Recent trends in bond markets

This paper reviews recent trends in the development of debt markets in the emerging economies. The paper is divided into two main parts: the first part analyses the size and growth of debt markets and the macroeconomic aspects of their development; and the second discusses the main microeconomic and institutional characteristics of emerging debt markets. The analysis in both parts focuses on domestic debt markets. The paper shows that, despite considerable growth, domestic debt markets in the emerging economies remain small compared to industrial countries – on average, equivalent to about one third of GDP.