BRIC nations

In economics, BRIC (typically rendered as "the BRICs" or "the BRIC countries" or known as the "Big Four") is a grouping acronym that refers to the related countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

The acronym was coined by Jim O'Neill in a 2001 paper entitle "The World Needs Better Economic BRICs" .The acronym has come into widespread use as a symbol of the shift in global economic power away from the developed G7 economies toward the developing world.

According to a paper published in 2005, Mexico and South Korea are the only other countries comparable to the BRICs, but their economies were excluded initially because they were considered already more developed. Goldman Sachs argued that, since they are developing rapidly, by 2050 the combined economies of the BRICs could eclipse the combined economies of the current richest countries of the world. The four countries, combined, currently account for more than a quarter of the world's land area and more than 40% of the world's population.

The BRIC's Thesis

Goldman Sachs argues that the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China is such that they could become among the four most dominant economies by the year 2050. The thesis was proposed by Jim O'Neill, global economist at Goldman Sachs. These countries encompass over 25% of the world's land coverage and 40% of the world's population and hold a combined GDP (PPP) of 15.435 trillion dollars. On almost every scale, they would be the largest entity on the global stage. These four countries are among the biggest and fastest growing emerging markets.

However, it is not the intent of Goldman Sachs to argue that these four countries are a political alliance (such as the European Union) or any formal trading association, like ASEAN. Nevertheless, they have taken steps to increase their political cooperation, mainly as a way of influencing the United States position on major trade accords, or, through the implicit threat of political cooperation, as a way of extracting political concessions from the United States, such as the proposed nuclear cooperation with India.

(2003) Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050

Here's what Goldman Sachs had to say in its original report (defended in the paper Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050) "Dreaming with BRICS: The Path to 2050," published in 2003:

·         China's economy will surpass Germany in the next few years, Japan by 2015, and the United States by 2041.

·         India's growth rate will be the highest—not China's -- and it will overtake Japan (today the world's second-largest economy) by 2032.

·         BRICs’ currencies could appreciate by 300% over the next 50 years, providing a big tailwind for investors in BRIC assets.

·         Taken together, the BRICs could be larger than the United States and the developed economies of Europe within 40 years.