As I covered in my Political and Economic section, Russia’s economy is almost entirely devoted to the production of raw materials. Russia has 30% of the world’s natural resources, and 78% of Russia’s exports are devoted to just timber, metal, fuel, and minerals. Because of globalization, and the specialization that comes from it, Russia’s economy has grown since its inclusion into the world economy. Russia’s GDP has grown on average by 5% yearly, has seen a 4% drop in unemployment since 2009 to 5.8%, and has a debt to GDP ratio six times lower than the United States.
Globalization and specialization allows for stronger overall economies, as countries are able to scale what they are efficient at producing, which generates more products overall. Strong trading partners in Western Europe, China, and the Unites States who devote more of their economies to the production of consumer goods, are able to import Russia’s raw materials, generate consumer goods, and then export what they produce back to Russia. Because globalization allows countries to focus on what they are good at, and not focus time and resources on things they are unable to produce at scale, a more efficient world economy is formed. Russia, being the world’s leader in raw resources, is finally seeing the benefits of a global economy since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Globalization and specialization allows for stronger overall economies, as countries are able to scale what they are efficient at producing, which generates more products overall. Strong trading partners in Western Europe, China, and the Unites States who devote more of their economies to the production of consumer goods, are able to import Russia’s raw materials, generate consumer goods, and then export what they produce back to Russia. Because globalization allows countries to focus on what they are good at, and not focus time and resources on things they are unable to produce at scale, a more efficient world economy is formed. Russia, being the world’s leader in raw resources, is finally seeing the benefits of a global economy since the fall of the Soviet Union.