[...]In this article, we attempt to quantify the economic effectsof the homeland security efforts of the public and privatesectors, focusing specifically on the costs of these efforts. Inpractice, it is difficult to classify which expenditures are relatedto homeland security. For this reason, we...

[...]To explore these questions, we present the firstsystematic analysis of the determinants and impact of thesovereign credit ratings assigned by the two leading U.S.agencies, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard andPoor’s.1 Such an analysis has only recently become possibleas a result of...

In this paper we analyze the source and magnitude of marketing gains from selling structured debtsecurities at yields that reflect only their credit ratings, or specifically at yields on equivalently ratedcorporate bonds. We distinguish between credit ratings that are based on probabilities of...

Credit risk measurement and management become more important in all financial institutions in the light of the current financial crisis and the global recession. This particularly applies to most of the complex structured financing forms whose risk cannot be quantified with com-mon rating...

This paper examines why unsolicited ratings tend to be lower than solicited ratings. Bothself-selection among issuers and strategic conservatism of rating agencies may be reasonableexplanations. Analyses of default incidences of non-U.S. borrowers between January 1996and December 2006 show that...

Aufgezeigt wird, dass im Vergleich der Jahre insbesondere 2000 und 2005 derLebensversicherungsmarkt durch eine neue Aufteilung Leistungs starker sowie schwächererUnternehmen geprägt ist. Die Kundenbeteiligung erfährt hierbei eine eigene Dynamik von einer in2000 eher vom Leistungsvermögen...

We study effects of Basel II on credits for Swiss towns and cities in the years 2006(before Basel II) and 2007 (after Basel II). We collected data of these loans andcomputed their margins. Moreover we collected data on the financial situation of thetowns and cities and used this to compute a...

Based on an econometric analysis of the data obtained from a survey of meat plants( ) in Iowa in summer 2007, this paper identifies the factors impacting the meatplants’ voluntary adoption of forward and backward traceability activities. The resultssuggest that the ownership type (corporate...

The validation of probability calibration is an inherently difficult task. We develop a testing procedure for credit-scoring models. The models comprise two components to check whether the ex-ante probabilities support the ex-post frequencies. The first component tests the level of the...

Do bond investors demand credit quality or liquidity? The answer is both, but at different times and for different reasons. Using data on the Euro-area government bond market, which features a unique negative correlation between credit quality and liquidity across countries, we show that the...