What's in a name? Exploring the EM acronyms

The phrase ‘emerging markets’ encompasses so much of the world that generalisations are almost inevitably wrong. The temptation, therefore, is to lump together countries which have common characteristics. One is sheer size: the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) account for over 40% of the seven billion people living on this planet and more than a quarter of global GDP, when adjusted for price levels in different countries. The thinking behind the acronym was that the group would co-ordinate policy to enable sustainable economic development. Some have claimed South Africa should ...