Problems of poverty and social justice in the Russian Federation. Market economy and social justice Distribution fairness in a market economy. Justice concepts

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Introduction

1. Theoretical aspects of market economy and social justice

1.3 Welfare state

3. Monetization of benefits

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The market is not perfect and cannot fully ensure the progressive development of society. When its structure is monopolized, which is inevitable, unjustified privileges are created for some participants. This gives rise to strong income differentiation among the population. Competition is not able to ensure either stable employment or the corresponding rights of an individual. The state, as an integral participant in the economic process, took upon itself to solve these problems. However, the social orientation of the economy, which implies the redistribution of resources in favor of the poor, maintaining employment for all, etc., often conflicts with economic efficiency as a method of action that ensures the best result in the above areas.

Speaking about the social policy of the state, we mean the actions of the government aimed at the distribution and redistribution of income of various members and groups of society. This is how social policy can be defined in the narrow sense of the word. In a broad sense, social policy is one of the areas of macroeconomic regulation designed to ensure the social stability of society and create, as far as possible, the same “starting conditions” for the citizens of the country.

State social policy is a purposeful activity of the state aimed at weakening income differentiation, mitigating contradictions between participants in a market economy and preventing social conflicts on economic grounds. Through state social policy in a market economy, the principle of social justice is implemented, which presupposes a certain measure of equalization of the property status of citizens, the creation of a system of social guarantees and equal starting conditions for all segments of the population.

In the long-term economic evolution, the “creation” of the market occurred as a result of people’s search for a solution to the eternal economic dilemma: “rare, limited resources - unlimited human needs for a variety of goods.” It would probably be more accurate to say that entry into the market was predetermined by the economic environment itself. Limited resources were one of the reasons for the social division of labor, specialization of industries and types of human activity. The modern economic system itself is a unique product of the ever-increasing scale of division of labor and deepening specialization. However, not everyone has been successful in finding a solution to the “need-opportunity” problem.

World experience shows that the emergence and functioning of commodity relations did not always automatically give rise to the progressive development of society. For thousands of years, trade flourished in many cities of Central Asia and the Middle East, but most of the states now located here continue to remain underdeveloped.

The market organization of the economy turned out to be the most effective. It requires the least costs from society when solving fundamental economic problems. Producers and consumers of goods find each other without any outside interference, communicating with each other in the language of prices. Thanks to such free behavior, proportionality in economic activity is ensured: everything unnecessary that has lost its usefulness is discarded without finding demand, and what is necessary and progressive receives space and development.

The purpose of the course work is to reveal the role of the market economy and social justice.

The objectives of the course work are as follows:

Study the market economy of the state;

Describe social justice;

Describe the welfare state;

Reveal the contradiction between economic efficiency and social justice in a market economy;

Study the monetization of benefits in Russia;

Expand the model of social policy.

economics monetization social justice

1. Theoretical aspects of market economy and social justice

1.1 Characteristics of a market economy

A market economy is a free market economy, regulated by the state through a system of economic measures - taxes, subsidies, interest on loans, benefits in obtaining government orders, as well as through progressive legislation. There are three levels of market regulation.

1) Self-regulation of the market, i.e. freedom of action of the manufacturer, production subjects, free relations between them, freedom to dispose of products, choose partners, ways of interacting with them (contract, setting prices, etc.).

2) Regulation of market relations by institutions and means of civil society; social partnership that actually promotes the balance of economic interests.

3) State regulation with the participation of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities.

Market economy is a set of economic reproductive relations that develop in the sphere of commodity-money relations in the market. The market acts as the most important link between its subjects: producers, sellers and buyers. Market economics is based on the development of the social division of labor, commodity production and exchange. In the market, during competition, prices, supply and demand are formed and moved. Each private commodity producer, in the process of exchanging his goods for money, learns how much his labor is necessary for society, is included in the system of social division of labor, and has acquired a social character.

Market economy is a historical category, inherent in those socio-economic systems where there are commodity-money relations. Having emerged many centuries ago, it reached a high level of development, became civilized and socially oriented.

The effective functioning of a market economy requires a variety of forms of ownership and management, and a developed infrastructure. Market economics has a complex structure. Arkhipov A.I., Nesterenko A.N., Economics: Textbook. - M: Prospect, 2005. It includes the following main types of markets:

a) market for goods and services;

b) market for factors of production;

c) financial or money market.

In addition to these three main markets, it also includes various submarkets, market segments, which are classified according to various criteria:

a) for economic purposes - the market for consumer goods and services, means of production, labor, raw materials market, know-how market, securities market, currency, etc.;

b) by geographical location - world, national, regional, local;

c) by type of competition - free, monopolistic, oligopolistic, mixed;

d) by industry - food, automobile, oil, computer, etc.;

e) according to the form of sales and organization - wholesale, small wholesale, retail.

Historically, the process of formation of a market economy, spanning centuries, led to the formation of a whole system of interconnected markets with developed infrastructure. At the same time, the boundaries of the market, its functions and role in economic relations and the reproduction of material goods largely depend on the economic system. The characteristic features of a market economy at the pre-monopoly and monopoly stages of the development of capitalism are very different. This primarily relates to differences in the forms and methods of competition, price formation, and the role of state and interstate regulation of a market economy. Despite all the diversity, the modern market economy is characterized by a multi-structure, developed infrastructure, an active regulatory role of the state, and the use of highly developed technology as a condition for intensive resource-saving economic growth.

1.2 Characteristics of social justice

Social justice is a set of historically established ideas about the essence of man, his personal dignity and inalienable rights; the requirement of correspondence between the real significance of the individual, social group, community and their social. position, equality of all citizens before the law, social guarantees. everyone's security.

Justice is a concept of what is proper, associated with historically changing ideas about inalienable human rights. Justice implies the requirement of correspondence between the practical role of a person or social group in the life of society and their social position, between their rights and obligations, action and retribution, labor and reward, crime and punishment, the merits of rooks and their public recognition. Justice always has a historical character, rooted in the living conditions of people (classes). To illustrate this definition, one should consider its evolution, which occurred in parallel with the development and formation of legal and moral consciousness in class society.

The fundamentals of social justice in their modern understanding are reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other international documents, as well as in the laws of many countries. In Russia, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen are recognized and guaranteed in accordance with generally accepted principles and norms of international law and in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Following the principle of social justice is of utmost importance in working with the personnel of any organization. Employees’ confidence that everything is done fairly, recognition of the priority of common interests through everyone’s personal experience serve as a source of work activity, inspiration and business cooperation. On the contrary, injustice in the assessment of labor contribution, non-recognition of the employee’s merits, and the discrepancy between rights and responsibilities dampen enthusiasm and initiative, weaken social. interaction, reduce the effectiveness of joint work.

1.3 Welfare state

A social state is a characteristic (principle) related to the constitutional and legal status of the state, presupposing the constitutional guarantee of economic and social rights and freedoms of man and citizen and the corresponding responsibilities of the state. It means that the state serves society and seeks to eliminate or minimize unjustified social differences.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 7) proclaims: “The Russian Federation is a social state, the policy of which is aimed at creating conditions that ensure a decent life and free development of people.” The following constitutional duties of the Russian state follow from this general provision:

The formation of a welfare state is not only an economic and political process, but also a moral process that requires a “human” dimension.

Taking into account the above, we can conclude that the conditions for the existence of a social state and its characteristic features are:

1.Democratic organization of state power.

2. High moral level of citizens and, above all, state officials.

3.Powerful economic potential, allowing for the implementation of measures for the redistribution of income without significantly infringing on the position of the owners.

4. Socially oriented structure of the economy, which is manifested in the existence of various forms of ownership with a significant share of state ownership in the necessary areas of the economy.

5.Legal development of the state, the presence of the qualities of a rule-of-law state.

6. The existence of civil society, in the hands of which the state acts as an instrument for carrying out socially oriented policies.

7. A clearly expressed social orientation of the state policy, which is manifested in the development of various social programs and the priority of their implementation.

8. The state has such goals as establishing the common good, establishing social justice in society, providing each citizen with:

a) decent living conditions;

b) social security;

c) equal starting opportunities for personal self-realization.

9. The presence of developed social legislation (legislation on social protection of the population, for example the Code of Social Laws, as is the case in Germany).

10. Consolidation of the “welfare state” formula in the country’s constitution.

Speaking about the functions of the social state, one should keep in mind the following circumstances Kalashnikov S.V., Main problems of social development of Russia - 78/ Analytical Bulletin of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. -2004. -No. 15.:

a) it has all the traditional functions determined by its nature as a state as such;

c) within the framework of the general social function, it is possible to identify specific areas of activity of the social state - specific functions.

The latter, in particular, include:

Support for socially vulnerable categories of the population;

Occupational safety and health;

Support for family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood;

Smoothing social inequality by redistributing income between different social strata through taxation, the state budget, and special social programs;

Encouraging charitable activities (in particular, by providing tax benefits to business structures carrying out charitable activities);

Funding and support of basic scientific research and cultural programs;

Combating unemployment, ensuring employment of the population, paying unemployment benefits;

Finding a balance between a free market economy and the state’s influence on its development in order to ensure a decent life for all citizens;

Participation in the implementation of interstate environmental, cultural and social programs, solving universal human problems;

Concern for maintaining peace in society.

Constitution of the Russian Federation in Art. 7 enshrines the principle of sociality of the state:

"1. The Russian Federation is a social state whose policy is aimed at creating conditions that ensure a decent life and free development of people.

2. In the Russian Federation, the labor and health of people are protected, a guaranteed minimum wage is established, state support is provided for the family, motherhood, paternity and childhood, the disabled and elderly citizens, a system of social services is developed, state pensions, benefits and other guarantees of social protection are established.” .

However, for now Russia can only be called a country in a transitional stage to a social state, and the above provision of the Constitution can be regarded as a program setting.

2. The essence of social policy

2.1 The contradiction between economic efficiency and social justice in a market economy

Social justice in the economic sphere is the compliance of the system of economic relations (mainly distribution relations) with the ideas, needs, and interests prevailing in a given society. Thus, in different eras, the distribution of benefits was considered fair depending on the following criteria:

by birth status (aristocrat, free plebeian, slave);

by position (official, commoner);

by property (owner, proletarian);

by labor;

by eaters (in a peasant community in Russia).

Currently, three main criteria of social justice have emerged in the public consciousness of Russians:

Equalization;

Market (distribution of income by factors of production);

Labor.

Economic efficiency is a method of action that ensures that the maximum (best) result is obtained as a result of the efforts made and the expenditure of resources.

In principle, it contradicts social justice in such areas as the redistribution of resources in favor of the poor, maintaining employment for all, solving environmental problems, etc. The contradiction between economic efficiency and social justice is a reflection of the contradiction between production and consumption.

In modern conditions, a broader concept of socio-economic efficiency is used, including the categories of social costs (morbidity, environmental pollution, etc.) and social benefits (health, education, scientific potential). This expansion of the concept of economic efficiency is associated with the desire for social consensus or at least to mitigate social contradictions, without which normal functioning of the economy is generally impossible.

Economic efficiency aimed at increasing the social “pie” is best achieved, as the experience of recent decades has shown (GDR and FRG, North and South Korea, China and Taiwan - until the early 80s), within the framework of a market system with a predominance of private property and with a certain regulatory role of the state. Such a system inevitably gives rise to increased social differentiation, since distribution by factors of production predominates in it if the state is removed from large-scale redistribution of citizens' incomes. Social justice is realized mainly through the redistribution of income between different groups of the population, which limits the spontaneous action of the mechanisms of a market economy.

The development of a modern market economy presupposes a certain measure of income equalization, the creation of social guarantees and equal starting conditions for all segments of the population. The experience of developed countries demonstrates the mechanism for combining social justice and economic efficiency. “Dear” labor forces the economy to achieve increased production and improved quality through scientific and technological progress, the use of resource- and labor-saving technologies.

In the transition economy of Russia, the implementation of social justice tasks is hampered by the rather modest size of the social “pie,” which constrains redistribution processes.

A socially oriented economy presupposes the subordination of the economy to the tasks of personal development. The need to form a socially oriented economy is determined by the following factors:

The tasks of humanizing social relations, preventing the growth of poverty and crime;

Scientific and technological revolution, the main engine of which is creative work, unthinkable without satisfying the reasonable needs of the employee;

The need to create normal living conditions for people, when the level of economic development of many countries allows them to satisfy their basic needs

Creating a socially oriented transition economy means:

Achieving a rational level of consumption for the majority of the population, which involves, in particular, reducing differentiation in the level of consumption of goods and services to the extent that incentives for skilled labor and effective entrepreneurship are maintained;

Creating conditions for skilled creative labor, which is closely related to a qualitative change in the structure of the economy (primarily reducing to a minimum the use of heavy physical labor and environmentally hazardous industries);

Transition from a chronic shortage of consumer goods and services to a wide supply on the market;

Formation of an effective system of social protection, which should include protection against unemployment, provision of benefits for disabled groups of the population, connection of state and insurance systems of social protection Bulatov A.S., Economics, chapter 23, BEK, M., 1999 - p.541.

Social justice in the economic sphere is the compliance of the system of economic relations (mainly distribution relations) with the ideas, needs, and interests that prevail in a given society. Thus, in different eras, the distribution of benefits was considered fair depending on the following criteria: by birth status, by property status, by labor, by eaters, etc.

Economic efficiency is a method of action that ensures that the maximum (best) result is obtained as a result of the efforts made and the expenditure of resources.

Economic efficiency, in principle, contradicts social justice in such areas as the redistribution of resources in favor of the poor, maintaining employment for all, solving environmental problems and others. The contradiction between economic efficiency and social justice is a reflection of the contradiction between production and consumption.

Economic efficiency aimed at increasing the public share is best achieved within the framework of a market system with a predominance of private property and with a certain regulatory role of the state. Such a system inevitably gives rise to increased social differentiation, since distribution according to production factors predominates in it, but only if the state is removed from the redistribution of citizens' incomes.

Social justice is realized mainly through the redistribution of income between different groups of the population, which limits the spontaneous action of the mechanisms of a market economy. The development of a modern market economy presupposes a certain measure of income equalization, the creation of social guarantees and equal starting conditions for all segments of the population.

The experience of developed countries with market economies demonstrates the mechanism for combining social justice and economic efficiency. “Dear” labor forces the economy to achieve increased production and improved quality through scientific and technical progress and the use of resource- and labor-saving technologies.

2.2 Models of social policy from the point of view of criteria of justice

In world practice, several models of social policy have been formed, taking into account the specifics of different countries:

Catholic,

conservative,

liberal,

social democratic, etc.

However, the Commission of the European Community (EC), whose tasks include the development of a unified modification of social policy for a “common European home,” identifies two models that cover all of the above: “Bismarckian” (named after its author, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck), which establishes a rigid connection between the level of social protection of a person and the success (duration) of his professional activity, and “beveridge”, based on the fact that any person, regardless of membership in the active population, has the right to minimal security. Countries that choose this model have compulsory health insurance systems and pension systems that provide a minimum income for all older people, regardless of the level of salary deductions.

States that adhere to the “Bismarckian” model are considered to be liberal, while those that adhere to the “Beveridge” model are considered social. In general terms, the differences between a social and liberal state come down to a combination of three principles of social support for a citizen from the state and society:

what do you have;

what did you do;

Who are you.

In welfare states, the social protection system is based primarily on the principle of “who you are” (what age or social group you belong to) and partly on the principle of “what you have done” (work experience, average earnings, etc.). They have powerful redistribution mechanisms that make it possible, through taxes, to take surpluses from the rich into the state budget and transfer them as social support to the poor. The consequence of the high level of taxation in welfare states is relatively low rates of economic growth.

A liberal state gives priority to economic growth and reducing the tax burden. In the social sphere, it operates mainly on the basis of the principle of “what have you” and partly of “what have you done” and seeks to limit social policy to assistance only to those who do not otherwise have sufficient income (so-called “targeted” assistance). A person’s social rights are conditioned by contributions that are paid to them throughout their active life, i.e. Social benefits take the form of deferred income (insurance contributions). Public and municipal bodies help an individual or family when the latter's capabilities are exhausted. In accordance with the ideology of the liberal state, this preserves the individual's desire for independence and self-realization and prevents the transfer of responsibility to society.

According to scientists, if the current trends in the functioning of the economy continue and the uneven development of productive forces continues to intensify, the differentiation of wages and incomes of the population will increase by 40-60% in the next three to four years, which will strengthen antagonism in society. In addition, if current income levels remain the same, the majority of citizens will not be able to fully pay for housing and communal services, education, and medical care. Therefore, further modernization of the social sphere is advisable. At the first stage, it would be possible to create a Ministry of Education and Labor and thus increase the manageability of the labor market. At the second stage, in 20 years, create a unified Ministry of Social Development. It is required to choose a social model of the state as a system of interconnected social institutions (income, social insurance and security), as well as healthcare and education, including:

For workers - the institution of decent wages, providing the employee and his family members with an acceptable standard and quality of life. The minimum wage should be brought closer to 80% of the average wage in the country, and the share of wages in GDP should reach 35% in five years;

For pensioners - an institute of pension insurance, which would provide employees with the opportunity to earn (for 35-40 years of insurance experience) a pension in the amount of at least 50-60% of their wages;

For all citizens of the country - guaranteed (free) medical care within the framework of the basic public health care program, supplemented by compulsory health insurance for workers (the total costs of which are at least 6% of GDP);

For all citizens of the country - guaranteed (free) provision of opportunities to obtain secondary and higher vocational education (the cost of which is at least 5% of GDP), introduce compulsory secondary vocational education.

Today, the issue of the army is not a matter of the country's security. This is a question of the justice of these very movements of young people, their growth. Moreover, the army can be an instrument of justice. In countries emerging from a patriarchal state into an industrial one, it was a very important instrument of justice. It took a person out of a situation where he had no room to grow, and then provided him with some social skills and the opportunity to move in different directions. But now this is no longer the case. Then difficulties arise: for some people the army is still an instrument of justice - to escape from a rotten town, for others - on the contrary - it is a plate that blocks the movement of the elevator and forces a person who did not intend to receive it to receive an education. Where he wasn't going to get it.

The main problem of the third model of justice, the problem for a large number of people who do not want to compete and take risks, do you know what? Nowadays there is more and more talk about the demographic crisis, about the fact that there are few of us and there are fewer and fewer of us. But in a sense there are too many of us. There are forty million effective jobs in the country. And there are more than 140 million of us. Here is the fuel and energy complex and a little more - this is what, from the point of view of the world economy, provides real income. The third model of equity is the workplace. Effective employment. It seems that there is an excessive income gap that needs to be reduced. And the thought suggests itself: let’s reduce the income gap using known methods. Do you know what we will get if we reduce the income gap using known methods? The goal is not for the coefficient to decrease, but for this narrowing of the gap to improve the position of those at the bottom, and not worsen the position of those at the top. If we simply start closing the income gap, we will simply cut into efficiency, we will destroy the incentives for large and medium-sized businesses, we will, of course, reduce the gap, but in an absolute sense we will make things worse for those at the bottom. Yes, of course, we will first worsen the situation of those at the top, and only then those at the bottom. But in the end we lose, not gain, from such an operation. There is a solution to this problem and it will ultimately involve job creation. Because it is necessary to influence not incomes, but expenses, and economists have long known how this is done. In the end, two things need to be done: first, make luxury more difficult, second, make investment easier. Moreover, the second is no easier to do than the first. Why? Because there are costs, barriers, when making investments - for some there are costs, and for others there are incomes. Transaction costs are almost always someone else's income. We, I think, can imagine why such a wonderful national project as affordable housing is doomed? Because in the structure of housing prices you will find, in addition to the own costs borne by the builder, a lot of rental income of various types. From the monopoly income of construction firms, which, by a strange coincidence in a number of regions of the Russian Federation, belong to members of the family of the mayor of this or that city, this is not a purely Moscow phenomenon, gentlemen, to the rental income that various kinds of licensing, expert and other offices receive. This creates such a high level of costs that it makes any kind of investment extremely difficult. It is necessary to reduce costs, but this reduction in costs means a reduction in the income of certain dominant groups. There cannot be perfect justice not because people are bad, but because people are different. But this does not mean that there cannot be some suboptimal solution. That models of justice characteristic of different groups cannot be realized. They can, but only through a regime of mutual compensation. It seemed that being a utopian option was impossible to even consider. The level of accumulation of social capital in our country is very low, and in this sense it is difficult to expect high and widespread activity.

3. Monetization of benefits

The system of benefits arose in Soviet times, when there was a system of social guarantees characteristic of the state economy. The benefits were an incentive for certain (relatively few) categories of citizens who had special services to the country. In the 80s and 90s, the number of benefits was sharply expanded, and the benefits themselves turned into a system of social support for the population in conditions of inflation and lack of money in the state budget. Many benefits were never actually provided, and the number of formal beneficiaries exceeded half of the country's population.

The benefit system promotes theft of public funds and corruption. For example, in the field of drug supply, channels have been established to receive government funds for the free dispensing of drugs to beneficiaries, while the actual dispensing of drugs is carried out for a much smaller amount (including through refusal to serve beneficiaries). The high cost of transport services, often caused by corruption, is justified by interested officials by servicing beneficiaries. There were widespread abuses in health resort services for veterans; ordinary veterans do not receive this service or are forced to wait in long-term queues.

Benefits in the field of transport travel lead to the degradation of municipal transport, since people who use transport the most sought to receive this benefit and, as a result, more than half of the trips were not paid for. At the same time, the lack of data on the actual services provided to beneficiaries allows, in some cases, through corruption, to extract disproportionately high subsidies for municipal and even private transport companies. In addition to municipal transport, benefits have a negative impact on the railways, which lose 6 billion rubles due to this. per year, which affects the condition of the railway infrastructure.

The benefits system is unfair to those who do not benefit, such as village residents. Monetization eliminates the injustice of uneven access to benefits, and benefit recipients have the opportunity to spend the money at their own discretion.

The presence of benefits hinders the implementation of reforms in the field of transport, housing and communal services and natural monopolies. The introduction of competitive relations in the relevant markets is difficult as long as it remains unclear who will pay for the benefits. Attracting private investment in transport, housing and communal services and natural monopolies is difficult, since investors are not confident in full payment for services by all consumers (and therefore in the return on investment). Basic provisions for monetization of benefits

Federal monetization applies only to “federal beneficiaries” (disabled people, military personnel, WWII participants and some others - 14 million people). Three types of benefits are monetized - transport (travel on public transport and commuter trains), medicines and sanatorium-resort treatment. The government postponed the abolition of benefits for housing and communal services until after the 2008 elections.

The 2005 budget allocated 171.8 billion rubles to replace benefits with cash compensation (for “federal beneficiaries”). In reality, a significantly larger amount was spent.

The package of laws on monetization provided for monthly payments to replace benefits for disabled people of the first group since childhood - 1.4 thousand rubles, for the second group - 1000 rubles. and the third group - 800 rubles, "Chernobyl survivors" - 1,700 rubles, donors - 500 rubles, heroes of the Great Patriotic War - 3.5 thousand rubles, war participants - 1.5 thousand rubles, blockade survivors - - 1.1 thousand rubles, war invalids - 2 thousand rubles.

These payments replaced the right to free travel in city and suburban transport, free medicines and sanatorium treatment. In the initial proposals of the Ministry of Finance, the number of benefits subject to monetary replacement was more than ten.

For “regional benefit recipients” (labor veterans, pensioners, etc. - 20-30 million people), the constituent entities of the federation could either carry out similar monetization or retain in-kind benefits. But at the same time, the regions had to pay transport companies and other suppliers for the services provided to beneficiaries. The federal center declared payment to the regions of up to 40% of the corresponding compensation in the event of monetization.

The principle of dividing benefit recipients into federal and regional was simple: the one who grants citizens the right to benefits pays for them from his budget.

On July 29, 2004, a protest rally of “Chernobyl survivors” took place in Moscow against the upcoming monetization of benefits. On August 2, protests took place almost throughout the country; the radical National Bolshevik Party carried out a loud action to seize the reception room of the Ministry of Health.

The communist opposition sharply opposes the upcoming reform, calling it “anti-people.” The main organizer of the dissatisfied is the Russian Party of Pensioners.

The practical implementation of the “monetization of benefits” in life since January 2005 has caused large-scale protests that have swept across almost the entire country. Beneficiaries burned Putin // Gazeta.ru, February 28, 2005. Pensioners became the main driving force of the protests. Protests took on a wide scale in major cities. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov was able to find funds to finance the benefit from the city budget.

At the same time, the second city of the country, St. Petersburg, did not have such financial resources. The largest protests took place in this city, which resulted in at least one loss of life. The protesters blocked the most important highways - Nevsky and Moskovsky Avenues. One of the cars hit a pensioner.

During January-February, a number of oppositionists from all categories of the political spectrum, without exception, tried to join the protest sentiments and lead them.

The attitude of the liberal opposition and the Western press to the events remained ambivalent; on the one hand, they unconditionally supported the very idea of reform. On the other hand, as the protests grew, they were supported.

However, in general, the protests remained uncontrolled, and the demands of pensioners consisted mainly of the repeal of Law No. 122 on the monetization of benefits. The observed political slogans were, as a rule, communist in nature; demands for the restoration of the USSR, with its price level and social policy, were often put forward. Such slogans also appeared - “Electricity for the people, electric chair for Chubais,” etc.

Large-scale protests occurred almost immediately after the failure of Russian efforts in Ukraine at the end of 2004, and for some time severely damaged the reputation of the authorities. It was also shocking that the protests reached their maximum in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg, where he had a popularity invented by the media. An additional blow for the authorities was the appeal of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexy II; the patriarch sided with the pensioners in their conflict with the authorities.

The actual failure to monetize benefits caused the second drop in his rating in the entire history of Vladimir Putin’s presidency (the first occurred after the Kursk submarine disaster), from 84% at the beginning of 2004 to 48% at the beginning of 2005. However, this drop turned out to be temporary.

Putin held several meetings with the Cabinet of Ministers, shifting responsibility to the government and regional authorities. In January, Putin proposed indexing pensions not from April 1, but from March 1 by at least two hundred rubles. He also gave instructions to increase pay for military personnel. Vladimir Putin: The situation of people should not worsen // Russian Federation today. -- No. 3. -- 2005..

At the same time, the protests caused a split in Russian society: part of the population supported the protesters, while others, primarily young people, reacted negatively to the “retirement of pensioners.”

Another large category of beneficiaries, often affected by the reform, was the military. The compensation was calculated in such a way that military personnel living far from their place of service suffered severe financial losses, all the more noticeable against the backdrop of relatively low wages. According to an Interfax survey conducted in early 2005, 80% of military personnel expressed dissatisfaction with the monetization of benefits.

Although strikes and rallies are prohibited for the military, discontent has found external expression, albeit short-lived. On February 19, 2005, they tried to organize an opposition All-Army Officers' Meeting. The lights were turned off in the rented premises of the Russian Academy of Public Administration before the meeting began, and officers were pushed away from the building by riot police. As a result, those gathered moved outside, using a snowdrift as a platform, and the slogans became significantly radicalized.

As a result of the meeting, the military demanded to sharply strengthen the Armed Forces, increase their funding, and announced the beginning of the formation of an “officer-Cossack militia,” which could be regarded by the authorities as the creation of illegal armed groups. The military themselves did not consider their actions to be mutiny; in their opinion, they acted in full accordance with the statement of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Vladimir Putin, about the need to strengthen the state, and the goal of the militia was to protect Russian nuclear weapons from the United States. Those present believed that the United States was planning to seize control of Russian nuclear arsenals in the coming months.

Despite the wide resonance, the events did not develop further, and the “officer-Cossack militia” was not formed.

During 2005, the government of Vladimir Putin, together with regional authorities, took a number of measures to combat the outbreak of social tension. In a number of regions, monetary compensation was increased to a level that suited pensioners, and the protests gradually subsided.

The technical complexity of solving such a large-scale problem as monetization was underestimated. Many officials and entire regions were not ready for monetization and did not think through their actions in advance. Monetization creates a threat to a number of bureaucratic “feeders”, so part of the state apparatus is not interested in its effective implementation.

The gap between the receipt of compensation (end of January 2005) and the fact that benefits ceased to apply at the beginning of January was not taken into account. Although the appropriate funds were transferred from the federal budget in advance, the long New Year holidays and the pension payment system (through which compensation is paid and which transfers money at the end of the month) did not allow these funds to reach the population on time.

The laws on monetization did not provide for compensation to pensioners, since benefits for pensioners were adopted exclusively by regional authorities and were not prescribed in any federal legislative act. The solution to the problem with pensioners was completely the responsibility of the regional authorities; the federal center actually avoided solving it.

Since pensioners are not formally recipients of benefits, neither the federal nor the regional budgets provide compensation for them. It was the “abandoned” pensioners who became the main driving force of the protests.

As one might expect, the monetization of benefits caused widespread discontent among the poor. However, many enterprises, including road transport, breathed a sigh of relief. They finally saw real money, which allowed them to survive in conditions of fierce competition and lack of cash. Many motor transport enterprises have aimed at updating their fleet through monetization. automotive equipment, which, no secret, is in a deplorable state and requires urgent updating. This situation is clearly observed in small towns in depressed regions.

Speaking about monetization in healthcare, it is too early to draw conclusions. Since individual registration of patients, for the most part, occurs using paper files, nurses have significantly increased work in the form of additional reporting on preferential medications, which, in turn, negatively affects labor productivity, which is reflected in a deterioration in the quality of patient care. At the same time, the situation promises to improve for the better, due to the transition to automated patient registration systems.

Conclusion

The market is imperfect. It cannot provide equal rights for all its members. Competition between individual economic entities does not promise us the right to work, the right to rest, or the right to a stable income. The state took over these functions. It is committed to protecting the poor through sound economic policies. In this case, the redistribution of income in favor of the above groups of the population, called social justice, becomes particularly important. However, this behavior often comes into sharp conflict with economic efficiency, which ensures the best results from the functioning of the economy. Universal methods for solving it have not yet been invented, and each country is forced to look for its own, unique ways.

The market economy is the most widespread economic system in the world and the most effective in terms of long-term economic development. Recognizing competition, the market does not take into account the personal differences of market participants (differences are of a social, biological, psychological nature). There is also a social risk, that is, the likelihood of material insecurity due to the loss or opportunity to participate in the economic process. The causes and factors of social risk are often objective in relation to an individual person: the threat of unemployment, loss of ability to work due to an accident, illness, etc. In such cases, neither isolated nor even included in any significant group of workers an employee is unlikely to be able to prevent negative events.

Constitutional responsibilities of the Russian state:

a) protect people’s labor and health;

b) establish a minimum guaranteed wage;

c) provide state support for family, motherhood, paternity and childhood, disabled people and elderly citizens;

d) develop a system of social services;

e) establish state pensions, benefits and other guarantees of social protection.

State social policy is a set of government measures aimed at maintaining normal living conditions, social justice and social protection of the population.

In modern conditions, a broader concept of socio-economic efficiency is used, which includes the categories of social costs (morbidity, environmental pollution, etc.) and social benefits (health, education, scientific potential). This expansion of the concept of economic efficiency is associated with the desire for social consensus or at least to mitigate social contradictions, without which normal functioning of the economy is generally impossible.

Monetization of benefits is the replacement of natural benefits with monetary compensation, carried out by the Russian government in 2005 and leading to mass protests by pensioners in the country.

Cash payments did not always compensate for the abolition of corresponding benefits. Although in general monetization was beneficial to the population, the benefits and losses were unevenly distributed. For example, monetization is beneficial for village residents (who hardly used benefits), but not for benefit recipients who consume expensive medicines. Thus, a certain segment of the population actually suffered from monetization.

Bibliography

1. Arkhipov A.I., Nesterenko A.N., Economics: Textbook. - M: Prospekt, 2005

2. Bulatov A.S., Economics: Uch. 3rd ed., revised. and additional - M: Economist, 2003

3. Borisov E.F. Economic theory: Textbook. - M: Lawyer, 2005

4. Zhuravlev G.P., Introductory course on economic theory: Textbook. - M: INFRA - M, 2003

5. Zhuravleva G.P., Theoretical Economics. Political economy: Textbook. - M: Banks and exchanges, UNITY, 2003

6. Kalashnikov S.V., Main problems of social development of Russia - 78/ Analytical Bulletin of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. -2004. -No. 15.

7. Kulikov L.M. Economic theory: Textbook. - M: TK Welby, Prospekt Publishing House, 2005

8. Manevich V. A. On the patterns of market formation. Economic Issues, 2005, No. 3.

9. McConnell K.R., Brew S.L. Economics: Principles, problems and policies: Trans. from 13th eng. Ed. - M: INFRA-M, 2005

11. Raizberg B. A. To the market through searches and doubts. M., Knowledge, 2003, No. 4

14. Modern economics: Textbook. - Rostov-on-Don “Phoenix”, 2005

15. Simkina L.G., “Economic theory”, chapter 2, “Peter”, St. Petersburg, 2003

16. Chepurin M.N. Course of economic theory: Textbook. - Kirov: ASA, 2006

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Income inequality: the essence of the problem. Before we talk about income inequality, we need to define the concept of income. In the socio-economic sense, the income of the population is the totality of funds, social payments and benefits received by the employee and members of his family in the form of compensation for work, pensions, benefits, dividends, interest, as well as income from business. Of course, any society sets as its goal the creation of conditions for people's livelihoods and ensuring a normal standard of living. If we are talking about the standard of living, then it can be characterized as the degree to which the population is provided with the necessary material and spiritual goods to satisfy its needs. Since the needs of members of society are different, the standard of living of different segments of the population will also be different. The standard of living has social and economic meaning. In an economic sense, the standard of living characterizes the provision of material goods and services to the population. The most important indicator here can be the production of GNP or ND per capita. Of course, this will be an average.

The social aspect of the standard of living is characterized by how much the state spends on education, culture, health care, enlightenment, what is the level of pension provision in the country, how social protection of the population from poverty is provided, how the income policy is generally structured in the country, etc. The social side of the standard of living can also be seen in the policy pursued by the state in relation to various segments of the population: it equalizes or differentiates the flow of income. In the former socialist economic system, a nationwide policy of income equalization was pursued, which usually amounted to equalization. Over time, society realized that leveling is evil, but it was too late, it became impossible to change the situation. So, the problem of their differentiation has arisen on the agenda of income distribution, but differentiation leads to polarization of interests. In this regard, the problem of assessing the situation arises: is income differentiation an evil or a benefit for the economy? In this regard, it is necessary to assess the social consequences of income differentiation. These problems have long been in the field of view of economists.

Causes of inequality. What are the main reasons for the existence of inequality in the distribution of income among the population? There are many such reasons, but the main ones include the following: differences in abilities, education and professional training, complexity and unattractiveness of work, ownership of property, market dominance (for entrepreneurs), luck, personal connections, environment.

People have different intellectual abilities, most of which are inherited from parents and developed by society. We are talking about purely intellectual talents, physical data and aesthetic abilities. The idea that has existed for a long time that all children are equal from birth and only later, depending on upbringing, differences in talents appear is essentially unfounded. Society and the social environment can develop what was originally inherent in the human body. No matter how hard experts try to get a person to start singing or playing a musical instrument, this does not work if he does not have the “gift of God” for this, if he has not inherited the inclinations from his parents, grandparents. But if these inclinations exist and they are discovered and developed in a timely manner, the person receives the right to engage in special or exceptional work and receive higher remuneration for this. This applies not only to intellectual, but equally to physical capabilities. Only rare people endowed with exceptional physical talents, adapted to one, two, and rarely three sports, can become highly paid professional athletes. The degree of development of these talents makes it possible to subsequently count on receiving appropriate remuneration for work from society.

Education and occupational knowledge also predict differences in income. If in previous discussions we were talking about the differences between people according to their natural inclinations and inclinations, here the role of society, the environment, family, and the efforts of the person himself in obtaining education and professional training comes to the fore. Even the subsequent position of children in society varies. One of them may turn out to be more assertive in acquiring knowledge, more purposeful in achieving goals, and the result will inevitably have an impact - his work will be more qualified, and therefore more useful to business and society. Such work will be rewarded higher, and the employee’s income will become more significant.

The complexity and unattractiveness of work are also related to the amount of income. Complex work is more skilled work. Naturally, he is rewarded higher. In addition, there are attractive and unattractive types of work. The work of a lawyer and medical personnel is attractive, but the work of a garbage man and cleaner is unattractive. Since unattractive work cannot be avoided, society has to reward such work, taking into account the degree of its “unattractiveness”.

“Wealth begets wealth” - this thesis refers to the role of property in differentiating the income of society. Here we are not talking about the process of reforming property, but about the fact that ownership of property can bring the subject of property a certain income in the form of interest or dividend. Thus, about 10% of United States households own over 70% of all stocks, about 85% of all tax-exempt bonds, 70% of all taxable bonds and about 50% of all real estate. This allows the owner of such shares and bonds to generate the highest level of income in society - 50 thousand dollars. per year and above.

Market dominance relates to entrepreneurship and business. Despite the measures taken to overcome monopoly in the economy, monopolies still use the priority of their economic position, and therefore dominance in the market. Even if they do not inflate prices, they strive to keep prices for their products at the proper level and for a long time, and this brings additional income. In addition, a similar preferred role is played by government orders that create conditions for the development of individual industries, services or trade. In some cases, licenses are issued for a specific type of occupation; sometimes trade unions achieve priority for their professions, which contributes to income differentiation.

Good luck often accompanies a person, but misfortune just as often befalls him. A person can win a large sum in the lottery, receive an inheritance, meet an influential person in time - and his income will increase. But it happens the other way around: a family member gets sick, and this will require treatment costs; a person may find himself unemployed or get into a disaster, which will affect his income. In short, there can be many reasons for inequality, some of them can be taken into account and regulated, others cannot be foreseen. Therefore, income policy requires a reasonable approach.

The dilemma has become well known: what is more rational from the point of view of production efficiency - equality or income inequality? Marxism and the practice of socialism affirmed a community of interests, from which the thesis of economic equality of consumers was derived. Capitalism differentiated workers depending on their contribution to production and rewarded their work to varying degrees. Capitalism has the last word. And yet the question is unclear and requires an answer. If economic inequality is allowed, then social inequality is also allowed. If we start from the necessity of economic inequality, the question arises as to what the optimal degree of this inequality should be.

The main argument in favor of equal distribution is that it is supposedly necessary to maximize the satisfaction of consumer needs. If we assume inequality, then the degree of satisfaction of marginal utility will vary among people. In this case, the total marginal utility will be less than if the distribution of income were the same (equal). This means that the maximum utility speaks in favor of equality of income distribution.

Opponents of equality in income distribution argue that the way income is distributed is an important factor in determining the amount of income produced and distributed. They proceed from the fact that in the sphere of production activity it is impossible to equalize incomes; the reasons that give rise to inequality are necessarily taken into account, because these reasons are logical and objective.

Consequently, income will have to be equalized outside the sphere of production, i.e. in the sphere of income redistribution, but then the only possible means here may be taxes. With their help, you can remove what one employee received and transfer it to another. But then the first consumer will be uninterested in receiving more income and will work worse. This will reduce your overall income. Therefore, it is fair to note that the way the “pie” is distributed affects the size of the pie itself. To maintain the incentive to increase output and income, inequality in income distribution must be maintained. As a result, it turns out that income equality is necessary to achieve maximum utility of goods, but ensuring a continuous increase in production volume requires inequality in income distribution. Therefore, the conclusion should be this: inequality in distribution must be observed, but this inequality must be maintained within reasonable limits in order to ensure the maximum satisfaction of needs possible under conditions of inequality.

The concept of poverty. The consequence of inequality in distribution is poverty. Poverty cannot be precisely defined, although it has both social and economic implications. Poverty is often judged by purely external signs: there are many beggars on the street, people are poorly dressed, public places are uncomfortable, the pavements are not cleaned, etc. Only a poor state can put up with this.

Poverty also has a purely economic meaning. In the broadest sense of the word, we can speak of poverty if the basic needs of a family exceed the means available to them to satisfy them. Family funds are formed from current income, existing savings, transfer payments, property, etc. As for the needs of the family, they are determined by many factors, among which we should highlight its size, health, age of family members, number of able-bodied people, belonging to a particular social group, etc.

The concept of poverty is relative. What it means to live in poverty in the United States may seem like a blessing or even a paradise for developing countries. In the same country, the state of poverty is also ambiguous. During a period of economic recession, the perception of poverty is one thing, and during a period of rising production, it is another. To determine poverty status, various indicators are used that have direct and indirect meaning. Of course, a beggar is a poor person. But when they talk about the capable composition of the population, indicators such as standard of living, cost of living, etc. are used.

The concept of standard of living is difficult and even impossible to define unambiguously. There are no universal indicators that would characterize this condition. A system of indicators is usually used, the most important of which are: wages, pension levels, housing, healthcare development, level of culture, etc. A comprehensive look at these indicators can provide insight into people's standard of living.

The subsistence level is determined by the amount of income that allows satisfying the minimum consumer needs of the average family. The cost of living is flexible and depends mainly on the state of the economy and government policy in the field of income distribution.

Another indicator usually characterizes the poverty line is the concept of income indexation. In a stable economy, one rarely has to deal with income indexation. There is practically no need to resort to this measure, but as soon as production begins to fail, inflation and unemployment appear, and then the state turns on a system of social support for various segments of the population and the problem of income indexation is put on the agenda. Indexation can be in the form of one-time cash payments, losses of money on deposits that occurred as a result of inflation, etc. can be compensated. Most often, indexation is carried out to smooth out the negative consequences of price increases, especially for manufactured goods and services, since this measure most affects the vital interests of people.

Market economy and social justice

The history of economic development of society shows a complex combination between the concepts of “economy” and “social equality”. At the initial stages of evolution economic progress in society was largely associated with a pronounced inequality, injustice , the pressure of some segments of the population on others.

Historically, the first major steps in the social field were taken in Western Europe only at the end of the 19th century. Germany was the pioneer. At the direction of Reich Chancellor O. Bismarck in 1883, 1884, 1889. employee accident insurance, sickness benefits, old-age and disability pensions were introduced.

The manifestation of a tendency towards a certain social leveling in the most developed countries should be considered the formation in the second half XX V. The so-called middle class. This social stratum includes that part of the population that has a stable and relatively high level of income. The middle class in Kazakhstan makes up approximately 70% of the total population.

Thus, A market economy by its nature represents two opposing trends: the formation of property inequality, on the one hand, and a certain social equalization, on the other. There are two explanations for the second phenomenon:

1. The market by its nature is a form of compromise between its participants. They are independent, they oppose each other (because they have opposing interests), but at the same time they depend on each other. Their interests can only be realized as a result of mutual, reciprocal satisfaction of needs.

2. At an advanced stage of development, with market saturation and fierce competition, sales participants are interested in high consumer incomes. At the initial stage, in conditions of a relative shortage of goods, sellers did not have such interest. Competition was on the demand side, not the supply side.

At the same time, you should consider: the market never gives complete equality. This is due to the following:

Personal market participants always differ from each other (in knowledge, skills or abilities);

At an advanced phase of its development, the market, as we noted, achieves conditions of a certain social equality. However, within the framework of this provision, the natural desire of each participant for his personal gain continues.

So, the market provides the prerequisites for a certain social equality.

Methods of social market correction. Society seeks to counter the market gaps associated with the social sphere with targeted actions. They consist primarily of development of certain principles

(scheme 1).

Society's desire to develop comprehensive social programs did not go smoothly. In general, two variants of this approach have emerged : evolutionary and radical. In the course of historical development, it was the evolutionary path that showed its effectiveness

Scheme 1

The contrasts between social policies pursued by evolutionary and radical methods contained underlying theoretical differences. If radicalism was built on the concepts of Marxism and National Socialism, then evolutionary path was based on welfare theory - a constituent element of neoclassicism.

The initial task in these theoretical constructions was not so much to identify the government’s target objectives, but rather to determine the conditions under which the market process of distribution (of goods, resources, income) is carried out in the most rational way. In other words, it was about finding criteria that could ensure the achievement of optimal use of resources and benefits, which ultimately ensured an increase in the well-being of the nation.

Income in society and social security

Social equality is determined primarily by the income system. They represent the totality of all financial resources received by a person necessary to pay for the material side of his life. Income is usually the result of economic activity.

Among the economic data characterizing social security, a prominent place is occupied by indicator of standard of living.

Its use is possible in a narrower and broader sense. In the first case, we understand the consumption of material goods: food, industrial goods, housing (primarily per capita).

A broader understanding of this category involves access to such a term as "the quality of life" . This indicator is of a general nature. Its introduction into scientific circulation is associated with the process of a more mature understanding by society of the meaning of human existence.

Social differentiation: causes, indicators

The income of the population of any society is always differentiated. Exists There are many factors that determine the discrepancy in living standards.

With the development of society, the depth of differentiation exhibits the following dynamics: at the initial stage market development differentiation inevitably increases. In the mature phase it decreases thanks to the social policy of the state.

To measure the degree of differentiation in income, a graphical indicator called Lorenz curve

This graph is a graphical representation of two values: the gradation of the population into equal groups in size and the distribution of income between these population groups. Methodologically, conditionally (for simplicity and clarity), five groups are distinguished in the total population (each accounting for 20% of the total population). The amount of income received is also conditionally divided into the same percentage distribution of benefits; this dependence looks like a bisector. However, such a straight line is only a potential possibility.

In real life, income is never distributed strictly evenly. The true distribution picture appears graphically as a downward sloping line. This curvature means that the first two groups of the population (in this graph the groups are divided depending on the amount of income: first those receiving relatively low incomes are shown, then those with average incomes and, finally, those with high incomes) receive a relatively small part of the total income.

In addition to the graphical indicator, it is customary to use a digital, decile coefficient (the ratio of the incomes of 10% of the population receiving the highest level of income and 10% of the population with the lowest level of income).

Another indicator - Ginny index. Its task is to reflect the degree of income concentration.

As an example, we provide information on the nature of income differentiation in Kazakhstan

Distribution of income in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2008

In 2008, compared to the previous year, the share of the population with incomes below the subsistence level decreased to 12.1%, relative to the cost of the food basket - to 1.2% (in 2007 they were 12.7% and 1.4%, respectively ). The reduction in the share of the poor population is accompanied by a decrease in the depth and severity of poverty; in 2008, relative to the previous year, the depth and severity of poverty decreased by 0.1 percentage points.

The decrease in the Gini coefficient and the fund coefficient in 2008 compared to 2007 indicates a slight decrease in the differentiation of income of the population.

Poverty indicators in the Republic of Kazakhstan

(in percentages)

Distribution of income used for consumption
by 20% (quintile) population groups

Average monthly income per capita in the interval, tenge					Share of population income by quintile groups, in percentages
first	second	third	fourth	fifth	first	second	third	fourth	fifth
2007	7057	10371	13592	18110	33491	8,54	12,55	16,45	21,92	40,54
2008	8992	12680	16329	21543	37892	9,23	13,01	16,76	22,11	38,89

Directions of social policy in a developed market economy

The need for social balance. In the context of income inequality, the state faces a task: a certain smoothing of this difference between layers of society. This direction has a socio-economic meaning. It has two aspects. One is associated with purely moral considerations (moral, spiritual, religious foundations), the other with the applied, pragmatic side of life. The state, as an institutional governing body, clearly understands that the success of economic development is largely determined by the atmosphere of social satisfaction in society.

Directions of social policy. The established practice of social policy in developed countries has developed several typical directions.

8-09-2015, 14:42

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Consideration of the economic interests of the population is impossible without clarifying their position in the system of property relations and distribution. How does the mechanism of these parameters work?

Forecasting the level and quality of life of the population. Characteristics of living standard indicators. Social differentiation of the population. Demographic situation.

Geography of poverty The idea of what poverty is can be very different in different countries. Typically, the wealthier a country as a whole, the higher its national poverty line. Therefore, in order to make international comparisons, it was necessary to agree on the so-called

ACADEMY OF LABOR AND SOCIAL RELATIONS Department of Sociology and Management of Social Processes Test work State of Israel. Social Security.

The Far East undoubtedly continues to be a region of strategic importance for the national interests of the Russian Federation. Both our state and our society are interested in its development. The demographic situation in the Far East is characterized by a steady decline in population, the main reason for which is migration outflow to other regions of the country.

Theoretical foundations of statistical analysis of the standard of living of the population. Economic characteristics of the Chuvash Republic, analysis of the dynamics of per capita cash income of its population and assessment of the close relationship between wages and the cost of living.

Characteristics of the concept and main problems of social policy. The essence and main directions of social policy. Social protection of the population. Features of social policy in Russia. Regional problems of social policy.

Determination of per capita income and methods for studying the distribution of members of society by income. Measures of stratification and requirements for them, basic properties and their application, relationships with each other. Examples of distributions and their rationale, main types.

Causes of economic poverty in Russia: sluggish adaptation of the national economy to the processes of globalization; lack of competitiveness of entire industries; low labor productivity and poor organization; shortage of specialists with the required qualifications.

The essence and main directions of social policy. The quality of life. State income policy. Employment policy. Social protection system. Government assistance programs. Problems of social policy in Russia during reforms.

The labor process as a type of human activity to produce goods and resources necessary for consumption in the household, or for economic exchange. Tariff schedule and rates, working hours. Determining the standard of living by assessing the benefits of life.

The concept of social standards and their place in modern civilized society. Calculation of the human development index, criteria influencing it. Classification and types of social standards. Minimum social standards in world practice.

Market economy and social justice

At the same time, you should consider: the market never gives complete equality. This is due to the following:

Personal market participants always differ from each other (in knowledge, skills or abilities);

So, the market provides the prerequisites for a certain social equality.

(scheme 1).

Scheme 1

Income in society and social security

Among the economic data characterizing social security, a prominent place is occupied by indicator of standard of living.

Its use is possible in a narrower and broader sense. In the first case, we understand the consumption of material goods: food, industrial goods, housing (primarily per capita).

Social differentiation: causes, indicators

The income of the population of any society is always differentiated. Exists There are many factors that determine the discrepancy in living standards.

To measure the degree of differentiation in income, a graphical indicator called Lorenz curve

Another indicator - Ginny index. Its task is to reflect the degree of income concentration.

As an example, we provide information on the nature of income differentiation in Kazakhstan

Distribution of income in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2008

The decrease in the Gini coefficient and the fund coefficient in 2008 compared to 2007 indicates a slight decrease in the differentiation of income of the population.

Poverty indicators in the Republic of Kazakhstan

(in percentages)

Distribution of income used for consumption
by 20% (quintile) population groups

Average monthly income per capita in the interval, tenge					Share of population income by quintile groups, in percentages
first	second	third	fourth	fifth	first	second	third	fourth	fifth
2007	7057	10371	13592	18110	33491	8,54	12,55	16,45	21,92	40,54
2008	8992	12680	16329	21543	37892	9,23	13,01	16,76	22,11	38,89

Directions of social policy in a developed market economy

Introduction

1. Market economy and social justice

1.1 General characteristics of a market economy

1.2 Concept of social justice

2. In search of justice: the Swedish experiment

3. Features of a socially oriented market economy in the Republic of Belarus

3.1 Formation of a socially oriented economy in the Republic of Belarus

3.2 Property and fairness in economic and management processes in the Republic of Belarus

Conclusion

List of sources used

Introduction

The Republic of Belarus and other post-socialist countries, in the course of economic reforms, are moving from an administrative-command system to a modern market economy. At first, the prevailing point of view (both among domestic and foreign economists) was that this transition would take years. It is now clear that this transition will take decades. In post-socialist countries, a unique, so-called transition economic system, or economy in transition, will exist for a long time. This is a kind of mixture of elements of administrative-command and modern market systems. In a number of countries, elements of a market economy of free competition and a traditional economic system are added to this.

In the process of long-term evolution, the dominance of the market economy as the main and most effective form of economic management has been established in all countries of the world. Its basis is commodity production. It refers to the production of products by separate, private, isolated producers, each of whom specializes in the production of one particular product, therefore, in order to satisfy social needs, the purchase and sale of products on the market and their exchange are necessary.

The purpose of this work is to consider the economic efficiency and social justice of a market economy, including in the Republic of Belarus.

The objectives of this work are:

Consideration of the concepts of market economy and social justice;

Consideration of the socially oriented Swedish economy;

Consideration of a socially oriented market economy in the Republic of Belarus.

This work is based on theoretical studies and periodicals that touch on the topic of economic efficiency of a market economy and social justice.

1. Market economy and social justice

1.1 General characteristics of a market economy

As Adam Smith noted, the amazing thing about an economy based on private property and free transactions is that market prices subordinate the actions of the self-interested to the goals of the prosperity of the society or nation as a whole. The entrepreneur, guided only by his own benefit, is nevertheless guided by the “invisible hand” of market prices towards a goal (namely, the economic well-being of the country), which was not at all part of his intentions.

Many people find it difficult to understand the law of the invisible hand because there is a natural tendency to associate order with central planning. If the task is to allocate resources wisely, it seems natural that some branch of the central government should be responsible for this. The Law of the Invisible Hand states that this is not necessary. With private property and freedom of exchange, prices, forcing millions of consumers, producers and suppliers of resources to make their personal choices, are also a means of harmonizing their interests. Prices contain information about consumer preferences, costs and factors related to time, location and other circumstances that neither an individual nor an entire planning authority can take into account. Just one single aggregate figure - the market price - provides producers with the full amount of information necessary to bring their personal actions into line with the actions and preferences of others. Market price directs and incentivizes both producers and resource suppliers to produce things that are valued most highly relative to the cost of producing them.

Business decision makers do not need a central authority to tell them what to produce and how to produce it. Prices perform this function. For example, no one has to force a farmer to grow wheat, a builder to build houses, or a furniture maker to make chairs. If the prices of these and other goods indicate that consumers value their value at least at the same level as the cost of their production, entrepreneurs will produce them in pursuit of personal gain.

There is also no need for a central authority to control the production methods of enterprises. Farmers, builders, furniture makers and many other manufacturers will seek the best combination of resources and the most efficient organization of production, since lower costs mean higher profits. It is in the interests of every manufacturer to reduce costs and improve quality. Competition practically forces them to do this. High-cost producers will find it difficult to survive in the market. Consumers looking to get the most out of their money will care about this.

The "invisible hand" of the market process works so automatically that most people don't even think about it. They simply take it for granted that goods are produced in approximately the quantities in which consumers want them. The long lines that characterize centrally planned economies are virtually unknown to people living in market economies. The availability of a huge variety of goods, which boggles the imagination of even modern consumers, is also largely taken for granted. The "invisible hand" creates order, harmony and diversity. This process, however, is so hidden that few people understand its essence, and only a few give it its due. However, it is decisive for the economic well-being of a society.

The market is an essential component of a commercial economy. Without commodity production there is no market, without a market there is no commodity production. The objective necessity of the market is caused by the same reasons as commodity production: the development of the social division of labor and the economic isolation of subjects of market relations. These conditions arose and developed as a single whole, as a single process of interaction between production and sales of products.

The market has many faces and its definition is equally varied. The textbook on political economy, edited by V. Medvedev and L. Abalkin, gives the following definition of the market: “The market is an exchange organized according to the laws of commodity production and circulation, a set of relations between commodity and monetary circulation.” A number of other questions arise here: 1. What are these laws of commodity production and circulation? 2. How to understand the totality of relations between commodity and money circulation? There is a simplified interpretation of the market as a place of sale where sellers and buyers meet.

The market is a type of economic relations between business entities; it is a social form of economic functioning. The market is a form of movement of social products and services.

P. Samuelson defines the market as “the process of competitive bidding.” It is possible (and perhaps better) to define a market as a mechanism that brings together buyers (demand providers) and sellers (suppliers) of individual goods and services. A store, a snack bar, a gas station, a hairdresser, a stock and commodity exchange, the personnel department of any enterprise, etc. fit this definition.

Markets take many different forms. The eastern bazaar and the domestic “flea market” are a noisy marketplace where each seller hopes to get a buyer for his product and, if possible, deceive him. Auction organizers bring together buyers and sellers of art, antiques, racehorses, etc. Many deliver or deliver their goods to houses and apartments at a time convenient for the owners. A representative of a large company helps University graduates get jobs. It connects potential buyers with potential sellers of labor. Some markets are local, others are national and international in nature. The market arose at the stage of barbarism and throughout history has performed a creative function. It opened up space for entrepreneurial activity and actively influenced the formation of production and personal needs of the population. Competition between sellers led to the fact that an unviable entrepreneur dropped out of market relations and went bankrupt. The successful one became even stronger, even richer. An incompetent, knowledgeable or careless worker was thrown out of the labor process and sank to the “bottom”. The market mechanism is a mechanism of progress. Its downside is its cruelty. The latter is the essence of everything living according to the laws of natural selection.

The market economy is the most widespread economic system in the world at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. and the most effective from the point of view of long-term economic development. Both countries with a new type of transition economy and traditional transition economies in developing countries are developing towards a market economy. Therefore, it is no coincidence that economics textbooks focus on analyzing the features and patterns of a market economic system.

To understand the details of the functioning of a market economy, it is necessary to understand the main feature of this system. A market economy is an economic system in which fundamental economic problems - what, how and for whom to produce - are solved mainly through the market, at the center of which is a competitive mechanism for setting prices for products and factors of production. Prices are formed as a result of the interaction of demand for products and supply of products. It is the prices on the market that indicate what to produce and what resources to use.

The concept of market is the initial concept in the theory of market economics. A market is a system of relationships between sellers and buyers through which they come into contact regarding the purchase and sale of goods or resources. These contacts between sellers and buyers presuppose some kind of agreement between them, in accordance with which an exchange is carried out at a set price. During an exchange, there is a voluntary alienation of one’s property and the appropriation of someone else’s property, that is, a mutual transfer of property rights. In the market, during the exchange, there is a public assessment of the goods produced. If a manufacturer sells his product, then his labor and other costs are recognized by society as meeting the needs of society. It is on the market that producers come into contact with each other, the market unites them, establishes connections between them. In the broad sense of the word, the market is a social mechanism that communicates between producers, between producers and consumers of goods and resources.

Various economic agents, or market subjects, can act as producers and consumers in the market. Economic agents are participants in market economic relations who own the factors of production and make economic decisions. The main economic agents are households, enterprises (firms), and the state. The position of each economic agent depends on its ownership of resources. For example, if an economic agent has only its own labor force, then its ability to influence the organization of production and income distribution is insignificant. If a market participant owns both his labor force and money capital, then he has much more opportunities to organize and manage an enterprise and distribute income.

Households as economic agents make decisions mainly on the consumption of goods necessary to support the livelihoods of family members. Both a family and an individual can act as a household if he lives separately and runs his own household. Ultimately, all economic resources belong to households, but they are distributed extremely unevenly among them. The vast majority of households own and control labor. In a market economy, labor is the main commodity created within the household and offered on the factor market. Receiving income from the sale of their resources, households make decisions about the distribution of limited income to purchase various consumer goods. The main economic interest of households is to maximize the utility of purchased goods. The choice of consumer goods by households shapes demand in a market economy.

An enterprise, or firm, is an economic agent that makes decisions about the production of goods for sale using resources purchased on the market. Produced goods are both material goods and services, therefore, when we talk about an enterprise, we mean purely production enterprises, and trading, financial, and service enterprises. In the long historical process of the emergence and development of a market economy, the production of goods was separated from households and began to be carried out in enterprises. The main economic interest of a business is to maximize profits. Other economic motives for the activities of enterprises can be maximizing sales, increasing market share, maintaining monopoly positions in the market, stable economic growth, increasing the market value of the enterprise. The decisions of enterprises about the volume and structure of production shape the supply on the market.

The state as an economic agent, or rather the government, makes decisions on the redistribution of goods produced in the private sector and on the production of so-called public goods. The latter include goods consumed jointly, such as mail, public safety, education, public health. The state can redistribute produced goods, for example, to help the disabled and the unemployed. The economic interests of the state reflect the interests of society as a whole. The most important of them are maintaining economic growth to meet the growing needs of society, increasing the efficiency of the national economy and its competitiveness in the world market.

Economic agents operate in different conditions, in different markets, differing in their location and breadth of coverage, the object of purchase and sale, how prices are set there, etc. Accordingly, the following main forms of markets can be distinguished: by breadth of coverage these are local, national and international markets; depending on the object of purchase and sale, these are markets for goods and services and markets for resources (market for labor, capital, land, entrepreneurial abilities); according to the method of setting prices, these are markets with predetermined prices and markets where prices are set during the buying and selling process; according to the form of organization, these are markets that require personal contact or do not require contact.

In a market economy, prices provide information about what to produce and in what way. With their help, social needs are identified and society's limited resources are directed to where these resources can be best used. If we try to imagine in the most general form the market economic mechanism, that is, how the market economy solves the fundamental economic problems of society, then it will look like this.

What to produce? We are talking about which products will best satisfy the numerous needs of society and how many of them need to be produced. The needs of society are expressed in the demand for a particular product, and the scale of demand is determined by how much people can pay for various goods. Those products will be purchased whose price and quality satisfy consumers. On the other hand, the volume of goods produced and their range are expressed in the supply of goods. Manufacturers will produce those goods whose price reimburses them for production costs and makes a profit. Prices for goods are formed through the interaction of supply and demand. Consumer demand plays a critical role in determining what and how much to produce. Consumers “vote with their rubles.” If enough votes are cast in favor of a given product to ensure a profit for enterprises, then they will produce it. When consumer demand increases, profits increase, which serves as a signal to expand production. Conversely, if consumer demand decreases, then profits decrease and production begins to decline.

How to produce? In other words, what resources and what technology should be used in the production of this or that product? In a market economy, production is carried out by those enterprises that use the most effective, that is, the most profitable, technology. Effective technology involves choosing resources whose prices are relatively low. If there is a lack of capital in a country to buy expensive equipment, but at the same time there is cheap labor, then labor-intensive technology is chosen. Thus, the prices of resources, in this case the cost of equipment and the level of wages, provide the basis for solving the problem of how to produce.

For whom to produce? That is, how should the products produced be distributed among members of society? In principle, products are distributed among consumers according to the consumers' ability to pay the market price for them. These opportunities, in turn, are determined by consumer income. And cash income depends on the quantity and quality of resources (the quantity and quality of labor, capital, land, entrepreneurial talent) that households supply to the resource market. In exchange for the inputs supplied, households receive income. The amount of income directly depends on the prices of resources. This means that resource prices ultimately determine both income and the amount of output that the consumer receives when distributing the social product produced. What a consumer will buy depends on the prices of goods and services, in other words, the price of a product plays a key role in determining the range of goods and services that the consumer will receive.

Thus, the role of price in the market economic mechanism is very significant, prices (1) identify social needs, (2) signal what to produce and in what quantities, (3) convey information about which technology is most effective, (4 ) determine the mechanism for distribution of the social product, (5) influence the scale and structure of human consumption.

At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the process of the emergence and development of a market economic system is a long process. In the history of economically developed countries, it took more than one century. In this historical process, the conditions or prerequisites for the emergence and development of a market economy develop. The most important of them are the social division of labor and specialization, the development of private ownership of the means of production, the personal interest of producers and owners, freedom of choice and freedom of movement of factors of production, government intervention in the economy, morality, the norms of which have been developed by humanity.

1. The fundamental condition for the emergence and development of a market economy is the social division of labor and specialization. They increase labor productivity, lead to the emergence of surplus products and thereby lead to the development of a commodity economy and market exchange.

2. For the normal functioning of a market economy, the development of private ownership of the means of production is necessary. The social division of labor and specialization, causing the isolation of producers, also stimulate the process of development of private property. Private property is the dominant form of property in a market economy. It comes in the form of individual private property and corporate (joint stock) private property. At the same time, in countries with developed market economies, state, mixed and cooperative property, as well as the property of public organizations, play an important role.

3. Private property creates new incentives to increase labor productivity, to improve technology and organization of production. There is a personal interest of producers and owners in more efficient placement and use of the resources they own. It manifests itself in various ways, in particular, the owners of labor force strive to earn a higher salary, the owners of money capital - to receive a larger percentage, entrepreneurs - to obtain greater profits, and consumers - to purchase more for a lower price.

4. In order for a market economy to function effectively, so that resources are used to their greatest advantage, freedom of choice and freedom of movement of factors of production are necessary. These freedoms are closely related to private property. Freedom of choice means that resource owners can use resources as they wish. Consumers are free to buy goods as they see fit to satisfy their needs. If everyone chooses the best option, then society as a whole also benefits. Historically, this is why the spread of a market economy became possible only with the abolition of feudal restrictions and the development of political democracy and personal freedom.

5. A condition for the effective functioning of a market economy is also state intervention in the economy, its state regulation. We will talk about this in detail in subsequent sections of the textbook. Now it is necessary to keep in mind that a market economy has its shortcomings, and these shortcomings can be neutralized and somehow corrected by state regulation of a market economy.

6. For the effective functioning of a market economy, morality is necessary, the norms of which have been developed by humanity. These are such universal human values as respect for human life, justice, honesty, rejection of exploitation, despotism and authoritarianism, freedom of moral choice, and the desire not to harm any forms of life. History shows that a market economy, focusing on prices and profits, appeals to the most selfish instincts of man, generates an excessive desire for wasteful consumption of material goods, and creates conditions for the development of selfishness, exploitation and injustice to the detriment of justice and humanity. This is especially true for immediate business tasks. In the long term, it turns out that honest and fair business behavior is more effective. Many economists, philosophers, and sociologists believe that moral behavior and social responsibility of business in the long term are compatible with business efficiency. It is no coincidence that in the era of the development of a market economy in countries that had achieved a high standard of living, the Protestant ethic spread, which largely met the challenges of efficient use of society's limited resources.

The market performs certain functions:

Issues signals to production for the production of certain goods and services, their increase or decrease;

Balances supply and demand;

Ensures a balanced economy;

Based on the differentiation of commodity producers, it leads to the establishment of a new, progressive in the life of society;

This is a kind of engine of scientific and technological progress;

Objectively forms a corps of skilled entrepreneurs, disciplines subjects of market relations.

The free market is characterized by the following features:

Unlimited number of participants in market relations and free competition between them;

Free access to any type of economic activity for all members of society;

Unlimited freedom of movement of capital and labor;

Each participant has complete information about the market;

Spontaneous setting of prices in the course of free competition;

In a free market, no participant is able to change the market situation at his own discretion.

To a certain extent, we can say that the free market is a self-regulating mechanism. However, any system, along with its advantages, also has its disadvantages. When applied to a free market, these disadvantages are as follows:

The market leads to differentiation of incomes, and consequently, living standards of the population;

Does not create conditions for the realization of the right to work;

Does not guarantee full employment of the population;

Does not create incentives for the production of goods and services for collective use;

Does not create motivation for basic scientific research;

Does not protect the human environment from pollution;

The market is ready to satisfy any need, even pathological.

1.2 Concept of social justice

The fundamentals of social justice in their modern understanding are reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other international documents, as well as in the laws of many countries. In the Republic of Belarus, human and civil rights and freedoms are recognized and guaranteed in accordance with generally accepted principles and norms of international law and in accordance with the Constitution of the country. The Belarusian state proceeds from the equality of everyone before the law and the court, and provides a wide range of social services. guarantees, including protection from unemployment, free choice of activity and profession, remuneration for work without any discrimination, access to education, culture, medical care and housing, support for senior citizens and the disabled, motherhood and childhood.

Following the principle of social justice is of utmost importance in working with the personnel of any organization. Employees’ confidence that everything is done fairly, recognition of the priority of common interests through everyone’s personal experience serve as a source of work activity, inspiration and business cooperation. On the contrary, injustice in the assessment of labor contribution, non-recognition of the employee’s merits, and the discrepancy between rights and responsibilities dampen enthusiasm and initiative, weaken social. interaction, reduce the effectiveness of joint work.

2. In search of justice: the Swedish experiment

Many citizens of Belarus consider Sweden almost an earthly paradise. Even during the period of far from open Soviet society, rumors penetrated from abroad about a certain fairy-tale country that managed to combine the benefits of capitalism with their fair distribution, and serious international journalists who had been “there” talked about the “Swedish model of socialism.”

What exactly was the Swedish experiment and how did it ultimately end?

If we try to briefly formulate its goals, they are full employment and equality. Full employment policy is the subject of predominantly macroeconomic analysis, so in the future we will focus more on how the leveling of the population's living standards was carried out in practice and what it led to.

At the center of the “Swedish model” of the so-called welfare state is the social insurance system. A. Lindbeck identifies the following characteristic features of this system:

most benefits are universal in the sense that they cover the entire population, although many rights must be acquired through previous or current participation in work;

payments are usually not made at a uniform rate, supplementing income to a level considered acceptable;

the importance of means testing is downplayed.

Until recently, replacement rates (the ratio of social security income to earnings, particularly unemployment) reached 90% (with the exception of the pension system, where they were approximately 65%). Various forms of benefits to families were very generous (annual income compensation for parents of a newborn staying at home, allocations to support single parents). The most characteristic feature of the Swedish social transfer system is that social services (child care, support for the elderly) are financed mainly by the state (municipalities or regional authorities). As a result, tax-financed consumption of social services in the early 90s. amounted to about 20% of GNP in Sweden, compared to an average of 10% in the European Union.

Largely due to generous welfare policies, total public sector spending since the late 1970s. remained in the range of 60-70% of GNP, while for the European countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) this figure averaged 45-50%. Of Swedish public sector expenditure, transfers typically accounted for 35–40 percentage points and government consumption for 27–30 percentage points. The clearest illustration of the welfare state's "social burden" on the market is a comparison of the number of citizens who are financed by taxes with those who receive income from the market. The former include those who either work in the public sector (excluding public utilities and municipal corporations) or live off various types of transfer payments. In 1960, the ratio between the two groups was 0.38, in 1990 it increased to 1.51, and in 2000 it was 1.83 (see table for details). For comparison, we note that the second place in the world for this indicator belongs to Denmark (1.72), and the third place to Belgium (1.42). These ratios are also interesting because they show that part of the adult population whose income is almost entirely determined by political decisions regarding government spending. It is clear from this that significant cuts in public spending in many Western European countries are met with fierce resistance by a large part of the electorate, and as a result, political parties are very limited in their ability to make such cuts. The alliance between the bureaucracy and the clientele has become most stable in Sweden, where the Social Democratic Party has been in power since 1936 (with the exception of two periods of government by center-right coalitions in 1976-1982 and 1991-1994).

Wage policy.

At the initial stage of the development of the welfare state (60s), Swedish trade unions pursued a policy of “solidarity wages”. Its essence was reflected in the slogan “the same salary for the same work.” In other words, such policies were mainly aimed at reducing differences in wages for workers of approximately the same level of training and skills employed in different sectors of the economy. The mechanism for implementing such a policy would be impossible to create without the close alliance of Swedish trade unions with the ruling Social Democratic Party.24 Wages in Sweden are set virtually at a centralized level (approved by the government), although it includes a process of negotiations between employers and trade unions at the sectoral level and at enterprise level. The higher the level, the stronger the tendency towards equalization.

In the 70s in Sweden the trend towards equalization of wages has intensified even further. Goals have shifted toward reducing wage disparities across the board. In fact, the implicit slogan was the demand for “the same pay for any work.” Justice finally degenerated into equality. True, recently wages are increasingly determined at the industry level. Dissatisfaction with the equalization of highly paid trade union members had an effect.

Table 2.1 Population financed by taxes and the market in Sweden (thousands of people)

Index
Index
1. Public administration and services
2. Disadvantage: sick leave, child care leave, etc.
3. Old age pensioners
4. Early retirees
5. On sick leave
6. On maternity leave
7. Refugees
8. Involved in labor market programs
9. Unemployed
10. Total (1-9)
11. Employed in the market sector (including self-employed)
12. Disadvantage: sick leave, child care leave, etc.
13. Total (11-12)

The available data allows us to demonstrate a tendency towards equalization at the level of primary (factor) incomes. For example, the Gini coefficient, which reflects the distribution of hourly earnings before taxes, for 1964-1984. decreased by half for the category of so-called “blue collar” workers and by a quarter for “white collar” workers. Since such rapprochement did not occur through the natural market, but through artificially imposed administrative measures, the labor market was unable to effectively allocate labor resources.

Redistribution of income.

In the 80s For most income earners in Sweden, the marginal tax rate was 70-80% (including all social payments). On the other hand, moral hazard problems have become more acute in the social security system. They are especially significant when receiving benefits for temporary disability (illness, work injury), economic assistance to single parents, selective subsidies for housing needs, poverty benefits and subsidized early retirement. For example, in the late 1980s, when Sweden's social sickness insurance system reimbursed 90-100% of income, people were out of work due to illness on average 26 days a year, compared with 14 days in 1995 after the tightening conditions.

There was an increase in the number of households receiving poverty benefits. While from 1950 to 1965 approximately 4% of the population received such benefits, in 1996 this figure was 10%. The composition of recipients of poverty benefits has also changed. The elderly and sick were replaced by people of working age, including quite young ones. In fact, poverty benefits and other types of support provided to those in need have become a way of life for part of the working population. The number of people receiving early subsidized pensions (originally intended for those unable to work) reached 8% of the workforce in the 1980s.

There was also frequent deception in order to receive unemployment benefits (especially when employed in the informal sector), as well as deliberate exaggeration of the degree of physical disability or reporting of false information about marital status. According to data obtained from research by the National Audit Office (1995), it was found that such deception costs approximately 5-7 million crowns, which corresponds to 6-9% of payments under the relevant social insurance schemes.

Some changes towards dismantling the welfare state were carried out by the center-right government in the early 90s. The essence of the 1991 tax reform was to replace the sharply progressive income tax bracket with two bands: 26-33% for most taxpayers and 51% for taxpayers with the highest incomes. As a result of tax changes from 1983 to 1995, the aggregate (including direct and indirect income taxation) marginal tax rate decreased by about 15 percentage points for most taxpayers. The replacement rate in most social security systems was reduced from 90 or even 100% to 80% in the early 90s.

Consequences of the struggle for justice.

a) Discouraging investment in human capital. As a result of the equalizing principle of wage organization and a sharply progressive taxation scale, incentives for investment in human capital were noticeably weakened. Thus, for a person engaged in research at a university, the return on education fell from about 12% in the 60s to 1-3% in the early 80s. As a result, interest in higher education has decreased. If 14-16% of those born in the late 40s and early 50s completed university education (i.e. studied for at least 3 years), then the corresponding figure for the generation born in the mid-60s , amounted to only 8-10%.

In the early 90s. After-tax returns to higher education have risen to around 5% as a result of widening pay gaps and less progressive taxation. This increase in yield partly explains the increase in student influx to universities in the first half of the 1990s.

Sharp reduction in wage differences for workers with different skill levels during the 70s. also led to reduced incentives to acquire new skills, which presumably had negative consequences for productivity growth rates.

b) Disincentive for business and private investment in physical capital. A feature of economic policy in relation to private firms was the desire to separate the income of firms from the income of their owners. The idea was to prevent the accumulation of wealth within firms from making their owners richer. For this purpose, low taxes were established on retained earnings and high taxes on the property and income of company owners. This tax policy could not greatly harm large corporations that had access to the international capital market and could sell their securities on it, as well as attract loans. However, such a policy had much more negative consequences for relatively small firms. Here, high taxation of firm owners is impossible without simultaneously causing significant harm to their firm. In the 80s the marginal nominal tax rate on capital for the owners of such firms (income tax plus taxes on dividends and capital increases) was often in the range of 65-70% for those who were unable to take advantage of the tax advantages of investing. In many cases, property and inheritance taxes must also be added to this. Sometimes it even turned out that the income of firm owners turned out to be negative in real terms.

Savings of the population are a source of investment. The hypertrophied social insurance system has led to the disappearance of important motives for individual savings associated with the life cycle. The household savings rate has gradually declined from 6-7% of disposable income (income after taxes) in the 50s. to minus 5% in 1988 and 1989. (in the 90s it increased significantly). A negative savings rate meant that people were choosing to spend their savings from previous years, seeing them as inappropriate given such generous social transfers and low interest rates.

The low supply of private savings was compensated for a long time by a large supply of credit from the public sector. Public Sector Net Savings Share in the 60s and 70s often reached half of national savings, and the supply of credit by the public sector amounted to about half of total credit flows in the organized credit market. However, such a substitution was not effective. Interest rates were regulated by the state and artificially low. As a result of the deviation from the market principle, the state “rationed” loans. Investment was maintained at a high level to the detriment of its efficiency, in particular, the state provided selective investment subsidies to industries that had problems with profitability (for example, the steel industry and shipbuilding). These subsidies only slowed down the restructuring of these sectors.

High taxation of firm owners, selective subsidies to large firms, capital market regulation, and low household savings rates go some way to explaining the low rates of formation and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises. Thus, if from 1920 to 1946 the annual rate of formation of new firms in industry was about 4% of the total number of firms, then in the 60s and 70s. this figure dropped to 2%, and in the 1980s to 1%.

Thus, it is now easy to identify the following logically connected links: huge social transfers - high taxes on capital income - low rate of private savings - government surrogates instead of the private capital market - slowdown in the development of private businesses that do not have access to the state and the international capital market - the need to increase government spending (for example, to artificially maintain employment by inflating it in the public sector).

c) Distortions in the allocation of labor. High marginal tax rates not only increase the labor substitution effects of leisure, but also affect the allocation of labor between households, the private sector and the public sector. In Sweden in particular, there has been a significant shift towards producing services within the family rather than purchasing the same services on the market. So, for a provider of household services to earn an additional 1000 kroons on the market after taxes, for example, the buyer of these services must earn 4-9 times this amount before taxes. This is due to the combined effect of all types of taxes on the seller and buyer, as well as sales tax for the seller.

The welfare state countered the decline in labor supply in the private market for household services with labor opportunities in the sphere of public services for the care of children, the elderly and the disabled. To do this, it was necessary to “push” as many women as possible from the sphere of intrafamily labor into the sphere of social labor. This problem was solved by the tax reform of the early 70s. Income tax began to be calculated individually, rather than based on family income. This increased the tax burden on households with non-working family members. Financing a family only from the income of one working person became difficult. This policy was carried out by the Social Democrats consciously under the slogan of “gender equality.”

At the same time, a very interesting situation developed. Let's say Ingrid was working as a social welfare nurse for Brigitte's sick father, while Brigitte was babysitting Ingrid's children at a public day care center. It is easy to see that such a system entails huge losses compared to intra-family labor. First, taxes and their distorting impact on the economy are rising. Secondly, there is a significant increase in bureaucracy, as additional services are required in the field of public finance and social security organization. Third, the de facto subsidization of labor supply by society in certain services to households meant a “shortage” of labor in other sectors of the economy.

It should also be noted that as a result of the combined effect of the tax system and the social security system, on the one hand, “care of things” (such as maintenance of individual houses, durable goods) has moved from the market to the domestic services sector (where it very ineffective due to lack of professionalism). On the other hand, “person care”, due to high government spending on the provision of these services, has moved from the family to the public sector (where it is less effective than in the family).

d) Lagging development of the national economy. All of the above could not but have a negative impact on the general state of the Swedish economy. From the beginning of industrialization in Sweden, from about 1870 until 1950, productivity growth was one of the highest in the world. During the so-called golden age of the world economy, from 1950 to 1970, productivity growth also remained quite high. During this period, Sweden's GDP per man-hour increased by 4.2% per year, in OECD countries by an average of 4.46%.

Sweden became a rich country before the “Swedish model” emerged. In the early stages of its implementation, in the 50s and 60s, an increase in the share of government spending in GDP from 30 to 45% was still compatible with fairly high rates of productivity growth. In subsequent years (1970-1996), GDP growth per person employed was 1.45% per year, while the average for OECD countries was 1.73%, and in European OECD countries - 2.02%. The discrepancy widens further if productivity growth is measured in terms of per capita GDP growth. While in OECD countries the figure increased by about 60%, in Sweden it increased by 37%.

The slow growth of productivity after 1970 can be explained, on the one hand, by the influence of the huge scale of the public sector with its low productivity, and on the other by its depressing effect on the private sector. Thus, labor productivity growth in the public sector was actually negative during 1970-1992. Labor productivity growth in the private sector during 1973-1990. was 0.2 percentage points lower than the OECD average and 0.8 percentage points lower than the average for OECD European countries.

As a result of this lag, Sweden's position in the ranking of OECD countries in terms of GDP per capita has deteriorated noticeably since 1970. According to calculations based on purchasing power parity in 1970, Sweden with a GDP per capita 15% higher than the average for OECD countries (6 %, excluding Mexico and Turkey), ranked 4th among 25 OECD countries. By 1990, Sweden had moved to 9th place with per capita GDP 6% above the OECD average (5% below if Mexico and Turkey are excluded). By 1995, Sweden was ranked 16th in the ranking, with per capita GDP 5% below the OECD average (16% below excluding Mexico and Turkey).

The example of Sweden clearly shows that the size of the “pie” is not neutral in how it is divided. The state's increased concern for justice ultimately turns against those who work. As a result, the “pie” begins to shrink. Losses in the size of the “pie” compared to its potentially achievable value should be considered as the “price of justice.”

Entering into “Swedish socialism” is relatively easy for a rich country. The ideas of sharing “fairly” are quite popular among a large part of voters. Everyone expects to pinch a piece from someone else's plate (the sick - the healthy, pensioners - the working, the low-paid - the high-paid, families with children - the childless, the unemployed - all of the above). As a result, there are often many more people relying on someone else’s pocket than those who rely on their own hands and heads.

However, once you enter the “society of Swedish socialism”, it is very difficult to turn back. After all, every division inevitably gives rise to two characters - the bureaucrat who divides, and the client who receives something through the mediation of the bureaucrat. The larger a society develops division operations, the greater the number of these characters. However, the latter do not cease to be voters. They unite around those politicians who do not push them away from the gravy train.

The center-right government of Sweden (1991-1994) took the first and relatively timid steps to dismantle “Swedish socialism”. However, this was enough to then completely lose the next election. The country's difficult economic situation and its accession to the EU limited the scope of the left-wing parties' revenge. They had to come to terms with some right-wing reforms. However, the left nevertheless restored double taxation of income and increased property taxes. As a result, between 1994 and 1997. taxes and payments increased again from 50 to 54% of GNP. In order to preserve huge social transfers, Sweden has refused to join the single European monetary system since 1999, which, of course, will negatively affect the situation of business.

3. Features of a socially oriented market economy in the Republic of Belarus

3.1 Formation of a socially oriented economy in the Republic of Belarus

The inefficiency of the centralized bureaucratic system was especially evident in the late 1980s, when administrative influences increasingly proved unsuccessful. The degradation of the centralized economic system was accompanied by disruptions in production and consumption, and the socio-economic system became increasingly unstable.

Unlike a centralized, administratively controlled economy, a market economic system takes into account the priority desire of a person to increase his personal well-being. But here you can satisfy your personal needs only by selling the results of your work on the market, which thereby receive public recognition.

The historical experience of the development of countries with market economies, however, shows that market forces, taken in their pure form in a number of positions, contradict universal morality and the principles of social justice, and under certain conditions can from time to time lead to social, economic and environmental crises. Therefore, in modern developed market economies there is a certain orientation towards the implementation of public interests, although in different countries the methods and force of influence of the state on the economy in the direction of realizing these goals are different. It is important that the characteristic predominance of market self-regulation remains as the basis for the functioning of the economy. State regulation does not suppress positive market forces, but forces them to act within the necessary framework and directions, determined on the basis of the democratic choice of the people.

The officially declared goal of reforming the national economy of Belarus by the political authorities is to build a socially oriented market economy. This position, based on the mentality of the Belarusian people, their history and traditions, was reflected in the main strategic state documents adopted after the election of the first president of the country: the Main directions of socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus until 2000 (ONSED - 2000) and the National strategy for sustainable development of the Republic of Belarus until 2010 (NSSD – 2010).

The development strategy of the Republic of Belarus, defined in the long-term forecast documents, is based on the creation of a socially oriented market economy - highly efficient, with adequate market infrastructure, with effective mechanisms combining state and market regulation.

The choice of a socially oriented economy as a model of economic development of the country is explained by the priority focus of state policy on ensuring the use of the results of economic growth, first of all, to improve the well-being of citizens and maintain social stability.

Currently, the actions of the Government of the Republic of Belarus are aimed at ensuring the creation of the necessary macroeconomic conditions and the implementation of comprehensive measures to achieve long-term targets for socio-economic development. These actions are carried out through the implementation of the Program of Socio-Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2006-2010, which, while maintaining continuity with the course chosen by the country, determined the priorities and objectives of socio-economic development for the current five-year period.

In the past five years, the main attention of state and economic management bodies, all teams of enterprises and organizations of the republic was aimed at solving problems and achieving the parameters of the Program for the Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2001–2005.

A successfully operating socially oriented economy has been created. Its qualitative parameters are improving every year - profitability is increasing, the share of unprofitable enterprises is decreasing, the energy intensity of GDP is decreasing, labor productivity is increasing, and finished product inventories in warehouses are decreasing.

The country is pursuing a monetary and exchange rate policy to slow the growth of consumer prices, which allowed in 2005 to reduce the inflation rate to 0.6 percent on an average monthly basis.

Particular attention is paid to the system of social support for the population. The average monthly salary has increased, the purchasing power of the population, social benefits, and primarily pensions have increased.

Accelerating economic growth and increasing the efficiency of economic sectors, along with positive changes in financial stabilization and strengthening confidence in the Belarusian ruble, made it possible to solve the most important task - to ensure that by the end of 2005 the nominal average monthly wage of workers in the national economy amounted to 261 US dollars in equivalent.

The main macroeconomic indicators of the Program for 2001–2005 have been fulfilled (see table 3.1). This allowed in 2005 to significantly exceed the level of 1990 in many respects: in GDP production - by 27 percent, industrial output - by 53, production of consumer goods - by 66, real cash income - by 75 and wages - by 95 percent. .

Agricultural production amounted to 90 percent, investment in fixed assets - 95 percent compared to 1990 levels.

For comparison, it should be noted that the leading CIS countries during this period lagged behind the indicated level to a greater extent in terms of basic parameters. For example, the volume of GDP production in 2004 relative to 1991 amounted to 89 percent in the CIS countries as a whole, including in Russia - 89.5 percent, Ukraine - 66.7 percent.

Table 3.1 Fulfillment of tasks of the Program of Socio-Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2001 – 2005, in percentage

	Program indicators	Performance
	Program indicators	Performance	by 1990	by 1995
Gross domestic product
Industrial products



including:
food
non-food

Real wage

An analysis of the socio-economic situation in the country shows that, despite the emerging positive trends, a number of unresolved problems continue to influence the functioning of the economy. The main ones are:

the presence of organizations in the real sector of the economy that have unsatisfactory results of financial and economic activity;

the relatively high material and energy intensity of production, its dependence on the price situation for imported fuel, energy and raw materials;

weak innovative activity;

differentiation of wages by complexes, industries and sectors of the economy;

insufficiently high level of pensions, scholarships and other social benefits.

Considering that in the real sector of the economy the possibilities for increasing production due to extensive factors have largely been exhausted, in the coming five-year period it is necessary to ensure the modernization of the economy through the introduction of modern resource- and energy-saving technologies, maximum use of the country’s intellectual resource based on the comprehensive harmonious development of man.

The goals and objectives of the socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus for 2006–2010 were determined based on an analysis of its socio-economic situation, global development trends, forecast indicators of economic growth of neighboring countries - the main trading partners of Belarus, and primarily the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, as well as EU countries and other regional integration entities.

The main goal of the socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus for 2006–2010 is to further improve the level and quality of life of the population based on increasing the competitiveness of the economy and creating a state convenient for people.

To achieve this it is necessary to ensure:

growth in real cash income of the population, including wages, pensions, scholarships, benefits and other social benefits;

the work of government bodies in the interests of people in order to meet their needs;

favorable conditions for intellectual, creative, labor, professional and physical improvement of a person;

rapid development of the service sector, and above all education, healthcare, culture - the basis for improving human capital;

introduction of an increased system of social standards in all spheres of society;

implementation of measures to improve the demographic situation in the country;

increasing the efficiency of the agro-industrial complex, further developing the social infrastructure of the village;

innovative orientation of economic development, a more effective mechanism for stimulating the development and implementation of effective investment projects and, on this basis, increasing the level of competitiveness of the economy, including structural restructuring, technical and technological re-equipment and restructuring of production;

expansion of mutually beneficial economic relations with countries near and far abroad, primarily with Russia, other CIS countries, as well as the EU;

national security of the country.

To achieve these goals, the main efforts will need to be concentrated on the following priority areas:

comprehensive harmonious human development, formation of an effective healthcare system;

innovative development of the national economy, energy and resource conservation;

increasing the country's export potential;

development of the agro-industrial complex and related industries, the social sphere of the village;

development of small and medium-sized cities;

housing construction.

Table 3.2 Main indicators of socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus for 2006 – 2010 (in comparable prices, as a percentage of the previous year)

Indicators			2010 as a percentage of 2005
Indicators			2010 as a percentage of 2005
Gross domestic product
Industrial products
Agricultural products
Investments in fixed assets
Manufacturing of consumer goods
including:
food
non-food
Volume of foreign trade in goods and services – total
including:
export

Real cash income of the population
Real wage
Retail turnover
Paid services to the population
Reducing the energy intensity of gross domestic product			(-26) – (-30,4)
Commissioning of housing at the expense of all sources of financing, million sq. m. meters
Republican budget deficit, percent of GDP

The main goal of social policy in the coming five years is to further improve the level and quality of life of the population. The most important ways to achieve it should be to strengthen the role of wages as the main factor stimulating economic development and increasing the efficiency of the economy, ensuring the growth of real cash incomes as the basis for improving the life of the population, reducing the number of low-income citizens, preventing excessive differentiation in the income level of different groups of the population in the regions and by economic sector.

The guidelines for state policy aimed at increasing the income of the population include:

growth in real cash income by 149–156 percent;

increasing real wages as the main source of income generation and an important incentive for workers’ labor activity by 152–158 percent;

reducing the level of poverty by half;

improvement of state targeted social assistance, support for families in connection with the birth and upbringing of children;

further development of the pension system, increasing the real old-age pension by at least 1.5 times.

State policy in the field of wages involves turning wages into a reliable source of income, increasing its role in stimulating the labor activity of workers and will be based on a combination of state, market and collective bargaining mechanisms for its regulation. The rights of business entities regarding the formation and calculation of wages will gradually expand.

The most important function of the state will remain the provision of state minimum social guarantees in the field of wages. In the public sector, state regulation of wages will be maintained based on changes in the tariff rate of the first category and improvement of the Unified tariff schedule for workers of the Republic of Belarus.

The main objectives of state policy in the field of labor relations and employment are increasing the efficiency of using labor resources, building human resources taking into account the real needs of production, and providing social support for the temporarily unemployed population.

In the labor market, it is planned to implement a system of measures to create favorable conditions for ensuring employment of the population, overcome the shortage of jobs by increasing investment activity from all sources, reduce tension and maintain stability in the field of social and labor relations, and timely eliminate the imbalance between the professional and qualification composition of personnel and a renewed structure of jobs, maintaining registered unemployment within the socially acceptable level.

In the field of social protection of the population, it is planned to increase its efficiency, reliability, sustainability and accessibility, based on state social guarantees and standards, differentiated and targeted approaches to social support for various segments of the population.

This will be achieved by:

providing social assistance to families and individual citizens with incomes below the established guaranteed minimum;

social rehabilitation of citizens with disabilities;

increasing the effectiveness of social assistance to low-income citizens and people in difficult life situations, based on the principles of targeting and an individual approach;

improving state support for families during the birth and upbringing of children;

solving social problems of single elderly citizens living in remote rural settlements.

Improving the pension system will be aimed at increasing the standard of living of citizens of retirement age and disabled people based on a combination of compulsory and additional voluntary pension insurance, distribution and savings financing mechanisms.

To improve the demographic situation, measures are envisaged to ensure the protection of motherhood and childhood, increase the birth rate and reduce mortality, strengthen the family and its prestige in society.

This will require the development of a mechanism for stimulating the birth rate based on improving the system of payment of benefits to citizens with children, state support for young families in solving housing and other social problems, etc. The responsibility of those parents who abandoned their children will be tightened.

The development of the education system involves bringing it into line with the modern needs of the individual, society and the state, improving the quality of training of highly qualified specialists for the transition to the information society, the rapid development of new high-tech technologies.

Its main directions will be:

development of new forms of preschool education, improving the quality of education, especially in rural areas;

expanding the use of learning technologies that protect the health of students;

creating effective mechanisms for interaction between professional education systems and organizations that order personnel, strengthening the connection between higher education and fundamental and applied science.

Targeted work will be carried out to update the structure and content of education, curricula, scientific and methodological support systems at all its levels, material, technical and educational bases, and the introduction of new information educational technologies and computerization. It is planned to provide a wide selection of educational programs and services, improve their quality and competitiveness.

By improving the preschool education system, it is expected to ensure the diversity of the multifunctional network of preschool institutions, its preservation in rural areas and the use of new forms of enrolling children in preschool education.

The general secondary education system provides for the completion of the reform of the general education school and the transition to 12-year education, the creation of conditions for the transition to specialized education, further optimization and restructuring of the network of institutions providing general secondary education, taking into account the emerging demographic situation, the creation of flexible forms of labor (professional) education.

In the system of vocational and technical education, it is expected to provide the required number of highly qualified workers, primarily for high-tech industries and rural areas, and further improve the network of vocational education institutions and personnel training in them.

The country will continue to work to bring the volume and qualification structure of training specialists with secondary specialized and higher education in accordance with the requirements of the national economy.

In the field of healthcare, it is envisaged to increase the availability and quality of medical care for the general population based on:

introduction of advanced medical technologies and creation of scientific and practical centers;

restructuring of the medical care system, including the redistribution of resources from inpatient to outpatient clinics, development of medical and social care and general medical practice;

improving the system of social standards, as well as territorial programs of state guarantees for the provision of medical care to citizens;

expanding citizens' access to effective, safe and high-quality medicines, forming a comprehensive program of drug provision for certain categories of citizens;

improving the quality management system of medical care, standardizing medical technologies, developing preventive and rehabilitation technologies.

It is planned to develop and implement a system of standards for medical information systems, advanced medical technologies, including telemedicine, with extensive computerization of medical organizations, the creation of local computing systems in them, and the introduction of electronic versions of patient medical records.

The goal of the state policy for the development of national culture will be the preservation of historical and cultural heritage, the creation of conditions for the comprehensive development of the individual, the growth of his creative initiative, spiritual and aesthetic needs, which will significantly increase the role of the individual as the main driving force of the new post-industrial society.

To achieve this goal, the following are provided:

ensuring the accessibility of cultural values and services provided in this area to all segments of the population, increasing the level and quality of such services, increasing their volumes for rural residents in order to approach the level of service for the urban population, improving cultural services in remote villages;

implementation of a program of restoration, reconstruction and preservation of priority historical and cultural values of the Belarusian people, their inclusion in cultural and tourist circulation. Identification and restoration of the most significant rural historical estates in the regions of the country for use as objects of cultural and leisure activities;

development and implementation of a rational scheme for the location of rural cultural institutions, taking into account the specific socio-demographic and economic situation in rural settlements and regions;

increasing the competitiveness of professional creative teams and performers in the domestic and foreign markets;

ensuring the implementation of personnel policy for the training and retraining of cultural and art specialists based on the introduction of new educational technologies;

creation of consultation centers at secondary specialized educational institutions of culture and art in regional cities to provide methodological assistance and identify gifted children and talented youth in rural areas.

The directions for the development of professional art should be to increase its role in the aesthetic and moral education of the population, transition to intensive development, and increase the prestige of workers in creative professions.

In the field of physical culture, sports and tourism the following are provided:

improving the system of mass physical culture and health-improving movement in the country and attracting the largest number of people to regular physical education and sports;

increasing the level of physical education of the population;

improving conditions for physical education and sports for various categories and segments of the population, improving the quality of physical education and health services and their accessibility;

formation of an effective system for training sports reserves and high-class athletes, ensuring worthy performance of national teams of the Republic of Belarus at international competitions.

Particular attention will be paid to the physical education of children and students. For this purpose, it is planned to develop teenage sports clubs, physical education and health centers in the community, and create groups, sections, and clubs for sports interests in educational institutions.

The fate of the Belarusian economy depends on the consistency and success of reforms. The key link in the transformation is the improvement of production relations, especially property relations. You cannot use antediluvian forms of private property, which capitalism has already abandoned. At the same time, in public property, departmentalism and bureaucracy undermine and destroy its foundation. Therefore, in state ownership it is precisely the social principles that need to be strengthened. Using a combination of modern forms of public and private property, it is necessary to focus on those that contribute to the movement of the economy towards progress and improving the well-being of the people.

3.2 Property and fairness in economic and management processes in the Republic of Belarus

The form of ownership represents a “synthetic” relationship, which acts as a condition for a historically specific mode of production and reproduction, as an internal connection connecting economic forms of relations, and as a result of the functioning of the economic system.

In the economy of Belarus, property appears in the following main forms - national, state, collective farm-cooperative, property of public organizations, property of legal entities, personal property, property of foreign enterprises. This expresses the essence of a mixed economy, embodying a variety of forms of ownership. Collective, joint-stock, farm, private and other enterprises are added to those mentioned. Renting has become a common way to sell property.

Justice is one of the most complex socio-philosophical categories affecting a wide range of human activity. Ensuring social justice is one of the leading tasks of the state's social policy. The objects of assessment from the point of view of social justice are the relationship: society to the individual; individual to society, class, nation, state, to another individual.

Social justice acts as a measure of equality in relation to the means of production, as compliance with the legality of actions. Hence, all inequality is injustice, and egalitarianism is close to justice.

In modern conditions, violations of social justice are as follows:

In the significant alienation of direct producers and the bulk of the population from ownership of the means of production, expressed primarily in their weak participation in its use and exclusion from decision-making on the management of basic processes;

In a massive violation of the principle of distribution according to work, a weak connection between wages and productivity, excessive differentiation of incomes of the population due to the presence of closed zones for the distribution of benefits (privileges in housing, recreational facilities, additional payments for titles, etc.);

The presence and development of the shadow economy, speculation, additions, bribery, theft, etc., including through the use of official positions by managers. A layer of people has grown in society, including among young people, for whom the goal of life has been reduced to material well-being, making money by any means necessary. Their cynical position acquired increasingly militant forms, poisoning the consciousness of those around them, and gave rise to a wave of consumerism;

There is a gap between spheres and regions in the distribution of fixed assets, social infrastructure, and intellectual forces;

In increasing polarity between rich and poor;

Insufficient social protection of ordinary citizens, performers before authorities and individual leaders, as well as low-income families, children, and the elderly;

There is a noticeable lag in the level of material consumption and the level of certain forms of democracy from the standard of advanced countries.

Eliminating violations of social justice in the course of social development, increasing its role in production, distribution, exchange and consumption is unthinkable without collective efforts, a struggle of opinions, and taking into account all the circumstances of our lives.

To strengthen social justice, a collective approach to problem solving is necessary; comprehensive development of all members of society, taking into account the overall result of their activities and the results of each of them.

The components of the criterion of social justice as a collective characteristic of the existing system can be considered:

The best form of organization of production, distribution, exchange, consumption relative to other options;

The greatest final socio-economic result for both society and individuals;

Lowest costs and highest creative labor functions;

Equal social conditions for organizing work for all participants;

Distribution in accordance with the requirements of expanded reproduction and the real contribution of everyone’s labor to the overall result;

Equal use of public consumption funds;

Providing social protection for the disabled.

As practice shows, from this set of criteria, individual indicators are more often used, and this does not give a complete picture of fairness.

The economic reform and reform of the political system currently underway in Belarus are aimed at significantly increasing the level of justice in the organization of the entire economic system and eliminating existing deformations.

In the past, the main issues of the functioning of our economy were actually decided not by representative bodies, but by executive bodies (the apparatus of the Council of Ministers, state committees, ministries, departments). Discussion of these issues in local organizations and the Supreme Council was not accompanied by proper analysis and selection of options, coordination of planned milestones with resources and incentives. Bodies making economic decisions were not financially responsible for their implementation.

This practice cannot be considered completely democratic or fair. The social nature of state ownership of the means of production at a high level of its development requires a system of new social forms of its direct use and appropriation. Such forms are beginning to be created and should be based on the totality of legislative and executive bodies, on labor collectives. Thus, at the enterprise level, a situation arises of direct and financially responsible connection between producers and the means of production.

To strengthen the democracy and fairness of economic development processes, we consider it advisable to introduce the following principles and norms of direct economic management.

The main draft programs, development directions, plans that determine the establishment of national economic proportions must be discussed when providing the necessary information. The indicated proportions should include the growth rate and structure of the national economy, the share of accumulation and consumption, the regional distribution of funds, the main income of society, salary gaps, etc.

The President, in agreement with the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic, forms the government responsible for the implementation of programs. At the same time, it establishes incentives and sanctions for employees of the Council of Ministers, ministries and departments, which are published in the press.

The national wealth of Belarus is enormous. Fixed assets alone as of January 1, 2005 are estimated at 2,575 trillion. rub. However, funds, scientific and labor resources are distributed very unevenly throughout the country, although efforts have been made in the past to equalize the potential of the regions. Currently, fixed assets and scientific and technical resources are located mainly in cities and regional centers. Is this fair, taking into account the formulation of the question of self-financing and self-sufficiency of each area?

The answer to this question is not simple, as it seems to representatives of some of the best-equipped regions, which have sufficient resources for relatively independent development. The correct answer can only be obtained through a comprehensive analysis, first of all, determining the economic and social efficiency of the old and new placement of economic potential, taking into account specific features. Already existing developments convince us that accelerated construction of social infrastructure is necessary in rural areas, because it has lagged behind the average republican level. It is unrealistic, of course, to think that in the near future centers of high culture will appear in these regions, as, for example, in Minsk. However, guided by the criterion of justice, it is necessary to look for ways to fairly satisfy the population's needs for social and other infrastructure, which is created by general economic efforts and is impossible without them. It is necessary to formulate a national program for access of wide sections of regional groups to centers of culture and science in the capital and other large cities. Apparently, a certain movement of personnel across the country will also be useful.

In connection with the existing differences between the regions, the implementation of demands for their complete independence and equal participation in the formation of the state budget can lead to a further increase in differentiation. The negative consequences of such experiments are known from Russian practice.

A fair formulation of the question of regional independence is still weakly based on the following starting points: what forces - district, regional or republican - have mainly accumulated the sources of development of the region; whether the most profitable option for its progress has been found from the standpoint of the national economic approach; are assessments of the effectiveness of the regional economy legitimate; what are the extent, incentives and opportunities for the participation of the entire society in the search for a better development scenario; what is the extent of the region’s participation in the development of the republic’s economy, in particular in the formation of the general budget. If the answers to these questions lead to the greatest socio-economic development of the regional community and the entire country, then such independence is completely justified and fair.

Nowadays, the differences in scientific and technical equipment, the supply of personnel, raw materials of enterprises, and especially different areas, reach dozens of times, although the prevailing trend is their leveling off with a general rise. Particularly worrying are areas with hazardous working conditions, the consequences of working in which are most often not completely eliminated by increasing wages or extending vacations. Non-creative activities characteristic of certain industries and sectors of the economy are becoming increasingly intolerant. In this regard, it should be considered unfair to establish equal deductions from profits to the budget for all enterprises. The tactical approach must take into account the specific conditions of reproduction, pulling all enterprises up to a certain equal start in self-supporting competition. Then, depending only on the attitude towards work, the incomes of different groups will differ. Therefore, this issue should be considered from tactical and strategic positions.

The advantages of new forms of labor organization are undeniable, at least at present and in the near future. Most often, entrepreneurs wedge themselves into those parts of the economy that were previously underestimated by government agencies. Due to the high demand for production goods and services, high labor intensity, flexibility and efficiency in taking into account needs and consumers, individual entrepreneurs have incomes that many times exceed the average income of government employees. One of the reasons for this is the creation of temporary preferential conditions for entrepreneurs in order to intensify their activities, which are not without great risk and other features.

However, a large or even the bulk of the high income of entrepreneurs is often created in the form of unearned income due to the unjustified practice of purchasing raw materials at government prices and setting excessively high prices for their products due to unsatisfied demand. Unearned income is also created due to the difference between cash and non-cash rubles. Consequently, the development of the reform should lead to an optimal balance between state, private and other forms of ownership. At the same time, the initial differences in the income of entrepreneurs can only be caused by differences in reproductive conditions (firms buy equipment, etc. at their own expense). Other differences in income should arise only as a result of creative advances and the implementation of scientific and technical progress, which is quite fair.

Taking into account the existing income differentiation, more precise scientific approaches should be used in the fight against equalization, which manifests itself in the forms of: 1) increases in wages, salaries, and job rates without a corresponding increase in labor productivity and the results of the functions performed; 2) additional payments for the prestige of the industry, title, etc.; 3) “deductions”, revisions of tasks while maintaining incentives; 4) ignoring the sanctions policy.

The question arises: is it possible and what should be a fair differentiation of income and wages, taking into account the levels of its complexity and intensity? Most experts advocate removing the upper limit of payment and do not clearly outline the lower limit, although the latter is determined by the level of the subsistence minimum.

If we proceed from the criterion of justice, then we must admit that in order to reproduce personnel of varying complexity of work, the appropriateness of these boundaries is beyond doubt. World practice determines the gap in income of workers and production managers from 10 in Japan to 30-50 in the USA and Western Europe. The income gap between the extreme significant groups of our population reaches 3-6 times, and in some cases 10 times or more. It is mainly determined not by the determination of the effect of labor, but by official standards and government decisions. There are no in-depth scientific studies on this matter yet.

Fair differentiation in income is determined by a number of circumstances - the need to reproduce the relevant personnel, their productivity, scales of consumption standards, the degree of interest in performing more complex functions, etc. Considering the existing gaps horizontally and vertically in the complexity of labor and its real payment, it would be useful accept (with rare exceptions) in the near future the optimal income gap between individual groups of workers at a level of approximately 1:5 (in the USA this gap is 1:10). The ratio of 1:5 is high enough to stimulate both the intensity of work and its average creativity. This ratio does not exclude special rewards for talent for its real manifestation in economic efficiency. In connection with the task of ensuring the comprehensive development of each member of society and increasing his creativity in work, this gap will tend to decrease.

In the system of unearned income there are different groups: direct appropriation of someone else’s labor - bribes, stolen goods, receiving salaries, bonuses through additions, etc.; indirect appropriation - the right of inheritance, receiving interest for deposits in a savings bank, shares, etc.; temporary income due to errors in the organization of incentives, etc.

It would be correct if the withdrawal of unearned income of the first group of people was carried out in two or more times the amount taken. It is advisable to establish a progressive inheritance tax that exceeds the average property of citizens of the corresponding social group. All families must inform the state in declarations about the possession of material assets and money.

Today, the real situation is that social justice in our country is far from being fully ensured. Progressive reforms are a major step in the development of justice and enhancement of its social character. However, it has not yet covered all parts of the economy, its individual deep levels, and is proceeding slowly. This is primarily due to the weak solution to the problem of incentives and sanctions. The main question in theory and practice is how, on the existing economic basis, to create incentives for economic, scientific, technical and social progress that are more powerful than under capitalism, and how to most effectively combine planned leadership with the interests of the individual and the collective.

To solve these problems, it is necessary to eliminate the underlying causes of the economic crisis while simultaneously gradually transforming the current economic system into a more efficient, socially oriented system. This would mark widespread stabilization in the macroeconomic system with a tight monetary policy; creation of a legal framework with the establishment and observance of uniform stable rules of economic activity for all business entities without exception.

This approach should lead to a closer connection between pay and the final result, which would significantly contribute to deepening social justice. It is also necessary to establish the dependence of the volume of income of all citizens on the measure of the overall result achieved or not achieved. For example, a 20% increase in everyone's income can be carried out strictly depending on the measure of growth in national income. If this increase is not ensured, the increase in income for all citizens and in all forms is frozen. This will be an additional incentive for all workers to care about the most effective development of the entire national economy.

The search for a just organization of our entire economic system is presented as a matter for economic science and all members of society. Science is called upon to step ahead of practice, to illuminate the most correct paths for it. Nowadays, the processes of pricing, tariffs, salaries, regulatory and other economic levers are focused largely on individual or average labor costs. Science is called upon to determine our movement according to a strategic parameter - according to the lowest of all possible socially necessary costs. The path to this is long, but only it will lead us to complete fairness in the assessment of work and its results.

Now, at the level of enterprises and partly the national economy, there is a search for forms of implementation of the problems posed, a creative, self-supporting, interested assessment of options is being carried out, and the choice of the most beneficial development paths for the state, the team and the employee is being carried out. This also involves the introduction of commodity-money relationships between groups, their economic competition in the search for options and trade competitiveness. All of the above strengthens the demand for strengthening economic democracy - complete transparency about the income and labor costs of all members of society, as well as information about models of economic development. In other words, diverse and competent participation of the masses in governance is the strategic road to ensuring deep social justice through the improvement and upliftment of our social system.

Conclusion

The market economy is the most widespread economic system in the world and the most effective in terms of long-term economic development. Both countries with a new type of transition economy and traditional transition economies in developing countries are developing towards a market economy. Therefore, it is no coincidence that economics textbooks focus on analyzing the features and patterns of a market economic system.

Recognizing competition, the market does not take into account the personal differences of market participants (differences are of a social, biological, psychological nature). There is also a social risk, that is, the likelihood of material insecurity due to the loss or opportunity to participate in the economic process. The causes and factors of social risk are often objective in relation to an individual person: the threat of unemployment, loss of ability to work due to an accident, illness, etc. In such cases, neither isolated nor even included in any significant group of workers an employee is unlikely to be able to prevent negative events.

To eliminate the undesirable consequences of the market mechanism in the social sphere, targeted actions by society are required. These actions, based on certain principles, represent the social policy of the state.

State social policy is a set of government measures aimed at maintaining normal living conditions, social justice and social protection of the population.

Currently, Belarus is in the stage of transition from a centralized economy to a market economy. This transition is primarily due to the insufficient efficiency of the centralized economy and the lack of economic incentives for productive labor.

List of sources used

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Raizberg B. A. To the market through searches and doubts. M., Knowledge, 2003, No. 4 social welfare state must provide in conditions social market economy economic freedom and ... social justice economically effective And ...

socially social welfare state must provide in conditions fair
The mechanism of income generation and features of their redistribution in
economy Course work >> Economic theory effective World experience shows that effective -oriented market economy unthinkable without a democratic system... income policy based on a combination economic M., Knowledge, 2003, No. 4 efficiency With

Problems of poverty and social justice in the Russian Federation. Market economy and social justice Distribution fairness in a market economy. Justice concepts

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