BRIC vs. US/UK/Europe - Cricket Test Match

Recently while watching a 1 day cricket match between India and Australia an analogy strikes my mind. Let me first introduce some basic terms related to my analogy. Since this is a very broad topic, I have provided links to various articles to give you more insight.

Economy? - An economy is the realized system of human activities related to the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services of a country. It can simply be a measure of the progress a country is making in terms of products, services, assets and reserved wealth.

Cricket? - A game very similar to baseball with 11 players instead of 9 on each side (batsmen, bowlers and fielders). Check this 4 minute video about cricket. TEST match is something played over a 5 days period with each team playing twice where as 1 day is shorter and more interesting form of the game.

Backgorund: Few years back USA, UK and European union were considered the only major players on the economical cricket field but now focus is shifting to Asia, Brazil, Russia and other developing countries. US and other major developed countries are still leading the world economy in terms of trades (import and export), domestic consumption and products. But trends have been witnessed by major economist indicating that Brazil, Russia, India and China soon as early as 2025 will become the major player on the field. The term BRIC was coined by a global economist from Goldman Sachs to put forward a point that by 2050 these 4 countries will eclipse most of the richest countries.

Being an Indian I am a ardent follower of Cricket. I am going to simply compare 2 sides on how well their 11 players (listed below) are currently playing and helping for the Economic Growth of the country.

Team A - BRIC vs. Team B - US/UK/Europe

1. Infrastructure: Opening batsmen no 1, most critical for the team to win. Team A has recently realized the importance and is spending enough money to build roads, airports, railway networks, water supply system, sewage and other required infrastructure elements. Team B was smart enough to realize this long back during the world war era and build it; which gave them the edge over A. Not just building but maintaining critical infrastructure is of utmost importance.

2. Domestic product: GDP opening batsmen no 2, the player who should closely and intelligently work with no 1 and foster a long partnership to give a solid start to the team. Team B accounted for 45% of world GDP in 2007 but Team A is growing at a rapid pace. China and India are aiming and achieving nearly 9% GDP growth.

3. Natural Resources: In terms of natural resources both the teams are nearly equal. An 8 billion barrel capacity light oil field recently confirmed in Tupi, Brazil (News). Brazil if successful to draw the full capacity of the new discovery, will compete with Arabs in oil supply. India is one of the major player in steel, coal and copper. Russia accounts for around 20% of the world's production of oil and natural gas and possesses large reserves of both fuels.

4. Inflation: Inflation in simple terms is the rise in average price of goods which can be attributed to 2 factors: supply of money (how much money government is printing) and supply/demand of goods. This middle order batsmen has the responsibility to bring stability to the innings regardless the performance of first 3 players. Both teams are keeping a very close tab on inflation rate by controlling interest rate and domestic product supply. A & B are both performing equally well however US Recession is leading to higher inflation in US as well as affecting the world market.

5. Government Policies: How liberal is the economy, how open is government to foreign investors, what are the free trade policies ?, what is the import duty on commercial products like cars, etc ?. All these are driven by government policies. Team B liberalized economy pretty early and brought in enough outside money for growth. However Indian finance minister (currently prime minister of India) Dr. Manmohan Singh liberalized the Indian economy in the last decade. Giving infrastructure contracts to private companies brought in competition and hence better quality and timely completion of major projects. Read about China here.

6. Corruption: A parasite that hinder countries growth and spoils its image. It is prevalent globally but the problem for Team A is corruption to the very core. Corruption is US is at a very high level, within large organizations or government agencies. But for example in India corruption is everywhere; from 2000 rupee/month earning clerk to politicians at the top most seat in the country, from schools to industries. In China due to reluctance of communist for a political reform almost 10% of government spending goes in kickbacks and bribes.

7. Literacy: Key middle order player of the team who's service is always required. This player if an all rounder can immensely boost chances of the win. Team B achieved nearly 95% literacy, but for Team A again this is core issue which is holding it back to perform consistently. Team A is rapidly reforming education system to increase awareness for example China introduced English in primary standards to increase English speaking population. Brazil's 88% population can read and write. India is also pushing education to the villages and under developed areas in the country through social organizations.

8. Agriculture 9. Industries 10. Technology 11. Climate -----
    4 major bowlers of the team who should bowl well and take early wickets to put pressure on the opponent. These 4 players form the bowling backbone to push the countries economy. A country should be self sufficient to meet domestic demand of food through a developed Agriculture sector. However Climatic conditions like enough & timely rain can help player 8 immensely. So I can say #8 & #11 are the opening bowlers and should complement each other.

Industrial growth and use of the best available Technology can help the country to boost GDP. Team B (US/Britain) had their Industrial Revolution in early 1800's but Team A although started late is catching up now.

So the conclusion is that team B played their 1st innings very well and put up big score on the board. Now its team A's turn to play well and challenge team B.

I am not an economist or do not have in depth understanding of above mentioned 11 players but I just wanted to put forward a comparison between these two teams on which world is currently concentrating on.

Few interesting articles:
* Nicholas Vardy's Build Your Fortune BRIC By BRIC
* Four futures for China
* Six mega trends in India
* Is your state in Recession