Cookies?
Library Header Image
LSE Research Online LSE Library Services

Do reputational concerns lead to reliable ratings?

Mariano, Beatriz (2008) Do reputational concerns lead to reliable ratings? Financial Markets Group Discussion Papers (613). Financial Markets Group, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

[img]
Preview
PDF - Published Version
Download (803kB) | Preview

Abstract

This paper examines to what extent reputational concerns give rating agencies incentives to reveal information. It demonstrates that, in a simple model in which a rating agency has public and private information about a project, it may ignore private information and even contradict public information in an attempt to minimize reputational costs. A monopolistic agency can act conservatively by issuing too many bad ratings when a project is expected to be good based on private and public information. In a competitive setting, an agency becomes bolder and can issue too many good ratings when a project is expected to be bad based on private and public information. The paper provides a reason for why competition in the ratings industry might lead to overly optimistic ratings even in the absence of conflicts of interest.

Item Type: Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL: https://www.fmg.ac.uk/
Additional Information: © 2008 The Author
Divisions: Financial Markets Group
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification: G - Financial Economics > G1 - General Financial Markets
D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D82 - Asymmetric and Private Information
G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G24 - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage; Rating Agencies
Date Deposited: 10 Jul 2009 11:11
Last Modified: 11 Dec 2024 18:53
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/24433

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics