A way of organizing decision-making in a planned economy. Methods of regulation of economic systems. Distinctive features of the traditional economy

In everyday life, we constantly make various decisions, without thinking about why some of them turn out to be successful, and others - unsuccessful. A little reflection shows that in the case of successful decisions, the goal is correctly set, the probability of achieving it is intuitively correctly estimated, and all reasoning is based on the logic of common sense. There is no doubt that intuition, worldly experience and intuition are quite sufficient for solving the simplest practical problems in everyday and even managerial activities that do not require precise analysis and calculation. However, when solving complex management problems in the economy and social life, they now rely less and less on experience, intuition and common sense, and turn to an accurate analysis of the problem, calculation and construction of mathematical models.

This approach to decision analysis was first introduced

accepted within the framework of the theory operations research, emerged during the Second World War. At present, the study of operations is part of a narrow special theory focused on effective management military actions, has become a general scientific direction of research. It is associated with<<применением математиче­ ских количественных методов для обоснования решений во всех об­ ластях целенаправленной человеческой деятельности>>!.

This theory was further developed after the publication by J. von Neumann and O. Morgenstern in 1944 of a work on game theory and economic behavior 2. This theory gives recommendations on how to rationally act in conditions of uncertainty in an economy associated with risk. Thus, practical experience, common sense and intuition are being replaced by an accurate calculation of all emerging possibilities, i.e. solutions based on the construction of mathematical models.

In such models, firstly, the consequences of taking

decisions, or their usefulness, secondly, is determined by

1 Wentzel E. C. Operations Research. - M., 1980. - S. 9.

2 Neiman J., Morgenstern A. Game theory and economic behavior. - M., 1970.

the likelihood of their implementation in specific conditions, thirdly, by comparing different alternatives according to the relevant parameters, choice optimal or more preferable solution. IN Depending on the nature of the problem, either the maximum or minimum value of the objective function will be considered optimal, although most often it is necessary to limit oneself to its best or preferred values. IN the economic sphere, the maximum value will correspond, for example, to obtaining the highest profit, achieving the greatest benefit from the concluded transaction, etc.

characteristic feature considered model is its ratio

flatness, since it is assumed that the subject making the decision reasons and acts reasonably. So face, take

waving final decision (LPR), as well as his consultants, are idealized, rationally acting subjects that may differ significantly from real people. Further, it is assumed that both the goals set and the rational choice of the solution throughout the process remain unchanged.IN concrete reality has to reckon with the influence of various kinds of random and unforeseen events that limit the scope of rational methods. AND Finally, the classical choice model is focused on achieving the optimal solution. In practice, one has to be content with preferred or satisfactory solutions.

The abstract nature of the rational model lies in the fact that it is abstracted not only from the characteristics of specific decision-makers, but also from an objective assessment of the correlation of goals pursued by an individual subject or team (group, class, community). For example, the target function of an entrepreneur for the implementation of a certain project can bring him the maximum profit, therefore, from his point of view, it can be considered rational, but environment it can cause irreparable harm. It is also necessary to take into account the relative nature of rationality itself, since a decision that is considered rational on the basis of given information may not be rational enough with other information.

The most important requirement that any

rational decision is that all decision alternatives should be ordered by the corresponding relation preference, which has properties

sti, comparability and transitivity. Comparability means that of any two alternatives, one of them must be preferable to the other (in the extreme case, indifferent or identical with the other). Criterion transitivity associated with the requirement of succession

the validity of alternatives. If, for example, the alternative A preferred over alternatives IN, the latter is preferable WITH, then the alternative A would also be preferable WITH. Since each alternative depends on the assessment of its consequences, which are usually called utility, it is necessary first of all to evaluate the parameters of utility.

Such an assessment is directly related to the goals that the subject seeks to achieve, and ideally it should correspond to the maximum usefulness of his actions. If the purpose of the subject is to obtain highest income, or the highest return on investment effect, or the fastest introduction of new capacities, etc., then its utility function should correspond to the maximum value of the objective function. On the contrary, when he seeks to prevent loss or loss in various types activity, then its objective function should take into account possible risks and their sizes in order to make them minimal. Based on these assumptions, Neimai and Morgenstern in 1944 built the first axiomatic theory of utility. As axioms, they chose statements that are generally consistent with intuitive ideas about assessing the consequences of decisions. Each branch of activity has its own specific methods and means for evaluating the usefulness of the outcomes of decisions.

Another aspect mathematical model decision making

is concerned with predicting the probability of realization of different choice alternatives or decisions. The assessment of such a probability is carried out in accordance with the statistical interpretation of this concept.

The rational choice model assumes that the recipient

the solution under all conditions chooses the optimal one, best course

actions. However, this assumption does not take into account the fact that people's behavior contains not only rational, but also irrational and even irrational components. Therefore, in the decision-making model put forward by the Nobel laureate in economics G. Simon for <<административного человека>>, the latter, on the basis of known information, chooses not the optimal, but only a satisfactory solution.

The rational choice model is based on certain general principles, which are considered as initial prerequisites for the study of economic life. These principles are the result of a systematic generalization and deep analysis of the long practice of decision-making by both individuals and firms and other organizations acting as economic entities. They are the basic units of the market system of the economy. Some of these principles will seem obvious, others require explanation and argumentation.

How do you make specific economic decisions? To answer this question, consider the fundamental principles of economic activity related to the limited resources of society. It is they who force people to make a choice between different goods.

First principle thing is In order to obtain some goods, people have to give up other goods.

If you want to buy a sweater, you must, if you don't have enough money, refuse to buy shoes. State, if any

a threat to his safety, must choose<<пушки>> instead of<<масла>>. Here<<пушки>> symbolize the use of a significant amount of its limited resources for military purposes, and<<масло>> - direction

most of them to increase the welfare of citizens. When making economic decisions, an economic entity must first take into account its real opportunities, and then determine what he really needs and only then reveal what material benefits he would like to have at his disposal. The relationship between the possible and the necessary is, as is well known, the most important stimulus to human activity in general.

Moving on to the discussion of the next decision principle

ny, it should be recalled that in the first principle we are talking in general about the exchange of material goods, i.e. what must be given up in order to obtain another good. But any good satisfies a certain need and, therefore, has a use value; however, it can be exchanged for another good and therefore has an exchange value. These considerations are taken into account in the second principle.

Second principle is as follows: the value of a good is determined by what can be obtained from it, and the value- what the

it should be given away.

The use value of a good or commodity is measured

its ability to satisfy any need - material or spiritual - when using it. In this case

the good acts as a means to achieve some goal. In previous literature, this concept was called use value, which could cause confusion, since the latter term characterizes the individual needs of the subject in upon receipt good, and often not even quantified.

exchange value Good characterizes the ratio, or proportion, between a given good and other goods that can be obtained for it by giving it up.

If we denote this good by A, and another good, which

can be obtained at his expense, through IN, then the exchange value can be expressed by the relation TV/pA, Where T And P- corresponding parameters denoting the quantities of exchanged goods. Price

Good as an end is determined by what must be given for it or what must be given up in order to get it at your disposal. In the process of exchange, therefore, one has to make a choice: to give up one good in order to receive another good. Therefore, before making a decision on the acquisition of one good, it is necessary to compare the costs and benefits of another good. Such costs are called alternative because they characterize the costs missed opportunities, i.e. just what one has to give up in order to obtain the desired good. Since money is most often used for this, the exchange value is expressed in money.

Within the framework of the entire social economy, economists include all goods that are not used to produce other goods as final goods. Their total set is expressed in the concept of gross domestic product (GDP), which consists of final goods purchased by households (C) and the government (G), as well as goods added to firms' investments (J), this also includes net exports (NX) those. difference between export and import. If we denote the totality of all final goods of the country through GDP, then it can be expressed by the formula

GDP = WITH+ G+ 1 + NHK.

Third principle is that when making decisions, rational or reasonable people always compare the marginal values ​​of their benefits and costs.

In economics, a decision or action is considered rational.

When marginal utility, or the benefit derived from the use of an additional, marginal unit of consumption will exceed the benefit from the use of the marginal unit of the resource. Consequently, resources will be used to produce goods as long as each additional unit of them will bring more benefits than the costs of acquiring them. Marginal benefits or costs are the smallest quantities that economists deal with when making decisions in specific circumstances. The same practice should be followed by every rationally acting subject.

When making decisions, people primarily pursue their

interests and therefore strive to satisfy their needs in the present. However, they do not forget to take care of the future as well. Therefore, they not only consume existing goods, but also strive to save them for the future and even increase their quantity.

Fourth principle postulates that people should care about the future.

Such care is manifested, firstly, in the simple storage of goods for their future consumption or use. The longer the shelf life of a good, the easier it is to make a decision about the possibility of its

consumption and use in the future. Fixed capital is one of the most important stored goods, i.e. machines, equipment, buildings and structures of the enterprise. Here, the main efforts should be directed to the rational use of capital and its timely renewal through depreciation deductions. Stored goods can also be used as a resource for the production of new goods, and often even in greater quantities. Such benefits primarily include money and other financial resources.

Fifth principle thing is, caring about the future:lu

di take into account its uncertainty.

Since the future is always uncertain and unknown to anyone, only various assumptions can be made about it. The most important theoretical means of predicting the future are probabilistic methods. They are based on statistical interpretation of past and present events and a probable assessment of their implementation in the future. All probabilistic forecasts are based on the same assumption. When making economic decisions about the future, economic agents should compare their probabilistic assumptions with those real results, which

which actually arose. Such an analysis will help them learn from the discrepancy between their assumptions and reality, and thereby learn from their own mistakes.

First, probabilistic estimates of the future, in turn, are based on adaptive expectations, when an economic entity assumes that the same features and development trends that occurred in the past will continue in the future. Second, such estimates can be based on rational expectations, when the subject can to some extent take into account the consequences of his decisions and their impact on future events. A critical analysis of such consequences will give him the opportunity to make adjustments to his decisions.

In the practice of economic activity, accounting for the uncertainty of future events is achieved by creating insurance stocks, which make it possible to reduce or even eliminate damage in the event of an unfavorable development of events. The activities of numerous insurance companies and societies are subordinated to the same goal, which undertake the obligation to pay certain amounts for the damage incurred to insured persons, enterprises and firms at the expense of insurance premiums. Another way to account for uncertainty is desire to avoid risk when the likelihood of an unfavorable development of events becomes sufficiently high. This trend is clearly seen in the investment of capital, when foreign companies refuse to invest it in the economy of developing countries. The third way of accounting neop-

redistribution is reduced to the maximum saving of resources and minimization of costs, commonly referred to as economy mode. Such savings make it possible to save resources for unforeseen events in the future.

Sixth principle suggests that "People are responsible for the effects of their decisions.

Although this principle seems quite obvious, but the degree of the answer

responsibility for decisions made in various social

economic systems are far from the same. In subsistence farming, the full responsibility for the decision lies with the individual economic entity, since it is he and his family who owe the success or failure of the decision. In the peasant community

where the main decisions are made collectively, all members of the community pay for this. In a planned centralized society, all decisions are made by<<наверху>> and execute them<<внизу>>, and no one bears any responsibility for the decisions, in fact.

In a market economy, both the individual, and the cooperative, and the firm are responsible for the decision made with their property. If, for example,

If a business entity has received a loan to start his own business, then if the organization of the business fails, he risks his own property. Thus, the market economy fosters responsibility for decisions and therefore promotes rational choice and careful consideration of all their consequences.

Seventh principle suggests that "People respond to incentives" that arise in connection with a change in the conditions of "Loviy" and the circumstances of "Lstv, sk" Frets in the economy.

Every time when economic conditions in society change, for example, market conditions, taxes rise, production costs rise, etc., rationally acting subjects react to them by making new decisions. For example, when taxes are increased, the prices of goods rise and demand for goods and business activity decrease accordingly. Typically, business entities and the market as a whole are sensitive to changes that occur within the economic system.

When considering the listed principles, it was about decision-making by individual economic entities, whether

individual, enterprise or firm. However, in real economic life, they all interact with each other, and therefore often

Most often, economic decisions are made jointly, for example by two people when buying and selling, by members of a cooperative, or by a meeting of shareholders of a company. The result of such interaction and decision-making is the exchange of material goods and services between people, the establishment of trade.

Eighth principle reveals the value of bidding"Is for society,

emphasizes that she turns out to be mutually beneficial for its participants.

The need to exchange and trade in the products of labor is the inevitable result of the growing division of labor. In the ancient agrarian society, as history teaches us, subsistence farming prevailed, in which all the necessary goods of life were produced and consumed by closed households. Gradually, however, people realized the need to exchange some of their goods for others that they had in excess or were not produced at all. Already the first major division of labor in agriculture into agricultural and livestock labor gave a significant impetus to the development of exchange and trade between pastoral and agricultural tribes. The appearance of artisans and their concentration in the first cities accelerated the process of exchange and trade between the numerous rural population and urban artisans, who could not exist without the exchange of their products for agricultural products. The emergence of craft workshops and the first manufactories eventually led to industrial production and the emergence of national markets.

Market exchange facilitates the process of further division

labor, because as a result of this, individual producers begin to specialize in what they can do better and more economically than others. The same should be said about enterprises, firms and even individual countries. In the end, both producers and consumers benefit.

Ninth priiPinch States that the market is the most important

the organization of economic activity.

At first glance, it seems that with decentralized

No market order can emerge from decisions made by millions of different economic entities pursuing different goals. But it was also A Smith who for the first time made it clear what exactly<<не­ видимая рука>> the market contributes to the unification of the efforts of various individuals. We now know that this unifying force is the price mechanism, which informs society what goods and services are considered valuable and to what extent. And this information serves as an incentive for entrepreneurs to use the most economical means and factors of production of goods. Prices also affect the distribution of income. As a result, the market gives society's limited resources to those who can use them more efficiently. However, the market is not designed to fairly distribute the resulting social wealth. This function is called upon to be performed by the state.

Tenth principle indicates that under certain conditions, the state can intervene in market regulation and exert a positive influence on it.

This happens when the market is unable to efficiently allocate available resources. Economists characterize this situation as insolvency, or market failure. This situation occurs with different external effects for the market, when the actions of some people have a negative impact on the well-being of other people. This is the case in cases of infringement environmental safety enterprises of the chemical, oil, metallurgical and other industries. In an effort to obtain high incomes, they often do not pay attention to the construction of treatment facilities and thereby harm natural environment and the people living in it. The market cannot have any impact on such economic entities. The state can also force them to allocate the necessary funds for the treatment of industrial waste by passing laws on the preservation of the natural environment.

Another case of market failure is that it cannot influence the price level in it. Such prices are established spontaneously, or spontaneously, as a result of the interaction of its many participants. The ability of some business entities to set the price level in the market is characterized as their power over the market. The market itself has no such power. Its task is to carry out free competition in the market, which is violated by the appearance of various monopoly associations on it. In order to create a free competitive environment, the state adopts laws that limit the power of monopolies.

The third case of market failure refers to social justice market distribution. As mentioned above, the function of the market is the efficient distribution of the limited resources of society, and not the equal distribution of the products received from them. The market gives goods to those who are able to pay for them, and not to those who need them most. Ensuring social justice in society refers to the function of the government, which, through taxation and other measures of social protection, somewhat equalizes the incomes of the population and provides assistance to the least well-off strata of the population.

The economic activity of each country is made up of the work of numerous economic entities, which include individuals, enterprises, firms, companies, etc. Therefore, the decisions they make, together with economic policy and specific government decisions, ultimately determine the successes and failures in achieving the overall welfare and standard of living in the country.

There are many attempts to explain the difference in living standards in different countries. Often this is explained by references to economic

the political policy of the government, the activities of trade unions and the workers themselves in defense of their rights, increased competition with other countries, the presence of minerals, etc. Without denying the well-known dependence of the welfare of the country and its standard of living on these and other reasons, it should be said that the determining economic reason is manufacturers of justice social labor.

Eleventh principle States that the standard of living of the population directly depends on the ability of the country to produce goods

and services.

It is well known that the standard of living in different countries is far from the same, and even in one country it changes over time. This level depends on the income per person, and the latter, in turn, is determined by labor productivity, namely the amount of goods and services produced per unit of time. Consequently, the well-being of a country depends in the final analysis on the labor productivity of its able-bodied population.

Twelfth Principle States that prices rise when the government prints too much money.

When excess money is issued, it depreciates and arises

inflation. Accordingly, there is an increase in prices and an increase in the money supply in circulation. Such an inflationary spiral can unwind more and more over time and be extremely inconvenient.

positive impact on all phenomena of economic life, as the economic history of many countries, including ours, shows. If the cause of inflation is so clear, then why do governments have such difficulty eliminating it? As is known, a decrease in inflation in the short term is associated with an increase in unemployment, and therefore one has to choose between inflation and unemployment.

To better understand how the modern how mankind has learned to find answers to its main questions, it is necessary to analyze the thousand-year history of the development of the economic systems of civilization.

Depending on the method of solving the main economic problems and the type of ownership of economic resources, four main types of economic systems: 1) traditional; 2) market (capitalism);3) command (socialism); 4) mixed.

Of these, the most ancient is the traditional economic system.

Traditional economic system - a way of organizing economic life, in which land and capital are in the common possession of the tribe, and limited resources are distributed in accordance with long-standing traditions.

As for the ownership of economic resources, in the traditional system it was most often collective, that is, hunting grounds, arable land and meadows belonged to the tribe or community.

Over time, the main elements of the traditional economic system ceased to suit humanity. Life has shown that the factors of production are used more efficiently if they are owned by individuals or families, and not if they are collectively owned. In none of the richest countries in the world is collective property the foundation of society. But in many of the world's poorest countries, remnants of such property have survived.

For example,rapid development Agriculture Russia fell only at the beginning of the 20th century, when the reforms of P. A. Stolypin destroyed the collective (communal) ownership of land, which was replaced by land ownership by individual families. Then the communists, who came to power in 1917, actually restored communal land ownership, declaring the land "public property."

Having built its agriculture on collective property, the USSR could not for 70 years of the 20th century. achieve food abundance. Moreover, by the beginning of the 1980s, the food situation had become so bad that the CPSU was forced to adopt a special “Food Program”, which, however, was also not implemented, although huge amounts of money were spent on the development of the agricultural sector.

On the contrary, the agriculture of European countries, the USA and Canada, based on private ownership of land and capital, has succeeded in solving the problem of creating food abundance. And so successfully that the farmers of these countries were able to export a large share of their products to other regions of the world.

Practice has shown that markets and firms are better at solving the problem of distributing limited resources and increasing the production of vital goods than councils of elders, the bodies that made fundamental economic decisions in the traditional system.

That is why the traditional economic system eventually ceased to be the basis for organizing people's lives in most countries of the world. Its elements have receded into the background and survived only in fragments in the form of various customs and traditions of secondary importance. In most countries of the world, other ways of organizing the economic cooperation of people play a leading role.

Replaced the traditional market system(capitalism) . The basis of this system is:

1) the right of private property;

2) private economic initiative;

3) market organization of the distribution of the limited resources of society.

Right of private property There is the recognized and legally protected right of an individual to own, use and dispose of a certain type and amount of limited resources (for example, a piece of land, a coal deposit or a factory), which means that and earn income from it. It was the ability to own such a type of production resources as capital, and to receive income on this basis, that determined the second, often used name of this economic system - capitalism.

Private property - recognized by society the right of individual citizens and their associations to own, use and dispose of a certain volume (part) of any type of economic resources.

For your information. At first, the right to private property was protected only by force of arms, and only kings and feudal lords were the owners. But then, having passed a long way of wars and revolutions, humanity created a civilization in which every citizen could become a private owner if his income allowed him to acquire property.

The right of private property enables the owners of economic resources to independently make decisions about how to use them (as long as this does not harm the interests of society). However, this almost unlimited freedom to dispose of economic resources has a downside: the owners of private property bear full economic responsibility for the options they choose to use it.

Private economic initiative there is the right of each owner of production resources to independently decide how and to what extent to use them to generate income. At the same time, the well-being of each is determined by how successfully he can sell on the market the resource he owns: his labor force, skills, products of his own hands, his own land, the products of his factory, or the ability to organize commercial operations.

And finally, actually markets- a certain way organized activity for the exchange of goods.

The markets are:

1) determine the degree of success of a particular economic initiative;

2) form the amount of income that the property brings to its owners;

3) dictate the proportions of the distribution of limited resources between alternative areas of their use.

The virtue of the market mechanism lies in the fact that he makes each seller think about the interests of buyers in order to achieve benefits for himself. If he does not do this, then his goods may turn out to be unnecessary or too expensive, and instead of benefiting, he will receive only losses. But the buyer is also forced to reckon with the interests of the seller - he can get the goods only by paying for it the price prevailing on the market.

market system(capitalism) - a way of organizing economic life in which capital and land are owned by individuals and limited resources are distributed through markets.

Markets based on competition have become the most successful way known to mankind for the distribution of limited productive resources and the benefits created with their help.

Of course, and the market system has its drawbacks. In particular, it generates huge disparities in income and wealth levels when some bathe in luxury, while others vegetate in poverty.

Such disparities in income have long encouraged people to interpret capitalism as an "unfair" economic system and to dream of a better way of life. These dreams led to the emergence of XI10th century social movement called Marxism in honor of its main ideologist - a German journalist and economist Karl Marx. He and his followers argued that the market system had exhausted the possibilities of its development and became a brake on the further growth of the welfare of mankind. That is why it was proposed to replace it with a new economic system - command, or socialism (from the Latin societas - "society").

Command economic system (socialism) - a way of organizing economic life, in which capital and land are owned by the state, and the distribution of limited resources is carried out according to the instructions of the central government and in accordance with plans.

The birth of the command economic system was a consequence of a series of socialist revolutions whose ideological banner was Marxism. The specific model of the command system was developed by the leaders of the Russian Communist Party V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin.

According to Marxist theory Humanity could dramatically accelerate its path to increasing prosperity and eliminate differences in the individual well-being of citizens by eliminating private property, eliminating competition, and conducting all the economic activities of the country on the basis of a single universally binding (directive) plan, which is developed by the leadership of the state on a scientific basis. The roots of this theory go back to the Middle Ages, to the so-called social utopias, but its practical implementation came precisely in the 20th century, when the socialist camp arose.

If all resources (factors of production) are declared public property, but in reality they are fully controlled by state and party officials, then this entails very dangerous economic consequences. Incomes of people and firms cease to depend on how well they use limited resources. how much the result of their work is really needed by society. Other criteria become more important:

a) for enterprises - the degree of fulfillment and overfulfillment of planned targets for the production of goods. It was for this that the heads of enterprises were awarded orders and appointed ministers. It does not matter that these commodities might be of no interest to buyers who, if they had freedom of choice, would prefer other goods;

b) for people - the nature of the relationship with the authorities, which distributed the most scarce goods (cars, apartments, furniture, trips abroad, etc.), or occupying a position that opens access to "closed distributors" where such scarce goods can be bought free.

As a result, in the countries of the command system:

1) even the simplest of the goods needed by people turned out to be “deficit”. The usual picture in largest cities“paratroopers” began, i.e. residents of small towns and villages who came with large backpacks to buy food, since there was simply nothing in their grocery stores;

2) the mass of enterprises constantly suffered losses, and there was even such a striking category of them as planned unprofitable enterprises. At the same time, employees of such enterprises still regularly received wages and bonuses;

3) the biggest success for citizens and businesses was to "get" some imported goods or equipment. The queue for Yugoslav women's boots was recorded from the evening.

As a result, the end of the XX century. became an era of deep disappointment in the capabilities of the planning-command system, and the former socialist countries took up the difficult task of reviving private property and the market system.

Speaking about the planned-command or market economic system, it should be remembered that in its pure form they can only be found on the pages of scientific works. Real economic life, on the contrary, is always a mixture of elements of various economic systems.

The modern economic system of most developed countries of the world is precisely of a mixed nature. Many national and regional economic problems are solved here by the state.

As a rule, today the state participates in the economic life of society for two reasons:

1) some of the needs of society, due to their specifics (the maintenance of the army, the development of laws, the organization of traffic, the fight against epidemics, etc.), it can satisfy better than is possible on the basis of market mechanisms alone;

2) it can mitigate the negative effects of the activities of market mechanisms (too large differences in the wealth of citizens, damage to the environment from the activities of commercial firms, etc.).

Therefore, for the civilization of the late XX century. a mixed economic system prevailed.

Mixed economic system - a way of organizing economic life, in which land and capital are privately owned, and the distribution of limited resources is carried out both by markets and with significant state participation.

In such an economic system the basis is private ownership of economic resources, although in some countries(France, Germany, UK, etc.) there is a fairly large public sector. It includes enterprises whose capital is wholly or partly owned by the state (for example, the German airline Lufthansa), but which: a) do not receive plans from the state; b) work according to market laws; c) forced to compete on an equal footing with private firms.

In these countries the main economic issues are mainly decided by the markets. They also distribute the predominant part of economic resources. However, part of the resources is centralized and distributed by the state through command mechanisms in order to compensate for some of the weaknesses of market mechanisms (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. The main elements of a mixed economic system (I - the scope of market mechanisms, II - the scope of command mechanisms, i.e. control by the state)

On fig. Figure 2 shows a scale that conditionally represents which economic systems various states belong to today.

Rice. 2. Types of economic systems: 1 - USA; 2 - Japan; 3 - India; 4 - Sweden, England; 5 - Cuba, North Korea; 6 - some countries Latin America and Africa; 7— Russia

Here, the arrangement of numbers symbolizes the degree of proximity of the economic systems of various countries to a particular type. The pure market system is most fully implemented in some countries.Latin America and Africa. Factors of production there are already predominantly privately owned, and state intervention in solving economic issues is minimal.

In countries like USA and Japan, private ownership of the factors of production dominates, but the role of the state in economic life is so great that one can speak of a mixed economic system. At the same time, the Japanese economy retained more elements of the traditional economic system than the United States. That is why the number 2 (Japanese economy) is somewhat closer to the top of the triangle symbolizing the traditional system than the number 1 (USA economy).

In economies Sweden and UK the role of the state in the distribution of limited resources is even greater than in the United States and Japan, and therefore the number 4 symbolizing them is to the left of the numbers 1 and 2.

In its most complete form, the command system has now been preserved on Cuba and North Korea. Here, private property has been eliminated, and the state distributes all limited resources.

The existence of significant elements of the traditional economic system in the economy India and others like her Asian and African countries(although the market system prevails here too) determines the placement of its corresponding digit 3.

Location Russia(number 7) is determined by the fact that:

1) the foundations of the command system in our country have already been destroyed, but the role of the state in the economy is still very large;

2) the mechanisms of the market system are still being formed (and are still less developed than even in India);

3) the factors of production have not yet completely passed into private ownership, and such an important factor of production as land is actually in the collective ownership of members of the former collective farms and state farms, only formally transformed into joint-stock companies.

To what economic system does Russia's future path lie?

In everyday life, we constantly make various decisions, without thinking about why some of them turn out to be successful, and others - unsuccessful. A little reflection shows that in the case of successful decisions, the goal is correctly set, the probability of achieving it is intuitively correctly estimated, and all reasoning is based on the logic of common sense. There is no doubt that intuition, worldly experience and intuition are quite sufficient for solving the simplest practical problems in everyday and even managerial activities that do not require precise analysis and calculation. However, when solving complex management problems in the economy and social life, they now rely less and less on experience, intuition and common sense, and turn to an accurate analysis of the problem, calculation and construction of mathematical models.

This approach to decision analysis was first taken in the framework of the theory operations research, emerged during World War II. At present, the study of operations has turned from a narrow special theory focused on the effective management of military operations into a general scientific direction of research. It is associated with "the application of mathematical quantitative methods to justify decisions in all areas of purposeful human activity" 1 .

This theory was further developed after the publication by J. von Neumann and O. Morgenstern in 1944 of a work on game theory and economic behavior. This theory gives recommendations on how to rationally act in the face of uncertainty in the economy associated with risk. Thus, practical experience, common sense and intuition are being replaced by an accurate calculation of all emerging possibilities, i.e. solutions based on the construction of mathematical models.

In such models, firstly, the consequences of the decisions made, or their usefulness, are taken into account, secondly, the probability of their implementation in specific conditions is determined, thirdly, by comparing different alternatives according to the relevant parameters, choice optimal or preferred solution. Depending on the nature of the problem, either the maximum or minimum value of the objective function will be considered optimal, although most often one has to limit oneself to its best or preferred values. In the economic sphere, the maximum value will correspond, for example, to obtaining the highest profit, achieving the greatest benefit from the concluded transaction, etc.

A characteristic feature of the considered model is its rationality, since it is assumed that the subject making the decision reasons and acts reasonably. Therefore, the final decision maker (DM), as well as his consultants, are idealized, rationally acting subjects that can differ significantly from real people. Further, it is assumed that both the goals set and the rational choice of the solution throughout the process remain unchanged. In concrete reality, one has to reckon with the influence of various kinds of random and unforeseen events that limit the scope of rational methods. Finally, the classical choice model is focused on achieving the optimal solution. In practice, one has to be content with preferred or satisfactory solutions.

The abstract nature of the rational model lies in the fact that it is abstracted not only from the characteristics of specific decision-makers, but also from an objective assessment of the correlation of goals pursued by an individual subject or team (group, class, community). For example, the target function of an entrepreneur to implement a certain project can bring him maximum profit, therefore, from his point of view, it can be considered rational, but it can cause irreparable harm to the environment. It is also necessary to take into account the relative nature of rationality itself, since a decision that is considered rational on the basis of given information may not be rational enough with other information.

The most important requirement that any rational decision must satisfy is that all decision alternatives must be ordered by the corresponding relation preference, which has the properties of definiteness, comparability and transitivity. Comparability means that of any two alternatives, one of them must be preferable to the other (in the extreme case, indifferent or the same with the other). Criterion transitivity associated with the requirement of a sequence of alternatives. If, for example, the alternative A preferred alternatives IN, the latter is preferable WITH, then the alternative A will also be preferable to C. Since each alternative depends on an assessment of its consequences, which is commonly called utility, it is necessary first of all to evaluate the parameters of utility.

Such an assessment is directly related to the goals that the subject seeks to achieve, and ideally it should correspond to the maximum usefulness of his actions. If the goal of the subject is to obtain the greatest income, or the highest effect from the return on investment, or the fastest introduction of new capacities, etc., then its utility function should correspond to the maximum value of the objective function. On the contrary, when it seeks to prevent losses or losses in various activities, then its objective function should take into account possible risks and their sizes in order to make them minimal. Based on these premises, Neumann and Morgenstern in 1944 built the first axiomatic theory of utility. As axioms, they chose statements that are generally consistent with intuitive ideas about assessing the consequences of decisions. Each branch of activity has its own specific methods and means for evaluating the usefulness of the outcomes of decisions.

Another aspect of the mathematical decision-making model is related to the prediction of the probability of implementation of different choice alternatives or decisions. The assessment of such a probability is carried out in accordance with the statistical interpretation of this concept.

The rational choice model assumes that the decision maker under all conditions chooses the optimal, best course of action. However, this assumption does not take into account the fact that people's behavior contains not only rational, but also irrational and even irrational components. Therefore, in the decision-making model put forward by the Nobel laureate in economics G. Simon for "administrative person" the latter, on the basis of known information, chooses not the optimal, but only a satisfactory solution.

The rational choice model is based on certain general principles, which are considered as initial prerequisites for the study of economic life. These principles are the result of a systematic generalization and deep analysis of the long practice of decision-making by both individuals and firms and other organizations acting as economic entities. They are the basic units of the market system of the economy. Some of these principles will seem obvious, others require explanation and argumentation.

How are specific economic decisions made? To answer this question, consider the fundamental principles of economic activity associated with the limited resources of society. It is they who force people to make a choice between different goods.

The first principle is that In order to obtain some goods, people have to give up other goods.

If you want to buy a sweater, you must, if you don't have enough money, refuse to buy shoes. The state, if there is a threat to its security, should choose "guns" instead of "butter". Here "guns" symbolize the use of a significant amount of its limited resources for military purposes, and "oil" - the use of most of them to increase the welfare of citizens. When making economic decisions, an economic entity must first of all take into account its real capabilities, and then determine what it really needs and only then identify what material benefits it would like to have at its disposal. The relationship between the possible and the necessary is, as is well known, the most important stimulus to human activity in general.

Turning to the discussion of the next decision-making principle, it should be recalled that in the first principle we are talking about the exchange of material goods in general, i.e. what must be given up in order to obtain another good. But any good satisfies a certain need and, therefore, has a use value; however, it can be exchanged for another good and therefore has an exchange value. These considerations are taken into account in the second principle.

The second principle is as follows: The value of a good is determined by what can be obtained from it, and the value is determined by what should be given for it.

The use value of a good or commodity is precisely measured by its ability to satisfy any need - material or spiritual - when using it. In this case, the good acts as a means to achieve some goal. In previous literature, this concept was called use value, which could cause confusion, since the latter term characterizes the individual needs of the subject in receiving good, and often not even quantified.

exchange value Good characterizes the ratio, or proportion, between a given good and other goods that can be obtained for it by giving it up.

If we denote this good by A, and another good that can be obtained at his expense, through IN, then the exchange value can be expressed by the relation TV/pA, Where type - the corresponding parameters denoting the quantities of exchanged goods. The value of a good as an end determines what must be given up for it or what must be given up in order to get it at one's disposal. In the process of exchange, therefore, one has to make a choice: to give up one good in order to receive another good. Therefore, before making a decision on the acquisition of one good, it is necessary to compare the costs and benefits of another good. Such costs are called alternative because they characterize the costs missed opportunities, i.e. just what you have to give up in order to get the desired benefit. Since money is most often used for this, the exchange value is expressed in money.

Within the framework of the entire social economy, economists include all goods that are not used to produce other goods as final goods. Their totality is expressed in the concept of gross domestic product (GDP), which consists of final goods purchased by households (C) and the government (b), as well as goods added to firms' investments. (G), this includes net exports (N10, those. difference between export and import. If we designate the totality of all final goods of the country through GDP, then it can be expressed by the formula

The third principle is that when making decisions, rationally acting, or reasonable, people always compare the marginal values ​​of their benefits and costs.

A decision or action is considered rational in economics when the marginal utility, or benefit derived from the use of an additional, marginal unit of consumption, will exceed the benefit from the use of the marginal unit of resource. Consequently, resources will be used to produce goods as long as each additional unit of them will bring more benefits than the costs of acquiring them. Marginal benefits or costs are the smallest quantities that economists work with when making decisions in specific circumstances. The same practice should be followed by every rationally acting subject.

When making decisions, people primarily pursue their own interests and therefore seek to satisfy their needs in the present. However, they do not forget to take care of the future as well. Therefore, they not only consume existing goods, but also strive to save them for the future and even increase their quantity.

The fourth principle states that people should care about the future.

Such care is manifested, firstly, in the simple storage of goods for their future consumption or use. The longer the shelf life of a good, the easier it is to make a decision about the possibility of its consumption and use in the future. Fixed capital is one of the most important stored goods, i.e. machines, equipment, buildings and structures of the enterprise. Here, the main efforts should be directed to the rational use of capital and its timely renewal through depreciation. Conserved goods can also be used as a resource for the production of new goods, and often even in more. Such benefits primarily include money and other financial resources.

The fifth principle is that, caring about the future, people take into account its uncertainty.

Since the future is always uncertain and unknown to anyone, only various assumptions can be made about it. The most important theoretical means of predicting the future are probabilistic methods. They are based on statistical interpretation of past and present events and a probable assessment of their implementation in the future. All probabilistic forecasts are based on the same assumption. When making economic decisions about the future, economic agents must compare their probabilistic assumptions with the actual results that actually occurred. Such an analysis will help them learn from the discrepancy between their assumptions and reality, and thereby learn from their own mistakes.

First, probabilistic estimates of the future, in turn, are based on adaptive expectations, when an economic entity assumes that the same features and development trends that occurred in the past will remain in the future. Secondly, such estimates can be based on rational expectations, when the subject can to some extent take into account the consequences of his decisions and their impact on future events. A critical analysis of such consequences will give him the opportunity to make adjustments to his decisions.

In the practice of economic activity, accounting for the uncertainty of future events is achieved by creating insurance stocks, which allow to reduce or even eliminate damage in the event of an unfavorable development of events. The activities of numerous insurance companies and societies are subordinated to the same goal, which undertake the obligation to pay certain amounts for the damage incurred to insured persons, enterprises and firms at the expense of insurance premiums. Another way to account for uncertainty is desire to avoid risk when the probability of occurrence of an unfavorable development of events becomes sufficiently high. This trend is clearly seen in the investment of capital, when foreign companies refuse to invest it in the economy of developing countries. The third way to account for uncertainty is to maximize resource savings and minimize costs, commonly referred to as economy mode. Such savings make it possible to save resources for unforeseen events in the future.

The sixth principle suggests that people are responsible for the consequences of their decisions.

Although this principle seems quite obvious, the degree of responsibility for decisions taken in various socio-economic systems are far from the same. In a subsistence economy, the full responsibility for the decision lies with the individual economic entity, since it is he and his family who owe the success or failure of the decision. In a peasant community where major decisions are made collectively, all members of the community pay the price. In a planned centralized society, all decisions are made "above", and they are executed "below", and, in fact, no one bears any responsibility for decisions.

In a market economy, both the individual, and the cooperative, and the firm are responsible for the decision made with their property. If, for example, an economic entity has received a loan to start his own business, then if the organization of the business fails, he risks his own property. Thus, the market economy fosters responsibility for decisions made and therefore promotes rational choice and careful consideration of all their consequences.

The seventh principle is that people respond to incentives that arise in connection with changing conditions and circumstances in the economy.

Whenever economic conditions in society change, such as market conditions, taxes rise, production costs rise, etc., rationally acting subjects respond to them by making new decisions. For example, when taxes are raised, the prices of goods rise and demand for goods and business activity decrease accordingly. Typically, business entities and the market as a whole are sensitive to changes that occur within the economic system.

When considering these principles, it was about decision-making by individual business entities, whether it be an individual, an enterprise or a firm. However, in real economic life, they all interact with each other, and therefore, most often economic decisions are made jointly, for example, by two people when buying and selling, members of a cooperative, or a meeting of shareholders of a company. The result of such interaction and decision-making is the exchange of material goods and services between people, the establishment of trade.

The eighth principle reveals the importance of trade for society, emphasizes that she turns out to be mutually beneficial for its participants.

The need to exchange and trade in the products of labor is the inevitable result of the growing division of labor. As history teaches us, the ancient agrarian society was dominated by subsistence farming, in which all the necessary goods of life were produced and consumed by closed households. Gradually, however, people realized the need to exchange some of their goods for others that they had in excess or were not produced at all. Already the first major division of labor in agriculture into agricultural and livestock labor gave a significant impetus to the development of exchange and trade between pastoral and agricultural tribes. The appearance of artisans and their concentration in the first cities accelerated the process of exchange and trade between the large rural population and urban artisans, who could not exist without the exchange of their products for agricultural products. The emergence of craft workshops and the first manufactories eventually led to industrial production and the emergence of national markets.

Market exchange contributes to the process of further division of labor, because as a result of this, individual producers begin to specialize in what they can do better and more economically than others. The same should be said about enterprises, firms and even individual countries. In the end, both producers and consumers benefit.

The ninth principle states that The market is the most important way of organizing economic activity.

At first glance, it seems that with decentralized decision-making by millions of different economic entities pursuing different goals, no order in the market can arise. But even A. Smith for the first time clearly pointed out that it is the "invisible hand" of the market that contributes to the unification of the efforts of various individuals. We now know that this unifying force is the price mechanism, which informs society what goods and services are considered valuable and to what extent. And this information serves as an incentive for entrepreneurs to use the most economical means and factors of production of goods. Prices also affect the distribution of income. As a result, the market gives society's limited resources to those who can use them more efficiently. However, the market is not created in order to fairly distribute the resulting social wealth. This function is called upon to be performed by the state.

The tenth principle states that under certain conditions, the state can intervene in market regulation and exert a positive influence on it.

This happens when the market is unable to efficiently allocate available resources. Economists characterize this situation as insolvency, or market failure. This situation occurs with different externalities for the market, when the actions of some people have a negative impact on the well-being of other people. This is the case in cases of violation of environmental safety by enterprises of the chemical, oil, metallurgical and other industries. In an effort to obtain high incomes, they often do not pay attention to the construction of treatment facilities and thereby harm the natural environment and the people living in it. The market cannot have any impact on such economic entities. The state can force them to allocate necessary funds to clean up industrial waste by passing environmental conservation laws.

Another case of market failure is that it cannot influence the price level in it. Such prices are set spontaneously, or spontaneously, as a result of the interaction of its many participants. The ability of some economic entities to set the price level in the market is characterized as their power over the market. The market itself has no such power. Its task is to carry out free competition in the market, which is violated by the appearance of various monopoly associations on it. In order to create a free competitive environment, the state adopts laws that limit the power of monopolies.

The third case of market failure refers to social justice market distribution. As mentioned above, the function of the market lies in the efficient distribution of society's limited resources, and not in the equal distribution of the products received from them. The market gives goods to those who are able to pay for them, and not to those who need them most. Ensuring social justice in society refers to the function of the government, which, through taxation and other measures of social protection, somewhat equalizes the incomes of the population and provides assistance to the least well-off strata of it.

The economic activity of each country is made up of the work of numerous economic entities, which include individuals, enterprises, firms, companies, etc. Therefore, the decisions they make, together with economic policy and specific government decisions, ultimately determine the successes and failures in achieving the general welfare and standard of living in the country.

There are many attempts to explain the difference in living standards in different countries. Often this is explained by references to the economic policy of the government, the activities of trade unions and the workers themselves in defense of their rights, increased competition with other countries, the presence of minerals, etc. Without denying the well-known dependence of the welfare of the country and its standard of living on these and other reasons, it should be said that the determining economic reason is performance social labor.

The eleventh principle states that the standard of living of the population directly depends on the ability of the country to produce goods and services.

It is well known that the standard of living in different countries is far from the same, and even in one country it changes over time. This level depends on the income per person, and the latter, in turn, is determined by labor productivity, namely the amount of goods and services produced per unit of time. Consequently, the well-being of a country depends in the final analysis on the labor productivity of its able-bodied population.

The twelfth principle states that prices rise when the government prints too much money.

When excess money is issued, it depreciates and arises inflation. Accordingly, there is an increase in prices and an increase in the money supply in circulation. Such an inflationary spiral can unwind more and more over time and have an extremely negative impact on all phenomena of economic life, as the economic history of many countries, including ours, shows. If the cause of inflation is so clear, then why do governments have such difficulty eliminating it? As you know, a decrease in inflation in the short term is associated with an increase in unemployment, and therefore one has to choose between inflation and unemployment.

• Wentzel E.S. Operations research. - M., 1980. - S. 9.
• Neiman J., Morgenstern O. Game theory and economic behavior. - M., 1970.

Depending on the nature of the coordination of economic activities of economic entities (consumers, producers, owners, employees) and the mechanism for managing economic processes (characterization of the types of economic systems based on the organizational approach), they distinguish: traditional, market, centrally controlled and mixed economic systems.

The organization of economic activity depends on:

• - forms of ownership of the means of production;
• - procedures for making major economic decisions and ways of coordinating economic activities;
• - motives that stimulate the conduct of economic activity.

Traditional economy represented by countries with a subsistence economy, where the vast majority of the population is engaged in the simplest agricultural production and most of the products are consumed by themselves. Commodity production is represented by numerous peasant and handicraft farms that dominate the economy. The organization of production, its structure, the rhythm of economic life are based on consecrated customs and traditions. Hereditary habits, social roles and statuses determine the foundations of economic life and activity. Ethnic and caste barriers impede the spread of scientific and technological progress. The countries of the African continent, the Near and Middle East belong to the traditional economy.

Tradition-based regulation is a mode of economic organization in which problems of production and distribution are solved by the application of procedures inherited from the past. This mechanism is weakly responsive to changes associated with scientific and technological progress and new needs. It is not capable of regulating the economy as a whole with a developed system of social division of labor (but in the field of informal relations in the collectives of individual enterprises it occupies a certain place).

Market economy - a way of mutual adaptation of the actions of buyers and sellers under the influence of price changes, reflecting fluctuations in supply and demand. basis market system is self-regulation based on private interest, freedom of choice and the desire for personal benefit of market entities, private ownership of the factors and results of production. State intervention in the economy in these conditions is reduced to a minimum. In a market economic system, the movement of resources, production, distribution, exchange and consumption of the created goods are carried out using the market mechanism. The market mechanism is focused on meeting solvent needs for private goods. It does not provide effective regulation production of public goods For satisfaction of socially priority consumers, since the adjustment of people's economic behavior is carried out spontaneously.

The advantages of such a system are: a constant focus on the efficiency of the economy, the possibility of obtaining high incomes by market entities, broad rights and freedom of choice for consumers, and the relative cheapness of the state apparatus of government.

Disadvantages of the market system: periodic crises in the development of the economy, large differentiation in incomes and living standards of the population, indifference to possible damage to man and nature on the part of producers, indifference of producers to industries and sectors of the economy that are necessary for society, but not profitable.

Centrally controlled economy(administrative-command mechanism or hierarchy) - a way to achieve coordination, in which the individual actions of economic entities are subject to the directives of the center on the basis of a centralized economic plan. centrally managed the economy is based on administrative methods of management, characterized by a strict dictate of the state in the field of economy: the predominance state property on the means of production and all material resources, by state directive economic planning, by the financial dictatorship of the state. The planning authority determines for each enterprise the amount of resources that must be used so that it can fulfill its production targets. Distribution of consumer goods among the population is carried out centrally at fixed prices. The economic power of the state in such a system is absolute. With the growth of the scale of cooperation in production, the need for conscious regulation of the economy increases. But its capabilities are determined by the limits of controllability of complex systems. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the boundaries within which state regulation will be effective.

The main advantages of such an economy should be recognized as its relative stability, as well as social equality, guarantees of employment and ensuring a minimum standard of living for all members of society, free education and health care.

The main disadvantages of a centrally controlled system are: the inefficiency of the economy, which manifests itself primarily in the shortage of various goods that grow out of the dictates of the producer over the consumer, the lack of pronounced incentives for efficient work, and the low standard of living of the majority of the population.

mixed economy is based on enterprises and structures related to different types and types of ownership, and uses a variety of forms of management. Real historical types of socio-economic systems are mixed economies. Every economy is complex. The classification is built on the basis of a combination of two criteria: the dominant form of ownership and the methods of regulation that ensure the production, distribution, exchange and use of the bulk of goods. These criteria act as the main components in the classification of economic systems. When coordinating the actions of economic entities (consumers, producers, owners, workers), various methods of regulation complement each other, but usually one of the regulation mechanisms prevails, which ensures the production and consumption of the bulk of economic resources that meet the needs of society. In economic analysis, when classifying the types of socio-economic systems, the abstraction method is used, i.e. economic relations are considered, as it were, in their pure form, focusing on the predominant form of management, abstracting from the less significant economic systems present.

The modern economy at the stage of the information industrial society is presented in the form of various forms of farms, it is mixed. In this economy, non-state, non-market systems do not dominate each other. The market creates effective incentives for growth and development. With command management, the social priority of the need is ensured, but there is a loss in motivation. The ratio between different regulatory mechanisms at a certain stage is determined by the ratio of costs and benefits.

There are various models currently in use. mixed an economy in which the distribution of resources is partly carried out on a market basis, partly provided by state decisions. This system demonstrates the ability to organically and flexibly combine market efficiency with government regulation, so it can loosen or even remove a row negative moments inherent in purely market or purely centralized systems. The most effective in this aspect are the German (social market economy) and Swedish models of the mixed economy.

Ways of making economic decisions (p.t.4). traditional economy. command economy. Market economy. In accordance with customs and traditions. Through orders and directives from top to bottom. With the help of the market.