WORLD-SYSTEM GEOECONOMIC STRATIFICATION: THE ROLE OF NON-EQUIVALENT TECHNOLOGICAL EXCHANGE

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to identify and analytically substantiate the role of technological protectionism in the processes of deepening the geoeconomic stratification of the world-system. Methodology. The study employs economic analysis and comparative statistics to examine macroeconomic imbalances; the indicator method is applied for segmentation based on key development indicators; a range of theoretical research methods were employed, with a particular emphasis on abstract, logical, and comparative analysis, abstraction, generalisation, and formalisation. Results. The article examines the processes of contemporary global hierarchization triggered by the asymmetry in the distribution of intellectual rent. Stable disparities in global income distribution and technological potential, which preclude egalitarian development of the world-system, are identified and systematized. The role of technological protectionism as a driver of geoeconomic polarization is revealed, wherein the deployment of complex regulatory standards by the Core creates a "regulatory trap" for the lower tiers of the hierarchy. A direct causal link between non-equivalent technological exchange and the institutional shadowization of international economic relations is proven. It is established that high transaction costs associated with legal certification compel economic agents in the Semi-periphery and Periphery to systematically bypass formal barriers. It is substantiated that such adaptation leads to the camouflaging of commodity nomenclature, invoice price manipulation, and the criminalization of logistics chains. It is generalized that the Core's technological dominance acts as the primary cause of both the structural underdevelopment of the Periphery and the institutional degradation of the global trade environment. Conclusions. The dominant role of geoeconomic segregation has been substantiated. The main types of risks inherent in this mechanism have been identified. Further steps have been proposed to overcome the negative consequences caused by this phenomenon.