BRIC
BRIC
Fair Observer provides analysis of important issues, events and trends in the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
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Brazilian agricultural policy exacerbates income inequality and is environmentally unsustainable. Brazil has been considered an emerging regional leader in the international scene. Eyes have been turned to Latin America’s fastest growing economy and there is a tendency to believe that it will become the biggest food provider in the near future. The responsibilities are big and so is the discontent among Brazilians that do not believe sustainable policies are being properly adopted. According to the Ministry of Environment, Brazil is home to the largest biodiversity in the world. 20% of the world’s species live in the tropical country, especially in the Amazon region....
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360° Analysis / climate change / Rio de Janeiro / Rio+20 / Russia / Europe / BRIC / Environment & SustainabilityRussia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev spent the majority of Rio 20+ boasting Russia’s progress on carbon emission reductions, while ignoring the nation’s radioactive rivers and the plume of sulfur it belches over Norwegian skies. Despite bringing along a team of several dozen, including President Vladimir Putin’s chief climate advisor Alexander Bedritsky, the Russian negotiating position was focused less on what it can do on an international scale, and more on a laundry list of achievements it has made domestically in the way of sustainable development – which rang off key when balanced with the facts. The importance of Russia’s contribution to the event...
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360° Analysis / climate change / fuel subsidies / Rio de Janeiro / Rio+20 / BRIC / Americas / Environment & SustainabilityThe Rio 20+ earth summit failed to produce an agreement on the reduction of fossil fuel subsidies, which totaled $409bn in 2010 and continues to perpetuate inequalities in global energy consumption. One of the biggest failures of the Rio+20 conference is the lack of concrete measures to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and other policies that are clearly harmful to the environment. Policy makers dance around precise statistics in this debate, owing to the lack of agreement about the concept of a subsidy. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2010 countries spent 409 billion dollars to lower the price of petroleum, gas and carbon for their citizens. This represented a 36% increase...
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360° Analysis / Politics / BRIC / AsiaBy Lucio Blanco Pitlo III Vietnam’s burgeoning energy industry is helping to bolster its claim to disputed parts of the South China Sea, by getting foreign companies involved in its offshore exploration and production (E&P). Will this approach invite possible reprisals by China or other claimant states? Vietnam has made great strides in its energy industry since it opened up this sector to foreign investment in 1987. With the Hanoi government playing a leading role, Vietnam has gone beyond partnering the former USSR to engaging in joint cooperation with countries around the world. For a country wracked by decades of conflict, Vietnam’s achievements in its energy industry can...
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360° Analysis / emerging markets / Euro crisis / liquidity / United States / Europe / Finance & Economics / BRICBy Ulrich VolzUlrich Volz says that emerging countries need to brace themselves for a world of high global liquidity and volatile capital. The world economy has been in a state of fragility since the outbreak of the global financial crisis in September 2008. While most emerging countries navigated the crisis with relative success and staged strong recoveries in 2009, many advanced countries – not least in Europe – are still struggling with recession or tremors in their banking systems. Since 2010, the European banking and sovereign debt crisis has not only caused jitters in the global financial markets but has also sparked worries about contagious effects around the world, increasing the...
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By Janny WangThe relentless Chinese drive for expansion, and accompanying work culture, lead to tension with more laid-back African communities China’s media has never paid so much attention to Africa before. It’s not only because interactions between China and Africa are frequent, but also because the Chinese government likes to emphasize its ongoing business efforts in Africa. The Chinese government encourages central enterprises to expand investment and business operations in Africa and has been providing policy guidance and economic support. In fact, most of China’s investments or construction projects in Africa are started on the Chinese government’s initiative and not for...
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United States / Europe / 360° Context / BRIC / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Global Security / AsiaBy Ari KatzTerrorism remains a threat to safety and security of people around the world, from the Americas to China, Eurasia to Southeast Asia, and many countries in between. Governments must work hard to ensure their citizens are not harmed. Background In 2011, 10,000 terrorist attacks killed over 12,500 persons across the globe. Over a decade since the attacks of 9/11, terrorism remains a salient global threat. Although the definition lacks consensus, terrorism is generally characterized as the utilization of violence to coercively achieve an ideologically, politically, or religiously motivated end that is broader than the immediate effects of the means themselves. In short,...
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360° Analysis / United States / BRIC / Asia / HealthThe way that the United States and China currently spend their healthcare dollars differs sharply. In China, about half of healthcare spending is on pharmaceuticals, while in the United States only 10% is. Both nations are in the process of undergoing healthcare reform. While America is implementing the Affordable Care Act, aimed at decreasing healthcare utilization, China is implementing its 12th Five-Year Plan, which contains a number of healthcare provisions aimed at increasing healthcare utilization. Given the policies currently being pursued by both nations, it is likely that their pharmaceutical spending patterns will head towards convergence, with Americans spending a relatively...
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United States / 360° Context / BRIC / Asia / HealthBy Jeffrey ChenBoth China and the United States are undertaking reforms of their healthcare systems. Background The United States spends significantly more on healthcare than other developed nations - both on a per-capita basis and as a percentage of GDP. Yet, it lags behind other countries in such indicators as infant mortality and life expectancy. Although it is the only wealthy industrialized nation in the world that lacks some form of universal health care, in terms of quality of service for individuals the American healthcare system remains second to none. Coverage and access are significant issues – according to the U.S. Census Bureau, some 16% of Americans are uninsured, and studies suggest...
