The consequence of the development in breadth and depth of the processes of the international division of labor was, in particular, the increase in economic interdependence in the world economy at the micro level – between enterprises engaged in foreign economic activity, as well as at the macro level – between national economies. The globalization of world economic development, encompassing the process of merging national, regional and sectoral markets, has become increasingly pronounced.
By the end of the XX century. on the development and functioning of the world economy began to have a significant impact on the process of globalization. Moreover, globalization began to manifest itself in all spheres of human activity: economic, social, humanitarian. The processes taking place in a particular sphere of public life acquire a global character and affect processes, phenomena in other areas. Therefore, it is logical to raise the question in the scientific literature about the globalization of the legal space, the globalization of political relations, the globalization of the economy, information and communication globalization, ethnic globalization, etc.
There are many approaches to the analysis of the process of globalization, and, accordingly, many attempts are being made to define it. Most researchers agree in defining the globalization of the world system as a process that has the following forms of manifestation:
Globalization is a historical process that has been developing over many centuries of the formation of the earth’s civilization, predetermining the manifestation and action of generally unifying cultural and economic trends in the world. Globalization as a closer and broader interaction of states and international organizations in assessing the state and finding solutions to the growing problems affecting the interests of not only individual states, but also the whole of humanity, constituting the essence of comprehensive security and most directly affecting the viability of the biosphere. Globalization as the highest stage of internationalization, where in a broader view it is understood as a set of such processes and phenomena as cross-border flows of goods, services, capital, technology, information and intercountry movement of people, the predominance of orientation to the world market in trade, investment and other transactions, territorial and institutional integration of markets.
Unlike the internationalization of production, which means the extension of the production cycle beyond the national framework, globalization means an increase in the degree of openness and integration of the national economy into the world economy.
In this regard, it should be noted that the Republic of Belarus is consistently pursuing a policy of integration into the world economy. The criteria for the openness and integration of the economy into the world economy are:
the degree of admission of foreign competitors to the national markets, i.e. the average rates of customs tariffs (they are low in Belarus); free choice of partners by enterprises in the foreign market (such restrictions are practically absent); comparability of domestic and world prices (with the exception of gas prices and individual prices for utilities, their structure corresponds to the world one); convertibility of the national currency (practically achieved); openness of financial markets and integration of payment systems in accordance with international standards (the Belarusian payment system was recognized in 1999 as one of the best in the CIS).
The process of integration of national economies into the world economic space is accompanied by the emergence of new markets (capital, Euromarkets, insurance, etc.), the emergence of new infrastructure facilities of the world market (information systems, the Internet, cellular and satellite communications), the development of new rules for regulating international relations in the form of multilateral agreements on cooperation, conventions, and the intellectual environment.
Globalization covers processes that are heterogeneous in their origin, spheres of manifestation, mechanisms and consequences, which makes it possible to consider it as a qualitatively independent, complex system of phenomena and relations, integral in its consistency, but internally very contradictory. For example, The active participation of Belarus in international trade benefits from the so-called “spillover” of the latest technologies from trading partners, which represents a potential opportunity to overcome the well-known technological assertion from the more developed countries of the world. At the same time, accelerated integration into the world market can be dangerous for national producers who do not have sufficient competitive experience in the face of intense global competition, since insufficiently “flexible” producers may not be able to withstand competition.
A systematic analysis of the causes explaining the phenomenon of globalization allows us to identify the following factors that determine the development of globalization:
1. Economic – huge concentration and centralization of capital, growth of power of international corporations, intensification of international specialization of production and cooperation, international marketing, e-commerce, international logistics.
2. Political – state borders are gradually becoming more transparent, providing more and more opportunities for the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital.
3. International – links the dynamics of globalization with the dates of major international events that stimulate the process of globalization. These are the Conference of the European Communities in Luxembourg in 1985, which adopted the European Act (entered into force in 1987), which proclaimed four freedoms in the international movement of goods, people, services and capital; The GATT Conference in Punta del Este in 1986, which opened the Uruguay Round of negotiations (mainly on tariff reductions and other trade restrictions), which lasted eight years; the reunification of Germany; the elimination of Comecon and the Warsaw Pact.
4. Technical – the development of modern means of transport, information systems and technologies, communications and telecommunications, flexible automated production, which create unprecedented opportunities for the rapid dissemination of information, technologies, goods, financial resources. As a result, costs are reduced so much that it has become not only possible, but also profitable for enterprises to place their divisions in different countries.
5. Social – the weakening of the role of traditions, social ties and customs contributes to the increase in the mobility of people in the geographical, spiritual and emotional sense.
6. Liberalization, deregulation of goods and capital markets, softening and unification liberalization of customs, trade, tax legislation of many countries have also strengthened the economic interdependence of national economies and their economic entities.
UN experts state that the developing globalization inevitably significantly reduces the freedom of action of certain countries in the formation of economic policies implemented by them. Consequently, an increase in the degree of openness of the economy is inevitable, and the degree of freedom of states will be significantly reduced. It is emphasized that simplified recipes, which focus on increasing openness and reducing state intervention in economic processes, as well as on the need for speedy integration into the world economy, are not confirmed by either theory or practice. Undoubtedly, the role of the State will remain important even if the size of the market increases as a result of liberalization.