Why Asian economies are the only EMs in the fast lane

Roderick Snell, manager of the Baillie Gifford Pacific fund, analyses why out of the entire emerging market universe, only a handful of Asian economies have managed to produce sustainable real GDP growth rates of more than 6%.

An unfortunate emerging market truth is the vast majority of countries are not, and have never been close to, sustainably producing the 6% to 7% plus real GDP growth rates needed to bring income levels close to developed market minimum levels. Average EM growth between circa 1960 until 2000 was closer to a paltry 4%, with EMs in aggregate losing share of global GDP in dollar terms. The exceptions are the Asia countries - Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and China; all of which have achieved 6% to 7% plus growth over several decades and progressed towards developed economies...