That experience has made them less skittish than they might have been five years ago about the turmoil that can damage emerging-market economies.

For the typical emerging-market economy, a "sustainable" government debt would be about one-third its current level, the report said.

China has done more than any other emerging-market economy to stimulate domestic demand through government spending.

The South African bond market is a leader among emerging-market economies.

Many companies in which he has invested are based in the developed world, but they generate a significant portion of their sales in emerging-market economies.

Consequently, many emerging-market economies lost confidence in the "pooled insurance" that the global system supposedly put at their disposal, especially at times of great need.

In 2012 as emerging-market economies slowed down, commodity prices declined.

For all three countries, Mr. Horne said, growth depends more on the performance of neighbors than of emerging-market economies.

Such a small government presence in the oil industry makes Russia the exception among emerging-market economies, he said.

China is no longer just another emerging-market economy.