Sharma heads a leading emerging markets fund. In Breakout Nations he shows how to see each market individually, on its own merits. Those like Russia and Brazil are over-dependent on oil prices and haven’t invested enough in infrastructure; and while China’s nationalism helps solidify consumer culture, the rise of provincial politics in India has the opposite effect. Ruchir mixes economic analysis with on-the-ground observations on emerging and frontier nations.
Ruchir Sharma is Head of Emerging Markets at the US based financial services firm, Morgan Stanley Investment Management. He also writes for Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal and received international acclaim for his book, Breakout Nations.
The book profiles twenty emerging and frontier markets, offering rules for spotting the signs of economic success. To identify future stars, we should avoid simply extrapolating from the past and stop lumping together wildly diverse countries. Sustained performance is rare. Russia and Brazil are over-dependent on oil prices and haven’t invested enough in infrastructure; and while China’s nationalism helps solidify consumer culture, the rise of provincial politics in India has the opposite effect. The new ‘breakout nations’ will probably spring from the margins.
In his book and presentation Sharma considers which markets are well placed to beat current expectations and do markedly better than others in their peer group. Mixing economic analysis with on-the-ground observations, he explains just why overpriced cocktails in Rio are a sign of revival in Detroit; how the threat of the ‘population bomb’ is now a competitive advantage; and how a shakeout in emerging markets could shift attention back to the West, especially American technology and German manufacturing.
Outside business and travel (he usually spends one week each month in a developing country), Ruchir’s main preoccupation is sprinting. He has represented India in the World Masters, a track and field event for men and women over 35.
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