Leid Stories - 07.15.15

2015-07-15

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Puerto Rico: The Making and Breaking of An ‘Emerging Market’On June 29, Governor Alejandro García Padilla of Puerto Rico declared that the U.S. commonwealth’s $72.6-billion debt is “not payable.” His announcement confirmed creditors’ and bondholders’ worst fears and set in motion a mad scramble in the financial and political worlds to find a workable solution. Nothing yet, but it is certain that any solution will involve severe austerity measures the people of Puerto Rico will have to endure.

Puerto Rico: The Making and Breaking of An ‘Emerging Market’

On June 29, Governor Alejandro García Padilla of Puerto Rico declared that the U.S. commonwealth’s $72.6-billion debt is “not payable.” His announcement confirmed creditors’ and bondholders’ worst fears and set in motion a mad scramble in the financial and political worlds to find a workable solution. Nothing yet, but it is certain that any solution will involve severe austerity measures the people of Puerto Rico will have to endure.

For decades Puerto Rico’s star was shining bright in the constellation of emerging markets. Mauro F. Guillén, co-author of Emerging Markets Rule: Growth Strategies of the New Global Giants, explains the making and breaking of Puerto Rico as an emerging market.

Guillén is the director of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and holds the Dr. Felix Zandman Endowed Professorship in International Management at The Wharton School. He also holds a secondary appointment as a professor of sociology in at the University of Pennsylvania.

His most recent books are Global Turning Points (2012) and Emerging Markets Rule (2012).

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