On the complementary effect of investments[О Комплементарном Свойстве Инвестиций]

Problem statement. The study is caused by different approaches to understanding investments that exist in foreign and domestic economic theory, in Russian regulations and in the forms of statistical observation. Such diversity of definitions does not lead to proper interpretation of investment activity and its assessment when creating conditions for a favorable investment climate. The scientific goal of the research is to classify the main definitions of the concept of investment from various sources and to identify the inherent properties of investments based on a methodological approach involving the evaluation of the concepts according to the selected criteria. Methods and data. The evolution and the essence of the concept of "investment" in the economic scientific literature, in regulations and in the official statistics are analyzed on the basis of five criteria: 1) the form and 2) the direction of the investment, 3) the period of return on investment, 4) the content of the investment process and 5) the purpose of the investment. The works of foreign authors, economists of the pre-Soviet, Soviet era and the modern period are analyzed as scientific sources. The current regulations, orders and reports of the Federal State Statistics Service have been examined. The methods of analysis, synthesis and comparison have been used. Main results. It has been found that the nature of investments is complementary. It has different goals: material and social, spiritual and moral that can coexist and complement each other. Conclusion. The study revealed the bi-variant nature of investments. It interprets investment process as a unity of actions of two target functions to increase the income and (or) achieve another beneficial result, which must be taken into account in the practice of the authorities and experts in the field of regional investment policy to improve the investment climate.