BRIC Countries: Engines of Economic Growth and Development
The four major BRIC developing countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have the demographic and economic potential to be among the largest and most influential economies in the world in the 21st century. Together, the four original BRIC countries comprise more than 2.8 billion people or 40 percent of the world's population, covering more than a quarter of the world's land on three continents and accounting for more than 25 percent of global GDP.
One BRIC, two BRICs
The BRIC designation was first coined by Jim O & # 39; Neil by Goldman Sachs in an article titled "The World Needs Better Economic BRICs" from 2001. The BRIC countries have since met and sought cooperation opportunities in the areas of trade, investment, infrastructure development and other areas. China invited South Africa to join the BRIC group in December 2010 and hosted its third annual BRIC Summit in April 2011.
BRICs and the world economy
Already in 2003, Goldman Sachs predicted that China and India would become the first and third largest economies by 2050, with Brazil and Russia occupying fifth and sixth place respectively. From 2000 to 2008, the BRIC states & # 39; The combined share of global economic output rose from 16 to 22 percent. Together, the BRIC countries accounted for 30 percent of global production growth during the period. The rapid economic growth and demographic development of China and India are expected to lead to a large middle class whose consumption would help advance the BRIC countries. economic development and expansion of the world economy.
China and the BRIC countries
To date, China's economy and the pace of its development have surpassed those of the BRIC countries. China alone contributed more than half of the BRIC states & # 39; Share and more than 15 percent of global economic output growth from 2000 to 2008.
science and technology
The BRIC countries of China, India and Brazil have made a major contribution to the dramatic increase in investment in scientific research and scientific publications. Since 2002, global R & D spending has increased 45 percent to over $ 1,000 billion ($ 1 trillion). From 2002 to 2007, China, India and Brazil more than doubled their spending on scientific research and increased their share of global R & D expenditure from 17 to 24 percent.
Next 11 emerging markets
Recalling the interest in other emerging markets, Goldman Sachs identified another group of economically dynamic and promising developing countries in 2005. Next 11 is a broader group of emerging markets with the potential to play a significant role in the global economy, including: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam.
Despite China's invitation, Goldman Sachs & # 39; O Neil has long claimed that the population of South Africa, with its 50 million inhabitants, a fraction of the 143 million Russians and the 1.34 billion Chinese, is too small for BRIC status. At around $ 285 billion in 2009, South Africa was less than a quarter of the Russian economy, which is the smallest of the original BRIC countries, at around $ 1,232 billion.
Growth Environment Score (GES)
The Growth Environment Score (GES) was presented by Goldman Sachs in the same paper that identified Next 11. The GES is an index that has been developed to measure the extent to which structural conditions and policy frameworks in a country contribute to transforming the economic potential of the BRICs, Next 11 and other countries into reality.
The GES consists of 13 sub-indices that belong to one of five categories of economic growth determinants:
o Macroeconomic stability – inflation, government deficit and external debt
o Macroeconomic conditions – investment and openness
o Technological Capabilities – Penetration of phones, PCs and the Internet
o Human capital – average secondary years and life expectancy
o Political conditions – political stability, the rule of law and corruption
In the original GES version of 2005, the values for each of the four BRIC countries fell in the upper half and above the mean of the rankings of all developing countries.
