The first industrial country. Industrial countries of the world in the early 20th century. List of new industrialized countries

The industrial countries had more than a tangible impact on the world economy. They moved progress and changed the status of specific regions. Therefore, the history and characteristics of these states deserve attention.

What is meant by industrialization

When this term is used, it is an economic process, the essence of which is reduced to the transition from agrarian craft to large machine production. It is this fact that is the key feature on which the industrial countries of the world are determined.

It is worth noting the following peculiarity: once machine production begins to predominate in the state, the development of the economy turns into an extensive regime. The transition of a particular country to the category of industrial ones is due to the impact of such a factor as the development of new technologies and natural sciences in industry. Especially active such changes are in the sphere of energy production and metallurgy.

In fact, any industrial country is a product of competent reforms in the sphere of legislation and politics. At the same time, of course, it does not do without the formation of a significant raw material base and the attraction of a large number of cheap labor.

The consequence of such processes is the fact that the secondary (raw materials processing sector) begins to predominate over the primary sector of the economy (agriculture, extraction of resources). Industrialization contributes to the dynamic development of scientific disciplines and their subsequent introduction into the production segment. This, in turn, allows you to significantly increase the income of the population.

The First Industrial Country

If you look at the historical data, you can make an obvious conclusion: the United States was the leading industrial movement. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a large base for dynamic industrial growth was created here, which was facilitated by a tangible inflow of labor. The components of this base were significant raw materials, the lack of obsolete equipment and the provision of absolute freedom for economic activity.

Considering the history of the development of industrial production, it should be noted that tangible progress in this area occurred in the early twentieth century. They manifested themselves through the growth of the rate of development of heavy industry. This fact was also contributed by the constructed railway transcontinental lines.

Such an industrial country as the United States is interesting because it was the first country in the history of world economic development, in which the following fact was recorded: the share of heavy industry exceeded the rest of the total industrial output. Other countries were able to reach this level much later.

Another change that the industrial country must inevitably make, Concern the political and legislative sphere. At the same time, it is inevitable that there is an adequate supply of cheap labor force and raw materials.

One of the key production goals in the industrial economy is the production of as many finished products as possible. As a result, significant volumes of goods allow companies to enter the world market.

Change in the structure of heavy industry in the US

Considering that North America is the territory where the industrial country, which became the first in such a format of economy, survived its formation, it is worth noting the following information: similar changes were achieved through changes in the structure of heavy industry in the USA.

This is the impact of scientific and technological progress, which has led to the emergence and development of new industries such as oil, aluminum, electrical, rubber, automotive, etc. At the same time, car production and refining have had the most significant impact on the development of the American economy.

Since electric lighting was rapidly introduced into everyday life and production, kerosene rapidly lost its relevance. At the same time, the demand for oil has been steadily growing. This fact is explained by the dynamic development of the automotive industry, which inevitably led to an increased volume of purchases of gasoline for the production of which oil was used.

It is worth noting and the fact that it was the introduction of the car into the lives of US citizens had a significant impact on the structure of production, allowing the oil refining industry to become dominant.

Changes also experienced the methods of rational organization of labor. This process was influenced by the development of mass production. This is primarily a flow method.

It is thanks to these factors that the US began to be defined as an industrial country.

Other representatives of the industrial economy

The USA, of course, became the first state that could be classified as industrial. If we consider the industrial countries of the 20th century, then we will be able to single out two waves of modernization. These processes can also be called organic and catching up development.

The countries of the first echelon include the United States, Britain, France and other small European countries (Scandinavian countries, Holland, Belgium). The development of all these countries was characterized by a gradual transition to an industrial type of production. First there was an industrial revolution, followed by a transition to mass and large-scale production of conveyor type.

The formation of such processes was preceded by certain cultural and socio-economic preconditions:

- a high level of development of manufactory production, which was subjected to the impact of modernization in the first place;

- maturity of commodity-money relations, leading to the maturity of the domestic market and its ability to absorb significant volumes of industrial products;

- a palpable layer of poor people who do not have the opportunity to earn in any other way than providing their services as a work force.

The last point can be attributed to those entrepreneurs who managed to accumulate capital and were ready to invest it in current production.

Second-tier countries

Considering industrial countries in the early 20th century, it is worth mentioning such states as Austria-Hungary, Japan, Russia, Italy and Germany. Their involvement in industrial production due to the influence of certain factors was somewhat belated.

Despite the fact that many countries were moving towards industrialization, the development of all states had common features. A key characteristic in this case was the significant influence of the government in the period of modernization. The special role of the state in these processes could be explained by the following reasons.

1. First of all, it was the state that played the decisive role in implementing reforms aimed at expanding commodity-money relations, as well as reducing the number of semi-natural and subsistence farms characterized by low productivity. Such a strategy made it possible to get more free labor for effective development of production.

2. To understand why the industrial countries have always been characterized by a significant share of the state's participation in the modernization process, it is worth paying attention to such a factor as the need to introduce increased customs duties on import of imported products. Such measures could be carried out only at the level of legislation. And thanks to this strategy, domestic producers, who stood at the beginning of their development, were protected and able to quickly enter a new level of trade.

3. The third reason why the active participation of the state in the modernization process was inevitable is the lack of funds from enterprises to finance production. Weakness of domestic capital was compensated by budgetary means. This was reflected in the financing of the construction of factories, plants and railways. In some cases, even mixed banks and companies were created, using state and sometimes foreign capital. This fact explains why the industrial countries, in addition to exporting products, were focused on attracting the funds of foreign investors. Especially strongly influenced by such investments in the process of modernization of Japan, Russia and Austria-Hungary.

The place of industrial countries in the modern economy

The modernization process did not stop its development. Thanks to this, new industrial countries managed to form. List They are as follows:

1. Singapore,
2. South Korea,
3. Hong Kong,
4. Taiwan,
5. Thailand,
6. China,
7. Indonesia,
8. Malaysia,
9. India,
10. Philippines,
11. Brunei,
12. Vietnam.

The first four countries stand out especially against the others, which is why they are called Asian tigers. Throughout the 1980s, each of the above-mentioned states showed their ability to ensure an annual growth of the economy with a mark above 7%. Moreover, they were able to quickly overcome socio-economic underdevelopment and approach the level of countries that can be defined as developed.

Criteria by which industrial countries are determined

The UN is constantly monitoring the situation in the world, paying special attention to the economic development of various regions. This organization has certain criteria by which they define new industrial countries. A list of them can be replenished only by a state that meets certain standards in the following categories:

- volume of exports of industrial products;

- the size of the gross domestic product per capita;

- the specific weight in the GDP of the manufacturing industry (it should not be less than 20%);

- volume of investments outside the country;

- average annual growth rates of GDP.

For each of these criteria and for all the total industrialized countries, the list of which is growing steadily, should significantly differ from other states.

Features of the economic model of NIS

There are certain reasons, both internal and external, that have had a significant impact on the economic development of the newly industrialized countries.

If we talk about the external factors of economic growth characteristic of all countries, first of all, attention should be paid to the following fact: regardless of which industrial countries are considered, they will all combine the presence of interest from developed industrial states. And we are talking about both economic and political interests. As an example, the obvious interest shown by the US in relation to South Korea and Taiwan. This is due to the fact that these regions contribute to the opposition of the communist regime, which dominates in East Asia.

As a result, America provided the two countries with significant military and economic support, which created a kind of impetus for the dynamic development of these states. That is why the industrial countries, in addition to the export of goods, are largely focused on foreign investment.

As for the South Asian countries, their progress is due to active support from Japan, which in recent decades has opened numerous branches of corporations that created new jobs and raised the level of industry as a whole.

It should also be noted that in the newly industrialized countries located on the territory of Asia, most of the business capital was directed to the raw materials and manufacturing industries.

As for the Latin American countries, in this region, investment was directed not only to the manufacturing industry, but also to the services sector, as well as trade.

At the same time, one can not fail to notice the fact of global economic expansion of foreign private capital. That is why the industrial countries in addition to their own resources in virtually every economic sector have a certain percentage of foreign capital.

Latin American model of NIS

In the modern economy, two key models stand out, by means of which it is possible to characterize the structure and principles of the development of modern industrial countries. It is a question of the Latin American and Asian system.

The first model is focused on import substitution, the second focus is on exports. In other words, some countries are oriented to the domestic market, while others receive the bulk of the capital through exports.

This is one of the answers to the question why the industrial countries, in addition to the export of goods, are actively focused on substitution of imports. It all boils down to using a particular model. At the same time, it should be noted that the strategy of saturation of the domestic market with a national product has helped many states to obtain economic progress. To do this, it was necessary to diversify the economic structure in the country. As a result, important production capacities were formed, and self-sufficiency in many spheres increased significantly.

In fact, in each country, which has focused on the development of production, which allows effectively replacing imported goods, a serious crisis is fixed in time. As reasons for such a result, it is necessary to determine the loss of efficiency and flexibility of the economic system, which is caused by the absence of foreign competition.

It is difficult for such countries to take a confident position in the world market due to the lack of locomotive industries that bring the sphere of production to a new level of efficiency and relevance.

Examples include the countries of Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico). These states have managed to diversify the national economy in such a way as to reach a significant place within the world market. But they still failed to catch up in their level of economic progress developed countries, focused on exports.

Asian Experience

The export-oriented model, which was implemented by the NIS of Asia, can be defined as the most effective and flexible enough. It should be noted that the parallel import substitution, which competently combined with the main scheme of economic development. Surprisingly, as it turned out, two models with different accents can be combined quite effectively. In this case, depending on the specific period, priority may be given to the most relevant of them.

But the fact remains that before the state passes to the stage of dynamic export expansion, it must undergo import substitution and competently stabilize its interest in the general economic model.

The Asian NIS was characterized by the development of labor-intensive export-oriented industries. Over time, the emphasis shifted to capital-intensive high-tech industries. At the moment, the main goal of such countries within the framework of the current economic strategy is the production of products that can be characterized as science-intensive. In turn, low-profit and labor-intensive production is given to new industrial countries of the second wave.

Thus, we can conclude that the economic strategy of a particular industrial country depends on its place in the world market.