Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Review of The Growth Map: Economic Opportunity in the BRICs and Beyond by Jim O'Neill

This review was written by Eugene Kernes

Book can be found in:
Genre = Economics

Short Description

Elaborate Description
Jim O’Niell coined the BRIC, which is short for Brazil, Russia, India, and China.  The BRICs were seen to be high growth countries because they have large populations which are engaging in international trade.  The basics of growth depends on population and productivity.  There cannot be sustained growth without an incentive for work, such as obtaining an appropriate income from labor.  More income means more consumption opportunities.  Resources do need to be better managed, but over time different resource sources can be found and consumption pattern change.  Each of the BRIC countries had a lot of problems, but they are willing to change and engage with the world.  

The author acknowledges the complexity of economics and does not appreciate lazy acceptance of consensus.  The problem is that any problem with the BRIC is denounced easily.  Even as the model changed and grew to be more inclusive with other countries, the basic model pretentiously holds.  The author also denounces people who did not lazily accept the model, and the detractors who consider its limitations.  The model may be well developed, but it remains a model that challenges reality.

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?
•What is the BRIC model?
•How do countries grow? 
•What determines the size of the economy?
•What are the limitations with each BRIC country and why is it part of the model? 
•Does the world have resources to sustain the increased growth? 

Book Details
Edition ISBN:  9781591844815
Pages to read:   232
Publication:     2011
1st Edition:      2011
Format:            Hardcover

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    5
Content          1
Overall           1