Comparative Analysis of the BRICS

BRICS refers to the five emerging economies around the world; Brazil, Russia, India,
Chin, and most recently added, South Africa. The member countries came together after the
2008 financial crisis to come up with global financial structures that boosted the group’s
visibility in the world economy (Cooper). The BRICS cooperation brought about the emergence
of the Reserve Contingent Arrangement (RCA) and the New Development Bank (NDB). The
recent focus on BRICs comes from their rapid economic growth indicating their potential to
grow stronger as they are likely to compare to the G7 countries (Canada, Japan, France,
Germany, UK, US, and Italy) by 2040.
The major differences between the BRICs is in their drivers of growth and economic
deregulation measures. In respect to economic deregulation, even though it is a large contributor
to their economic development, the degrees of impact differ for each country. In Brazil,
privatization picked up in the 1990s leading to trade expansion as foreign markets opened.
Russia’s shift from state-owned enterprises to local private and foreign enterprises allowed a
restructure of their investments and procedures propelling their economy forward (Shen 30). The
private sector in India is expanding as a result of deregulation while China’s non-public
enterprise shares expand boosting their economy.
The drivers of growth amongst the BRICs countries root from their industrial and
demand structures. The industrial structure has differences amongst the countries with Brazil

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shifting towards manufacturing, mining, forestry, fisheries, and agriculture sectors growing
rapidly. Russia’s natural resource sector (natural gas and petroleum) has fueled their fast growth,
India’s IT-related services, and China’s mining and manufacturing sectors showing as their main
drivers of growth (Shen 20). The changes in the demand structure between the countries also
differ largely with Brazil’s export percentages expanding, Russia’s natural resource exports
booming, India’s large consumer spending, and China’s gross foxed capital formation.
The major similarities for BRICs are visible through the economic development. In
human capital, even though Russia and South Africa have high education standards, they are
barely utilized (Shen 21). In India and Brazil, the education systems are still facing major
challenges. Infrastructure is lagging behind for Russia and Brazil in relation to their income
levels translating to slow development of businesses. Even though India infrastructure
development is favorable, it is favorably low as it continues impeding their business
development. In Russia and China, there is a low level of property right protection (Shen 27).
The common impediment for all countries lies in economic freedom as all countries except India
have a low level of economic freedom.
In conclusion, even though BRICS cooperation has differences in their economic
structures, political organization, and cultures, they have managed to form a formidable group
with their economic might. The major differences between the countries is in their drivers of
growth and economic deregulation measures while their similarities are in the economic
development through human capital, infrastructure, economic freedom, and protection of
property rights.

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Works Cited

Cooper, Andrew F. The BRICS: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Shen, Liyin, et al. “Dynamic sustainability performance during urbanization process between
BRICS countries.” Habitat International 60 (2017): 19-33.