Moscow: IV RAS, 2011.296 p.

At the present stage, in the context of globalization, the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the world economy and in the international movement of capital is undoubtedly increasing. Developing Asian countries are becoming increasingly important targets of their investment activities. These countries are also forming their own TNCs and expanding their foreign expansion. All this is shown in great detail in the peer-reviewed work of N. N. Tsvetkova.

Globalization, which began, in fact, with the era of Great Geographical Discoveries, has passed, from the point of view of many authors, several phases (with its ebbs and flows), resulting in a large-scale cross-country movement of people, labor, even more capital, technologies, ideas, goods and services. It is no exaggeration to say that it has had a huge, albeit ambiguous, impact on global development. Using a simple formula, it can be established that the contribution of exports of goods and services to global GDP growth increased from 1-3% in 1500-1800 to 10-12% in 1800-1950, then doubled to 23-25% in 1950-1980, and in the following three decades-

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It has almost doubled once again to 42-44%, including 36-38% in developing countries and 49-51% in developed countries1.

But you should not overstate the scale of globalization. The crisis led to the fact that the indicator under consideration in the whole world in 2008-2013 decreased by more than a quarter - to 30-32%. Only 2% of students study in foreign universities, 3% of people live in countries other than their birthplace, 7% of rice is traded in foreign markets, and less than 1% of American companies export their products (and three-fifths of them to only one country). The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) does not exceed 1/10 of the gross investment volume in the world, less than 1/5 of venture capital is used outside the country. Approximately the same share is made up of shares that are owned by foreigners on average around the world. And a small proportion of Internet traffic still crosses national borders [Melyantsev, 2013, p. 10-11; Crooks, 2011; The Economist, 23.04.2011].

The most important factor of globalization at the present stage is the multilateral active activity of TNCs, whose role in the world economy has increased over the past three decades. TNCs are a key actor in increasing FDI inflows: an idea of them in economic development can be obtained from an approximate calculation based on the following model, which I built for large developed and developing countries of the world in the 2000s based on international statistics:

where YPI0, YPGRI, FDI/Yi, and HOMICIDE i mean, respectively, for country i, its GDP per capita at the beginning of the study period, the average annual growth rate of this indicator, the ratio of FDI inflows to GDP on average for the period, and the number of homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants. The latter indicator, in my opinion, reflects the real situation in a country with political stability better than a number of other synthetic and largely subjective indicators used in international comparisons. Indicators of significance levels are shown in parentheses. They are below 1% for all parameters, which may indicate that there is about a 99 out of 100 chance that the observed relationship is not random. The adjusted coefficient of determination (r2 adj = 0.81) indicates that the model as a whole is able to explain a significant part (more than 4/5) of all variations in the average annual growth rate of per capita GDP.

According to the calculations made, the higher growth rate of per capita GDP was largely determined (by about 2/5) by a higher indicator of FDI inflows related to the size of a country's GDP. At the same time, such an impact is "cleared" (as far as possible) It depends on the influence of a number of other important factors , such as the initial level of economic development of the country and the state's ability to maintain law and order (in a number of very significant areas).

In this monograph, N. N. Tsvetkova provides data on the growth of the ratio of global indicators - the book value of FDI and GDP (p. 49). Her work goes on to show that the bulk of this FDI is concentrated in a relatively small number of countries. According to Tsvetkova's calculations, in 2008 90% of direct investment was concentrated in 40 countries, most of them developed. These included 10 Eastern countries, led by the PRC and its special region, Hong Kong (p. 74). This example proves that the Eastern countries were able to attract investment from TNCs and took an active part in the relocation of industrial production. In my opinion, these calculations should be highlighted more clearly, since they demonstrate that in reality, the movement of industrial production in the context of globalization does not cover all countries. For many developing countries, the problem is not that they are exploited by developed-country TNCs, but that they are often ignored. This is largely due to the relatively poor quality of the investment climate, including political and economic instability, lack of infrastructure, high levels of corruption, and other negative factors that are more or less common in many developing countries.

1 Is calculated using the following formula: V = [a* 0.5 (b1 + b2): c] x 100,%, where V is the contribution of exports to GDP growth, a and c are the average annual growth rates of exports and GDP, b1 and b2 are the share of exports of goods and services in GDP at the beginning and end of the period, respectively.

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In general, the share of developing countries in global FDI inflows with the active participation of TNCs increased from 14-21% to 50-51% in 1980-2011, which gave a significant impetus to the development of several dozen countries in the East and South, strengthened the international division of labor and integration ties in the world economy. But at the same time, these factors spurred the processes of deindustrialization of production and employment in developed countries, which are ambiguous in their nature and consequences [World Investment Report 2012, 2012, p. 169, 173]. In the absence of effective international regulators, the increased openness of national economies and the liberalization of their monetary and financial systems in recent decades have significantly increased instability in the global economy and led to an increase in the number of economic crises, the last of which dealt a serious blow to the mechanisms of reproduction in developed countries. Chapter 2 of the monograph by N. N. Tsvetkova examines the impact of the global financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009 on the movement of PPI and the activities of TNCs.

The reviewed monograph is a continuation of the book by N. N. Tsvetkova, published in 2004 [Tsvetkova, 2004], in which a scheme of branch directions in the activities of TNCs was proposed: raw materials industries; manufacturing industries focused on the domestic market of host countries, mainly import-substituting; manufacturing industries focused on export, at first mainly labor-intensive, then capital-intensive; energy-intensive and material-intensive manufacturing industries that have a negative impact on the environment; holding companies and representative offices that are not directly engaged in production operations; the service sector, including post-industrial services related to information technologies; infrastructure. This scheme can serve as a matrix for analyzing the activities of TNCs in any host country.

In her 2004 monograph, Tsvetkova primarily considered the activities of TNCs in labor-intensive export-oriented manufacturing industries. It was they who were transferred from developed countries to developing countries, primarily to the countries of the East. The 2011 peer-reviewed monograph analyzes the involvement of TNCs in the transfer of white-collar jobs to other countries, the development of information and computer services, and the outsourcing of business procedures outsourcing services. Separate chapters are devoted to the activities of TNCs in two groups of industries: Chapter 4 "TNCs in the oil industry of the Eastern countries" and Chapter 5 "TNCs and the development of information and computer technology services in the Eastern countries". In chapter 4, the author analyzes the problems of countries exporting raw materials, emphasizes the importance of overcoming the dependence of developing countries (and not only them) on the export of one or two types of raw materials. N. N. Tsvetkova analyzes the problem of the "raw materials curse" and cites an interesting statement by the American economist R. R. Tolkien. According to J. Miksell, "there is no inherent property in the abundance of natural resources that would condemn a country to low economic growth or lack of sustainable development" [World Investment Report 2007, 2007, p. 94]. As the UNCTAD report on the activities of TNCs in the commodity sectors notes, " inadequate public administration can lead to waste of revenues from mineral exports rather than investment for national development. It is necessary to strengthen the role of institutional factors, the role of adequate state economic policy; export revenues from mineral wealth should be invested in the development of knowledge, for economic innovations, in human capital, in physical and social capital, including the creation of infrastructure " (p. 179).

In recent decades, the business community in developed countries has found it advantageous to intensify the dislocation of capital, technology, and jobs from the centers of the world economy to the (semi -) periphery, to countries with low social and environmental production costs, large contingents of cheap labor, and relatively stable political regimes.

I will give you an example of the transfer of production from developed countries to developing ones, which is carried out by TNCs. In 1989-2009, the share of employees employed in foreign branches of American TNCs increased from 1/5 to 1/3. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, American companies now earn three times more from international production (the production of foreign branches) than from the export of goods and services. All this, of course, is not bad for TNCs

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This is not so good for the country's domestic economy and for the bulk of its population, which is losing out in the fight for jobs. T. Friedman is right when he says that " the global field for competition is levelling out. The world has become flat" [Fridman, 2006, p. 13].

A characteristic feature of recent decades has been the rapid and unprecedented development of modern information technologies (IT), including information processing tools and new communication methods. As a result of the rapidly accelerating information revolution, two processes are simultaneously taking place-a sharp decline in prices for goods and services related to modern technologies, and the rapid, unprecedented spread of IT in production systems and in the field of home consumption, as the author of this review wrote back in 2000. [Melyantsev, 2000]. In China and India, there is a rapid increase in the number of graduates of engineering and technical universities. Every year, China and India produce one and a half to two times more engineers and IT specialists than all Western countries. However, it is estimated that so far only 1/5 of Indian and 1/10 of Chinese graduates of technical universities are able to work in international companies at the required level. Be that as it may, the Indian and Chinese "cheap young smarts" involved in the outsourcing system, whose workweek is about one and a half times longer and their earnings are 10-20 times lower than those of their colleagues from developed countries, pose a considerable competitive threat to the latter (especially in Russia). the period of the global crisis) [Melyantsev, 2009, p. 133].

Unprecedented growth rates of IT investments and lower prices for the most important means of communication have contributed to the development of innovative services provided by information and communication technologies in the Eastern countries. Moreover, in the countries of the East there are sufficiently trained personnel for this. N. N. Tsvetkova's work shows in detail how IT services developed in Eastern countries, primarily in India, and analyzes the role of TNCs in this process, which was not limited to direct investment only. Indian national companies in the industry, including the largest ones, largely work under contracts with foreign customers - mainly with the same TNCs. India has been able to take advantage of its comparative advantage by having a highly qualified workforce that is fluent in English. N. N. Tsvetkova shows how the balance of power between Western TNCs and Indian leading companies in the ICT services industry has gradually changed over the past two decades. Remote services based on ICTs are also being developed in other countries in Asia (China, Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka) and Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Senegal). Meanwhile, Russia could also take part in this process of moving information and computer services and in their international outsourcing. In any case, a certain number of qualified personnel is available for this purpose. That is why the author's consideration of the development of remote services provided by ICT has a certain practical significance.

An important place in the relocation of production facilities has been occupied by the countries of the East, in recent decades - first of all, China, which has also become an exporter of IT services. China's growing influence on the global economy is also reflected in the fact that it has recently been increasingly exporting FDI. China, which has huge foreign exchange reserves, during the crisis of 2008-2009 began to buy up strategically important foreign assets in the real sector, including in the extractive industry, which, along with technologies that the Chinese restrict the acquisition of developed countries, is a reliable and important strategic investment for further economic expansion, In the monograph of N. N. Tsvetkova Considerable attention is paid to the formation of TNCs in the Eastern countries, their peculiarities, and the specifics of their foreign expansion. Chapter 3 of the monograph "TNCs and National Welfare Funds from Eastern Countries" is devoted to these problems.

In the monograph of N. N. Tsvetkova, along with the problems of TNCs, foreign investment and the financial and economic crisis, the issues of globalization and its specifics in the East, the rise and decline of the Eastern economy in connection with the policy of TNCs, and the phenomenon of TNCs from the East are considered interesting for all specialists in the modern East. Another advantage of the work: considering purely economic, financial, and technological issues, the author simultaneously leads the reader to the problems of social, cultural, and even political life in the East.

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Of course, the peer-reviewed work is not free from shortcomings. It could also address the impact of FDI on the economic growth of developing countries. In this regard, I would like to make some observations on FDI and TNCs.

Many experts cite FDI inflows as one of the key drivers of economic growth. FDI can have a very positive impact on the dynamics of the economic development of the countries to which it is directed. According to the World Bank experts ' calculations, a 1% increase in foreign direct investment causes an additional increase in investment from domestic sources (crowding-in effect) by about 0.5-1.3% [Global Development Finance, 1999, 1999, p. 51].

However, an inverse causal relationship is also possible. Foreign investment is moving quickly to where there is already a promising growth area. Since a certain share of FDI is accounted for by mergers and acquisitions, their inflow is not the same as an increase in domestic investment. Sometimes, functioning more or less as an enclave, foreign capital is not able to provide a catalyst effect for the local economy and to transfer advanced technology and managerial experience necessary for the economy. There is also a not fully compensated destruction of local businesses (for various purposes). Quite often, such processes are not only and not so much the result of so-called market failures, but rather the result of counterproductive actions or inaction of an incompetent, weak state (and such states on the periphery of the world economy are innumerable).

For these reasons, identifying the real contribution of FDI inflows to economic growth is not an easy task. Our calculations for 32 peripheral and semi-peripheral countries showed a very small correlation between relative FDI inflows, calculated as a percentage of GDP at PPP for 1990-2007, and economic growth. I note that foreign researchers have not yet identified any significant, positive and significant correlation between the liberalization of the capital account and economic growth (as well as an increase in the capital investment rate). An additional calculation made for the same group of 32 countries for the period 1990-2007, using the country's openness to foreign capital index instead of the relative FDI inflows indicator (weighted average for each country according to the Fraser Institute database), also did not reveal any significant relationship with economic growth: the correlation coefficient turned out to be extremely close to zero.

It is interesting to note that the index of openness of the country to foreign capital (it varies, as a rule, from 0 to 10) among the growth record holders was lower (in China 4.1, in India 2.2, in Vietnam 2.9) than in countries with lower growth rates and in the last 10-12 years affected by currency and financial crises: in Mexico-5.5 (in the crisis period of 1995-6.4), in Thailand-3.7 (on the eve of the crisis over 9, in crisis years, including in 2000-2002, 5.8-6.6), in Turkey-4.0 (in 1999-2001 - 5.8) (calculated from: [Gwartney, Lawson, 2005, 2008, ch. 3]).

The share of developing countries in global FDI inflows doubled from 13.6% to 27.3% in the period covered in our calculations, i.e. in 1980-2007. However, according to the data provided by UNCTAD experts, the initial figure is somewhat underestimated due to disinvestment that has occurred in a number of oil-producing countries in Africa and the Persian Gulf. If disinvestment is excluded, the share of developing countries in global FDI inflows could reach 21.4% [World Investment Report 2008, 2008, p. 253-256]. I note that in 2004, the share of developing countries in the overall low level of global FDI inflows reached 36%. This share could be even higher, since the return on capital in the whole group of developing countries is higher than in developed countries (the so-called R. Lucas paradox). It should be noted that, as is well known, the statistics of net FDI inflows are very imperfect. Due to the existing methodological and informational inconsistencies, the statistics of the FDI stock is no less problematic. According to UNCTAD and the IMF, the total global stock of FDI (Tsvetkova's book value of FDI) increased from $ 527,533 billion in 1980 to $ 15,205-15,215 billion in 2007, and the share of developing countries in it increased from 24.9% in 1980 to 33.3% in 2007. 2000, then decreased to 27.9% in 2007 [McDonald, Treichel, Weisfeld, 2006; World Investment Report 2008, 2008, p. 257].

N. N. Tsvetkova writes that the share of Eastern countries in the book value and in the inflow of foreign direct investment has sharply increased. I note that the share of developing Asian countries in global FDI inflows actually increased from 12% to 17.5% in 2000-2007. Significant share

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This growth is accounted for by the countries of East and South-East Asia, among which China stands out in particular. Although the absolute volume of FDI inflows to the Chinese economy is impressive, the rate of FDI inflows relative to GDP was only 1.1-1.2% in 2007. If we exclude the postscripts that UNCTAD experts write about, the indicator for China is unlikely to exceed 2/5 of the same indicator on average for all developing countries (2.0-2.2% of their GDP). Available data from the international survey of GDP and its main components in PPP for 2005 allow us to determine that the share of FDI inflows in the total volume of domestic investment in active elements of fixed capital in the PRC reached 6-8%. Given the increased efficiency of FDI, this relatively small indicator is actually equivalent to at least 15-20% of all capital investments sent to China in machinery, vehicles and equipment [Melyantsev, 2009, p.99].

In conclusion, I would like to note that the reviewed work of N. N. Tsvetkova would benefit from more thorough editing and design of some footnotes. It would be better to highlight the most important points more clearly. Speaking about the advantages, it can be noted that the work of N. N. Tsvetkova is not only relevant, it can be of considerable interest to Russian practical organizations, business structures, scientific institutions, and higher educational institutions. N. N. Tsvetkova's monograph is an important step in understanding the complex world of financial and economic life and the socio-structural dynamics of capitalism in the East.

In general, N. N. Tsvetkova's monograph is written at a high scientific and theoretical level, and a large amount of new material has been put into circulation. The monograph has already confirmed its practical significance. In particular, on the basis of this and the previous monograph, N. N. Tsvetkova developed a program and taught a special course "International Capital Movement and Asian and African countries"to second-year undergraduates of the ISAA of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

list of literature

Melyantsev V. A. Information revolution, globalization and paradoxes of modern economic growth in developed and developing countries. Moscow, 2000.

Melyantsev V. A. Razvitiye i razvitiye strany v epokhu peremenei [Developed and Developing Countries in the Era of Change]. Moscow: ISAA MSU named after M. V. Lomonosov; Klyuch-S, 2009.

Melyantsev V. A. Analysis of the most important trends in global economic growth, Moscow: ISAA MSU named after M. V. Lomonosov; Klyuch-S, 2013.
Fridman T. Flat World: a brief history of the XXI century. Moscow, 2006.

Tsvetkova N. N. Foreign direct investment in Asia and Russia: Opyt sravnitel'nogo analiza [experience of comparative analysis]. Moscow: IV RAS, 2004.

Crooks Е. America: Riveting Prospects // The Financial Times. 6.01.2011.

The Economist.

Global Development Finance 1999. World Bank. Washington, 1999.

Gwartncy J., Lawson R. Economic Freedom of the World, 2005. 2008. The Frascr Institute.

McDonald C, Trcichcl V., Weisfcld H. Enticing Investors // The Finance and Development. 2006. Vol. 43. № 4.

The Case against Globaloncy // The Economist. 23.04.2011.

World Investment Report 2007. New York-Geneva, 2007.

World Investment Report 2008. New York-Geneva, 2008.

World Investment Report 2012. New York-Geneva, 2012.

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