South Africa and BRICS: Assessing the Flying Geese Strategy as a Re-Distributional Mechanism for Inclusive Economic Gains

Almost a decade and a half has passed since South Africa joined BRICS in 2010 and it is yet to reap the full economic benefits and advantages which it was promised. For this reason, this article assesses the extent to which the ‘Flying Geese’ model can assist South Africa, as a late comer to BRICS, to catch up with the other members within the grouping by expanding its market presence. It will do so by examining the GDP composition of each of the original BRICS member states between 2010 and 2022 in order to identify which labour-intensive economic activities may be passed down from the so-called “lead goose”, being China, to the latecomer, South Africa. It will analyse the extent to which BRIC nations have shifted its production from consumer to capital goods and whether this is reflected in the grouping’ sexports, as suggested by the Flying Geese model. The article will also make brief use of the Cobb-Douglas production function to showcase the relationship between output and production inputs within BRICS. This article earmarks the textile manufacturing industry as one such sector for consideration. Textile manufacturing activitiesare already being relinquished from China to India, and indeed a newcomer, Ethiopia. It provides recommendations and caveats for the plausible adoption of this development strategy for the BRICS+ group as a means to strengthen South Africa’s manufacturing base, and thereby help address its pressing socioeconomic concerns of high youth unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment.