Sovereign Ratings in the Post-Crisis World : An Analysis of Actual, Shadow and Relative Risk Ratings

This paper analyzes the evolution of sovereign credit ratings in the wake of the global financial crisis by studying changes in actual, shadow, and relative ratings between 2008 and 2012. For countries that do not have a rating from the major ratin...

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Main Authors: Basu, Kaushik, De, Supriyo, Ratha, Dilip, Timmer, Hans
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:
CDS
GDP
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18360008/sovereign-ratings-post-crisis-world-analysis-actual-shadow-relative-risk-ratings
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16859
id okr-10986-16859
recordtype oai_dc
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic ACCOUNTING
ADVANCED ECONOMIES
BANK POLICY
BANKS
BENCHMARK
BENCHMARKS
BOND RATINGS
BOND YIELDS
BORROWING COSTS
CAPITAL ACCOUNT
CAPITAL ACCOUNT LIBERALIZATION
CAPITAL FLOWS
CAPITAL INFLOWS
CAPITAL MOBILITY
CDS
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
CORPORATE FINANCE
COUNTRY RISK
CREDIT DEFAULT
CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS
CREDIT QUALITY
CREDIT RATING
CREDIT RATING AGENCIES
CREDIT RATINGS
CREDIT RISK
CREDITWORTHINESS
CURRENCY
CURRENCY CRISES
CYCLICAL FACTORS
DATA AVAILABILITY
DEBT
DEBT CRISIS
DEBT RATINGS
DEBT RATIO
DEBT RELIEF
DEBT STOCKS
DEFAULT RISK
DEFAULTS
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING ECONOMIES
DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
DOMESTIC FINANCIAL SECTOR
ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMETRIC MODEL
ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
ECONOMIC POLICY
ECONOMIC STABILITY
ECONOMIC STRENGTH
EMERGING MARKET
EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES
EMERGING MARKETS
EXCHANGE RATE
EXCHANGE RATES
EXPLANATORY VARIABLES
EXPORTS
EXTERNAL DEBT
FEDERAL RESERVE
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL CRISIS
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY
FINANCIAL MARKETS
FINANCIAL SECTOR
FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
FINANCIAL STABILITY
FOREIGN CURRENCY
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETS
FUTURE RESEARCH
GDP
GLOBAL CAPITAL
GLOBAL CAPITAL MARKETS
GLOBAL FINANCE
GOLD
GOVERNANCE INDICATORS
GOVERNMENT BOND
GOVERNMENT BOND YIELD
GOVERNMENT DEBT
GROSS DEBT
GROSS NATIONAL INCOME
GROWTH RATE
HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES
IMPORT
IMPORTS
INCOME
INDEBTEDNESS
INDEX NUMBERS
INFLATION
INTERNATIONAL BANK
INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL
INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MARKETS
INTERNATIONAL DEBT
INTERNATIONAL DEBT SECURITIES
INTERNATIONAL MONEY
INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS
INVESTMENT FLOWS
LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
LIQUIDITY
LOCAL CURRENCY
MACRO-STABILITY
MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY
MARKET INFORMATION
MARKET PRICES
MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS
MATURITIES
MATURITY
MIGRATION
MISALIGNMENT
MONETARY FUND
NATIONAL INCOME
POLICY CREDIBILITY
POLITICAL DISTURBANCES
PORTFOLIO
POSITIVE EFFECTS
POST-CRISIS PERIOD
PRIVATE ENTITIES
PUBLIC POLICY
REMITTANCES
REPUTATION
RESERVE
RESERVES
RULE OF LAW
SHADOW VALUES
SHORT TERM DEBT
SHORT-TERM DEBT
SHORT-TERM EXTERNAL DEBT
SOLVENCY
SOVEREIGN BOND
SOVEREIGN DEBT
SOVEREIGN DEFAULT
SOVEREIGN ENTITIES
SOVEREIGN RATING
SOVEREIGN RATINGS
SOVEREIGN RISK
STANDARD DEVIATION
SUB-NATIONAL ENTITIES
SUM OF IMPORTS
SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
TOTAL EXTERNAL DEBT
TOTAL RESERVES
TREASURY
VOLATILITY
WEIGHTS
WELFARE ECONOMICS
WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
WORLD ECONOMY
YIELD SPREADS
spellingShingle ACCOUNTING
ADVANCED ECONOMIES
BANK POLICY
BANKS
BENCHMARK
BENCHMARKS
BOND RATINGS
BOND YIELDS
BORROWING COSTS
CAPITAL ACCOUNT
CAPITAL ACCOUNT LIBERALIZATION
CAPITAL FLOWS
CAPITAL INFLOWS
CAPITAL MOBILITY
CDS
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
CORPORATE FINANCE
COUNTRY RISK
CREDIT DEFAULT
CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS
CREDIT QUALITY
CREDIT RATING
CREDIT RATING AGENCIES
CREDIT RATINGS
CREDIT RISK
CREDITWORTHINESS
CURRENCY
CURRENCY CRISES
CYCLICAL FACTORS
DATA AVAILABILITY
DEBT
DEBT CRISIS
DEBT RATINGS
DEBT RATIO
DEBT RELIEF
DEBT STOCKS
DEFAULT RISK
DEFAULTS
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING ECONOMIES
DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
DOMESTIC FINANCIAL SECTOR
ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMETRIC MODEL
ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
ECONOMIC POLICY
ECONOMIC STABILITY
ECONOMIC STRENGTH
EMERGING MARKET
EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES
EMERGING MARKETS
EXCHANGE RATE
EXCHANGE RATES
EXPLANATORY VARIABLES
EXPORTS
EXTERNAL DEBT
FEDERAL RESERVE
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL CRISIS
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY
FINANCIAL MARKETS
FINANCIAL SECTOR
FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
FINANCIAL STABILITY
FOREIGN CURRENCY
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETS
FUTURE RESEARCH
GDP
GLOBAL CAPITAL
GLOBAL CAPITAL MARKETS
GLOBAL FINANCE
GOLD
GOVERNANCE INDICATORS
GOVERNMENT BOND
GOVERNMENT BOND YIELD
GOVERNMENT DEBT
GROSS DEBT
GROSS NATIONAL INCOME
GROWTH RATE
HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES
IMPORT
IMPORTS
INCOME
INDEBTEDNESS
INDEX NUMBERS
INFLATION
INTERNATIONAL BANK
INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL
INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MARKETS
INTERNATIONAL DEBT
INTERNATIONAL DEBT SECURITIES
INTERNATIONAL MONEY
INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS
INVESTMENT FLOWS
LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
LIQUIDITY
LOCAL CURRENCY
MACRO-STABILITY
MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY
MARKET INFORMATION
MARKET PRICES
MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS
MATURITIES
MATURITY
MIGRATION
MISALIGNMENT
MONETARY FUND
NATIONAL INCOME
POLICY CREDIBILITY
POLITICAL DISTURBANCES
PORTFOLIO
POSITIVE EFFECTS
POST-CRISIS PERIOD
PRIVATE ENTITIES
PUBLIC POLICY
REMITTANCES
REPUTATION
RESERVE
RESERVES
RULE OF LAW
SHADOW VALUES
SHORT TERM DEBT
SHORT-TERM DEBT
SHORT-TERM EXTERNAL DEBT
SOLVENCY
SOVEREIGN BOND
SOVEREIGN DEBT
SOVEREIGN DEFAULT
SOVEREIGN ENTITIES
SOVEREIGN RATING
SOVEREIGN RATINGS
SOVEREIGN RISK
STANDARD DEVIATION
SUB-NATIONAL ENTITIES
SUM OF IMPORTS
SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
TOTAL EXTERNAL DEBT
TOTAL RESERVES
TREASURY
VOLATILITY
WEIGHTS
WELFARE ECONOMICS
WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
WORLD ECONOMY
YIELD SPREADS
Basu, Kaushik
De, Supriyo
Ratha, Dilip
Timmer, Hans
Sovereign Ratings in the Post-Crisis World : An Analysis of Actual, Shadow and Relative Risk Ratings
geographic_facet Africa
East Asia and Pacific
Europe and Central Asia
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6641
description This paper analyzes the evolution of sovereign credit ratings in the wake of the global financial crisis by studying changes in actual, shadow, and relative ratings between 2008 and 2012. For countries that do not have a rating from the major rating agencies, shadow ratings are estimated as a function of macroeconomic, structural, and governance variables. The shadow rating exercise confirms earlier findings in the literature that even after the financial crisis, many unrated countries appear to be more creditworthy than previously believed and can access international capital markets. The paper also develops a new rating scale called the "relative risk rating," which ranks countries according to their actual or shadow ratings after controlling for changes in the world weighted average rating. When relative ratings in 2012 are compared with the first half of 2008, the world average rating is found to be weaker because of the financial crisis. The relative rating improved in developing economies such as Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, whereas it deteriorated in crisis-affected high-income countries such as Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Egypt. Interestingly, India, Jordan, Poland, and the United Kingdom had their rating outlook downgraded by the rating agencies, but their relative rating actually improved as other countries suffered even worse downgrades. A regression model is used to analyze the relative contributions of different variables to rating changes during 2008-2012, a helpful feature for policy makers interested in improving sovereign ratings.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Basu, Kaushik
De, Supriyo
Ratha, Dilip
Timmer, Hans
author_facet Basu, Kaushik
De, Supriyo
Ratha, Dilip
Timmer, Hans
author_sort Basu, Kaushik
title Sovereign Ratings in the Post-Crisis World : An Analysis of Actual, Shadow and Relative Risk Ratings
title_short Sovereign Ratings in the Post-Crisis World : An Analysis of Actual, Shadow and Relative Risk Ratings
title_full Sovereign Ratings in the Post-Crisis World : An Analysis of Actual, Shadow and Relative Risk Ratings
title_fullStr Sovereign Ratings in the Post-Crisis World : An Analysis of Actual, Shadow and Relative Risk Ratings
title_full_unstemmed Sovereign Ratings in the Post-Crisis World : An Analysis of Actual, Shadow and Relative Risk Ratings
title_sort sovereign ratings in the post-crisis world : an analysis of actual, shadow and relative risk ratings
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2014
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18360008/sovereign-ratings-post-crisis-world-analysis-actual-shadow-relative-risk-ratings
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16859
_version_ 1764434721115209728
spelling okr-10986-168592021-04-23T14:03:32Z Sovereign Ratings in the Post-Crisis World : An Analysis of Actual, Shadow and Relative Risk Ratings Basu, Kaushik De, Supriyo Ratha, Dilip Timmer, Hans ACCOUNTING ADVANCED ECONOMIES BANK POLICY BANKS BENCHMARK BENCHMARKS BOND RATINGS BOND YIELDS BORROWING COSTS CAPITAL ACCOUNT CAPITAL ACCOUNT LIBERALIZATION CAPITAL FLOWS CAPITAL INFLOWS CAPITAL MOBILITY CDS CONFLICT OF INTEREST CORPORATE FINANCE COUNTRY RISK CREDIT DEFAULT CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS CREDIT QUALITY CREDIT RATING CREDIT RATING AGENCIES CREDIT RATINGS CREDIT RISK CREDITWORTHINESS CURRENCY CURRENCY CRISES CYCLICAL FACTORS DATA AVAILABILITY DEBT DEBT CRISIS DEBT RATINGS DEBT RATIO DEBT RELIEF DEBT STOCKS DEFAULT RISK DEFAULTS DEPENDENT VARIABLE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING ECONOMIES DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DOMESTIC FINANCIAL SECTOR ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS ECONOMETRIC MODEL ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ECONOMIC POLICY ECONOMIC STABILITY ECONOMIC STRENGTH EMERGING MARKET EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES EMERGING MARKETS EXCHANGE RATE EXCHANGE RATES EXPLANATORY VARIABLES EXPORTS EXTERNAL DEBT FEDERAL RESERVE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK FINANCIAL ANALYSIS FINANCIAL CRISIS FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY FINANCIAL MARKETS FINANCIAL SECTOR FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL STABILITY FOREIGN CURRENCY FOREIGN EXCHANGE FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETS FUTURE RESEARCH GDP GLOBAL CAPITAL GLOBAL CAPITAL MARKETS GLOBAL FINANCE GOLD GOVERNANCE INDICATORS GOVERNMENT BOND GOVERNMENT BOND YIELD GOVERNMENT DEBT GROSS DEBT GROSS NATIONAL INCOME GROWTH RATE HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES IMPORT IMPORTS INCOME INDEBTEDNESS INDEX NUMBERS INFLATION INTERNATIONAL BANK INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MARKETS INTERNATIONAL DEBT INTERNATIONAL DEBT SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL MONEY INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS INVESTMENT FLOWS LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES LIQUIDITY LOCAL CURRENCY MACRO-STABILITY MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY MARKET INFORMATION MARKET PRICES MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS MATURITIES MATURITY MIGRATION MISALIGNMENT MONETARY FUND NATIONAL INCOME POLICY CREDIBILITY POLITICAL DISTURBANCES PORTFOLIO POSITIVE EFFECTS POST-CRISIS PERIOD PRIVATE ENTITIES PUBLIC POLICY REMITTANCES REPUTATION RESERVE RESERVES RULE OF LAW SHADOW VALUES SHORT TERM DEBT SHORT-TERM DEBT SHORT-TERM EXTERNAL DEBT SOLVENCY SOVEREIGN BOND SOVEREIGN DEBT SOVEREIGN DEFAULT SOVEREIGN ENTITIES SOVEREIGN RATING SOVEREIGN RATINGS SOVEREIGN RISK STANDARD DEVIATION SUB-NATIONAL ENTITIES SUM OF IMPORTS SUSTAINABLE FINANCE TOTAL EXTERNAL DEBT TOTAL RESERVES TREASURY VOLATILITY WEIGHTS WELFARE ECONOMICS WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS WORLD ECONOMY YIELD SPREADS This paper analyzes the evolution of sovereign credit ratings in the wake of the global financial crisis by studying changes in actual, shadow, and relative ratings between 2008 and 2012. For countries that do not have a rating from the major rating agencies, shadow ratings are estimated as a function of macroeconomic, structural, and governance variables. The shadow rating exercise confirms earlier findings in the literature that even after the financial crisis, many unrated countries appear to be more creditworthy than previously believed and can access international capital markets. The paper also develops a new rating scale called the "relative risk rating," which ranks countries according to their actual or shadow ratings after controlling for changes in the world weighted average rating. When relative ratings in 2012 are compared with the first half of 2008, the world average rating is found to be weaker because of the financial crisis. The relative rating improved in developing economies such as Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, whereas it deteriorated in crisis-affected high-income countries such as Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Egypt. Interestingly, India, Jordan, Poland, and the United Kingdom had their rating outlook downgraded by the rating agencies, but their relative rating actually improved as other countries suffered even worse downgrades. A regression model is used to analyze the relative contributions of different variables to rating changes during 2008-2012, a helpful feature for policy makers interested in improving sovereign ratings. 2014-02-04T16:43:23Z 2014-02-04T16:43:23Z 2013-10 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/10/18360008/sovereign-ratings-post-crisis-world-analysis-actual-shadow-relative-risk-ratings http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16859 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6641 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Africa East Asia and Pacific Europe and Central Asia