A Reading List for Emerging Markets

Here is a list of books that I think are useful and interesting for any investor seeking to understand investing in emerging markets. The list reflects my bias for long-term investing rooted in knowledge of history and business cycles. I have included only books published in English, which is a big restriction. Also, I have not included basic investing books, which is an entirely sparate list.

The list is divided into three sections.

  • Macro Economics and Business Cycles
  • Development and Economic Convergence
  • Regions and Countries

The books in each section are listed in no particular order.

1 Macro-economics, business-cycles and financial bubbles

 The Volatility Machine by Michael Pettis

This Time is Different by Reinhart and Rogoff

The Bubble Economy by Chris Wood

Inflation and Monetary Regimes by Peter Bernholz

Money and Capital in Economic Development by Ronald McKinnon

How to Make Money with Global Macro by Javier Gonzalez

Business cycles: history, theory and investment reality by Lars Tvede

Emerging market portfolio strategies, investment performance, transaction cost and liquidity risk by Roberto Violi and  Enrico Camerini II (Link)

Against the Gods by Peter Bernstein

 Alchemy of Finance by George Soros

The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny by William StraussNeil Howe

Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages by Carlota Perez

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay

Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, by  Charles P. Kindleberger and Robert Z. Aliber

Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation by Edward Chancellor

 

2 Development and Economic Convergence

 

 

Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century, Vol. I: The Structure of Everyday Life by Fernand Braudel

The  Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000  by William H. McNeill

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor by David S. Landes

Energy and Civilization: A History  by Vaclav Smil

Barriers to Riches (Walras-Pareto Lectures) by Stephen L. ParenteEdward C. Prescott

The Great Convergence: Information Technology and the New Globalization

by Richard Baldwin

A Discussion of Modernization Li Lu (Link)

Slouching Towards Utopia?: AnEconomic History of the Long 20th Century, Brad Delong

Breakout Nations. In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles by Rushir Sharma

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty  by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor by David S. Landes

The Birth of Plenty : How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created by William J. Bernstein

Why Did Europe Conquer the World?    by Philip T. Hoffman

Empire of Cotton: A Global History  by Sven Beckert

The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000 by William H. McNeil

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

How to get Filthy Rich in a Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid

AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee

Growth and Interaction in the World Economy by Angus Maddison

 

 

3 Regions and Countries

 

Latin America

 

Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot by Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Alvaro Vargas Llosa

Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism by Sebastian Edwards

 

 

Brazil

 

Brazil: A Biography by Lilia M. Schwarcz and Heloisa M. Starling

The Military in Politics: Changing Patterns in Brazil by Alfred C. Stepan

Brazillionaires: Wealth, Power, Decadence, and Hope in an American Country 

by Alex Cuadros

Brazil: The Troubled Rise of a Global Power by Michael Reid

Lanterna na Popa by Roberto Campos

A Concise History of Brazil by  Boris Fausto

A History of Brazil by E. Bradford Burns

 

Mexico

 

The Course of Mexican History by Michael C. Meyer and William L. Sherman

Mexico: Biography of Power. A History of Modern Mexico, 1810-1996 by Enrique  Krauze

 

Turkey and the Middle East

 The Political Economy of Turkey by Zulkuf Aydin

Midnight at the Pera Palace. The Birth of Modern Instanbul, by Charles King

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power by Daniel Yergin

The Yacoubian Building by  Alaa Al Aswany

 

Russia

 

Wheel of Fortune. The Battle for Oil and Power in Russia by Thane Gustafson 2012

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder

The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia  by Masha Gessen

 

 

 

Asia

 

Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia by Joe Studwell

How Asia Works: Success and Failure in the World’s Most Dynamic Region

by Joe Studwell

Lords of the Rim by Sterling Seagrave

 

 

China

 

Factions and Finance in China by Victor C. Shih

Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics. Entrepreneurship and the State by Yasheng Huang

China’s Crony Capitalism: The Dynamics of Regime Decay  by Minxin Pei

CEO, China: The Rise of Xi Jinping by Kerry Brown

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang

Avoiding the Fall. China’s Economic Restructuring by  Michael Pettis

The River at the Center of the World by Simon Winchester

Mr. China by Tim Clissold

The China Strategy by Edward Tse

River Town  by Peter Hessler

The Economic History of China: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century

by Richard von Glahn

Understanding China: A Guide to China’s Economy, History, and Political Culture 

by John Bryan Starr

China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know  by  Arthur R. Kroeber

Modern China by Jonathan Fenby

The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth by Barry Naughton

Wealth and Power. China’s Long March to the 20th Century by David Schell and John Delury

China’s New Confucianism by Daniel Bell

China Fireworks: How to Make Dramatic Wealth from the Fastest-Growing Economy in the World by Robert Hsu

Cracking the China Conundrum: Why Conventional Economic Wisdom Is Wrong

by Yukon Huang

Little Rice: Smartphones, Xiaomi, and the Chinese Dream  by Clay Shirky

Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built  by Duncan Clark

 

India

 

India – A Wounded Civilization by by V. S. Naipaul

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

 India’s Long Road: The Search for Prosperity by Vijay Joshi

The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age by James Crabtree 

Capital: The Eruption of Delhi by Rana Dasgupta

Investing in India: A Value Investor’s Guide to the Biggest Untapped Opportunity in the World by Rahul Saraogi

 

Macro Watch:

India Watch:

  • India’s strong economy leads global growth (IMF)
  • (King coal rules India (Economist)

China Watch:

  • China vs. the U.S.: the other deficits (Caixing)
  • Media warns to avoid Japan’s mistakes (SCMP)
  • China needs to get its house in order (SCMP)
  • China resumes urban rail incestments (Caixing)
  • Chinese firm will take over Iran gas project (Bloomberg)

China Technology Watch

  • How WeChat conquered China (SCMP)
  • Why do Western digital tech firms fail in China (AOM)
  • Hayden Capital on China tech investments (HaydenCapital)
  • A deep look into Alibaba’s 20F (Deep Throat)
  • China’s rise in bio-tech (WSJ)

EM Investor Watch

  • Turkey could be worse than Greece (dlacalle)
  • The West’s broken relationsip with Turkey (Project Syndicate)
  • Africa cannot count on growth dividend (FT)

Tech Watch

  • Drones in mining (Youtube)
  • The future of batteries (Wired)

Investing

  • Li Lu’s lecture at Beijing University (Himalaya Capital)
  • Charlie Munger and Li Lu Interview (Guru Focus)
  • Interview with Bill Nygren (Youtube)
  • The 8 best predictors of market returns (WSJ)