Modern trends and features of the development of the BRICS group of countries as a regional integration association

Abstract

The presented work opens a series of articles on the economic and political aspects of the development of the BRICS countries. This article discusses the current trends in the development of the BRICS countries, which began to form even before the current geopolitical crisis. Particular attention in the framework of the present study was paid to the periodization of the events that took place in the period under study and their relationship with the dynamics of macroeconomic indicators of the BRICS countries under study, among which, in the framework of this work, the following were considered in most detail: GDP of the BRICS countries and related indicators, in particular, share of BRICS in world GDP; the share of each country in the total BRICS GDP; dynamics of foreign trade of the BRICS countries; the given indicators of the population of the BRICS countries. Of interest is the hypothesis proposed in this paper, according to which the BRICS, which is a political union, may also have signs of an economic association, which, under certain conditions, can become an economic union in the future, which is the highest form of economic integration, which includes the signs of a customs union (cancellation customs duties in trade), common market (free movement of capital and persons), monetary union (unifi cation of fiscal and monetary policy). To substantiate the legitimacy of the indicated hypothesis, within the framework of the presented work, the indicators indicated above are considered, which make it possible to describe the economic characteristics of the presented association in a dynamic setting, which will also make it possible to analyze cross-country relationships in terms of their economic component.