About The Data Transparency Imperative: On the Need to Build a Coordinated Dataset on Emerging-Market Risk

ILN has released a discussion paper titled “The Data Transparency Imperative,” which makes the case for building a coordinated, privately-held dataset on emerging-market risk. The paper argues that while the Global Emerging Markets Database has established important proof of concept, its structural limitations mean it cannot alone drive the risk repricing, regulatory recalibration, or expanded investor appetite needed to close the emerging-market financing gap. It outlines three potential payoffs of a broader data transparency initiative: more accurate risk pricing that lowers the cost of capital, reform of prudential frameworks that currently penalize emerging-market assets, and evidence of portfolio diversification benefits that speaks directly to institutional investors’ fiduciary interests. The paper was prepared in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, ODI Global, and Findev Canada.