Emerging Markets: Preferences,R isks,Performance...

The paper surveys the most important literature on emerging markets and their performance. Emerging market countries are defined here as the countries with low intuitional capacity in general, rather than the countries with particular economic characteristics and per capita income; although the latter is the predominant view in the current literature. The paper places particular importance on the legal system and legal order (compliance) in the transitional economies, stressing the importance of adequate regulation where even more advanced regulatory models, like market regulation, should not be totally excluded. Despite many common characteristics, emerging markets differ significantly one from another and it is very difficult, if really not impossible, to create one ‘general theory of emerging markets’ and its financial behaviour. Finally, the practice in the last decade or so, has proven that emerging markets are somewhat unpredictable and difficult to model.