We cordially invite you to submit your manuscript to the special issue on The Economics of Rating Agencies, which will be published in Economic Notes. Given the interdisciplinary character of the topic we welcome contribution from both economic and legal scholars. Economic Notes is an invaluable journal presenting key issues in the fields of banking, finance and monetary economics. Through its 35 years the journal has earned a reputation for open debate. It publishes quality papers from academics and researchers as well as executives working in financial institutions, firms and the public sector. Economic Notes is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the MPS Banking Group.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS MATTER: THE ECONOMICS OF RATING AGENCIES
Credit rating agencies bear some responsibility for the financial crisis that started in 2007 and remains ongoing. This is acknowledged by academicians, policymakers, market participants, and by the agencies themselves. Specifically, the role played by rating agencies during the recent financial meltdown has raised many fundamental questions – about which we are inviting contributions. We can toughly group these questions into five categories (the list is by no means exhaustive):
1) The first of all questions is that of existence. Why have credit agencies emerged as financial institutions and how have they evolved. How is it that credit ratings have come to play such a paramount role in certain financial transactions?
2) Another related set of questions concerns the market structure of the credit rating industry itself. Why are there apparently so few credit rating firms? Should we characterize the credit rating business as competitive or collusive? Are some credit rating firms demonstrably “special” and worthy of certification by a regulatory body?
3) A third group concerns the ratings themselves. Do ratings provide unbiased information regarding differences in obligor’s capacity to repay? Or, do ratings provide incremental information to lenders in addition to publicly available data?
4) A fourth category of questions deals with the context-specificity of ratings. Do ratings have a uniform meaning and interpretation across different countries? Can a rating system originated in the US be transplanted in other countries, or are adjustments needed to account for differences in accounting and financial practices? Are emerging market risks – like the risk of banking and financial crises – “ill suited” to a single variable credit rating metric? Are the ratings leading or lagging indicators of country risks?
5) The final set of questions pertains to the use of ratings for regulatory purposes. What is the proper regulatory use of credit ratings? If credit ratings are to be used for regulatory purposes, how should we construct the mapping of ratings into regulatory capital requirements? Could market data be used as a substitute for credit ratings for regulatory purposes?

Contributors wishing to participate in that thematic issue should express their interest and send a one-page abstract by December 31st 2014 to economic.notes@banca.mps.it or luca.fiorito@unipa.it. Final papers will have to be sent by the end of June 2014; they will be refereed according to the usual procedure of the review. The publication is scheduled on April 2015.


Essays on credit rating and rating agencies preciously published on Economic Notes

The Impact of the Rating Agencies' Through-the-Cycle Methodology on Rating Dynamics
Altman, Edward I; Rijken, Herbert A.
Economic Notes 34. 2 (Jul 2005): 127-154.

Do Market-Based Indicators Anticipate Rating Agencies? Evidence for International Banks
Di Cesare, Antonio.
Economic Notes 35. 1 (Feb 2006): 121-150.

Rating Agency Actions and the Pricing of Debt and Equity of European Banks: What Can We Infer about Private Sector Monitoring of Bank Soundness?
Gropp, Reint; Richards, Anthony J.
Economic Notes 30. 3 (Nov 2001): 373-398.

The Procyclical Role of Rating Agencies: Evidence from the East Asian Crisis
Ferri, G; Liu, L -G; Stiglitz, J E.
Economic Notes 28. 3 (Nov 1999): 335-355.

The Definition of the Grading Scales in Banks' Internal Rating Systems
Foglia, Antonella; Iannotti, Simona; Marullo Reedtz, Paolo.
Economic Notes 30. 3 (Nov 2001): 421-456.

Perverse Effects of an External Ratings-Related Capital Adequacy System
Honohan, Patrick.
Economic Notes 30. 3 (Nov 2001): 359-372.

Credit Risk Models--Do They Deliver Their Promises? A Quantitative Assessment
Oderda, Gianluca; Dacorogna, Michel M; Jung, Tobias.
Economic Notes 32. 2 (Jul 2003): 177-195.

Analytical and Empirical Features of Internal Ratings: An Empirical Consistency Test Based on Statistical Models
Resti, Andrea; Omacini, Cristina.
Economic Notes 30. 3 (Nov 2001): 457-489.

Estimating the Term Structure of Credit Spreads on Euro-Denominated Corporate Bonds
Terazzan, Ombretta.
Economic Notes 35. 3 (Nov 2006): 355-375.

Do Upgradings and Downgradings Convey Information? An Event Study of the French Bond Market
Dallocchio, Maurizio; Hubler, Jerome; Raimbourg, Philippe; Salvi, Antonio.
Economic Notes 35. 3 (Nov 2006): 293-317.

Long-Term Performance of New Equity Issuers, Venture Capital and Reputation of Investment Bankers
Doukas, John A; Gonenc, Halit.
Economic Notes 34. 1 (Feb 2005): 1-34.

Market Size and Investment Performance of Defaulted Bonds and Bank Loans: 1987-2001
Altman, Edward I; Pompeii, Jason.
Economic Notes 32. 2 (Jul 2003): 147-176.