Comparative Analysis of Economic Development Factors for BRIC-S Countries

<p>Annotation</p><p>The research work is devoted to the study of the influence of various social and economic factors on a country&rsquo;s development. The importance of the analysis is linked to the changes in global economic development trends. In particular, nowadays a considerable decrease in growth rates is observed in most of the countries. The countries under study are BRIC and Singapore. The loss of economic appeal of these countries comparing to newly emerged rivals, such as Singapore makes it essential to analyse these economies in order to figure out their development potential, the opportunities for cooperation in various spheres that would enhance countries&rsquo; development. Moreover, this cooperation can increase the influence the BRIC forum has on the world community and enable conducting common economic policies. Besides, the comparison with Singapore&rsquo;s economic performance can reveal the development strategies that could be applied by BRIC countries. In modern economic studies several economic growth factors are considered. They are the development of the financial sector, infrastructure development, the inflows of foreign direct investments to national economies, political stability and government expenditures.&nbsp;</p><p>In the research the hypotheses about the influence if the factors described in the theoretical part is tested. In modern statistical calculations the economic growth is often determined as an increase in real GDP per capita. The statistic data used in the analysis is provided by international online databases and BRIC statistical publications.The time frame for the research is from 2005 to 2012. Such a choice makes it possible to assess the countries&rsquo; development before the world financial crisis, overcoming of the crisis and further development. The main objective of the project is to identify the factors that propelled the economic growth of the BRIC member-countries by conducting econometric analysis of various macroeconomic parameters.The practical use on the research consists in revealing the aspects of countries&rsquo; development strategies that are needed to be changed.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In order to achieve the set goals it is necessary to conduct econometric analysis. The regression model that lays in the basis of the research includes six explicative variables. They are the share of economically active population in total population of the country, government expenditure on education in per cents of GDP, domestic credits originated by the financial sector, government expenditure on research and development, in per cents of GDP. After conducting the research it is possible to make the following conclusions. First of all, there is a strong governmental influence on economic development of all the countries under consideration. This influence is cause by the reforming of economies, generally these reforms influence a particular sphere or a particular development factor. Then the economic development factors that propelled economic growth were revealed. Russian economic growth is based on exports and is possible due to the high economic appeal to foreign investors. In India the growth is caused by the development of innovations and the sphere of services, while foreign direct investments have no significant influence on growth rates. The significance of labour force is decreasing in China. This is caused by the improvement of living standards and the raise of salaries, thus, the production costs rise and the country loses its competitive advantage. Nonetheless, exports still play a significant role in country&rsquo;s economy. Singapore&rsquo;s development is characterized by a strong positive influence of the government expenditures and of the share of economically active population on economic development. The government&rsquo;s expenditure on research and development also plays a significant role. Consequently, it is possible to conclude that each country has its unique economic development model, and therefore it is impossible to develop a common development strategy, that would efficiently work for all BRIC countries. At the same time, Singapore serves as a good example of positive impact the government expenditure on social development has on economic performance while BRIC countries failed to invest in social sphere being concentrated on economic aspects. Such a policy leads to a short-term growth, but couldn&rsquo;t sustain a long term development.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>