Turkey coup aside, EMs have become more stable

The failed military coup in Turkey has sent local financial markets into a tailspin and re-focused investors’ attention on broader EM political risk. However, political stability in emerging markets has actually been improving over the past few decades. The number of military coups (successful or unsuccessful) in EMs averaged over 10 a year during the 1960s and 1970s, but fewer than three a year in the 2000s. Turkey’s coup was the first one in the EM world this year. While the latest coup has cast a shadow over Turkey’s growth prospects, the improvement in political stability across emerging markets as a whole bodes well for EM economic prospects.