By definition, “emerging” economies are in transition from “developing” status to “developed” status, which is generally a bumpy road that may involve more-frequent crises and stronger economic fluctuations. One way to visualize this transition in FRED is to graph per capita GDP growth rates for the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and compare them with the rate for the U.S. (thick black line). While it is usually better to show fewer series on one graph, the idea here is simply to illustrate that these economies bounce around much more than the U.S. economy does. The U.S. rate is never the highest. On the rare occasions when it is the lowest, it is only barely so—with 2007 being the exception.

How this graph was created: Search for “Constant GDP per capita” for the various countries and add the series to the graph. Transform each series to “Percentage change” and emphasize the line for the U.S. so it stands out (in this case, it is thicker and black).

Suggested by Christian Zimmermann