Emerging markets face tough year with no saviour

A pedestrian walks past an advertisment featuring US dollar bills in Hong Kong. Very easy money from the Federal Reserve has made life in the global capital markets a borrowers paradise, but many countries did little by way of fundamental reform to prepare for tighter times later. Emerging markets are likely to be hit hard as the taper goes into full swing - AFP Photo.

REUTERS: A 2014 crisis in developing nations, if it comes, will underline a critical weakness of emerging markets: they are a concept rather than a polity.

Unlike previous recent crises, first in the US and then Europe, it is unclear what institution has both the will and the means to stand as a backstop if emerging markets as a group experience a crisis.