ANALÝZA EKONOMICKÉHO VÝVOJE ZEMÍ BRICS V LETECH 2010-2021

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to assess the economic development of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) in comparison with the other G7 world powers in the period 2010-2021. The thesis uses annual panel data and in particular macroeconomic indicators such as GDP, unemployment rate, inflation rate, exchange rate, and current account balance of payments. The analysis is carried out at two levels. A comparison directly between the BRICS countries and in the second part these results are applied to a comparison with the G7 countries. The paper also focuses on a more detailed comparison within the BRICS grouping and in particular on China as a totalitarian state and the most populous state in the world compared to other formally democratic states in the grouping. The purpose of the paper is to assess whether the economic policies of these countries have led to improvement, stagnation or deterioration in economic indicators compared to the advanced economies within the G7 during the second decade of the 21st century. Data are drawn from the IMF, World Bank and academic literature. The paper concludes that the BRICS economic grouping has managed to approach the G7 countries by means of the observed macroeconomic indicators during the period under study and may be their strong equal partner in the future.