BRICS and Emerging Economies: an assessment

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of the emergence of BRICS. We begin with an examination of emergence of BRICS showing that BRICS have been members of the top 15 largest economies in the world since 1960. In purchasing power parity terms, by 2015, BRICS have equalled G7 countries in terms of the share of global output. Various possible explanatory factors of their growth are examined. Though BRICS account for nearly a half of global output growth, in terms of real per capita income, BRICS have a long way to go. There are many challenges to BRICS in terms of the levels of income and wealth inequalities, the educational inequalities as measured in terms of education-Gini and the quality of their infrastructure notwithstanding the massive investments being made remains inadequate. We also analyse the nine BRICS summits so far and the text analysis of these declarations suggests that such summits are becoming more formal and focused on specific policy outcomes and creation of new institutions for deepening multilateral co-operation. The chapter ends with an analysis of global governance issues and four possible future scenarios of BRICS.