It is believed that national wealth is the aggregate economic assets of a country that ensure the lives of people, as well as the production of goods and services. So says the methodology of the Goskomstat of the Russian Federation. This economic category characterizes the economic potential of the state, convincingly testifies to the long-term prospects of its development.
We note the principle: the concept of national wealth is revealed through this category - economic assets. Within the state, constitutional units with ownership of them enjoy economic benefits. In view of the relevance of continuous monitoring of this indicator, to determine the effectiveness of the policy, economists of all countries constantly determine its growth or decrease
The methodology used in the world for calculating national wealth is determined in two ways: by the method of national standards or by the balance sheet.
Balance method
The national wealth of the country in the balance sheet is defined as the net cost of equity directly from the tabular balance sheets of liabilities and assets (see table 1), compiled for various sectors of the economy. This is the traditional approach for Russia (formerly for the USSR), presenting this indicator as a combination of labor products, i.e., national property accumulated by generations in combination with natural resources involved in the economic process.
National Standards Method
However, as experts say, the system of national accounts more effectively determines national wealth. This is a truly market-based approach, since the SNA is a balanced set of indicators that comprehensively reflect the macroeconomics of the state. In addition to the material goods created by the able-bodied population, the system of national accounts also takes into account the difference between financial assets (2) and financial liabilities (3).
Table 1. General structure of national wealth
National wealth. Structure
Define what constitutes the composition of national wealth in accordance with the methodology of the system of national accounts, briefly describing its components.
Non-financial assets, being the property of institutional units, are a means for the production and non-production acquisition of economic benefits by them. In their composition, they include fixed assets (production and non-production), working capital, as well as values.
A characteristic property of fixed assets is their ability to repeatedly participate in social reproduction. These include buildings and structures, machine tools and equipment, transport and communications, and more. They have the property of reducing their value due to material and moral depreciation. The level of depreciation of fixed assets of the country is a strategic indicator. In particular, the Russian economy at the current level is characterized by a significant proportion of worn-out fixed assets. Their renewal is an important direction in the development of the state.
Working capital stocks of a material nature are, in particular, raw materials and materials, finished products, goods produced for sale, as well as purchased for subsequent resale. The role of the state in the development of the production sector is largely determined by the sufficient security of its enterprises with working capital, which is the “raw material” for production (fuel, materials, raw materials, feed, seeds, etc.). At the same time, well-established inter-farm relations, which impede the formation of excessive stocks of finished products, are important.
Financial assets are intangible, their essence is a cost expression. They have a characteristic feature: in relation to the owner they are assets, in relation to his counterparty they are liabilities.
Table 2. The composition of national wealth by the method of the SNA
However, the SNA indicators do not take into account a rather thin category, one of the main indicators of national wealth is the human factor. His role in this article will be mentioned later. At present, its characteristics are determined by such parameters as average life expectancy, percentage of work of the able-bodied population by profession, active labor period, family life cycle, birth rate.
National wealth. Indicator Properties
An important circumstance is that national wealth is not a static indicator, but dynamically changing in time. It is determined at any current moment at the residual value.
Secondly, as already noted, national wealth (NL) is heterogeneous. On the one hand - natural resources, on the other - products of labor. It also includes financial and intangible assets.
Thirdly, national wealth takes into account all property owned by residents, individuals and legal entities, even if it is located abroad.
Feature Description
The statistics of national wealth are heterogeneous. It approaches the analysis of the components of this complex indicator in different ways, which naturally stems from its nature. If we ask about their types, then we can define the following categories:
1. Unreproducible . These include minerals whose reserves are depleted (mainly by industrial methods).
2. Playable. We are talking about industrial and non-productive assets created by the able-bodied population.
3. Intangible. This is the know-how of the country's society, generated by its social, educational and humanitarian domestic policies. These include the level of well-being, intellectual and qualification potential.
4. Accounts payable to foreign countries and financial organizations.
Main settings
Statistics of national wealth is based on an analysis of its parameters. With their help, the property status of the state is comprehensively covered: the dynamics of the NB; its use by the state; components, volume and structure; composition and proportions; type of reproduction of national wealth and its components; characteristics of the components.
Thus, the NB is represented as a combination of material values and economic resources that directly affect the expanded reproduction of society.
World resources. Statistics
The Russian Academy of Sciences estimated the total national wealth of the world. This indicator was determined based on World Bank credentials. At the beginning of the 21st century, its value for all countries of the world amounted to $ 550 trillion. Let's consider this information in general form. The share of human capital in it is the bulk - $ 350 trillion, natural resources - $ 95 trillion, production and non-productive funds - $ 90 trillion.
According to statistics, 50% of the world's national wealth belongs to the developed Western European countries, the USA, Canada and Japan. The United States National Bank is valued at $ 24 trillion; $ 95 trillion is the national wealth of OPEC countries, which control a significant part of world oil reserves, 40% of its production and world prices for it. Former CIS countries own NB, amounting to $ 80 trillion.
According to the aforementioned estimate of scientists, Russia's national wealth is $ 60 trillion. The human factor in it is $ 30 trillion, natural resources - $ 24 trillion, production and non-production funds - $ 6 trillion.
The above proportions of world national wealth are shown in table 3.
Table 3. The structure of world national wealth
National wealth of Russia
It is characteristic that Russia has a multiple advantage over other countries in terms of national wealth per citizen ($ 400 thousand), which is four times higher than the global average. However, the average population density of Russia per square kilometer is 8.39 people at a time when for France this figure is 119 people, for Italy - 200.52, for Germany - 229.12.
An impressive assessment of the national wealth of the Russian Federation. Its land fund is 12.5% of the world. In Russia, there are half of the world's fresh water reserves, more than 50% of chernozem, more than 60% of the coniferous forests of the planet. Russia's natural resources are very significant, they occupy a significant share in world natural resources. In particular, Russian gas reserves account for 32% of the world, oil - 13%; zinc - 15%; iron - 26%; coal - 11%; zinc - 15%; nickel - 36%.
The raw material nature of the economy
Experts say that the Russian economy currently has a raw material character. What does it mean? A significant amount of oil and gas (about 75%) is exported and only a quarter is consumed in the domestic market. In the structure of the RF GDP, the extracted oil and gas occupy a significant proportion: about 32%, while engineering products - about 5%. The latter indicator, as we understand it, does not correspond to the economic as well as scientific potential of Russia. It is all about the demand for raw materials actually presented on the world market in connection with the protectionist policy of the West towards science-based and capital-intensive products with the inscription "made in Russia".
The dynamics of oil production in Russia reflects a growth trend. Currently, its production volume is quite impressive half a billion tons. The Russian economy is sensitive to foreign exchange earnings from oil sales, including for investments in the engineering sector, which allows for the transition to new technologies. The way “black gold” was mined in the Russian Federation is shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Dynamics of Russian oil production
Most of the Russian oil (trade name Urals) - 65% - is produced in the Tyumen region. However, in the future, production in this region will decrease, while at the same time, its growth is forecasted in the Far East and Eastern Siberia.
Even more indicative is the upward trend in gas production by Russia (see table 5). Analysis of economic indicators indicates an alarming trend: the reorientation of the economy to the efficiency of the raw material component exceeds the pace of development of engineering.
Table 5. Dynamics of gas production in Russia
At the same time, an assessment of Russia's national wealth would be incomplete without indicating factors that restrain the intensity of its increase. They are systemic in nature. In Russia, human capital in the structure of national wealth accounts for 50% of the share, natural resources - 32%, and production and non-production capital, respectively, 18%. At the same time, the share of the human factor for the national wealth of Western European countries is 78.4%.
The leading role of the human factor in the system of national wealth
According to experts, not only the absolute value expression, but also the structure of national wealth is an important factor in the welfare of the state. The economists of the Chicago school in the 70s of the last century made a significant discovery: in the structure of the NB, the human factor plays a leading role. We have already mentioned that its quality is determined by a number of components: quality and life expectancy, education, gross production per person. If a quarter of a century ago the Russian Federation in this indicator belonged to 23rd place, today it is 66th.
Privatization or sabotage against the human factor?
Different elements of national wealth have different levels of sensitivity to crisis phenomena in the economy. The starting point for determining human capital is its assessment of the domestic labor market.
It is characteristic that during perestroika this value in the sector of social production was actually nullified. Such miserable value formed the basis of the country's pricing. As a result of this, the intermediary entrepreneur got the opportunity to earn by speculation a dozen times more of the GDP than a skilled industrial worker.
During the privatization of production assets of the USSR, the cost of one labor force by the new owners was estimated in the range of 0.1 - $ 0.5 thousand. For comparison, the determination of the market price of an American enterprise is based on the cost of one labor force of $ 100 thousand. In particular, the ZIL enterprise with a hundred thousandth workforce was privatized for $ 16 million. Similarly, Uralmash, GAZ, and many other system enterprises were privatized.
Reforming the Russian economy, according to the 1990 Washington Consensus, has not changed these imbalances. Tight monetary policy along with trade liberalization has not remedied the situation. Currently, in the Russian Federation 20% of the population has income that does not provide a living wage for one family member. To reproduce the role of the human factor (especially in production), we need targeted social and economic policies.
Output
The national wealth of the Russian Federation at the present stage requires a significant reassessment of its components in order to obtain sustainable growth dynamics. The key is to increase the share of human capital. For this, additional funds and resources should be allocated. The oligarchs will have to share their "piece of cake" from Russia's GDP, which they consume and transfer to deposits of Western banks.
Such businessmen who are keen on maximizing their income will have to practically feel that investments in human capital in Russia are the most profitable and learn how to systemically make them. Perhaps such a thought should adequately “explain” to the oligarchs the state.
On the other hand, special infrastructure will also be in demand, which monitors and ensures the effectiveness of investments in the human factor.