Final answer:
Goldman Sachs predicted in the early 2000s that the BRIC countries could double their global economic growth contribution by 2025, a projection supported by the rapid growth rates in GDP per capita experienced by these nations in preceding decades.
Step-by-step explanation:
Initial predictions by Goldman Sachs in the early 2000s suggested that the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) could increase their share of world economic growth from 20 percent in 2003 to over 40 percent by 2025. These forecasts were grounded in observable trends of rapid growth within these countries. For instance, Brazil's GDP per capita saw an average annual growth rate of 11.1% from 1968 to 1973. Similarly,
East Asian nations like South Korea and Taiwan experienced growth rates between 11% to 12% per year in GDP per capita during the 1970s. Moreover, China demonstrated robust economic expansion with a 9% per annum growth in per capita GDP from 1984 into the 2000s, and India exhibited an increasing growth trend with rates initially around 4% in the 1990s and ascending towards 7% to 8% annually in the 2000s. These substantial growth rates contribute to the credibility of the initial BRIC projections made by Goldman Sachs.