Theory of economic development as a determinant of investment research

The article presents an approach to the theoretical study of the category of «investment» through the prism of the fundamental scientific postulates of the theory of economic development put forward by representatives of science. Any economic process is characterized by aspiration to the future, which is associated with uncertainty and risk factors. The acceptance of uncertainty, coupled with the expectation that the future will change, is at the heart of economic development and is the essence of investment. The author provides an overview of interpretations of the term «economic development», put forward by foreign and Russian scientists-economists, identified the directions of the relationship between economic development and the points of its differences with the term «economic growth», which makes it possible to separate the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the changes inherent in investment process, like define and justify the category of «investment» as one of the main factors of economic growth.