The aims of this paper are twofold: first, we attempt to express the threshold of a single “A” rating as issued by major international rating agencies in terms of annualised probabilities of default. We use data from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s publicly available rating histories to...

This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Oostend, Zeebrugge), the Autonomous Port of Liège and the port of Brussels play a major role in their respective regional economies and...

This paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Port Autonome de Liège, over the period 1997 - 2002. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, salaried employment and investment, it also provides information about the financial situation...

This paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and evolution of the car manufacturing industry. In addition, it provides evidence that the car industry is still playing a vital role in process innovation. The currently widespread lean production method, under which...

This paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Flemish maritime ports, over the period 1995 - 2002. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, it also provides some information about the financial situation of a...

The Flemish maritime ports play a major role in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of the industries they encompass but also as intermodal centres where transhipment activities are concentrated. This update1 paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of...

This study is a publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium, in partnership with the Department of Transport and Regional Economics of the University of Antwerp (UA). It is the outcome of a first research project on the Belgian airport and air...

This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports - Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Zeebrugge - and the Autonomous Port of Liège play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian...

The Port Autonome de Liège, with its 26 kilometres of berths and several multimodal platforms, plays an important role in the Walloon and Belgian economy. This update paper gives an extensive overview of the economic importance and the latest developments of the Port Autonome de Liège, through...

This paper is a publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. This is the outcome of a first research project on the Belgian transport logistics sectors. In the past few years, the logistics business has turned out to play a significant part in wealth...