The MINT Countries: A Regression Analysis of the Selected Economic Features

Abstract

The BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – are being considered as potential powerhouses of the world economy. These countries have formalized their cooperation, and later, with the joining of South Africa, became the BRICS. They are often perceived as proponents of a multipolar world, choosing multipolarity over unipolarity, and supporting political institutions and organizations, at the same time creating alternative financial institutions to the hegemonic ones (the IMF and the World Bank), still dominated by the developed economies of the Western countries. So, what about a different group of countries, called the MINT countries or simply the MINTs that are emerging, growing economies, are heterogeneous as BRICS, but not nearly as large and powerful, and are located on four different continents, with no formal cooperation between themselves such as the BRICS? This article analyses the basic economic trends in the MINT countries by analyzing the linear relationship between GDP as the dependent variable and household consumption, foreign direct investment and government consumption as the independent variables. The general model is as follows: Δ log GDPt = α0 + α1 Δ log FDIt + α2 Δ log PCt + α3 Δ log GCt +εt. The analysis was conducted using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. By conducting this analysis, it is possible to conclude that the MINT countries have significant differences in regards to the statistical relevance of the chosen independent variables. One of the rare common traits of these four economies is that FDI does not seem to have a statistically significant impact on their development. This article concludes that the MINT countries may have a significant role in international relations as regional powers, but they do not have the economic or political traits necessary to challenge the BRICS countries significantly.