In the modern world there is not a single self-sufficient state. A dubious exception is perhaps very limited systems like North Korea. However, they all the more confirm the inefficiency of full self-sufficiency. Not a single state, even a very developed one, is able to completely independently provide all the conditions for a sufficiently effective reproduction of all services and goods for its citizens and state needs. And in this regard, the international division of labor is certainly a progressive and useful phenomenon. In essence, it is a specialization on a global scale. The international division of labor is a concept that modern experts use in two aspects. Firstly, it is directly the specialization of countries in various production of goods of certain types, for the creation of which there are preferable conditions in a particular country compared to other countries: cheap labor, raw materials, fertile soil, developed infrastructure, engineering enterprises and so on. Secondly, the international division of labor is a way of self-organization of the modern world economy, which is characterized by the specialization of various countries in the creation of characteristic services and goods. After this, there is a massive exchange between them.
Process History and Current Status
The development of the international division of labor has taken place throughout human history. At a fast or slow pace. Actually, this process has always been in close connection with globalization. The voyages of the Phoenicians, the trade of the ancient Greeks, the conquest of the Roman Empire, the caravan routes of the medieval era, the great geographical discoveries - all these are the steps and stages of the subject of this article. Any export or import of goods already implies an international division of labor. Countries have long traded within and outside Europe. At the same time, this process began to develop especially intensively in the New Time. Moreover, with increasing speed. If previously the dominant role was played by the characteristic geographical and climatic conditions: weather, natural resources, population, size of the territory, location on the map, now scientific and technological progress has led to a decrease in the significance of these factors. The development of transport links and many other opportunities that have become available today have brought completely different factors to the fore. The international division of labor is in the modern world the result of the development of the following features:
- the predominance of an intensive type of economic growth;
- the emergence of new industries;
- shortening the production cycle;
- expansion of services: banking, insurance, travel, transport and others (this factor has become especially significant in information societies).
In addition, the very nature of society has changed. Important socioeconomic factors are as follows:
- the method of organizing production within the country;
- mechanism for organizing state foreign economic relations;
- levels of well-being in the country: economic, social, educational and scientific and technical.
