J Barry Eichengreen is professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former senior policy adviser at the International Monetary Fund. He is the author of many books, including In Defence of Public Debt (Oxford University Press, 2021).

The wildfire spread of the Omicron variant adds a new element of uncertainty to the global economy. But when it comes to emerging markets, the consensus view is that these countries’ prospects remain bright.