Heightened risk aversion Since 2014, rising risk aversion has hit emerging markets especially hard in terms of lower capital flows and asset prices. Sources of concern have included economic  3  Analysts’ estimates for global and U.S. GDP are, respectively, 2.5 and 1.5 percent in 2016, and 2.8 and 2.2 percent in 2017. See Consensus Forecasts and Latin American Consensus Forecasts, October 2016.
5  and political issues, such as Chinese economic health and policy actions there, and Brexit. However, a persistent factor during the last few years has been uncertainty over the degree of monetary accommodation in advanced countries, particularly the United States. Central banks have become more proactive, and their communication and actions have sometimes generated undue volatility.