Public Credit Rating Agencies

In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, there have been many criticisms weighed against private credit rating agencies. Many claim they only exacerbate financial market volatility by issuing faulty public statements, ratings warnings, and downgrades. This instability increases the uncertainty in business environments and weakens the pace of business investment. Their rating changes also prompt national governments to reduce their spending at a time when fiscal expenditures are crucial for economic recovery.

Public Credit Rating Agencies argues for the creation of national public credit rating agencies, offering the first in-depth discussion of their implied role and function operating alongside private agencies. Schroeder provides an up-to-date overview of the ratings industry and the government bodies that monitor its activities. She suggests that the proper implementation of public credit rating agencies will promote the stability of lending, further development and adaptation of new technology, and increase labor productivity and the profitability of new investment in businesses. Finally, this book clarifies the inconsistencies that have surfaced between public budgeting and a rating agency’s evaluation of national budgets. 

Author Biography

Susan K. Schroeder is Lecturer at the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her current areas of research are international financial crises, business cycles, and financial fragility and how these areas are linked to the country risk assessment. She has taught at universities in New York, USA; Bremen, Germany; and Auckland, New Zealand. Schroeder has been visiting scholar at SOAS, University of London, UK; the Mises Institute, USA; and Wolfson College, Cambridge University, UK, where she is a lifetime member.