The BRIC group of countries consists of Brazil, Russia, India and China. BRIC describes the growing power and influence of the emerging markets of these countries in the global economy. In recent years, all four BRIC countries have experienced rapid economic growth, especially China.
The BRIC countries were predicted to account for 37% of global growth between 2011 and 2016 and this will increase their share of global output to 23%. On the other hand, the proportion of the G7 economies’ global output is forecasted to fall from 48% to 44% over the same period of time. This data suggests that the growth of the BRIC economies is having a negative impact on the major economies.
Manufacturing in the Europe and North America has been slumping in recent years due to the increasing price of raw materials and labour. People are being replaced with high-tech engineering hence there are fewer jobs. As a result of this, a lot of manufacturing is being moved to the BRIC countries where labour costs are raw materials are cheap. This is having an adverse effect on countries such as the UK. For instance, the UK car manufacturing industry cannot compete with China in terms of prices and output, hence leading to a decline in the industry.
The buying power of consumers in the BRIC countries has improved as their economies have grown. Confidence has also increased within businesses and consumers, leading to more economic activity. As a result of this there have been more opportunities for other countries to export their goods to the BRIC countries. In addition, many brands and stores are expanding into these countries to fill gaps in not yet occupied in the emerging markets. The expansion opportunities for businesses in the BRICs will encourage growth in the global economy. However, the gaps in the emerging markets are being filled rapidly by