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Projections for the global economy frequently center on the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. As futurists and economists alike define and re-define both formal and informal coalitions (for example, by broadening the R in BRIC to include all Eastern European economies or instead re-directing the discussion to G-8 countries or to World Trade Organization members), the education profiles of the individual nations sometimes resemble economic indicators: what is imported, what is exported, and what is the potential for expansion. Higher education, and specifically distance learning (the Clicks element of this paper), can already be charted in these terms for some nations. This paper describes the current role of distance learning in countries described as growing economies and proposes a typology for describing change as additional data become available. The paper informs readers of global developments in distance education, using the BRIC nations as examples.(Contains 3 figures, 4 tables, and 13 resources.)

Purpose: Considerable debate since the global financial crisis has been evident concerning the role of business schools. This article aims to outline the authors' research on their role. Design/methodology/approach: The paper begins with an overview of the significant literature highlighting the current debates impacting on business schools and their leaders. From this the authors argue that the most significant challenge is the role business schools should play in the resolution of urgent global issues. The paper then details and analyses the research and provides recommendations. Findings: The main finding from the research was that the leaders of participating business schools did not convey the impression that steering business toward helping humanity achieve a sustainable future and tackling urgent global issues was seen by them as one of their main current or future roles. Research limitations/implications: Funding constraints and the desire to make a timely contribution to the debate mean that this research is limited in scale. It is therefore viewed as a scoping study, paving the way for more detailed investigation and analysis, and recommendations for further research are provided. Originality/value: The authors argue that, rather than make the same mistakes as the West, BRIC economies and related business school leaders should be looking for an alternative strategy that would lead to a just, sustainable and fulfilling human presence on the planet. The authors also suggest that Type 1 European business schools are well advised to focus their limited resources locally but should be aware of global issues and bear them in mind in their actions. (Contains 2 tables.)

The rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will shape global resource use, the location of market demand and international institutions and interdependencies in the decade to come. In this paper we argue that an understanding of the historical and institutional context of the BRICs, and the potential shift towards a multi-polar world is important for developing curricula and content in international business courses in the future. Implications for international business theory and teaching are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

The paper analyses the patterns of export productivity and trade specialization profiles in Brazil, China, India and South Africa, and in other economic groupings and regions. Various measures of trade specialization and a time varying export productivity indicator are estimated using highly disaggregated export data. The findings reveal that there are important differences in the export productivity and specialisation patterns across countries and regions. Export productivity-and export sophistication-are in line to that of wealthier and more advance economies. The results further confirm the importance of not just the volume of exports, but the type of specialisation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the past two decades, Brazil, South Africa, and India have designed closer economic and political ties. Since the early 2000s, India has become an important economic and political partner for both Brazil and South Africa. International trade and foreign direct investment amongst them have expanded considerably, and closer political ties have evolved over the past two decades. This article elaborates on the increasing economic interdependence between India, Brazil and South Africa, addressing challenges, opportunities, and synergies between the three countries and their multinationals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional inequalities are large in India and Brazil and represent a development challenge. This article aims to determine whether regional inequalities are linked to a country's trade openness. An annual indicator of regional inequalities is constructed for India for the period 1980–2004 and for Brazil from 1985–2004. Results from time series regressions show that Brazil's trade openness contributes to a reduction in regional inequalities. The opposite result is found for India. India's trade openness is an important factor aggravating income inequality among Indian states. In both countries, inflows of foreign direct investment are found to increase regional inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

India and Brazil are among the fastest growing economies of the world and are widely projected as major economies of future. Indo-Brazil links go back five centuries. In recent years, relations between Brazil and India have grown considerably and co-operation between the two countries has been extended to diverse areas such as science and technology, pharmaceuticals and space. Bilateral trade has jumped to USD 3.12 billion in 2007, from a mere USD 488 million in 2000. The two sides have set a target of USD 10 billion trade by 2010. Though it will be a small fraction of trade of each country and with the existing trends it may be a challenging target to achieve. Due to large size of economies and high growth rates as well as growing political will from both sides, the bilateral trade will grow further and would have significant impact on global trade and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]