The Barclays emerging-markets bond index -- made up largely of government-issued debt -- has returned roughly 70 percent since the market meltdown three years ago. That's nearly three times as much as the comparative Barclays U.S. bond fund. The reasons for such a wide divergence are rooted in economics: The BRIC countries ran 2011 budget deficits of about 2.5 percent of GDP, while the U.S. ran a deficit of 8 percent. Bloomberg consensus forecasts show emerging markets growing at double or triple the rate of developed markets over the next couple of years, which will only benefit them more.