Does Globalization Promote Human Development in Emerging Economies? Evidence from a Panel Analysis of BRICS Countries

Abstract

This study has provided an empirical answer to the question whether globalization promotes human development in emerging economies using the case study of BRICS countries. The study subjected the annual data between 1990 and 2019 extracted from the World Bank and UNCTAD databases to econometric analysis. It is important to stress that, in the light of the empirical analyses, the study establishes the following findings; the existence of a co-integrating linkage between globalisation and human development was confirmed in BRICS countries. In the same vein, globalization components-FDI inflows as percentage of GDP and trade openness had a positive and significant relationship with human development in BRICS countries. Moreover, both capital formation and internet users had positive and significant relationship with human development. This is strong evidence that that globalization promotes human development in BRICS countries in the long run. As a result of this finding, this study makes the following recommendations for the policymakers in BRICS countries, and by extension other emerging economies that since the economic components of globalization promote human development in these countries, any time the goal of the policymakers is the achievement of human development in the long run, promotion of policies that would facilitate FDI inflows and trade surpluses simultaneously should be of the priorities by these policymakers.