Finance & economics | Buttonwood

A different approach to investing in developing countries

The concept of emerging markets is strained. Time to think about economic growth models instead

FORTY YEARS ago Antoine van Agtmael of the International Finance Corporation pitched the idea of a “Third World Equity Fund” to sceptical fund managers, and the concept of emerging markets entered global investing. The aim had been to offer diversified exposure to fast-growing countries outside the rich world. Since then emerging and developing countries have, in aggregate, gained economic and corporate clout. But the vast disparities between them makes lumping them all into a single category increasingly odd. What might a new framework for investing outside of the rich world look like?

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Brave new world”

The shortage economy

From the October 9th 2021 edition

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