Book excerpt: IFC Discussion Paper No. 22. Corporate finance in emerging market countries is changing dramatically as the recent liberalizations revitalize stagnant domestic capital markets and permit increased access to overseas markets. With this trend evident in many countries, corporations are re- examining their financial structures and finding more financial instruments to choose from. This paper discusses these new developments and examines the traditional features of emerging-market corporate finance. It presents a simple framework for the debt-equity choice based on considerations of cost, risk, control, and disclosure. The impact of these considerations on government control is also illustrated with examples from several emerging market countries.