Progress and Shortcomings: The BRICS and the Financing Mechanisms They Created

Comprising an estimated total population of nearly 3.21 billion people, the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa constitute the world’s five major emerging economies and are a significant influence on international affairs.

In 2012, the BRICS took the momentous decision to establish their own financing mechanisms, including a new monetary fund known as the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, and their own source of development financing, the New Development Bank. Nearly ten years on, what has been the effect of these new financing mechanisms, and where are shortcomings most pronounced? In a post-COVID-19 global economy, how can the BRICS financing mechanisms be expanded and what is the likely future of the BRICS as a cooperation mechanism? And is joint action by the five countries likely to remain an important feature of the international landscape in the decades to come?

A new book by Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr., a Brazilian economist who was one of the founding members of the New Development Bank, assesses the progress and shortcomings of the BRICS financing mechanisms to date, finding that while the innovations still hold great promise, much remains to be done to fulfill the founders’ plans and intentions. The book is in part an insider´s account of the negotiations that led the BRICS on the path to creating their own development bank, including episodes and difficulties in reaching results and in developing the new financing mechanisms. It also presents an analysis of the aspects of the international economy and the international relations of the BRICS, in particular of their often problematic relations with the West.

On Thursday, October 28, from 9:00-10:00 AM EDT // 3:00-4:00 PM CEST, join the webinar discussion and book launch, featuring Nogueira Batista and experts on the BRICS, development financing and South-South cooperation.

Speakers:

• Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr: Economist, Celso Furtado Chair of Macroeconomics and Development, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; Former Vice-President of the New Development Bank in Shanghai; Former Executive Director for Brazil and other countries to the International Monetary Fund

• Gregory Chin: Associate Professor of Political Science, York University, Canada; Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies

• Leslie Elliott Armijo: Adjunct Professor, School for International Studies, Simon Fraser University

• Chris Humphrey: Senior Research Associate, Overseas Development Institute; Senior Scientist, ETH Center for Development and Cooperation (NADEL)

• Magalie Masamba (Moderator): Global China Post-doctoral Fellow, Boston University Global Development Policy Center; Post-doctoral Fellow, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria

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