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 Strauss, Neil 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. Parente, Edward C. Prescott
The Great Convergence: Information Technology and the New Globalization
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
Understanding China: A Guide to China’s Economy, History, and Political Culture
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:
- Ed Yardeni’s a bit more cautious (Yardeni)
- It feels like 1997 (macromon)
- Globalization with Chinese characteristics (Project Syndicate)
- Trump will escalate his trade war with China (Project Syndicate)
- The US trade deficit is not caused by low savings (Carnegie Pettis)
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
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)