In economics, BRIC is an acronym that refers to the fast-growing developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

The acronym was first coined and prominently used by Goldman Sachs in 2001. Goldman Sachs did not argue that the BRICs would organize themselves into an economic bloc, or a formal trading association, as the European Union has done.[6] However, there are strong indications that the "four BRIC countries have been seeking to form a 'political club' or 'alliance'", and thereby converting "their growing economic power into greater geopolitical clout". BRIC 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.[10] 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. BRICs political and economic changes Following the end of the Cold War or even before, the governments comprising BRIC all initiated economic or political reforms to allow their countries to enter the world economy. In order to compete, these countries have simultaneously stressed education, foreign investment, domestic consumption, and domestic entrepreneurship

The Path to 2050

The BRIC thesis[11] (defended in the paper Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050) recognizes that Brazil, Russia, India and China[12] have changed their political systems to embrace global capitalism. Goldman Sachs predicts China and India, respectively, to be the dominant global suppliers of manufactured goods and services while Brazil and Russia would become similarly dominant as suppliers of raw materials. Cooperation is thus hypothesized to be a logical next step among the BRICs because Brazil and Russia together form the logical commodity suppliers to India and China. Thus, the BRICs have the potential to form a powerful economic bloc to the exclusion of the modern-day states currently of "Group of Eight" status. Brazil is dominant in soy and iron ore while Russia has enormous supplies of oil and natural gas. Goldman Sachs' thesis thus documents how commodities, work, technology, and companies have diffused outward from the United States across the world.

To many the most dramatic outcome is the looming shift in the center of global economy. In fact, by 2050, four of the six biggest economies in the world (China, India, Japan, Russia) will be in greater Asia. Of the current G8 only the US and Japan may be among the six largest economies in US dollar terms in 2050.

BRIC Summit
Main article: 1st BRIC summit

Leaders at the 1st BRIC summit. From left are: President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva of Brazil; President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia; President Hu Jintao of China, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India. The BRIC countries met for their first official summit on 16 June 2009, in Yekaterinburg, Russia,[19] with Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the respective leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, all attending.[20] The core focus of the summit was related to improving the current global economic situation and discussing how the four countries can better work together in the future, as well as a more general push to reform financial institutions.[19][20] There was also discussion surrounding how developing nations, such as those members of BRIC, could be better involved in global affairs in the future.[20] In the aftermath of the summit the BRIC nations suggested that there was a need for a new global reserve currency that is 'diversified, stable and predictable'.[21] The foreign ministers of the BRIC countries had met previously on May 16, 2008 also in Yekaterinburg.[23]

One week prior to the summit, Brazil offered $10 billion to the International Monetary Fund.[24] It was the first time that the country had ever made such a loan.[24] Brazil had previously received loans from the IMF and this announcement was treated as a significant demonstration of how Brazil's economic position had changed.[24] China also announced plans to invest a total of $50 billion and Russia planned to invest $10 billion.[24]

Resurgent BRIC winning global race for investments

China overtook the United States as the world's biggest car market. And as incomes of 2.5 billion people steadily rise, company profits as well as stock markets will feel the effect. Fund tracker EPFR Global says BRIC-geared equity funds absorbed almost $20 billion in January to November 2009. This is double 2007 levels and equivalent to 40% of what was taken by emerging stock funds, some of which also went to the BRICs. Already, BRICs are outgunning broader emerging stocks -- the MSCI BRIC index is up 90% in 2009 versus 70% for MSCI EM, with only China lagging. What is happening is a rebalancing of global consumption, away from advanced economies and towards emerging markets, says Goldman Sachs, a process expedited by the shock caused to household wealth and employment by the financial crisis. GS predicts Chinese household consumption to rise 10% in 2010, with Brazilian and Indian demand also up over 5% while spending in the developed world remains flat. No wonder then that firms are rushing to set up production in the BRICs -- UNCTAD's 2009-2011 investment outlook survey found all four countries to be in the top five most favoured investment destinations with China topping the list.

Criticism
A criticism is that the BRIC projections are based on the assumptions that resources are limitless and endlessly available when needed. In reality, many important resources currently necessary to sustain economic growth, such as oil, natural gas, coal, other fossil fuels, and uranium might soon experience a peak in production before enough renewable energy can be developed and commercialized, which might result in slower economic growth than anticipated, thus throwing off the projections and their dates. The economic emergence of the BRICs will have unpredictable consequences for the global environment

Academics and experts have suggested that China is in a league of its own compared to the other BRIC countries.[31] As David Rothkopf wrote in Foreign Policy, They have effective veto power over any BRIC initiatives because without them, who cares really? They are the one with the big reserves. They are the biggest potential market. They are the U.S. partner in the G2 (imagine the coverage a G2 meeting gets vs. a G8 meeting) and the E2 (no climate deal without them) "economically, financially and politically, China overshadows and will continue to overshadow the other BRICs." It added that China's economy is larger than that of the three other BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia and India) combined.

China. Indeed, the Asian dragon is the only economy that can really challenge developed countries in the relatively short term, for it is projected to become as rich as the EU in the next 30 years. The economic crisis has given Beijing the opportunity to demonstrate its economic resilience, and the country could still reach its 8% growth target this year despite the worldwide recession. More than anything else, the crisis has empowered China which is now seen as a key and a mature global economic player Behind the dragon comes the elephant. India is undeniably an emerging economy, with a forecasted growth rate of more than 6 percent for the next several decades. It is already the second biggest economy within the BRIC at purchasing power parity, and it could deepen the gap with Brazil and Russia in the years to come. Moreover, India will not face a demographic challenge any time soon, as opposed to Russia and in the longer term China. Thus, India will follow the path of China but its emergence will be slower and all in all less impressive. Brazil and Russia are probably the least emergent among the emerging powers, but this is not to say that they are not emerging. After all, the Russian economy had an average annual growth of approximately 7 percent since 2000, and it is likely to maintain a superior growth to any Western country for the next decades, despite its economic, political and demographic challenges. Conclusion The rules of the great game for global power are changing. The US cannot play alone anymore. President Obama has already recognized China as a new major player, notably when he declared that the relationship between the United States and China will shape the 21st century during a visit. Russia and Europe are trying to stay in the game, while Brazil and India are trying to step in. They all have the potential to become major or middle powers, provided they avoid being game over. More players in the game also means that the way of playing is different