This book has a lot of great insights, but it reads as a very long academic paper.

The author describes how he uses some indicators to build his own indicators so he can assess the risks in various emerging markets. All his work is based on academic research.

It is a very neat and nuanced work and I'm grateful the author has shared his methodology. He focuses on "operational inefficiencies, restrictions on foreign participation, poor governance and transparency rules, weak legal protections for investors and political instability.

The reason I read it is because he was hired by Dimensional Fund Advisors in order to help them with an objective criteria by which they should judge emerging countries. This book is the result of that project.