BRIC

" BRIC" in the business world is an acronym that usually refers to the countries Brazil, Russia, India and China. Although the term "BRIC" is increasingly bandied about, searching for information about it can be difficult since the same letters often also refer to companies or organizations and one has to wade through a lot of bric-a-brac to find material that is directly relevant to the subject of these powerful emerging markets. Our purpose here is to direct you quickly to the pertinent material.
Although the first reference to "BRIC" we have located was in the Spring of 2003, it is clear that the catalyst for analyses and articles is the paper published by Goldman Sachs in the Fall of 2003. The bibliographic details are provided here and a copy is available in the Business Library: "Dreaming With BRICs: The Path to 2050," Dominic Wilson and Roopa Purushothaman. Global Economics Paper No: 99, Oct. 1, 2003 (on this date (Sept. 19, 2005) the paper is still provided on the Goldman Sach's site - http://www.gs.com ).
The basic assertion made in the report is that "Over the next 50 years, Brazil, Russia, India and China - the BRIC economies- could become a much larger force in the world economy" and that the list of the largest 10 countries might look much different in 2050. The report covers about 25 pages and many of the major points made in the report are found summarized on the web. It is worth noting here one qualifying remark that is often overlooked: "The key assumption underlying our projections is that the BRICs maintain policies and develop institutions that are supportive of growth. Each of the BRICs faces significant challenges in keeping development on track. This means that there is a good chance that our projections are not met, either through bad policy or bad luck. But if the BRICs come anywhere close to meeting the projections set out here, the implications for the pattern of growth and economic activity could be large."(p.2)
Naturally there has been a great deal of excitement over the report in those countries that are viewed as the potential new economic powers and many articles can be found by using either Factiva or Lexis/Nexis. Below we have selected some that we perceive as being particularly useful and we have presented them in chronological order - from oldest to newest - so the reaction can be traced as it developed. Some Canadian publications are also provided in order to gauge the Canadian interest. One of the first responses to the report appeared in the Financial Post.