EUR 1331.50 For Business Accounts Only

The BRICS - A decade on, the economies are no longer the reliable powerhouses of growth they once were

Summary
The BRICS economies were touted as the leading new countries for growth and the primary shift towards these countries and away from the traditional affluent countries was said to be beginning. To an extent this has happened and countries like China and India have been potent engines for world economic growth over the last decade. However, in 2017 the five economies of the BRICS are starting to look run down and some serious cracks have appeared in the theory that all these countries will come to dominate world economics. All five have begun to slow down and some have even dropped into recession in recent years. There are some problems which have affected all five, such as scandal and corruption, and some conclusions can be drawn about the future of other emerging economies as they try to develop into western style democratic economies and shed the traditions of old. We look at the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to examine just what the problems are and if there are resolutions to be found.

Key Findings

- Looking at the key economies of the BRICS and seeing why their economies are faltering
- What has caused these slow downs and are they preventable
- What does this mean for the future of the global economy
- Is there anything that can be done to solve these problems

Synopsis


Reasons To Buys

- Why is Brazil suddenly unable to produce the growth it has achieved in the past?
- What is the nature of Russian economic problems and are they systemic?
- Is the future positive for India and can it escape its huge debt burden?
- Can China effectively transition to a consumer economy and if it could is that even desirable?
- Why is the South African economy unable to take advatange of good potential for growth?

Key Highlights

- Both Brazil and India brought some comfort to the success of the BRIC acronym: both are democracies which have embraced the virtues of western style capitalism rather than the government controlled model pursued by Russia and China. Yet over recent years the luster has gone.
- China is the world’s second largest economy and the world’s most populous country. Ever since the country started to liberalize its economy, there have been astonishing levels of growth which have pushed the country to ever greater heights, with many expecting the eventual “catching” of the US economy in GDP terms within the century. However, the slow down experienced in China and the government's push to try and maintain high levels of growth is looking like an increasingly uphill struggle.
- After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was supposed to reform and become a major, market led, economic power. Only with the election of Vladimir Putin as president did economic fortunes for the beleaguered nation improve. Yet improving prosperity and rising living standards ceased some time ago. No longer is the average Russian gaining wealth – indeed, most are poorer now than several years ago.