Interview: Ruchir Sharma, and future economic miracles

You know the script by now: the world’s economy is being built by the BRICs. It has been the standard analysis for more than a decade, but flailing western countries have come to place evermore trust in the enterprise of Brazil, Russia, India and China. But have expectations become excessive? Ruchir Sharma, author of a new book called Breakout Nations, believes so. He argues that the last decade was exceptional and that we need to recalibrate our approach to emerging markets. He identifies a number of nations which are ripe to breakout in the next few years, including Indonesia and Nigeria.

His economic case is compelling, but its political underpinnings are shaky at times. For example, the Nigerian government embezzles billions of dollars every year, which concentrates the country’s vast wealth in the hands of self-anointed elites.