence of the BRICS member countries cannot be unequivocally assessed, but in general, the accelerated development of trade volumes between Russia and the BRICS member countries in the period from 2005-2010 can be explained by the positive effects from the activities of the member states.

Thus, over the entire period of existence of the BRICS association, there have been qualitative changes not only at the level of the political interconnectedness of countries, but also in the field of economy, due to which the overall well-being of the member countries has been increased. In the future, we can predict an increase in the role of BRICS, as well as the continuation of a qualitatively sustainable development of relations between member countries.

economy export policy

2. BRICS countries: features of development and their place in the world economy

2.1 Federative Republic of Brazil

Brazil has been a member of the BRICS since the very foundation of the union. Brazil is experiencing high growth in the economy and a significant increase in influence in the world. This country stands out from the background of other members of the group due to the presence of such a fundamental resource as agricultural products.

The Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest and most populous country in Latin America. In addition, about 90% of the literate population lives in Brazil. It ranks seventh in terms of GDP in terms of purchasing power parity for 2012 (about two and a half trillion dollars).

Today Brazil is a federal presidential republic. Previously, this country was a Portuguese colony, discovered by the navigator Cabral Pedro Alvares in 1500 and gained independence from the mother country on September 7, 1822. Colonization greatly influenced not only the development of the country, but also the culture of the people of Brazil. So, the official language is Portuguese, and most Brazilians are converted as Catholics.

With the advent of the independence of Brazil, Pedro the First (1822 - 1831) became the first emperor, on whose behalf the first constitution of the Latin country was developed. Under his son - Pedro II (1831 - 1889) - Brazil was proclaimed as the Republic of the United States of Brazil. The second emperor was known as a tough monarch, whose reign resulted in the development of a single country with modern nineteenth-century politics and culture. But everything was not so great ... During his reign, Brazil plunged into three wars, the results of which, in addition to separating Brazil from Latin American countries and establishing hegemony on the continent, was a financial hole that the country was forced to cover with loans from the Bank of London, which created a significant public debt, which the republic paid off only in the middle of the twentieth century; but also the strengthening of the army, which has become a powerful political power countries. By the end of the nineteenth century, about 6 million immigrants had moved from Europe and Japan to Brazil. In the second half of the nineteenth century, important programs for the growth of wealth and health were adopted.

Until 1822, sugar and timber were the main exports, but after that coffee became a potential export commodity. In the middle of the nineteenth century, Brazil exported about 40% of coffee, in 1880 - 50%, in 1902 - 65% (480 thousand tons). In the 30s of the twentieth century, the world-shaking financial crisis with the terrifying name "Great Depression" touched the price of coffee, thereby fundamentally shaking the country's economy.

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Brazil has experienced moderate growth and a decline in income inequality, driven by several factors, the first of which is economic stability. Period 1980 - early 1990s. in Brazil is marked by low and unstable growth rates, disorder of public finances, instability of the banking system. Brazil was swallowed up by prolonged inflation, which ceased after the monetary reform of 1994. The reform was carried out as part of the Real Plan, which became the first and main step towards economic stability. The plan implies a program of financial and economic stabilization through the implementation of large-scale privatization of state property in various sectors of the economy. As measures to balance the state budget, it was supposed to tighten control over state banks and improve federal banks, including by privatizing some of them, but at the same time reduce the total number of financial institutions, change the structure and functions, improve the banking supervision system, and create a guarantee system return of deposits.

The second driver of economic growth in the country is the expansion of social protection programs. Getúlio Dornelis Vargas - President of Brazil (1930 - 1945 and 1951 - 1954), one of the first decisions of which was the adoption of a new constitution that contained a number of improvements in the political, economic and social life such as the granting of voting rights to women, the independence of the judiciary, the declaration of freedom of speech, religion, movement and rallies, and the creation of branches of the judiciary to control elections and labor relations. Vargas' policy was to improve the lives of the working class and stimulate industrial growth. Social security contributions covering retirement, survivor's pensions, sick leave, maternity leave, and family or child benefits were main feature social security mechanism. Later, a unified health care system was introduced, guaranteeing health insurance for all citizens.

In addition to social security programs, Vargas made a great contribution to the development of the country at the end of the decade, in addition to the economy (the Great Depression swept the world in the 1930s), the country was swallowed up by a political crisis, which was characterized by the split of the people by two ideologies: fascist and communist .. Despite the crisis , the interim president, having declared a state of emergency in the country, dissolved the Congress, and then took some important political decisions, outlined the reform of the education system; took measures that later led to significant changes in the industrialization of the country. Through the active participation of the people of the country in World War II, the country began to stand out from other industries, which contributed to rapid development due to the influx of foreign investment into the economy. The additional capital helped Vargas, during his second reign, to expand the oil and steel industries, develop the country's national electricity system, and establish the National Economic Development Bank.

In the second half of the 1960s. a favorable climate was established for the influx of foreign investment, during which, with government intervention, came the economic growth of GDP up to 10%, which was later nicknamed the “Brazilian miracle”. At the same time, he was taken to turn the state into a great industrial power by the beginning of this century.

But back to the mechanisms of increasing social protection and services in the country. In 1966, the rights of workers in the formal sector were supplemented by severance pay, and in 1986 and 1998, a right was also approved in the Constitution for unemployment insurance for workers. Another addition was "13 salary" - for workers receiving less than two minimum wages. Concerning social assistance, from 40 to 60 years of the last century, social benefits were mostly based on "in-kind" charitable, and not mandatory, contributions. Later, in 1971 and 1974, two important programs were introduced: "Funrural" for elderly heads of families in rural areas, and "RMV" (Lifetime Monthly Income) for the elderly living in extreme poverty and the disabled.

Replaced the last one in 1988. came the "Permanent Benefit", paid in the amount of the minimum wage. As a result, the poverty rate among the elderly has dropped significantly. In the mid 1990s. social insurance and protection policy has focused not on the rights of workers, but on families. In the social program "Bolsa Famnlia", some innovations were introduced: the presence of obligations aimed at the well-being of children; as well as the possibility of providing social assistance to "able-bodied" citizens. Innovations have increased the income of citizens, which has led to a reduction in poverty and inequality, the main factor of which was the income from work, which in 2009 amounted to about 75% of family income. It was thanks to the rise in labor income that income inequality fell by more than half, which in turn contributed to the increase in the minimum wage, which rose between 1995 and 2009. twice; reducing spending on education with its increased level; and consequently lower unemployment.

The decisive role in the development of the Brazilian economy was played by the institutional reforms of the late twentieth century, many of which are enshrined in the Constitution adopted in 1988. The program strategy "Brazil without poverty" was fundamental, for the implementation of which the most important place was assigned to the municipalities.

Brazil reached its peak in the pace of development during the heyday of import-substituting industrialization, when the annual growth rate was approximately 7.5%. Currently, in terms of growth rates, the Latin American country is in last place among the five BRICS countries. The average growth rate in the period from 2004 to 2010. was 4.4%, which is about twice as high as from 1981 to 2003, when it was about 2%, but still not enough. In the last fifty years, Brazil's growth policy has been directed towards the poorest segments of the population. This is evidenced by the growth in household income per capita, which in the period from 1945 to 1980. was already 2% higher than overall GDP growth. The income of the poorest households grew many times faster than the richest.

Today, the country's economy attracts significant amounts of foreign investors due to steady growth and high interest rates. By building foreign exchange reserves and reducing debt, Brazil has improved its macroeconomic stability. The Brazilian economy is based on a high level of development of the mining and manufacturing industries, agriculture and the service sector.

Brazil is one of the key countries in the developing world. In terms of industrial production, this state ranks among the ten largest countries in the world. The share of industry in GDP is 26.4%, and agriculture - 6.1%. Leading industries: oil and gas, electric power, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical, food, leather and footwear, mining, etc. Brazil has large reserves of minerals such as iron ore, rutile, niobium, beryllium, apatite, bauxite, gold, manganese ore, asbestos, titanium.

Agriculture in the Federative Republic of Brazil employs approximately 20% of the workforce. Brazil is the third largest exporter of agricultural products in the world. The share in world exports is 6.1%, and in the country's exports - almost one third. The leading industry is crop production, which is characterized by a pronounced export orientation. Potential export commodities are coffee, cocoa beans, sugar cane, cotton, corn, bananas, and soybeans. Animal husbandry, mainly meat, is also an integral part of the country's economy. Thus, it provides about 40% of agricultural production by value. Brazil is rich in valuable tree species and rubber. It occupies the 1st place in the world in the production of sugar cane, from which ethanol is used as a biofuel. Dynamics of foreign trade for last years shown in Diagram 1.1.

Diagram 1.1 Dynamics of foreign trade of Brazil in 2008-2012, in billion dollars

Source: Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC)

In the current century, the unemployment rate in the country has been declining quite rapidly, and this is against the background of the crisis, as shown in the Table and Chart 1.2.

Table 1.2 Brazilian unemployment rate, %

Chart 1.2 Source - CIA World Factbook

The size of GDP in terms of purchasing power parity is growing every year (Table and Chart 1.3).

Table 1.3 Brazilian GDP PPP, US$ billion

Chart 1.3 Source -CIA World Factbook

2.2 Russian Federation

Since the collapse of the USSR, Russia has undergone significant economic changes and over the past 20 years has evolved from a globally isolated, centrally planned economy to a market, globally integrated economy. economic system. Economic reforms in the 1990s privatized most industrial enterprises, but property rights protection in Russia is still weak and the private sector is subject to significant state interference.

The changes of the early 1990s could not but affect the country's economy, as a result of which Russia's GDP has been constantly declining for more than 5 years. After the collapse of the USSR, the first insignificant economic growth in Russia occurred only in 1997. In 1997, however, the Asian financial crisis began, which had a negative impact on the Russian economy. This led to the fact that in 1998 the Russian government was unable to fully ensure the payment of debts, and the subsequent sharp depreciation of the ruble significantly reduced the already low standard of living of ordinary citizens. Thus, 1998 went down in history as a year of crisis and a large outflow of capital from the country. However, despite such a large-scale decline, already in 1999, the Russian economy began its recovery. At that time, the ruble exchange rate was very low against the leading world currencies, which became the main stimulus for the country's economic growth and had a positive impact on domestic production and exports. After 1999, Russia experienced a period of stable economic growth, which was primarily made possible by high oil prices and reforms carried out by the Russian government in 2000-2001.

In this regard, the confidence of business circles and ordinary consumers in the favorable economic future of the country began to grow, as well as the inflow of foreign investment increased significantly and the outflow of capital from the country decreased.

At the moment, Russian industry seems to be divided into two parts: production in the most competitive industries, such as oil and gas and steel and aluminum mining, and less competitive heavy industries, which are directly dependent on the country's domestic market. The dependence of heavy industry on the export of raw materials makes Russia more dependent on world prices for raw materials and economic crises. In this regard, since 2007, the Government of the Russian Federation has adopted an economic program aimed at reducing this dependence and creating a high-tech industrial sector, but no noticeable results have been achieved so far.

Since 1998, the Russian economy has grown at an average rate of 7% per year, which eventually led to the emergence of a middle class and a doubling of the real total net income of the population. However, in 2008-2009 The global economic crisis significantly shook the then stable Russian economy, which was the result of a sharp decline in oil prices and a significant reduction in the inflow of foreign investment. Trying to resolve the current instability of the economy and slow down the devaluation of the ruble, the Central Bank of Russia spent about 600 billion dollars. In addition, the Government of the Russian Federation spent $200 billion on the implementation of the plan to rescue the economy in order to increase liquidity in the banking sector and support Russian companies unable to repay large external debts. Nevertheless, by the middle of 2009 the decline in economic activity was overcome and in the first quarter of 2010 the Russian economy began to noticeably grow. However, the problem of drought and fires in the central part of Russia has significantly reduced the volume of agricultural production, which led to a ban on grain exports and a slowdown in the growth of production and retail trade.

While high oil prices helped reduce the fiscal deficit following the economic crisis and supported the country's economic growth in the first quarter of 2011, increased government spending and inflation limited the positive impact of oil revenues.

As for the long-term problems of the Russian economy, high levels of corruption, a reduction in the workforce, insufficient funding for small businesses and non-energy companies, and a lack of developed infrastructure are in the first place. GDP growth at parity purchasing power shown in the Table and in Chart 2.1.

Table 2.1 Size of GDP at PPP in Russia, billion US dollars

Chart 2.1 Source -CIA World Factbook

The Russian economy is the sixth largest economy in the world in terms of GDP at PPP. In 2013, the nominal volume of GDP amounted to 66.7 trillion. rubles, the physical volume of GDP grew by 1.3% compared to the previous year, and the GDP deflator index amounted to 106.5% compared to 2012 prices. For the first quarter of 2014, according to the estimates of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, GDP growth in relation to the first three months of 2013 amounted to 0.9%.

Thus, the volumes of exports and imports in the country depend in direct proportion to the level of GDP, which is shown in Tables and Charts 2.2 and 2.3.:

Table 2.2 Russian exports, billion US dollars

Graph 2.3 Source -CIA World Factbook

In the Russian economy, the state plays a significant role, and in recent years its share has increased markedly. If a few years ago the share of the public sector in country's GDP was 34%, at the moment this figure has grown to 50%, while, according to experts, in the near future the state's presence in the economy of the Russian Federation will only increase.

To date, the number of employees in state-owned enterprises is about 32% of the total employed population of the country, and the number state enterprises accounts for 8.6% of all enterprises. Thus, the volume of sold products of the 10 largest state-owned corporations is more than 20% of Russian GDP, while six of the top ten Russian companies in terms of sales are owned by the state. Energy company "Gazprom", which forms about 8% of the budget of the Russian Federation, is one of the three world leaders, which once again demonstrates the leading role of the state in the Russian economy.

There are several groups of the largest state-owned enterprises that have monopoly control over certain sectors of the country's economy.

According to official data from the Organization for Cooperation and Development, Russian state companies control up to 33% of oil production and 80% of gas production in the country.

During the global financial crisis, the state began to actively support certain sectors of the economy. Firstly, the estimated time frame for the implementation of more than 40% of investment projects in the industrial sector was extended, when the total investment amounted to $52 billion. In addition, huge funds were allocated to support enterprises, primarily in the financial sector, where the state allocated about $50 billion to Vnesheconombank to refinance Western debts. Income tax rates were also reduced and mining tax exemptions were granted.

In connection with the introduction of a new concept for the development of Russia until 2020, the state allocates large sums not only for the development of industry and the military-industrial complex, but also for promotion in the field of high technologies. In addition, by 2020, Russia is planning to transition from a resource-based economy to an innovative one, which provides for the creation of several research centers and support for the formation of research universities.

The fact that there are many large companies in the public sector of the Russian economy allows the state to regulate the economy not only through the application of general macroeconomic measures, but also through direct administration measures, which increases the manageability of the national economy.

Thus, the public sector occupies a special place in the Russian economy, it allows you to control the development of the country's economy as a whole by creating a state monopoly of foreign economic activity and occupying managerial positions in the economy, manage financial flows, redistributing the profits of enterprises and firms.

However, despite the prevailing state control of economic activity, there are many problems in the country. One of them is the incompleteness of important reforms, such as the reform of administration and the reform of housing and communal services, which potentially hinders the development of the public and private sectors in the country's economy.

There is also a problem related to antitrust laws, which exist formally rather than promote competition in markets under state monopolies. In addition, the fact that public corporations have the right to invest billions of dollars in stock market threatens to overheat and reduce the attractiveness of venture financing, which plays one of the critical roles for the development of the high technology market.

In the last decade, there has been an abrupt decline in the unemployment rate in the country due to the growth of the economy (Table and Chart 2.4), an increase in employment, and the implementation of a state policy that stimulates employment, however, to the level of 1991, when only 0.1% of the economically active population were unemployed. , still very far away:

Table 2.4 Unemployment rate in Russia, %

Chart 2.4 Source - CIA World Factbook

Russia is an attractive country for foreign investors due to its dynamically developing economy, unique geographical location and vast natural resources. In addition, Russia has one of the largest consumer markets and sustainable political system. The country is dominated by skilled and educated human capital, an attractive taxation system and state support for enterprises.

In 2013, the inflow of foreign investment into Russia amounted to $94 billion, which demonstrates a significant increase compared to 2012 and is explained by the acquisition of an 18.5% stake in Rosneft by the British oil and gas concern BP. In 2013, for the first time, Russia ranked third in the world in terms of foreign investment inflows, second only to the United States and China. Diagram 2.5 shows the shares of investment by the countries of the world in the Russian economy.

Chart 2.5 Main investor countries in total FDI inflow to Russia, %

There are already a couple of reviews of such devices on Musk, but I decided to add my own, perhaps this will stop someone from wasting money, or maybe vice versa, it will help you choose exactly what you need. So, almost in a nutshell, a refractometer is a device for determining the amount of a substance in a solution, using the refractive index of light in the medium for this.
Being engaged in distillation, you periodically use raw materials, the sugar content of which is unstable and depends on many parameters. And to obtain a product with desired properties, it is useful to know the sugar content. And now, on the eve of the harvest of apples, from which a wonderful calvados is obtained (Applejack (applejack), eau-de-vie (oh de vie, water of life) applesam), the drink has many names, the essence is the same - a drink obtained by fermenting apple must with subsequent distillation, I finally decided to buy myself a refractometer.
To know how sweet the apples are born and whether it is necessary to adjust the must with the addition of sugar or glucose.
The refractometer I bought has three scales: a brix scale for sugar, a Baumé scale for salt, and a scale for measuring the percentage of alcohol. These are the advantages of the device and its disadvantage. The advantage is that, in principle, the device is universal, and the disadvantage is that in each of the measurements it is “undersized”. When I was choosing what to buy from the many options on Ali, I thought "the sugar content in apple must be about 20 brix, so the 'up to 40' scale suits me perfectly." but the alcohol scale is only up to 25% vol, therefore, wine (or mash) can be measured, but strong alcohol will no longer work.
And now I'm already thinking about purchasing a refractometer with a scale of 0-80% vol.
Although there is a set of hydrometers for measuring alcohol, but to use them, you need to pour about 100 ml of liquid into a measuring cup, and it is enough to drop 2-3 drops into a refractometer.
Let's return to the monitored device.
The parcel arrived in a record 8 days. Cardboard box with the device was packed in a yellow bag with a bubble wrap. The box contained the device itself, a pasteur pipette, a screwdriver for adjustment and instructions (in English). All this is placed in a nice cloth "pouch" with strings.


The length of the device is 15 cm, diameter is about 2.5 cm
Device with ATC - automatic temperature correction
In order to take measurements, it is necessary to draw liquid into the pipette, open the lid, drop 2-3 drops on the “object glass”, close the lid and press it against the glass of the device to level and squeeze out air bubbles.
Then look into the eyepiece of the device and see what happened.
This is what the device shows when measuring beer


And these are the indications for the "test" solution - a spoonful of sugar in a glass of water


As it turned out during the discussion of the review, the alcohol scale in this device is not indicative and shows the approximate (possible) alcohol content at a given wort sugar content.
In order to understand what strength alcohol is according to the indications of the Brix scale, you can use the table:

It is up to you to buy a similar refractometer or choose a device with one scale.
Thank you for your attention.