Are the BRICs Broken?

The Elcano Royal Institute is a think-tank for international and strategic studies that analyses world events and trends from a Spanish, European and global perspective.

The Elcano Royal Institute's Expert Comments are 1,000- to 1,500 word pieces produced by the Elcano Royal Institute's analysts as an immediate response to international events relevant to Spain.
Over four years ago, when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, what had so far been the US subprime meltdown turned into a global financial crisis. Since then, life has been tough for the Western economies, struck by low growth or recession, unemployment, financial drought, fiscal deficit, mounting public debt, consumption in the doldrums and social unrest. These are just some of the symptoms of the West’s deep financial, economic and even social and political crises.

In such a context, it is very tempting to interpret the slow growth in China or Brazil as an indicator that the so-called emerging countries also jumped on the decade’s cheap financing bandwagon that has now come to an end for all of us.

Towards the eighth BRICS Summit: What future for the 'emerging power' bloc? http://www.europeansources.info/record/towards-the-eighth-brics-summit-what-future-for-the-emerging-power-bloc/

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