How Solid are the BRICs?

Dec 2005 Source: Global Investment Research

Four years on, we examine whether the BRICs economies are still on track

  • Since we began writing on the BRICs, each country has grown more strongly than our initial projections. Our updated forecasts suggest the BRICs can realise the "dream" more quickly than we thought in 2003.

  • The case for including the BRICs directly in global economic policymaking is now overwhelming.

  • We present the prospects for another set of developing countries, a group we call the N-11—the Next Eleven. Of them, only Mexico and perhaps Korea have the capacity to become as important globally as the BRICs.

  • We introduce a Growth Environment Score (GES), which aims to summarize the overall structural conditions and policy settings for countries globally. Improving long-term foundations is key to converting potential into reality.

  • Encouragingly, the BRICs themselves are all in the top half of the rankings for developing countries. While the BRICs are generally progressing, there is a need for considerable further policy improvement in each. 

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Jim O'Neill
Managing Director, Investment Management Division
Dominic Wilson
Managing Director, Global Investment Research Division
Anna Stupnytska
Vice President, Investment Management Division