In recent years, the number of downgrades in UK corporate credit ratings has exceeded the number of upgrades, leading some to conclude that the credit quality of UK companies has deteriorated. However, another explanation is that the credit rating agencies have become more stringent in the...

The aim of this paper is to examine the main determinants of the rating likelihood of UK companies. We use a binary probit specification to model the main drivers of a firm's propensity to be rated. Using a sample of 245 non-financial UK companies over the period 1995--2006, representing up to...

A new book dedicated to academic research on call centres is welcome, not least for one obvious reason. In the last decade and a half, the call centre has transformed the structure and nature of interactive service work and employment in advanced countries, amounting to nothing less than 'a...